[johnm1]

I have a spot near Happy Jack, AZ that has been very productive for my daughter and myself these past 2 years. But the last 2 times we have gone have been disappointing at best. This past weekend we didn't see or hear a single squirrel. It did turn windy later in the morning (5 mph) but was calm early. Temperatures were in the mid 20's. It was sunny but didn't warm up until after the wind picked up. The previous time about a month ago I saw only a few and walked away with only one. I attributed that to a group of dirt bikers who were tearing things up with very loud dirt bikes. Heck, I wanted to go hide in the top of the trees. The area has a mixture of grey and Albert (tassel eared) squirrels though the latter is far smaller quantity. The greys have always been very vocal and a lot of fun. It seems the grey squirrels are very territorial and will bark at each other. Heck, sometimes they will bark at me. In October and November you could here the grey squirrels all morning and stalk to them. The Albert's have always been a spot and stalk type of situation and mostly on the ground.

My question is was it just a hunting thing or do squirrels become less active the colder it gets? Are the grey squirrels done fighting for territory and they are just hunkering down feeding on what they have?

Thanks.