• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Nature Mentoring

  • Home
  • Learn
  • About
  • Mentoring
  • Store

Squirrels and Bird Language: Detecting Alarms and Calls

Squirrel Calls Meaning


Squirrel calls have a lot to teach us as bird language observers.

Even though squirrels aren’t birds they still have a wide array of vocalizations that can help us understand about the impact of predators & other animals in the landscape such as deer.

One of the challenges that comes up with interpreting squirrel alarms is knowing whether their agitated calls are being made for territorial purposes or alarms.

However there is a very simple way to know for certain that a particular “alarm” call you hear is either territorial or in response to a predator, and that’s what I’m going to share with you in this article.

This distinction applies primarily to highly territorial squirrels like the red squirrel so I’ll be explaining it in terms of their vocalizations.

It should also apply fairly well to the Douglas squirrel because they’re similar species and their vocalizations tend to work in a similar manner.

Squirrel Sounds And Meanings

If you live in a place where there are red squirrels then you’ve probably noticed at times their endless chatter of clucks & chips.

Most people will recognize this sound as an alarm because it has such an intense & anxious sound to it.

And it is in fact an alarm.

I’ve used this sound to find cats, detect hawks and track deer at a distance as they sneak away from me.

But squirrels also have another sound that they use regularly for a different purpose.

This is like a loud rattle of various lengths that they make from various key points in their territory to advertise their boundaries to other squirrels.

Have a listen:

Sometimes you’ll hear squirrel alarms going off and it sounds like they might be responding to a predator, but then in the midst of all the commotion you’ll hear one of their trilling rattle calls.

This can be really confusing… is it an alarm or is it territorial behavior?

So How Do Squirrel Alarms Really Work?

In actual fact the squirrel “alarm” is used not only to scold predators but also in territorial situations when it is associated with rattle calls.

This is an important distinction to make in the field because I can’t tell you how many times I investigated these sounds expecting to find a predator when there was really nothing going on.

After a while I started to lose faith that squirrels have any practical information to share with a bird language observer.

This was a mistake because sometimes there really is something going on that the squirrels are telling us about.

I simply wasn’t seeing the whole picture of how squirrels use their calls.

When I realized that only alarms in the absence of rattle calls can be trusted as a true alarm for something like a predator it instantly put everything in perspective when I would hear those sounds.

I suddenly understood why so many times I would investigate “Alarm calls” and find nothing.

This is such a simple distinction but it made a huge difference for me in my own bird language learning process.

I now know that when I hear rattle calls mixed in with the typical alarm calls that it’s probably just one squirrel invading another’s territory.

I can hear this from a really long distance and it lets me know that there probably aren’t any cats sneaking around over there at the moment.

On the other hand, when I’m listening and I hear only the chattering alarm calls, now I’m much more confident that there’s something happening and I can hear the correlation to other bird alarms that may be also happening around that time.

The end result is I’m a lot more precise and a lot more certain about my bird language interpretations.

So that’s it!

If you pay attention for this when you’re out in the field I know it’s going to make a huge difference for your understanding of the squirrel language and bird language that you hear.

Now let’s get out there and listen to some squirrels!

Links To Audio Examples:

Red squirrel alarm calls
Red squirrel territorial calls

Filed Under: Animal Tracking, Articles, Bird Language, Videos

Ready For More Bird Language?

I would love to help you go deep into the world of Bird Language!

Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you solve the mysteries of bird sounds & behaviors in your local environment:

Download a free copy of my new ebook – What’s That Crow Saying? It’s all about how to make sense of crow sounds & behavior… And if you really want to go deep with crows, then try the crow language home study course!

You can also register for some introductory videos I created about using bird alarms to find wild animals outside – Start your Bird Language Adventure here!

Or try the complete Bird Language Blueprint… This course will teach you 5 essential steps to discover the secrets lives of wild animals by following bird alarms.

And if you’d like to work with me one-on-one, just send me a message and tell me what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Discover The Secrets Of Nature With Bird Language…

Bird Language Video Series

Hi, My Name Is Brian Mertins…

Brian Mertins

When I was 15 years old I had an experience of sudden lucid clarity while hiking in the woods. Since then I’ve been passionately seeking tools for helping modern humans develop razor sharp natural instincts. I’m the author of multiple courses & ebooks about bird language, naturalist training, observation skills & outdoor mindfulness. My goal is to share these life changing skills with YOU! Continue reading

What's That Crow Saying?

Get Your Copy

Related Posts

  1. What Chickadee Calls Tell You About Bird Language
  2. Why Do Squirrels Chatter Like Maniacs? A Quick Guide To Squirrel Calls & Sounds
  3. 7 Robin Calls Everyone Should Know For Bird Language
  4. Interpreting Bird Vocalizations and Alarm Calls with Confidence
  5. Do Squirrels Eat Bird Eggs? (How And Why They Do It)
  6. How To Understand Crow Language
  7. 7 Chickadee Calls & What They Mean (Chickadee Sounds Explained)
  8. 9 Real Life Examples Of Bird Alarm Calls (With Video & Audio)
  9. The Five Voices Of The Birds
  10. What I Learned About Robin Alarms Directed At People In My Neighborhood

Search:

Forest Secrets Video
  • Home
  • Learn
  • About
  • Mentoring
  • Store
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 Nature-Mentor.com