Months ago when I saw all of those short sections of spruce on the forest floor I had no idea how they got there, but as is often the case, I took photos so I could figure it out a future date. Since then I’ve reread some sections of a fabulous book by Paul Rezendes, called Tracking and the Art of Seeing: How to Read Animal Tracks and Sign. While I was flipping through the book recently, looking for something unrelated to this I noticed a photo of short spruce sections on the ground, just like the one I took in October. I looked more closely and read the text, learning that red squirrels will nip the twigs of conifer branches, such as spruce, hemlock and others.
Rezendes says “Red squirrels are fond of winter terminal buds… they will nip off the twigs to get at the buds. Nip twigs also may be the result of squirrels trying to secure cones.”
Red squirrels are one of 5 types of squirrels in the United States. They are about half the size of gray squirrels and sport a white eye ring and sometimes a black or grayish stripe down their sides. Their fur can be gray, reddish or orangish.
Red squirrels prefer coniferous forests and feed mainly on the seeds and cones of evergreen trees. During the summer when its available they will also eat bird’s eggs, mushrooms, bugs,berries, and other fruit. In winter red squirrels remain active, feeding off a cache of seeds and nuts that they stashed during fall. For this they will use tree cavities, and other hidden-away places that they can get to in winter.
So what things in nature have you wondered about recently? Have you seen anything that left you scratching your head, wondering how it got there, or who did it? Perhaps this is your day to send me a comment! Use the box below and I will do my best to help figure it out.
Ready for another puzzler? Let’s do a long-legged bird I recently filmed while on a trip to South Carolina.
Appalachain folks call them ” Boomers” red squirrels that is.
Walt, yes, I have heard that, though only recently. Thanks for sharing.