mountain boomers

[Mark Odegard]

A bit of personal attestation. This refers to gray squirrels, those
aggressive critters that ravage the bird-feeder and occasionally fall victim
to the cat.

I heard one one, clinging to the lower trunk of a walnut, with the tail
uptree. It was vocalizing! The sound was rather faint, something that would
not carry more than a yard or two. I would not characterize it as a 'boom'.
'Breathy bark' comes close. The cheeks seemed to be vibrating as I recall. I
assume it was a male defending territory, or the some such, during breeding
season.
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