Sugar maple is an economically valuable hardwood maple used for maple syrup and furniture production. Numerous wildlife species prize sugar maple as a source of food and shelter. Songbirds and gamebirds eat the seeds buds and flowers; woodpeckers forage for insects; moose, hare, squirrel chipmunks and flying squirrel feed on the seeds, buds, twigs, and leaves – all at this wildlife community buffet. Despite its use as a wildlife food source sugar maples grow large and strong and occupy a co-dominant position in the forest floor, rising to the top of the canopy. Sugar maple prefers rich well drained soil.