We call it that because squirrels like to shelter inside. And each spring, at least one new family grows up there. One year, a pregnant raccoon took over the entire tree. But otherwise, for some twenty years, we have watched squirrel mamas, and eventually their pups, scurry in and out of the largely hollow tree.
But last week, I wondered if wood ducks might be moving in.
Continue reading Duck DramaNot to feed any under-nourished squirrels. My acorns are for the University of Kentucky’s multi-year, genetic study of white oaks. Foresters believe the white oak is in decline, and the project’s goal is to identify trees with traits suggesting a higher likelihood of success in the forest. The research team hopes to acquire acorns from every county in every state in the white oak’s range.
What will they do with my (and everyone else’s) acorns?
Continue reading Pop! Goes the Weevil (Larva)
Image Credits: Carol Doeringer.
The tree was about fifty-five years old* when we bought our home in 2004. On our well-wooded property, it didn’t command any particular notice. Then in 2015, Pileated Woodpeckers chose it for their nest. That was quite a show, which I filmed. But the poor tree! The woodpeckers removed about five gallons of wood to dig a cavity some 19” deep.
That’s when the tree’s trouble—to my eventual great delight—began.
Continue reading Farewell to a Favorite Tree
Image Credits: Carol Doeringer.
Something was inside a cavity in our old, broken tree. That snag had a history of sheltering woodland creatures. But the tree was in terrible condition. It was well-rotted. And the trunk that snapped years earlier was letting that day’s downpour reach inside.
Continue reading A Snag, a Storm, and a Surprise
Image Credits: Carol Doeringer.
Squirrels are such messy eaters!
They toss their food trash everywhere. In fall, it’s discarded acorn caps and broken shells. These days, they’re dropping bud and leaflet leftovers. It’s raining half-chewed twigs and seed clusters, too.
Yesterday, I saw squirrels scarfing down samaras, the maple seeds we call helicopters or whirligigs. The seeds aren’t quite ready to drop from the trees. But you wouldn’t know that by looking at our walkways. Squirrels seem to drop three clusters for every one they eat.
Continue reading The All-You-Can-Eat Squirrely Buffet
Image Credits: Carol Doeringer, Joanna Brichetto.
They’re wildlife magnets. I’m particularly fond of one such tree just outside my window. It has held my attention since 2015 when Pileated Woodpeckers nested there.
But the snag’s rotten story began about a decade earlier when we had a limb removed.
Image Credits: Carol Doeringer.
