A Single Squirrel Makes A Forest

21 March, 2025 – EASTHAM, MA – At Wild Care in Eastham spring kicks off with the arrival of baby squirrels. There are more to these critters than meets the eye – they have built some of our most beloved forests of maple trees, oaks and pines.

Are Squirrels Signs Of Spring?

Herring runs boats in the water and returning ospreys are typical Cape Cod signs of a change of season. But at Wild Care Cape Cod in Eastham, the first signs of spring are somewhat smaller and fuzzier. Every March marks squirrel baby season.

Only a week old, four squirrel brothers and a sister, arrived at the wildlife rehabilitation Wednesday 19 March. The first babies of the season, but not the last. Wild Care receives 120 squirrels every year, from spring through fall, most of them babies.

Animal rescuers attempt to reunite mother and babies, but it's not always possible.

“We wouldn't leave squirrel babies overnight for the mom 'cause a predator might get into the nest,” says Stephanie Ellis, Executive Director at Wild Care.

The animal rescuers make sure the babies are warm and fed over night to wait for the mom patiently the next day. “But if it's been more than two days, typically we won't try to re-nest,” says Ellis.

Are Squirrels Native To Cape Cod?

These babies are eastern gray Squirrels native to Cape Cod. They will nurse for 10 to 12 weeks, then it's time to wean them. Ellis waits until the babies are furred and have their eyes opened before she and her staff transfer the squirrels to kennels. Once ready, they go from there into large cages with wooden squirrel boxes. The staff gives them nuts they can bury in the ground and behave like squirrels in the wild.

Besides trees, squirrels build their nests in attics, chimneys, and walls. If you find a nest with babies you should look around immediately. “Do you see a mother? Do you see where the nest potentially fell from? And then give us a call from that location,” says Ellis.

“We get calls all the time at Wild Care starting now, where people have squirrels nesting in their attic. (…) And so the first important thing is don’t seal up the holes that they've gotten into or cap the chimneys unless you know that the mother and all the babies are out,” she adds.

Without the mother, the babies will be trapped and die, spreading an unpleasant smell in your house. Squirrels like quiet, cozy places, so make sure your attic is the opposite: Play loud music, flash lights up into the attic, place ammonia and vinegar to make mama squirrel an unhappy tenant.

“The other important thing is never trap and relocate any wildlife. In Massachusetts, it's illegal,” says Ellis. “And what happens is, for example, if you were to trap a squirrel right now in your attic and release it in another town, there's probably babies in your attic. So now there are babies left behind. So it's illegal and it's inhumane, honestly.”

Tree Felling Harms Nesting Animals

Other early spring signs are cleaning up your yard and taking down trees. Stephanie Ellis says it's typical to find squirrel nests with newborns on the ground after having cut down a tree.

“So right now we have owls nesting, they either have eggs or young. And then the squirrels are nesting. And so if you absolutely have to fell a tree right now, you should really check and make sure nothing's nesting in it,” says Ellis. “An then it only gets more intense, honestly, because bird migration is about to begin and our migratory birds will be nesting in trees. So we always tell people, do your tree felling in the late fall and winter. And I know it's no fun to be out there, but just think: save a tree, save a life.”

In fact, a single tree cannot make a forest, but squirrels can.

“They're actually a really important part of the ecosystem. A lot of our oak trees and our maple trees were probably planted by squirrels because they have this process where they store nuts and seeds, and they can't remember where they stored all those nuts and seeds,” says Ellis.

“And so now we have our new forests that are growing because of squirrels. So they're really important, what we call forest regenerators. So we have them to thank for our forests.”