Monthly Archives: February 2014

Get Started with Wildlife Tracking

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Rosemary

When it snows, something magical happens: you can peek into the lives of many secretive creatures by examining the tracks they leave behind. Tracking is about more than just following an animal’s trail. It’s about discovering the natural world around you while sharpening your powers of observation.

Like any skill, tracking takes practice. Here are a few basic things to keep in mind:

  • Snow conditions. Animal prints can look different depending on their age and the condition of the snow. Old prints in melting snow, for example, can look much larger. If snow has fallen on a track, obscuring details, focus on the pattern of the whole trail.
  • The shape of the prints. Are they round or oval? Are some of them bigger than others (since many animals have different-sized front and hind paws)? How many toes can you count?
  • The pattern of the prints. For example, a squirrel that hops between trees leaves a box-like pattern of four prints. A bounding weasel may leave a string of two side-by-side prints.
  • Size. Grab a ruler and measure your discoveries. A good tracking book will help you use these measurements to distinguish between the tracks of similar species.
  • Habitat. Clues from the environment may enable you to figure out which animal left the trail and what it was doing. For example, you’re more likely to find red squirrels in conifers and gray squirrels in deciduous trees. Was the animal wandering all about or just quickly passing through?
  • Other signs. Don’t just look for prints—can you see any chewed nuts, bark, or twigs? Any signs of digging?
  • Keep your distance. Winter is a challenging time for wildlife. Be careful not to stress animals and don’t approach their homes or resting sites.

Now that you know the basics, let’s identify some common tracks you may find:

deerWhite-tailed Deer

These hoofed creatures leave pointed prints with a split down the middle. Deer also have two toes higher on the leg called dewclaws that sometimes appear in the print (see them to the left of the photo). The two largest pointy hooves point in the direction of travel; this deer was headed to the right.

turkeyWild Turkey

Big birds leave large tracks, and turkey prints can be three to five inches long. They look a bit like dinosaur footprints! Note the three widely-spread toe prints pointing forward. There’s also a tiny toe print pointing backward—can you see it?

 

squirrel (3)Gray Squirrel

Here’s a case where the pattern of the prints is more useful than any individual print. When a squirrel hops, it puts down its smaller front paws side by side first (the shorter dashes) then puts down its larger hind paws directly in front (the longer dashes).

 

rabbit2Eastern Cottontail Rabbit

Rabbit tracks look a bit like squirrel tracks, but the two smaller front feet are placed one in front of the other, rather than side by side. This animal was traveling from right to left.

 

Learn More

This post just scratches the surface of animal track identification. It’s a complicated art and science; experts can uncover amazingly detailed stories from clues like stray hairs and places where tracks from two species meet. Find out more by attending one of our tracking programs.

Also, browse a selection of guides for all ages and skill levels at the Audubon Shop in Lincoln, including Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints for 3-6 year olds, the Science on a Tracking Expedition kit, which is packed with games and activities, and the North Woods Animal Tracks Guide, a weatherproof set of ID cards on a keychain.

What natural secrets have you uncovered through tracks?

Have You Hugged a Hemlock Lately?

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Kristin S.

Richard Webb, Self-employed horticulurist, Bugwood.orgOf all the evergreens in the winter woods, eastern hemlocks are the friendliest.

During the short, dark days of winter—when we are tempted to stay inside our heated spaces—the hemlock calls us to come out and play.

Treasured Tree
What makes the eastern hemlock so special to winter-weary humans?

  • Its short, flat needles are soft to the touch (not prickly like spruce) and its trunk doesn’t gum up your hands with pitch.
  • Hemlocks are shade loving and their lower branches can live for a long time, making them the perfect trees for finding or building shelters made of sticks and leaves.
  • A mature hemlock creates such dense shade, and its needles cause the soil to be so acidic, that few other plants can grow underneath. As a result, hemlock groves create their own micro-environment—cool, open, and dark. Perfect places for hiding, resting, and playing games.

Wildlife Treat

Porcupine in Hemlock_Richard JohnsonHemlock groves are magical to non-human animals, too. Because hemlock branches hold so much snow, snow depths beneath the trees are significantly lower. Deer often bed down underneath these trees, taking advantage of shallower snow and sheltering branches. Treat yourself to an early morning snowshoe or hike. You may be able to follow deer tracks from hemlock to hemlock, finding packed snow outlining the shape of a deer underneath each one.

Many animals eat hemlock. (In case you were wondering, eastern hemlock is not the kind of hemlock that poisoned Socrates.) Grouse and rabbits eat buds and needles. Red squirrels and mice chew off the scales of the tiny hemlock cones to get at the seeds underneath. Deer will also eat hemlock foliage and twigs as high up as they can reach.

Porcupines prefer hemlock and will eat the bark and chew off large twigs. If you see scattered hemlock twigs or tips in the snow, look up. You may see a porcupine in the branches of the tree or, on at least one Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuary, living in the tree’s trunk.

The Fate of Hemlocks

Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.orgSadly, our Massachusetts hemlocks are threatened by woolly adelgid, an aphid-like insect that sucks sap from the needles. If you see what look like tiny white cotton balls at the base of hemlock needles, you’ll know the tree is infested. Woolly adelgid can be killed by very cold winters or pesticides, and scientists are experimenting with biological controls, but currently there is no cure.

Warming temperatures encourage the spread of woolly adelgid, so we can help hemlocks by combating climate change. Find out how Mass Audubon is leading by example and how you, too, can reduce your carbon footprint.

Finding Hemlocks

Many Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries harbor hemlock groves, including Eagle Lake in Holden, Laughing Brook in Hampden, Pleasant Valley in Lenox, and Wachusett Meadow in Princeton.

Tread lightly. Approach quietly. Appreciate much. But go out and find a hemlock today, for there is no better friend in the winter woods than the eastern hemlock.

Learn more about winter trees in a Mass Audubon program.

Photos Richard Webb, Self-employed horticulurist, Bugwood.org;
Richard Johnson;  Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org