Black Squirrel

The first time I realized there were black squirrels was in the Chicago suburbs. We had a frequent visitor to our yard. He was fun to see being such an oddity. The story I heard about this was that W. K. Kellogg of the Kellogg cereal fame brought some over from Germany in his time and some were let go in Battle Creek Michigan. The stories I've heard vary about the how and why of their travels from Germany. Some say it was because Kellogg wanted to rid his area of red squirrels and was out to create a turf war. It's said that a heavy population exist only in five areas in the U.S. Detroit, MI, Reedsburg, WI, Princeton, NJ, Galesburg, IL and New Hartford, CT. No one seems to explain why that is.

They've since florished in the wilds and have traveled some apparently. This little guy showed up at our bird feeder today and posed for a few pictures.

Do you have any in your area? If so please leave a comment here and tell me where you live and if they are a once in awhile sighting or a large group population. It would be interesting to know how far they've traveled over the years.