Ball of Leaves You See in Trees in CT and NY Are Not Bird's Nests

It's in the autumn through the beginnings of springtime that you may have noticed those large, round piles of leaves up in the trees. Usually, they're at least 20 feet up and one to two feet wide. Sometimes, several are scattered in the same tree, while only one is seen taking up several big branches in another tree. But they're everywhere.

Since most birds fly south for the winter, chances are you're seeing a drey. Dreys are up in the trees all year long in most states that have a true winter; however, they're hidden by leaves in the warmer months when everything is alive and in bloom.

According to the Massachusetts Audubon Society, those dreys are not just all over Connecticut but anywhere squirrels live. You see, they are the homes of those furry, outdoor creatures our dogs like to bark at and chase. Yup, squirrels don't just live inside trees; they build nests just like birds, but on a much larger scale.

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Those dreys are most likely empty in the colder months as they're the summer homes for squirrels. It's where they disappear to when they run up trees after collecting acorns or just doing their curious squirrel things down on the ground. However, in the winter, they will live in dreys if they cannot find a tree cavity to spend the colder months.

According to the Massachusetts Audubon Society, when you see a large collection of acorns all in one place around a tree, chances are there's a squirrel drey above you. Also, that drey may have started as a bird's nest, and then a squirrel family moved in and made it bigger by adding twigs and leaves.