Giant nests

[JJHACK]

I've seen some big squirrel nests, but this is way bigger then anything I've ever seen before. I wonder if it's from something else.

Found these while on a rather long hike with my son into a management area I work in to check my trail cameras.

Some kinda Sasquatch squirrel. This nest is 6 feet tall and at least as round as a 55 gal drum.

And there are two of them in the same tree! Ever see anything like this?

 

[mt100gr.]

What species of tree is that? Douglas fir? I have never seen anything like that in a tree with such sparce canopy. I have seen mistletoe (fungus) clumps that big, but they are usually out in the green, away from the trunk...might have to get out your climbing spurs. Is that in WA??

 

[JJHACK]

Yes near walla walla.

The nest is made up of countless sticks twigs and leaves

In a Douglass fir. The lower nest is about 20 feet off the ground.

 

[stephen b]

That is crazy looking- I have never seen a nest that big in any of our Doug firs here- or any other tree either.

Probably is a baby Squatch nest.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Holy crap you found a tree beaver

 

[Lukem]

Ambitious gray squirrel?

 

[Shrek]

Put a camera on the tree ! Enquiring minds need to know .

 

[colonel00]

Holy crap you found a tree beaver

Well if those are Douglas Firs, wouldn't it be a firry beaver? *shakes head*

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Well if those are Douglas Firs, wouldn't it be a firry beaver? *shakes head*

Lmao we definitely need more pictures of furry beavers

 

[Buckman]

^^^^ rather see pics of bald beavers. Not mangy thou!!!!!

 

[5MilesBack]

I saw a bunch of those in western MT a couple years ago, had no idea what they were either.

 

[2ski]

I saw a bunch of those in western MT a couple years ago, had no idea what they were either.

Furry beavers or bald beavers? Just kidding.

It'd be interesting to know what made them. Maybe email the fish and game.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Looks like big squirrel dreys.

 

[JJHACK]

Dreys were my thought exactly, just never saw them this big, these are like 10 times normal size. I want to know how they made them wind proof. They have no glue, nails screws..... heck they don't have thumbs!

 

[Shrek]

If you run into Agent Moulder in town and he's asking about big nest in trees you might want to hunt someplace else . I'd be reluctant to call FWS or the G&F for fear they would declare it a new endangered species. The giant nest building squirrel. They would need to close down all human activity for a hundred and fifty miles and spend ten billion dollars studying them.

 

[JJHACK]

Next trip I'm going to climb up there and have my son take a few snaps so you guys will have a size perspective on these.

Seriously they are astonishing big!

These are squirrel drey apartment complexes.

 

[Browtine]

Could be a wood rat, aka pack rat, nest. I've seen huge nests on the ground and in barns, but a quick internet search says they sometimes build them in trees as well.

 

[JJHACK]

I'm leaning towards pack rat too. I spoke with a university biologist. He did not know for sure but after we discussed this and the likely owners, the pack rat keeps coming to the top.

If it's a pack rat there could be all sorts of treasure in that nest. They have the habit of collecting shiny things and incorporating them into the nests. Guess we will never know. I'm not gonna undo that massive project! Imagine how many trips up and down that tree to build that house!

That thing is like a rats accomplishment of the Empire State Building

 

[couesbitten]

Climb up there with a metal detector and check'em out.

 

[JJHACK]

Huh, cool.
I have a metal detector. We use it to quickly recover bullets from the big game.

I might be able to pull it up with a rope once I climb up!