Megan's Nature Nook
Nature Notes, Phenology, Photography, Fun Facts, Trips, Maybe Even a Bad Joke or Two... and More!
Earlier this week, looking out the window we noticed a few scattered feathers and what appeared to be a bird laying on top of the snow near the base of a tree. Getting a closer view with my binoculars we could see it was the body of an American Robin that had most likely been preyed on by a hawk, but dropped and never retrieved. The body was mostly intact with a few stray feathers and no tracks or other signs around. Today a squirrel happened to catch my eye as I was passing by the same window. I could see his little nose hard at work as it sniffed around near the body of the bird. Before long, the squirrel found the bird and without hesitation grabbed the body and ran up a nearby tree. He perched himself in the sun on a branch and proceeded to eat the bird like it was a chicken wing. Once he had his fill, he stashed the rest of the bird in a crook of the tree and scampered off. Most people think of squirrels as herbivores, mainly eating things like nuts and seeds. Squirrels do eat a lot of nuts and seeds, but Eastern Grey Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) are classified as omnivores meaning they eat plant materials and meat. Grey Squirrel diets are mostly made up of nuts, seeds, buds, flowers, fruit, and fungi but they will occasionally raid nests for eggs and chicks, sometimes even killing adult birds. They will also eat insects, worms, young snakes, and may be seen nibbling on roadkill. Squirrels aren’t the only critters that may surprise you by what they eat. Deer on occasion have been documented eating meat like small mammals, chicks from ground nesting birds, and even organs from other deer carcasses. Mice will eat almost anything they can find and will eat worms, snails, and even each other. And those cute Black-capped Chickadees that frequent your feeder? They can be found eating the fat and meat off frozen carcasses. Most animals will stick within the bounds of their food categorization (omnivore, herbivore, carnivore) but this just goes to show that there are always exceptions! **Warning: The following pictures may be graphic and not suitable for everyone**
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