Shirley Bernard asks: Where have all the squirrels gone?

Written by Rachel Kirkpatrick
Thursday, 05 November 2009 12:13

Each year when Shirley Bernard’s family puts mini pumpkins on their driveway fence posts for decoration, the squirrels inevitably get to them — but not this year. Not one pumpkin has been touched.

This season, Ms. Bernard says she has not seen anywhere near the number of squirrels she usually sees. And while she admits they can be a nuisance, the absence of them has left her searching for answers.

“The bird feeders are a tremendous attraction, they’re always climbing on my bird feeder. But it’s been six weeks and I haven’t seen a squirrel,” said Ms. Bernard, who has lived with her son and daughter-in-law off Limekiln Road for the last 10 years.

It was at a recent dentist appointment that Ms. Bernard’s concerns were confirmed. Not only did her dentist agree there were fewer squirrels, he said other patients from Redding had the same observations.

According to Christina Kocer, a wildlife biologist with the Sessions Woods office of the state Department of Environmental Protection, Ms. Bernard and others are not alone.

About a month ago she began getting calls, which lasted for about three weeks, from all over the western part of the state. People were asking questions because they had not seen any squirrels for a while and the squirrels were not visiting their bird feeders.

“I got the story so many times, it was perplexing,” Ms. Kocer said.

She received approximately two dozen calls, however, and then they just stopped.

There are a number of factors that could come into play, but Ms. Kocer suspects the summer took a toll on the squirrel population. This past summer was cold and wet, and if numbers were down, it may mean the squirrels were unable to reproduce successfully, she said. The weather could have also made it hard for them to forage, she added.

“It could also be that since there is a lot of food available now, they’re not as tied to the feeders, but, at the same time, the feeder is such a free buffet,” Ms. Kocer said.

She mentioned one caller who had not seen a squirrel in three weeks, but then saw six come out of one tree. Squirrel populations do cycle and do have highs and lows, Ms. Kocer said. And, it is hard to get evidence of a specific disease affecting the population because squirrels are a prey species and scavengers will take their bodies before anyone can collect them to submit to study.

According to a state DEP profile on the species, the gray squirrel is active year-round, but “needs tree cavities for shelter during harsh winter.”

“In a few years, populations of gray squirrels can change dramatically,” the profile says. “During successive years of good acorn production, squirrel populations may reach high levels. If food supplies are low, the population may decrease substantially.”

“Historically, there have been reports of extensive migrations of squirrels. An extensive migration of gray squirrels in Connecticut was reported in 1933, when 1,000 or more swam across the Connecticut River between Hartford and Essex,” the profile says. “Although the exact cause of these migrations is unknown, most likely it was a result of a limited food supply.”

Ms. Kocer is confident squirrels are out there and will come back. And although they are susceptible to West Nile virus, she said she didn’t think that would cause them to disappear.

“It’s an interesting puzzle. I don’t have any good explanation but the ones that seem to make sense are those that are weather related, that it was harder to take care of their young in the cold and they used so much energy,” Ms. Kocer said.