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Do Squirrels Eat Bird Eggs? Yes, and Nestlings Too

Grey squirrels raid nests opportunistically, especially in spring when other food is scarce. How much it matters, and what actually protects a nest box.

By The Grow In Backyard Team 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
A grey squirrel on a tree trunk in autumn
Photo: Julian Herzog (Website), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Yes. Squirrels are omnivores, not the nut-eating vegetarians they are usually pictured as, and a squirrel that finds an accessible nest will generally empty it.

It is opportunistic rather than systematic — but it happens often enough to design nest boxes around.

Why they do it

Squirrels are omnivores. The diet is mostly nuts, seeds, buds, fungi and fruit — but it includes insects, eggs, nestlings and carrion when the opportunity arises.

The timing is the tell. Nest raiding peaks in late winter and spring, which is exactly when cached nuts have been exhausted and the new season’s food has not arrived. It is a gap in the calendar, and eggs are concentrated protein sitting in an obvious container.

Grey squirrels are recorded doing this more than reds — more numerous, more urban, and bolder around nest sites.

Keeping it in proportion

Squirrels are a long way from the main threat to a nest.

Nest predators, roughly by impact
PredatorTakes
Domestic catsAdults, fledglings, nestlings — by a very large margin the biggest killer
Corvids — jays, crows, magpiesEggs and nestlings, systematically
SnakesEggs and nestlings; excellent climbers
RaccoonsEggs, nestlings, whole nest boxes
Squirrels, chipmunksEggs, some nestlings, opportunistically
Rats, opossumsEggs, nestlings

Songbirds lay multiple clutches in a season precisely because predation is expected. A raided nest is not usually a population problem — it is how the system has always worked.

Protecting a nest box

The practical part, and it is genuinely effective:

  • Metal entrance plate. Squirrels usually get in by chewing the hole wider, and a metal plate makes that impossible. The single highest-value upgrade.
  • Correct hole size for the species you want, and no larger.
  • A deep box, so the nest sits well below the entrance and cannot be reached by a paw from outside.
  • Smooth metal pole, not a tree, with a baffle below the box.
  • Ten feet of clearance from anything a squirrel can launch off — fences, branches, sheds.
  • No perch below the hole. Birds do not need one; predators use them.

A baffle beats everything else on a pole-mounted box

A cone or cylinder baffle on a smooth pole defeats squirrels, rats and raccoons simultaneously. It is the same hardware that works on a bird feeder, and it is more effective than anything applied to the box itself.

The feeder connection

Worth knowing if you feed birds: a busy feeding station raises local squirrel and corvid densities above what the habitat would otherwise support — and both raid nests.

That is not an argument against feeding birds. It is an argument for baffling your feeders, keeping spilled seed cleared, and not feeding squirrels deliberately in an area where you also want birds nesting successfully.

If you catch one in the act

Leave it. Intervening rarely changes the outcome for that nest, and in many countries both the birds and the squirrels carry legal protections that make interference an offence.

Fix the box for next season instead — that is the intervention that works.

Common questions

Do squirrels eat bird eggs?

Yes. Squirrels are omnivores rather than strict vegetarians, and they take eggs and nestlings opportunistically — most often in spring, when stored nuts have run out and new growth has not yet arrived. It is not their primary food and they do not hunt nests systematically, but a squirrel that finds an accessible nest will usually empty it.

Do squirrels eat baby birds?

They do, though less often than eggs. Nestlings are taken when a nest is easy to reach and the squirrel is short of protein, particularly in late winter and early spring. Grey squirrels are recorded doing it more than red squirrels, partly because they are more numerous and more urban, and partly because they are bolder around nest sites.

What else eats bird eggs?

A long list, and squirrels are rarely the main culprit. Corvids — jays, crows, magpies — are prolific nest raiders. Snakes, raccoons, opossums, chipmunks, rats and domestic cats all take eggs and nestlings, and cats kill vastly more adult birds than any of them. If a nest box is being raided repeatedly, an entrance guard addresses several of these at once.

How do you stop squirrels raiding a nest box?

Fit a metal entrance plate so the hole cannot be chewed wider, which is the usual method of entry. Mount the box on a smooth metal pole rather than a tree, add a baffle below it, and keep it at least ten feet from anything a squirrel can jump from. Make the box deep, so the nest sits well below the entrance and cannot be reached from outside.

Does feeding squirrels reduce nest raiding?

No, and it tends to make things worse. Feeding concentrates squirrels in the area at higher densities than the habitat would otherwise support, which increases the pressure on nests nearby. The same applies to bird feeders, which is worth knowing: a busy feeding station raises local squirrel and corvid numbers, and both raid nests.

Should you intervene if a squirrel raids a nest?

Generally no. Nest predation is a normal part of how these systems work, and songbirds lay multiple clutches partly because losses are expected. Prevention through better nest box design is worthwhile; intervening in a raid in progress rarely is, and in many countries both the birds and the squirrels have legal protections that make interference an offence.

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