Red Oak Nip Twigs Littering The Ground
A recent walk under a Red Oak tree revealed many small nip twigs bearing oak flowers and newly-emerged leaves littering the ground. The 45°angle of the cut on the twig plus incisor marks confirmed that Gray Squirrels were responsible for the fallen twigs. The question is why would a Gray Squirrel be cutting oak twigs that contained no acorns?
Gray Squirrels nest in both cavities (most often in winter) and in leafy nests (most often in summer). They tend to build their nests in or near trees that produce food and because of the acorns that they bear, oaks are a preferred species. Gray Squirrels’ summer nests, or dreys, are made of bark, moss, leaves and sticks. The twigs on the ground were freshly cut, and my guess is that a partially constructed drey high above would soon be fortified with these nip twigs.
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