"paghat" wrote in message
news
In article , jammer
wrote:

Actually it isn't common that squirrels chew off branches. But what Bill
described is a "tribal" method that squirrels in some areas learn.

In my area (SF bay area) I have Douglas' Squirrels which are tree squirrels.
I find short chewed-off branches on the ground under my olives and cedars
all the time and attribute it to nest building. The squirrels were here
long before I was, and our trees have survived decades of such activity and
look great.

One of the worst things is when someone lives amidst squirrels who
harvest buds off trees. That's rare except in starvation conditions,
but once it gets started, it can be something much of a given population
of squirrels will do.

Bud-harvesting was common on my property when I first moved here, but the
poor squirrels were starving. I began feeding the squirrels and birds and
now they leave my tree buds and daffodils alone. I can't keep them out of
my azaleas, though, for some reason they find the blossoms delicious. I've
even found them carrying off blossoms to line their nests.

BTW, for the original poster, the German word for squirrel (Eichhörnchen)
means "oak kitten."

- Figmo