What The Heck Are These Things In North Dakota Trees?
You may not have noticed those big, round piles of leaves up in the trees until fall and even into winter. They don't look like bird nests, so what are they?
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While only one is observed occupying multiple large branches in one tree, others may have several dispersed throughout the same tree. However, they are everywhere.
Most likely, what you're seeing is what's known as a drey, which houses your friendly neighborhood squirrel all year round.
Dreys are up in the trees year-round, but during the warmer months, when everything is vibrant and in bloom, they are obscured by leaves.
Our dogs enjoy barking at and chasing those outdoor, furry creatures in those dreys. Indeed, squirrels build much larger nests than birds do, and they do not limit their habitat to inside trees.Since those are squirrels' summer residences, they are probably empty in the winter. That's where they vanish when they dash up trees in search of acorns or simply drop their inquisitive squirrel objects on the ground. But if they are unable to locate a tree cavity to spend the winter in, they will live in dreys.
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