Column: ‘What’s wrong with our squirrels?’

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 10, 2021

Q. Numerous squirrels in our yard bite off twigs and carry them to a crotch in our oak but the branches fall to the ground. They have never successfully built a nest in this spot but they keep trying. What’s wrong with our squirrels? A. We are the ones encroaching on squirrels, so we should shoulder some of the blame. We might have the luxury of time to repeat a project, but a squirrel faces live threats with each minute wasted. They go into full “nest building mode” in the late summer and fall, so perhaps when in overdrive they get too focused on a single spot. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox