I came across an impressive midden in the woods recently, with a large amount of pinecone pieces strewn across the top of a downed tree, at the base of another behind it and all over the ground. It looked like nice mulch!
According to Mary Holland, a Vermont naturalist, American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) ‘practice “larderhoarding” – collecting green cones in the fall (up to 15,000 or more) and storing them in one place (generally in the middle of their territory) where they are fiercely protected. A large pile (midden) can result, under which new cones are placed. This cool, moist environment keeps the cones sealed, protecting the seeds from being eaten by mammals and insects that are unable to open the cones. Middens can contain enough food to last one to two seasons.’
I found the squirrel’s entrance hole hidden in the broken base of the downed tree. If you enlarge the photo, you can see the hole near the center and to the right a stash of cones tucked into the hollow.
I can just imagine this little critter enjoying his/her feast while sitting on the log, contentedly listening to the birds and stream burbling below, while keeping watch for a wandering fox or swooping hawk from above. If you would like to see a beautiful photo of a red squirrel, Belinda Grover, a Canadian photographer, took this one.
Eliza Waters 
Very interesting. I didn’t realize squirrels were such hoarders, but of course it makes sense.
Gray squirrels don’t cache like reds, they mostly bury one at a time and miraculously, remember where most of them are buried. Inner GPS?? 😉
I’d submit it’s the devil in them. They’re downright hoodlums in the city causing all manner of mayhem with their chewing and thievery.
Yeah, my sister had one chew a hole in their siding to make a nest in the attic… it took a while to solve that problem!
They’ve chewed through my kitchen window screen 3 times now to hop into my kitchen. Grrr. Angel Sam was not happy about the intruder nor was I.
Pernicious devils!
That’s rather gracious-they are at the top of my short list of pests in the ‘Hood.
That is a very cool find! It truly does look like mulch. I actually have seen this once myself many years ago and really didn’t understand what it was all about. Now I know!
This the biggest one I’ve ever seen and since I walk by here frequently, it’s largely a recent binge!
Wow, that’s really impressive. Busy squirrel…or squirrels?
Red squirrels don’t play well with others, lol, so likely this is the work of only one. Too early for kits and they’d be drinking mama’s milk anyway. 😉
Amazing. So much work!
What a life, eh? 🙂
Quite a pile for just one squirrel! Great natural history tale and images.
Thanks, Tom. A story I had to share, a big cache, but then it was a banner year for pinecones.
Inner GPS and more! Amazing gifts are developed in nature ❤️🩷
IKR? Always something out there to amaze us. 🙂
Wow! What a score, Eliza! Thanks for sharing this! I would have had no idea what it was.
My pleasure, Dale, thank you! I see smaller ones in the forest, usually at the base of pine trees (their favorite food), but this one was definitely the biggest I’ve seen.
I’ll tell you something, Eliza; I shall now keep my eyes peeled! Mind you, we don’t see red squirrels here…
Interesting, they must prefer the deep pine woods, not residential areas…. they are listed as native to lower Canada.
They are apparently in every province in Canada. I realise I have seen them. It’s the ones with the cool ears, that I haven’t.
What an interesting find! Do you suppose the squirrel might still be about? I was thinking how cool it would be if you saw it. ❤
I’m sure it was napping down in that hole. We had a bit of snow last night… I should go see if I can see any tracks/activity in the next day or two.
I’d love to know if you find any tracks.
Wow. Hungry little guy.
IKR? Hard to believe it is only one, it seems like the site of a huge party!
Fascinating!
Thanks, Sandy!
Sure!
That’s an interesting find. I’m impressed by the fact that your red squirrels put their hoards in places they can identify and protect. I’d argue that our local squirrels (which look to be eastern fox squirrels) are very haphazard about storing their food supplies but then our climate doesn’t pose the same challenges. For example, they seem to like guavas and do partially bury the green fruit here and there but the fruit can also be picked directly from the tree, green or ripe or somewhere in between, most of the year.
It seems that caching is instinctual, a response to abundance!
I am fascinated by this, having had no idea what a squirrel midden might look like.
One notices them mostly at this time of year, while they don’t hibernate, they sleep a lot early in the winter and wake up very hungry!
This is how the city squirrels do it.
I see there’s some who assume it was a woodpecker, but still…
Hilarious!
There are so many stories untold. An interesting post Eliza.
Thank you, Rupali. 🐿️
An interesting use of a word I have only seen before in relation to piles of buried waste of former eras we used to dig up for treasures
Commonly used word on this side of the pond, probably because of the many middens left by the native Americans. I once visited one in Florida that ‘cover[ed] five acres, rising 28 feet above sea level. Near the water, people lived and ate from the Gulf for 6,000 years dating back to 2,500 B.C.’
Wow.
That’s a great find! ‘Twas a busy squirrel, getting a super bowl feast gathered. I wonder how the resin of the cones doesn’t bother their paws or mouth/lips…another look up!
Definitely one busy little guy… it felt like the aftermath of an epic party!
That’s interesting Eliza. We always joke that the squirrels hide their winter supplies all over the place where they can’t find them but perhaps your squirrels are a bit more intelligent than ours! We have mostly red squirrels here in southern Germany, unlike many other parts of northern Europe.
Thanks, Cathy. Our gray squirrels are rather haphazard in their hoarding, but the reds definitely stockpile close to their burrow. I read that up to three-quarters of the acorns aren’t found, making squirrels an important regenerator of oak forests. Curiously, our blue jays also bury acorns, but are marginally better at remembering where they put them.
hmmm … ??
Have you seen caches like this? You have lots of red squirrels, too.
Very interesting. Thank you.
Thanks, Judy!
That is also new information to me. I will pay attention when I’m in the northern woods.
Many stories going on all around us!
Wow, I’ve never seen anything like it!
This is the biggest hoard I’ve ever seen!
Wow….that is amazing! We have a red squirrel living in one of our slash piles. I’m wondering if there’s this kind of treasure underneath it.
Most likely. I knew when I saw the bumper crop of pine cones this fall, that the red squirrel population was going to get a bump up!
We have very few Reds in the woods behind our house. Lots of Greys. I’ve never seen a stash or midden like that. The Greys do plant their caches in the back yard. We had lots of snow in mid January. I watched a Grey disappear below the snow line and pop up a few seconds later. It did that repeatedly in the same place. I assumed it was locating a previously hidden nut. After the snows melted, there were dozens of small torn open holes in the yard where they had dug up their cache. They have aerated the yard some. 🙂
Squirrel behavior is interesting, though tough to deal with at our bird feeders, but in the wild, I enjoy them a lot. I see many dirty holes in the snow from their excavations.
I have thwarted the critters at our feeder. (Knock on wood) It hangs from a long rope, below a large plastic upside down bowl, and has seed windows that close from the weight of a squirrel 🐿️ on the feeding ring. I used to have a feeder that would spin them off. The battery quit recharging on it.
Weighted feeders save so much bird seed, they pay for themselves in a month or two. Squirrels empty, not to mention damage, regular tube feeders all too readily.
How wonderful to come upon this interesting phenomenon, Eliza. We don’t have the American red squirrel in Calif. but our gray ones leave pinecone cores and pieces on the ground. Finding this stash, as funny as it may sound, must’ve been thrilling. And how clever they are in keeping things fresh. Thanks for Belinda’s wonderful photo, too.
Thank you, Jet. I was thrilled, ha, as one enthralled with the natural world always is. It was the highlight of my walk that day.
Belinda takes great pix. 🙂
Hi Eliza. How wonderful to see that and thank you for sharing.
MJ
Thank you, MJ!
What a delightful share, thank you
Thank you, Karen!
(This is on Ganesha’s trail. 🙂 )
That’s an impressive larder, you never know what a walk in the woods might uncover! Very interesting, Eliza and thank you very much for the link😊
Thank you, Belinda. I remember you had some endearing shots of reds, so naturally, I had to scroll through your posts to find one! 🙂
Thanks again, Eliza!
This is very interesting. We don’t have too many red squirrels here now, they’re mostly grey, but have never noticed middens like this before. Lots of pine cones and mulchy stuff so I’ll try and discover if our local squirrels are doing this.
Thanks, Jill. The gray squirrels are more haphazard in their stashing it seems.
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing these photos, and for linking to the handsome squirrel.
Thank you, Alys! They are feisty, but cute as a button. 🙂
Very nice mulch indeed! I recently read an article about the benefits of using pine cones as mulch in the garden, but processed like this it has to work even better!
Makes sense… and boy, do we have a LOT of pine cones this year. The gusty winds the past few days have brought down even more, the ground is littered with them. I need to rake some up!
Maybe you can put them to use?
My spouse wants me to go out and collect a few buckets for kindling… I guess I better get to it! 😉
A treasure trove for squirrels. That is something!
Thanks, Amy. It certainly was!
If the squirrel’s in any of the pictures, it’s hidden in the midden.
No squirrel that day. They sleep a lot in the winter, making short forays to the larder before heading back to sleep. What a life!
Very interesting, Eliza! I had never heard of this. It’s amazing all the neat ways that little animals find to survive.
Thanks, Rebecca, it surely is. I never know what I’ll come across on my walks!
Someone has been busy
For sure! That is a lot of scurrying back and forth, collecting all those cones. 🙂
Really cool pics. We had, I think, the Western Gray Squirrel, in Paradise. Pretty territorial and they would make a terrible crossing guard. I miss those little buggers… but not so much the skunks or the possums that would growl at me from the pine tree above my head next to the house. ( Man, did a lot of trees fall down in Grass Valley area after the last big wind event and another coming tomorrow!)
Thanks, Gary. Squirrels can be quite feisty.
I read about the backcountry avalanche warning around there through Wed. and not many trees can withstand those 100 mph gusts, I imagine.
Wow, what a really interesting find Eliza.
Thanks, Andrea. This little one is having a good winter!
What a wonderful discovery and life is good for this little squirrel!! Thank you for sharing the story and information!!🙂
Thank you, my pleasure! 🙂
Interesting … a busy and full squirrel at work!
No hunger this winter! 😉