I’m not sure this is a good idea. Where would I put it all?
Was reducing a twenty-five foot bay tree to about twelve foot high today. I didn’t have a ladder, so mostly I was cutting huge chunks out by sawing through thick stems lower down, doing a bit of climbing so I could reach. I could see there were two nests near the top of the tree, it’s past nesting season and there was no tetchy birds around, so I was sure they were empty. After a few hours of cutting and clambering I finally sawed through the branch with one of the nests on and those whole thing came crashing down and landed on the ground. But the nest had vanished.
There was the branch with a bundle of dead leaves next to it. No nest.
But then I thought having a bundle of dead leaves in a tree was weird, not like they’d been pruned and left there, they must have been put there. I was working with Ezekiel (don’t think I’ve mentioned him, he’s very mellow and knows a lot about nature) and asked him what he thought.
‘Well that,’ he said ‘looks like a squirrel’s nest, he’d have built it for the winter to hibernate in. Looks like he never properly used it though, there’s no poo.’
Ezekiel even found a nut in it. So there you are, a squirrel’s nest is made up of dead leaves rolled up.
The other nest was just a bird’s nest and was only used by woodlice.
inkbiotic 
They’re all such good builders! I’ve seen squirrels grab newspaper and my dog’s brushed out fur clumps, but the strangest thing… they are carrying rocks up the trees! I’ve seen them in their mouths. Occasionally, one aptly named Blackbeard, spits one out when I toss out peanuts & grapes. There are a couple rocks resting in the fork of my favorite tree and piles of dropped stones at the base of 3 trees! Am I watching them evolve from twig to stone homes? 🙂 I’m glad the nests were uninhabited & you could trim as you liked.
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Hmm, it is very strange about the rocks. A friend of mine had squirrels putting stones into her potted flowers, confused her completely. From searching around no one is exactly sure why they do it, but it may be an attempt to confuse other squirrels who want to steal their acorns. So the stones are like decoy nuts!
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That is so neat & strange. I’d love to know what they’re thinking. I hung a bird feeder from twine & watched a squirrel go to that branch & raise the twine grabbing it hand-over-hand until it touched the branch. Then it quickly let go so the feeder would drop, spilling the seed so that it can climb down to eat it! Now the feeder hangs from fishing line & the squirrels have their own treats.
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😀 Glad you’re still feeding the squirrels!
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There would be a furry revolt if I didn’t. One aptly called Sweetest, eats from my hand. Some climb the door trim to peek into the window of the back door and/or climb onto the window sill and screen to get a human’s attention! I love those rascals
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Wow! You guys could make a YouTube documentary ‘How to tell a birds nest from a Squirrels nest.’ I would watch it… until the poo part.
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The start of my illustrious YouTube career! 😀
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That would get 300 views for sure.
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Woot! fame!
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I didn’t know squirrels had nests. The ones in the cartoons live in knotholes.
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And you’d think cartoons would get it right! 😉
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Wow! That’s amazing! Our Border Terrier loves squirrels she chases them and then doesn’t know what to do when she catches up. So far, they have just looked at each other, I attribute her A-typical terrier behaviour to being brought up amongst a pack of cats (and two humans). I love nature, me x
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I hope the squirrels pick up on this and stop running, just stand waiting and tapping a foot while your pup works out what to do. 🤣
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Hahahaha me too xx
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