Southern flying squirrel reports in DC concentrate in Rock Creek Park, the wooded corridor that cuts through the city toward the Potomac, with occasional reports near the National Mall’s older shade trees. Seventeen records over more than two decades keep this species in the “occasional” band for the District, reported more often than some of DC’s rarer mammals but far less frequently than a species like white-tailed deer.
This is a nocturnal glider, not a true flier. It launches from a tree trunk, spreads the loose skin between its legs, and glides to a lower trunk further off, something easiest to notice at dusk under Rock Creek Park’s older oaks and tulip poplars. It dens in tree cavities and often shares a hollow with several others through the colder months for warmth.
Records show up in every season, with the most reports logged in midwinter and again around the turn of spring, likely tied to when the squirrels are most active and visible rather than any real population swing. A cluster of sightings in Rock Creek Park reflects where people have looked closely, not necessarily where the squirrels are thickest on the ground.
