Squirrel, Noise

As befitting a cemetery, Green-Wood can be very quiet, barring the constant faint background hum of the universe — or traffic as we call it here in Brooklyn — and the intermittent roar of passing planes.

I heard this squirrel before seeing it. And clearly it saw me. Another squirrel was foraging on the ground nearby, so perhaps the tree-limb scout was issuing a warning. A couple of days later, I watched a Red-tailed Hawk flying off with a squirrel hanging from its talons.The cemetery doesn’t have nearly as many squirrels as Prospect Park, where this picture was taken. With so much less food trash, the squirrels in G-W are thrown back to the traditional nuts and berries. Meanwhile, none of the city’s squirrels seem to be as fat and tame as the moochers in City Hall Park, which are fed, feted, and photographed by tourists the furry mammals have successfully mesmerized.

Here’s a paper on squirrel vocalizations. And here’s a more popular rendition, along with some recordings.