Last week’s puzzler was the outer husk of a beech nut. The seed inside is triangular and eaten by LOTS of different animals. These seeds are a super important, nutrient-dense food for black bears, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, wood ducks, woodpeckers, squirrels, and many birds.
I was treated recently, for several days, to a flock of blue jays feeding on the seeds. They would land in the branches, find a seed, pick it with their beak, then fly to another branch, open it up, and promptly eat it. It was fun to watch! You can see it here.
If you want to help the animals in your yard, please leave the nuts on the ground! There have been some posts on Instagram lately of people picking up the nuts in their yards and throwing them out!! This is heartbreaking as many, many animals depend on those nuts, whether they are beech nuts, acorns, hickory nuts, black walnuts, etc. The tree worked hard to produce them and the animals need the nutrients these nuts provide. Please help me spread the word! And if someone doesn’t want the nuts on their lawn, perhaps they could gather them up and then dump them in an area of wild forest down the road.
Have a great weekend! See you again soon.