You may have noticed an increase this year in acorns, and maybe some other tree nuts, too.
But more acorns doesn’t mean more squirrels and chipmunks will follow.
“There’s a ton of food available,” said Matt Tarr, statewide wildlife specialist at the UNH Cooperative Extension. “Will that result in a big boom in small mammals next year? There’s no good way to predict that.”
Last year was a stellar year — albeit, unusual — for the small mammals, who experienced a population boost after a large mast crop in 2017 and a mild winter allowed the squirrels to flourish. In addition to seeing more in the wild, the evidence was apparent in the number of squirrels that appeared as roadkill throughout the Upper Valley.
“Coming into this year, we are seeing much lower numbers of small mammals and the reason for that is the (mast) crop last fall into the winter was very poor,” Tarr said.
The winter of 2018-19, while not extreme, was a tough one for squirrels, and with a smaller acorn crop their numbers were hard to maintain.
“We lost a lot of small mammals over the wintertime,” Tarr said.
Acorns aren’t the only crop that’s abundant. Other tree nuts, as well as winterberry holly also had a good year.
“When we have a year like this where there’s an abundance of food, we would expect that these animals are entering winter with very good fat reserves,” Tarr said. “They are in good physical condition.”
However, Tarr cautioned, winter conditions play a large role in survival. A long, hard winter can make it tough for squirrels and other small mammals to survive, regardless of their food reserves.
“There’s so much that goes into that,” Tarr said. “Not just the number of acorns that are out there.”
Tarr also stressed that last year’s high squirrel population was unusual.
“I wouldn’t expect to see that again anytime soon. But who knows?” Tarr asked. “Small mammal populations tend to fluctuate from year to year.”
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
