"paghat" wrote in message
news ....snip...
squirrels are horders like grey, douglas, & red squirrels. Most
people live near greys only, & the large squirrels will not harvest buds
unless their horded food resources ran out in late winter & there is no
choice of food BUT buds so early in the new year. As you found out, if
better food resources are provided to them in late winter/early spring,
red, douglas, or greys don't want buds.
....snip...
-paghat


paghat, could you please indicate your source for the above information you have
shared with us. Or perhaps explain why grey squirrels that live in a park next
to houses with birdfeeding stations filled with sunflower seeds and cracked corn
still find the need to eat tree buds every year?

Here is a reference that indicates the squirrels always eat buds..."When the
buds of elm, oak, and white and sugar maples are swelling, the squirrel may be
seen perched precariously far in the treetops feeding on them and the flowers or
catkins. Grasping a stem in its hands, the gray squirrel clips it with sharp
teeth, then, revolving the cluster, eats the buds one by one. For three or four
weeks each year it lives largely on this delicate fare." , taken from
http://www.kellydickey.com/blackpowd...quirrel/graysq
uirrel.htm

And here is another reference..."The Gray Squirrel is omnivorous, eating buds,
leaves, fruits, seeds (mostly from deciduous trees), insects, and bird eggs
(Cowan and Guiguet 1973; Banfield 1974). Their preference for these food items
changes with availability and phenological stage of the vegetation; swelling
buds are fed upon during early spring, flowers and samaras in late spring. A
variety of fruits (especially nuts) are eaten during summer and fall for forming
a thick layer of fat (Banfield 1974; Woods 1980). This squirrel also stockpiles
a winter supply of food in underground storage piles called middens. ", taken
from http://srmwww.gov.bc.ca/risc/pubs/te...iscml20-07.htm


BT