Austin is home to many (some say too many!) Eastern Fox Squirrels, Sciurus niger. These natives are both charming and annoying, adding comedic energy to the garden; there’s never a dull moment with these fuzzy-tailed characters. While some (occasionally including yours truly) find these cute critters irritating, squirrels play an important role in the dissemination of native plants by their consumption of seeds and disposal afterwards. In short, squirrels plant a lot of trees.

Recently, I looked out my kitchen window and saw a Rock Squirrel, Otospermophilus variegatus, nosing around in the garden, which was quite a surprise. I know Rock Squirrels are native in parts of Texas, but I’ve never seen one in my garden or anywhere else in Austin.

Austin (Travis County) lies at the eastern edge of these squirrels’ range; they’re more common in the Hill Country areas. Apparently, Rock Squirrels here in Central Texas tend to be brownish in coloring, though those further west are black to grey. This fella is definitely a westerner and I wonder if he’s a sub-species, Otospermophilus v. buckleyi. He’s quite a handsome fella, too–look at that fluffy tail! He’s also a little bigger than my pet-like Fox Squirrels.

True to what I read about Rock Squirrels, he helped himself to some greens, in this case, the leaves, stems (and seeds?) of a Yellow Columbine. Rocky also likes to munch on other seeds and foliage, as well as insects.

After his snack, a nice, cool drink of water finished his meal.

I moved on to other adventures that day and never saw Rocky again. I hope he returns; it would be interesting, maybe fun, and no doubt exasperating to host two squirrel species in the garden.

I suppose I should be careful what I wish for, after all, they are squirrels!