New York mammals

Northern Flying Squirrel in New York

Glaucomys sabrinus

Native to New York S5 Secure in New York

Not listed as nonindigenous in New York by USGS NAS; native to its New York range.

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: Henrique Pacheco · CC BY 4.0Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)Photo: PJTurgeon · CC BY-SA 3.0Northern Flying SquirrelPhoto: Thompson Hyggen · CC0Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)Photo: Master Larry, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domainVirginia northern flying squirrel on a tree glaucomys sabrinus fuscus

Northern Flying Squirrel in New York, by the numbers

Occasional in New York 58th most recorded of 102 mammals logged in New York

145 occurrence records

35 with iNaturalist photos

Feb 15, 2026 Last seen in New York

Records from 2000–2026.

145 total records count every New York occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 143 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Northern Flying Squirrel in New York

Most sightings fall in July to November.

143 New York occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly New York records (table)

Month	Records
January	13
February	10
March	14
April	8
May	10
June	7
July	15
August	15
September	13
October	18
November	14
December	6

Monthly northern flying squirrel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in New York, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in New York, with recorded sightings peaking in July–November, with a smaller rise in January and March.

Occurrence map

Where Northern Flying Squirrel has been recorded in New York

145 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

145 New York records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Petersburg State Forest	6
Gilbert Lake State Park	3
Beaverkill Campground	2
Labrador Hollow Unique Area	2
Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve And Environmental Education Center	1
Mallet Pond State Forest	1
Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area	1
Bear Swamp State Forest	1

Protected places with the most northern flying squirrel sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in New York

County	Records
Schoharie County	32
St. Lawrence County	17
Essex County	14
Ulster County	11
Tompkins County	11
Lewis County	7
Franklin County	4
Hamilton County	4
Otsego County	4
Oswego County	3
Albany County	3
Sullivan County	3
24 other counties	32

The complete county distribution, spread across 36 New York counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Northern flying squirrels carry a NatureServe S5 secure rank in New York, and the record leans toward GBIF (135 of 145 records), meaning trapping and detection surveys, not casual sightings, document most of what’s known about this nocturnal glider here.

Records appear in every month with an October peak (18 of the 145 sightings) and a December low (6), a relatively even year-round pattern that fits a species that doesn’t hibernate and stays active through winter nights in the Adirondacks’ boreal and mixed forest.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Northern Flying Squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus Size 25–37 cm9.8–14.6 in Weight 148 g5.2 oz Lifespan Up to 14.2 yr View the full profile

More mammals in New York in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"