In spite of their mischief, I love gray squirrels. I admire their remarkable ability to scamper at breakneck speeds along tree limbs or leap fearlessly from tree to tree. I love to watch them sit on their hind legs, bushy tail sticking straight up, and nibble on an acorn or peanut held between their front paws.
But this year, the little so-and-sos are trying my patience. It seems there are more squirrels than ever this spring in my neighborhood on the outskirts of Decatur. When I was driving out of the neighborhood the other day, I counted 28 squirrels within one block darting across the street or digging on neighbors’ lawns.
In my yard, the furry little creatures have gone after our bird feeders in such great numbers that we have temporarily suspended bird-feeding.
My across-the-street neighbor Karen Lockridge says she has been so beset by squirrels that “they are driving me nuts.” They dig up her potted plants, knock decorative art work off her deck and climb her screen doors to jump over to bird feeders. She, too, has temporarily taken down her feeders.
“We are literally having a squirrel infestation,” she says.
The explosion apparently is widespread. In Gwinnett County, my friend Mitch Jacoby says he has “never, ever seen so many squirrels as this spring, and I’ve been living here 30 years.”
Squirrels are not the only back yard creatures in great abundance now. My neighbors and I also have noticed a higher than usual number of eastern cottontail rabbits. At the Dunwoody Nature Center, program manager David Boyd says he is also seeing a higher number of chipmunks.
Boyd says a possible reason for so many squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits is that the unusually mild winter and early spring may have produced more wild food. More animals may have survived the winter. Also, with more food to eat, there also might be less competition and less tendency among the animals to disperse in search of new food sources.
In addition, other wildlife biologists note that many of the squirrels we’re seeing now were born earlier this year and only recently were kicked out of their nests by their parents to make room for new litters. Gray squirrels in Georgia have two peaks of breeding activity per year, one in January and another in May and June. The youngsters may be another reason for a preponderance of squirrels right now.
Squirrels eat nuts, acorns, fruits and flowers and, occasionally, insects and bird eggs. Because their seed-storing tendencies help disperse tree seeds, they are important in forest ecology. However, when they get the urge to chew their way into attics of buildings, they can be serious pests.
IN THE SKY: The moon will be new on Sunday. Monday evening, look for a thin crescent low in the west, said David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer. Mercury is low in the east just before dawn. Bright shining Venus is very low in the west just after dark. It will appear near the moon on Tuesday evening. Mars rises out of the east at dusk. Saturn rises out of the east just after sunset. Jupiter is too close to the sun for easy observation.
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