Acorns!!

[cindycat]

We live on an acre in far SE OKC and our primary trees are Blackjacks. Most of the yard is sodded and then it turns to dirt. This is the area where we have shade gardens and the bird feeders. I use a rolling walker and this year the acorns were so numerous that I had to go out and actually sweep some of those dirt areas so I could get my walker through. We've never seen so many acorns at once! Was there something in the weather, the environment, etc, that made those trees so prolific in 2016? Thanks.

[Pete]

We live on an acre in far SE OKC and our primary trees are Blackjacks. Most of the yard is sodded and then it turns to dirt. This is the area where we have shade gardens and the bird feeders. I use a rolling walker and this year the acorns were so numerous that I had to go out and actually sweep some of those dirt areas so I could get my walker through. We've never seen so many acorns at once! Was there something in the weather, the environment, etc, that made those trees so prolific in 2016? Thanks.

I just moved into a house so I don't have prior years for comparison but...

I have one big oak tree in my back yard and I filled one of those huge OKC garage bins with just acorns and only got about half of them in there.

My squirrels are a bunch of fatties!

[cinnamonjock]

Trees, and especially oak trees, will do this as a way to ensure some of their seeds survive. If they go several years without producing any acorns and then produce a bumper crop, the local wildlife cannot depend upon the acorns as an annual source of food and so their population doesn't expect such an increase in available calories. They will, of course, gorge themselves as much as they can when they are available, but the trees are betting that there aren't enough animals to eat every acorn, so some will be missed and be allowed to grow.