How does a squirrel find the food he buried for Winter ?

This question may be kinda silly, but I really am curious.





A squirrel buries his Winter food, usually pecans, in the Fall.


It seems like they bury them randomly.


How do they find where they buried them ? ? ?How does a squirrel find the food he buried for Winter ?
They don't always find it. That is why you will see corn sprouting up in a flower pot or beside a house...happens here all the time as the neighbors keep insisting on feeding the squirrels corn.





I have also found peanuts buried in my window boxes when I was preparing to plant spring flowers (another neighbor must be handing out peanuts to the little boogers).How does a squirrel find the food he buried for Winter ?
it just comes natural along with a little help from mother nature. how do you find the ice box in the middle of the night. its no different then how we find the bathroom in the dark middle of the night.
Pecan GPS.





I would guess it is a part of their instinctual behavior. They know that they have to be able to relocate what has been buried in order to survive the winter.
squirrels find these if they scratch from the place where they buried.
they probably can sniff it out or they make some kind of sign or mark by it to remember.(i think):(|)
by memory or scent