Northern flying squirrels show up in 146 Maine records, a modest count for a nocturnal glider that’s genuinely widespread across the state’s northern forest but rarely seen by anyone not specifically looking for it after dark.
Cool conifer canopy, not just any woods
This squirrel depends on cool, dense conifer and mixed forest, exactly the spruce-fir cover that dominates Maine’s North Woods and rises up Katahdin’s slopes inside Baxter State Park. Farther south in its range, the species survives only in isolated high-elevation pockets, but Maine’s colder climate lets it use both mountain forest and lower ground, which likely explains why records reach from Baxter down to the coast rather than clustering at one elevation.
Winter nights, not winter sleep
Records don’t drop off in the cold months the way a hibernator’s would. Maine’s data actually shows a late-year rise in November and December. Northern flying squirrels stay active through winter, gliding between trees on long, dark nights and sometimes turning up at bird feeders when natural food runs short. That combination of longer nights and feeder visits likely makes the species easier to record in early winter than during the brighter, quieter stretch of late spring.
Status in Maine
NatureServe ranks the northern flying squirrel S5 in Maine, secure, and it’s native throughout the state’s forested range. Fungi make up a large part of its diet, and by spreading fungal spores as it forages, this squirrel does quiet ecological work for Maine’s conifer forests that has nothing to do with how often anyone happens to see it glide.
Full species profile
