Red Squirrel activity

I spent a minute watching a red squirrel munching on the new flower buds of a red maple stem outside the kitchen window. I didn't get any photos of the munching, but the squirrel took a snooze afterward.

Then, he/she started grooming. First the scratchy, scratchy.

Then, the tail cleaning starts with biting of the fur.

Followed by teasing the hairs of the tip of the tail.

Just gotta get the last knots out...

Ahh...much better.

Here you can see sap dripping from the tiny twigs where maple flower buds have been chewed off by the squirrel.

And, here are some of the nutritious buds still attached to the twigs.