Do the squirrels in your neighborhood seem happier than usual this year? It could be because more acorns are dropping.
According to USA Today, some Americans are seeing more acorns if their areas is experiencing a “mast year” for oak trees. During these years, the trees produce an abundance of nuts.
Michigan is one of those areas.
A resident of the state quoted by USA Today said two “epic oaks” outside her house started dropping bunches of acorns this year, even though no acorns have fallen from its branches in years. Parts of Connecticut are filled with acorns while others are not.
USA Today explained that acorn mast years can appear random.
They don’t happen on a set schedule, though they can come as often as every year or two and they are triggered by winter weather. Walnuts and hickory nuts go through the same process.
“It has much to do with what's happening with the weather prior to flowering,” which occurs in the spring for oak trees, Nina Bassuk, a professor and director of the Urban Horticulture Institute at Cornell University, said. She said climate change could impact how many acorns we crunch under our feet in the fall.
For example, a mild winter can lead to more acorns for white and red oak trees, since they are able to create seeds for a longer period of time in the spring. If winter or spring frost halts the process, trees could produce few acorns or none at all.
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Temperatures in Northeast over the past winter and spring were “phenomenal” for flowering, said Bassuk.
While the increased acorn yield shouldn’t impact humans too much, USA Today said. However, people should be careful that the nuts don’t ding their parked cars or outdoor furniture.
Arborist Jeremiah Sandler of Royal Oak, Mich., said he receives many calls this time of year about extra tree nuts, with some callers worried about extra acorns dotting their lawns. Even though he has to take time to calm them down, he enjoys the increased attention oaks get.
“I like mast years,” Sandler said. “It gets more people looking at trees.”
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