What do squirrels eat in summer and winter?

The funny goblins are known for having many stores of food for the winter over the autumn. Below is more about what exactly squirrels eat in summer and winter.

Hibernation instead of hibernation

Squirrels (Sciurus) do not hibernate in that sense, but rather a hibernation. They are then not as active as in summer, but squirrels still have to eat regularly. For this reason, they spend a few hours a day looking for food. However, they now need less food as they drastically reduce their energy metabolism during the winter months. With wise foresight, the climbing artists create various hiding places with food as early as autumn. Usually these are located near the tree trunk or behind protruding pieces of bark on the tree. The animals can hardly remember the exact place where the hiding places are. Therefore, several hiding places are always created. With the help of their sense of smell, some are found again.

Note: As a rule, not all buried nuts and seeds are found again. The latter begin to germinate in spring and new trees emerge. Squirrel cats therefore play an important role in the development of forests.

Small omnivores

The food of the squirrels is always dependent on what is available in the respective area. In addition, this can also be quite different in the individual seasons. The feed intake depends on the size of the animals and also on the time of year. In summer a croissant eats up to 80 grams per day and in contrast to this in winter only about half, 35 grams per day. The food palette is wide. It consists of:

• Hazelnuts and walnuts
• Pine nuts
• Spruce seeds
• Pine cones
• Beechnuts and acorns
• Maple seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Berries of wild plants and fruits
• Fungi and plant galls (tissue growths)
• Shoots, leaves and buds of young branches
• Tree bark

If the supply of this food is not so large, the squirrels also look for animal food such as:

• Worms and larvae
• different insects
• Snails

It can quickly happen, especially if there are already young animals, that the otherwise cute squirrels become nest robbers. They then fall prey to young birds and eggs.

Note: In the summer the hard-working oak cats collect up to 10,000 nuts, which they then bury in relatively shallow earth hollows for the winter.

Is winter feeding necessary?

Especially during the winter months, when the ground is frozen or covered by a high blanket of snow, it is hardly possible for the squirrels to get to their hidden food. In this case, additional winter feeding is appropriate. The same applies, however, during the hot season when hardly any food grows due to the weather. Squirrels then particularly like to eat:

• Carrot pieces
• ripe cucumber and broccoli
• Chestnuts
• Hazelnuts and walnuts
• Sunflower and pumpkin seeds
• dried corn
• Rusks, unsweetened
• Raisins
• Apple and pear pieces
• dried banana slices
• Grapes in small quantities
• Tree seeds (Spruce, Fir, pine)

Small pieces of watermelon are also special delicacies during the warmer months of the year. It should also be noted that the shell of the nuts must be cracked for young animals. With older animals this is not necessary, only during feeding in the summer months, otherwise they would bury the nuts. Tree seeds can be served in the cone. Furthermore, the animals should always be offered fresh water regardless of the season.

Note: It can be observed that the population of oak cats increases enormously in the years when there is a lot of seeds in spruce, beech and Co., and decreases in lean years.

Set up feeding station

In the Establishment of a feeding station A few things should be observed in the garden:

• well suited special feeding stations for oak cats
• place outside the reach of cats
• it is best to create several feeding places
• Install at a height of at least two meters
• regular cleaning
• Lay out newspaper on the floor of the station
• do not sprinkle feed directly on the ground

Tip: Bread or other leftover food may never be fed. These can be dangerous for the climbing master.

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