Caching Food for the Winter

Squirrels and a turkey take advantage of bird seed on ground following the first snowfall of the year.

As Thanksgiving approaches, our thoughts are turned to food. As with the early settlers, without a means to access food, the outset of winter can turn tragic for those in the animal kingdom. This week in LIVESCIENCE an article titled "How Do Squirrels Remember Where They Buried Their Nuts" describes research conducted by Mike Maria Delgado, University of California Davis, and published in the Journal Royal Society Open Science. The article reports how squirrels will bury their collections in various areas based upon characteristics of the food and that they rely on memory to locate the stash during the winter. About 95 percent of the stored food is successfully found and retrieved. What I found most interesting in the article is that even when squirrels cache their food in the same vicinity of other squirrel's supply, each squirrel will return to their own personal cache. There was an abundance of acorns last fall, which contributed to a rise in the squirrel population this year. I counted at least six squirrels at our feeders this past weekend. They are probably leaving their acorn harvest for later in the winter, when other sources of food are more scarce.

Gardeners and farmers are fortunate in that we don't have to hide our harvest, and that we have means to freeze, dry and can our food to ensure a healthy supply of food over the winter. And, if we don't preserve enough, there are always winter farmers markets and organic food selections at the super market. For this I am grateful. Happy Thanksgiving All!