Holy Scats, Batman!

I was tickled pink last night when we left work to find a small pile of scats out front.



To the unknowing, these might look like mouse scats. In fact, to the knowing they look like mouse scats, but the are, in fact, bat scats.




This means our bats are back. Most likely, we have big browns (Eptesicus fuscus), which have always been a very common house bat, but with white-nose syndrome taking its toll on little browns (Myotis lucifugus), the odds of these being LBB droppings is now pretty slim.

A couple years ago I rescued a baby bat that had fallen from its maternity roost out front. With the help of our maintenance man, I scaled a ladder and put the little fellow back up by the roost entrance so it could return to safety and its mother.

If you want to read more about the rescue of this bat, visit my post at here.

Search for the Snowshoe Hare

Sunday I decided I wanted to try and find a snowshoe hare, so I headed to a brushy overgrown area where I'd seen the tail end of a hare the weekend before. Logic suggested that if the hare was there a week ago, this was possibly its territory and I'd have a shot of seeing it again.

Browse was heavy in the area. Too high above the snow for hares; must be deer.

This bed was waaay too big for a hare - I could've curled up in it. White-tail deer have been bedding down beneath the conifer boughs.

Nice pile of scats - but too oval for hare, and pointy on one end. Once again, deer.

Further in the trees, we came across some great grouse tracks! (We? Toby, of course, was with me.) Look at how fat those toe prints are! Great evidence of the flaps, or scales, that this bird grows on the sides of each toe to increase its foot size, an adaptation for easier winter travel on the snow. Come spring these scales will have worn off, only to be replaced next fall.

We found some deer hair. The hairs are sheared at the bottom. Uh-oh...did someone become a feast for someone else?

Near the hair was this brown lump. I scuffed it up from the snow with the toe of my boot because it looked interesting. There were hairs stuck to it. It had an interesting texture. Could it be a scat? It's a large scat, if that's what it is (it was about the size of my hand). Might be the animal had rather liquid stools that day. Maybe it ate part of the deer and the food didn't agree with it's digestion? There were no predator tracks around...this was probably an old feeding site.

Mouse tracks - we found some of those:

And there were plenty of snowshoe hare tracks,

but not a snowshoe hare to be found. And we can't blame the dog, because he was with me the week before when I saw the hare. I know what it was...the hares all knew I had my camera with me and they went into hiding. It never fails.

A Quick Cruise Through the Yard

I was determined to document the turkey evidence in my yard Sunday, but this particular bit of evidence was not one I expected to find:

Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised. The turkey has visited the yard more than once, picking up scraps at the base of the feeders, so it is only logical that a deposit be made from the other end. In fact, I found three turkey scats as I made my rounds.

For some reason, my track photos just didn't come out - all they picked up was the blinding white of snow (and the sun wasn't even out). Still, a click on the old "quick fix" button and voila! the tracks were suddenly visible.

So, here we have the Trail of the Turkey. It's longish legs make for a pretty good stride length, but it does drag its feet.

I really wanted to see if I could find where the bird was entering (and exiting) the yard. Any track that had a dead-end was a pretty good candidate.

Now, had I been smart, I would've tromped over to this set of tracks to see which way they were going - the best way to determine if this bird was taking off or landing. But, I didn't do that (I wasn't wearing my snowshoes and didn't feel like floundering in the snow). Still, based on the scuffs across the snow, I'm guessing this is a landing site, where the wing feathers dragged across the surface as it "back peddled" to stop, and where, maybe, the tip of the tail hit.

Something got Toby all excited along the edge of the fence - see how his fur is all standing up along his shoulders and the base of his tail? He trotted back and forth, back and forth, barking and sniffing. What could it have been? And how long ago? Must've been fairly fresh for him to get this worked up about it.

This giant sunflower head has remained untouched by the birds all fall and winter. I blame all the rain we had this fall - the seeds must've gotten all moldy. On the other hand, maybe they are empty. HM. A friend of mine showed me that her giant sunflower had totally empty seeds this fall. Sterile. I suggested it might've been the result of a hybrid seed and therefore wouldn't produce any fertile offspring of its own. Could that be what's happened here? The next time I'm out in the yard I'll have to pluck some of the seeds to find out.

Another calling card, this time on top of a bluebird box. There were no tracks around the post, and no tracks on top of the box, but there was the scat nonetheless. Suspect? Red squirrel.

An Evening Stroll Along the Hudson River

You know how it goes: you head out for a walk thinking you'll go one way, but on a whim you turn left instead of right, and then you think, oh, just a little bit further, and before you know it, you are miles from home! But Toby greatly enjoyed this unplanned trek we took a couple nights ago - sights and smells we've not encountered for many months. It was only later on that I had second thoughts, as the poor pup could barely hobble upright and across the floor. Aging isn't a plus no matter what your species!

Anyway, off we went, headed across the golf course. Our first find of the evening was this fuzzy-antlered buck on the 5th hole (I think he was eye-balling your plants, Lorraine).

He stuck around long enough for about three photos, and then Toby spotted him and he (the deer) took off.


Taking that left-hand turn into the woods, we headed down towards the Hudson River. Afterall, it's been almost a year since we took this route, the evening was mild, the sun was out...the river was high.


Normally we can stand out on those rocks that are submerged to the left of the photo.

The trail we were on is part of the local snowmobile trail in winter, although in the summer ATVs apparently use it now, based on the ruts made by tires and the wallows in the mud. Still, if it's not too wet, it is a nice walk. Along the way we found four piles of scat:

bear scat #1 - apples

bear scat #2 - blackberries

old coyote scat - snowshoe hare on the menu

mystery scat

The last one was just an enormous pile. Not only was the quantity impressive, but so was the diameter of some of the sections. Here's another view, with my boot for rough scale:

I've sent the images along to Vince Walsh of Kawing Crow Awareness Center in Greenfield to see if he knows who might have left it. I suspect a really, really large coyote, but I could be wrong.

This paper wasp (or maybe bald-faced hornet) nest has seen better days. Could a bear have made a meal here?

Beavers had been hard at work, blocking up the drainage from the swampy area. Their industriousness flooded the trial in more than one location. With some judicious tip-toeing, Toby and I were able to get through without getting too wet and muddy.

What looks like an oil slick is likely gases oozing out from the wetland and mixing with the water.

The Hudson River at twilight.

We reached the end of the trail shortly after the sun had set. Now we had 2+ miles to walk along the roads back home. The only signs of life we encountered were a beagle on guard duty and a couple carloads of campers headed for the Lake Harris Campground. Not a bad way to spend an evening in early September.

It's Like Christmas Every Day

Every day is an adventure when you strap on your snowshoes and head out on the trails - you just never know what you may find.

It was so tropical yesterday (high of 49.5*F) that the first snowfleas (Hypogastrura nivicola) put in an appearance. It was great, because the third graders I had with me got to see them for the first time ever, watching as the fleas "jumped" all over the place. Sadly, the photo I took did not come out, so you will have to imagine where a pepper shaker exploded all over the snow, and all the little bits of pepper are jumping about into the air.

Snowfleas are actually a primitive insect called springtails (not fleas at all), and they measure no more than 1/8 inch. The snowflea has no wings, and it doesn't actually jump. Instead, it tucks a pair of modified legs under its abdomen, and little hook-like structures hold the "legs" securely in place (the spring is now wound up). When the hooks relax, the spring is released: the "legs" push against the ground and zing! up goes the critter into the air. Not all springtails have this launching apparatus - only those that live in the leaf litter do (snowfleas).

Snowfleas eat the mold and fungi found in leaf litter where things are decaying. They are attracted to wet surroundings, and we usually only see them in the winter, when on mild days they they prepare to migrate. At this time upwards of a million of these critters rise and make "haste" for new digs, probably because the food ran out where they had been living.

This morning Toby and I had a great find (no photo of this, either). As we cruised through the parking lot of the medical center, we came across a circular splatter of feathers, and one small gobbet of meat: some bird had bit the dust. I suspect the bird was a blue jay, although none of the feathers were blue any more (could be because they were soaking wet; blue in feathers is due to structure and light, not pigment, so water can change the color). I tried to acertain if the bird had been done in by another bird or a mammal, based on how the feathers were removed (plucked or sheared), but the feathers had been driven over by enough vehicles that nothing was certain. Still, a nifty find on a dreary wet morning.

And finally, today I had a group of 6th graders in who were phenomenal! And they were here long enough that I could not only go into great tracking detail indoors, but we could also do our one-mile trail! I didn't have high hopes for good finds today, thanks to the rain and melting snow of the last 36 hours. I was pleasantly surprised. We saw otter trails, fresh beaver chews, and even followed a large canid (probably coyote) down the trail, marvelling at its footprints,

and oogling the lovely pile of scat it left behind (we so seldomly encounter scats here). I'm not sure, but those white "beads" might be parasite eggs.

We even came across a pile of beechnut husks that something had recently emptied for a mid-winter feast.

And now, for your "listening" pleasure, and by way of celebrating today's find, I give you one of my all-time favorite songs - the Scat Rap, which I think was written by Doug Elliott (although I could be wrong). This is dedicated to all the folks out there, who, like me, get excited about finding animal scat.

Scat Rap

Chorus:
It starts with an “s” and it ends with a “t”,
It comes out of you and comes out of me.
I know what you’re thinking, you can call it that,
But let’s be scientific and call it scat.

You’re walking through the woods and your nose goes “ooooo”;
Must be some critter’s scat’s near you.
It may seem gross, but it’s okay,
They ain’t got no place to flush it away.

Down the trail something’s lying on the ground;
Nature’s tootsie roll all long and brown.
Don’t wrinkle your nose, don’t lose you lunch,
Break it apart, you might learn a bunch.
Don’t use your fingers, use a stick;
Keep sanitary now that’s the trick.

If you wanna find out what animals eat,
Take a good look at what they excrete.
Stuck in the scat are all kinds of clues,:
Parts of the food their bodies can’t use
Like bones and fur (2x)
Hard berries and seeds (2x)
Crawfish shells, ouch! (2x)
Grass fibers and weeds (2x)

'Possum up in a ‘simmon tree
Eating all the ‘simmons he could see,
Backed his butt into the weeds,
His scat was nothing but ‘simmon seeds.

Down by the creek on a hollow log,
Scat full of berries and bones of a frog.
Late last night he was out with the moon;
Wading the creek it was Mr. Raccoon

You’re driving your car by a woods or a field,
Scat goes splat on your windshield.
It’s full of seeds, all purple and white;
You just got bombed by a bird in flight

Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold,
Scat on the trail two minutes old.
Two minutes old, is this a joke?
No, it’s still warm, look at it smoke!
Cat scat, rat scat, bat scat, too;
All god’s chillun do scat a lot, too.

Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold,
Scat in the woodlot nine days old.
Nine days old, how can you tell?
Getting kinda dry and not much smell.
Dog doo, frog doo, hog doo, too;
All god’s chillum do a doodley do.

Pease porridge hot, peas porridge cold,
Scat in a cave 1000 years old.
1000 years old, could that be right?
Sure that’s no jive: petrified copralite.
Mole scat, vole scat, bear scat, more;
There’s so darn many kinds of spoor.

Sneaking through the woods, be quiet now, shish!
Take a quiet step—something goes squish.
Don’t put it in your mouth, it ain’t delish.
Let’s put some in a Petri dish.
Look through a microscope, what do you see?
Microscopic organisms 1, 2, 3.
Bacillus, streptococcus, and E. coli,
They eat scat and then they die.
Don’t you worry, no need to cry,
They ain’t that different from you and I

If you want to know who was out and around,
Take a long hard look at the scat on the ground.
It tells us what they eat, tells us who they are;
That’s what we know about scat so far.

More Fun on the Trails

I find it is harder to impress 8th graders. They are too cool to actually participate...or maybe they are just too focused on fashion and technology...or maybe, just maybe, it was too cold for them today.

Still, I had a good time out in the 1*F weather, because I found red fox scat on a fox trail that was scatless yesterday (and we so seldomly find scats here):




Fox scats are pretty easy to identify. They typically end in a narrow taper and often have a bit of a curlicue at the end. This one didn't show those traits, of course, but I knew it was fox because it was smack in the middle of the fox trail. This particular fox visits our bird feeding station nightly - must be hunting the mice and voles that snack on the fallen seeds. A regular fox cafeteria, I imagine - easy hunting.



And then we found a mink slide:


At first we just saw the "mystery mustelid" tracks (2x2, like a series of colons : : : : :). By process of elimination, we narrowed it down to mink or marten. Next we found where the animal had come up from under a bridge, where a little snow cave marked the end of a pseudo tunnel. This made me lean even more strongly toward mink, since minks live near water and I've seen mink tracks in this particular area in the past. But then we encountered the slide - and what a beautiful slide it was! You could see where it bounded (: : : :) over the crest of the hill and then, whheeeeeee, down it slid to the trail packed by snowshoers!

Of course I made them all sniff the fox scent post. I suspect, however, that 90% of them just went through the motions and did not really take a sniff. Oh, well. You can lead a horse to water...

The Morning After

This morning the other half of yesterday's school group arrived for their chance at uncovering the diversity and abundance of wildlife off our trails. This group really took their time and looked. We had some great discoveries, including one boy who, thanks to hunting trips with his dad, found deer tracks pressed into the wet leaves in the mixed woods! That takes a practiced eye. And even though we passed through the same habitats as yesterday's group, we found plenty of new things to record. Some lent themselves well to photography, while others were too mobile to allow me a clear shot.

Girls looking under rocks. That's actually the title of a book, I believe. Anyway, some of the girls were a little squeamish about touching stuff, and some were taken aback by the aromas that issued from underneath rocks partially buried in swampish muck. New doors were opened for them. By the end of the program, even the most fashion-conscious of them expressed an interest in exploring their own yards back home. Another success story.

The image of this girl in the wetland along the shore of Rich Lake was just too good to pass up. She was one of our most engaged students today. She told me how much she loves being outside and how spending time exploring sure beat playing video games indoors. This was music to my ears!

I apologize for the quality of these shots - the beast just wouldn't stand still! I believe it is some kind of wasp, but I'm not 100% sure. What was fascinating to us was its coloration: dark with white/cream-colored stripes/bands on antennae, legs and body, including what I think was a white/cream-colored stinger. If anyone has an idea of what it might be, please let me know.

Snowshoe hare scats! I was very excited to find these. We are lucky to find hare tracks once in a while during the winter, but this is the first evidence I've had of their presence outside of winter. The girls were somewhat less enthused with the discovery, and were especially appalled when I picked the scats up to show them up close. Oh, well...what can I say? I guess I'm just a scat fanatic!

On a side note: many thanks to those of you who have left me comments and who visit my blog on a regular basis! It's always nice to hear that one's efforts are appreciated!

I encourage everyone to take some time these next few days while the weather remains mild to go out and explore the late-autumn woods. Or even the late-autumn yard! It can be a real eye opener to discover that many animals are still active, hording food, grabbing last-minute morsels to see them through the winter, and foraging among the seed heads in gardens and berry-laden shrubs in wetlands and yards alike.

Images from an Earth Day Walk

We have had some amazing weather. Most of the month has been sunny, and we've been hitting temps in the 70s and 80s! Eighties in April in the Adirondacks - there's just something wrong with that. Still, our snow is melting away like butter near a fire, and gardens are begging to be planted! Beware the temptations of an early warm spring!!!

I headed out this morning on the Sucker Brook trail to see what was happening. This was the first time I've been out without snowshoes, and while it is passable, about 50% of the time I was walking on the ridge of snow packed by a winter's worth of snowshoeing. It was kind of like traversing a lumpy and potentially slick balance beam.

Vole tunnels are apparent all over the trails, no doubt the end result of a very high rodent summer! (Sadly, the photo came out too dark to use.)

I found a couple spots where ruffed grouse left their calling cards. We don't often get animal scats on our trails here (why we don't is a mystery), so I get very excited when I do find scats. Most folks are turned off by scats, but they really are a great indicator of what animals are out there, and what they are eating!

Beavers have also been busy, leaving fresh chews really close to the trail and just a stone's throw from the water. I've been enjoying evenings of Beaver-Watching at the other end of town where we have our pump house (the water source for the suburbs of Newcomb). It's right on the Hudson River and the beavers have been very active the last few weeks.

And the water is high! We are not at our highest flood stage, but it is still impressive, especially seeing the massive rolls of water as Rich Lake rushes over boulders on its way into Belden Pond. The trail isn't underwater yet, but I would guess that with just a little more melting there are going to be areas where submersion is likely.

While I was checking out trail conditions, I was also looking and listening for wildlife. The only critters I saw were a red squirrel (no surprise there) and a tiny orange butterfly that flitted around constantly and refused to allow me to get a good look for ID purposes. Two pileated woodpeckers were doing their "dueling banjos" imitation. One found a great tree - it sounded like a jackhammer whacking away and it made quite an echo. I also heard a black-backed woodpecker tapping quietly on a tree. Winter wrens were singing away, as well as some mystery birds that I was unable to ID. Some wood ducks reported in, and I may have heard a belted kingfisher, but if it was, it must've had a sore throat because it didn't quite have the ratchety rattle down. And a lone broadwing hawk circled overhead.

red-banded polypore; witch hobble leaves and flower bud

Catkins are out on pussywillows, aspens and alders. Maples are turning red way up high - possibly blooming. Coltsfoot is in bloom, and in gardens Daphne, violas, daffodils, and crocus are blooming away. The leaf and flower buds on with hobble are tight, but if this warm weather keeps up, they will open up soon.