3rd Wednesday Walk Feb 9th

What a crew we had! Alli, Chelsea, Maura and John Van Niel for staff than we also had seven guests including one current student (Cris Kenney), two alumni, and three community members. Day started off at 34deg F with hazy clouds (stratus maybe?). So many rich observations and conversations. As we gathered, some a chickadee sang to us and then our first discovery was a couple small (~2inch) holes poking out of the snow. John Van Niel excitedly led a discussion of the top three possibliities (mouse, vole, and mole) but then led us to a fourth, and perhaps most probable- the shrew, based the diameter of the opening. A quick Google revealed that there are seven species of shrew in NYS (https://www.esf.edu/efb/lomolino/courses/MammalDiversity/labs/NYS1.pdf). We also observed squirrel tracks and were reminded that all rodents have three middle digits parallel and two outer digits radiate out diagonally. Also and opportunity to discuss how the back feet of rodents and lagamorphs register ahead of their front feet but that the lagamorphs front feet are offset causing a "Y"-like arrangement. While stopped observing some blonding on an ash tree, a cavitity about 20ft up the tree caught our eye. We discussed the difference between nesting cavitities and feeding holes. The height of this cavitity, its size, and the diameter of the tree lead us to conclude that this was a feeding hole, not a nesting cavitity. As we discussed this we could hear the drumming of a woodpecker in the distance. A little early, my friend? We also stopped and looked at the red maple flower buds, so plumb but probably still far from bursting. John Van Niel shared that once they do burst they loose their wildlife value. The hike ended in sunshine, perhaps 10 degrees warmer, with the discover of some excellent otter tracks and tail slap signs. Otter and fisher were the top two guesses. John shared that when in doubt, follow the track and if it goes up a tree you can confirm it is a fisher. Sidenote: both fisher and otter slide so that does not always work. The hefty tail sign in this case was the confirming factor. An exciting way to end the walk!

Posted on February 16, 2022 01:34 PM by mauraflora7