Tracking fisher part IV

Here’s part IV(click here) of Roland Kays’ ongoing research of Fisher movements in urban/suburban forest habitats.

Photo Credit: Fisher-Wikipedia

Snow sculptures and subnivian life

“….we see fantastic forms stretching in frolic gambols across the landscape, as if Nature had strewn her fresh designs over the fields by night as models for man’s art.” – Henry David Thoreau from “A Winter Walk”.

We can only wonder if Thoreau knew about “plasticity” in snow. We often think that snow is simply piles and piles of snow flakes that sit on the ground, in the trees, on the roof, or on any other structure we see. To some degree that is true, snow on the ground is made up of gazillions of snow flakes, but what goes on in that snow pile over time can tell us a lot.

The picture above shows a once-vertical column of snow now slowly leaning to one side, but yet it is not breaking or collapsing! How can that be?

This is what’s known as the “plastic behavior”  of snow. Even though snow pack is frozen it can still behave in a way that resembles water moving in slow motion. When this pile of snow was vertical it began to deform at the bottom due to the weight of the upper part and gravity working on it. Over time the snow column yields to these pressures in a fluid-like movement and reforms but does not break.

I’m sure many of you have seen snow that looks as if it’s wrapped completely around a branch, like a snake or a vine. That snow was once on top of the branch, where it fell, but over time it gave way to its own weight, deformed and then reformed into the odd shapes we see.

As I was skiing on the trails at the Paul Smiths College “VIC” I saw lots of small mice or vole tracks on top of the snow pack:

However, if you look closely at the picture you can see a couple “tail drags” where the tail hit the snow. This tells us that it was mouse, probably a white-footed or deer mouse (Peromyscus) that made the track while on some dawn or dusk run to a food source.

Even though we play on top of the snow in winter, there’s still lots of serious activity down under the snow, or in the “subnivian zone” (area from the ground up to the snow surface). Here we find mice and voles busy eating their stored food, or happily eating the bark off your favorite ornamental shrub. Mice and voles will often build a nest or bedding area on the ground where they can take a little day or week-long nap depending on the outside conditions.

Ruffed grouse and weasels can often be found burrowing through this zone. For the former, it’s a place to hide and stay warm while a blizzard rages on above them, and for the latter, it’s the source for many yummy dinners!

So often we snowshoe and ski with our minds only on that task, but when you can let your eyes wander over the snow pack and look for the finer details….”the models for man’s art.”

Photo Credits: Brian McAllister

Fisher Study Part III

Here’s part 3(click here) of Fisher study being conducted by Roland Kays(Curator of Mammals at the NY State Museum

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Fisher Study Part II

Here are some updates(click here) on the Fisher study that Roland Kays(Curator of Mammals at the NY State Museum) and Paul Smiths & ESF grad Scott LaPoint are currently working on. Check out the great video of wildlife passing by the camera.

Photo Credit: Fisher caught on trail camera-Wikipedia

Paul Smiths & ESF grad to study fisher

Found this very interesting article in the NY Times authored by Roland Kays, who is the Curator of Mammals at the NYS Museum. He’s teaming up w/a Paul Smiths College grad for an ongoing study of fisher movements in upstate NY(Albany) forests.

Photo Credit: Fisher on tree – Wikipedia photo

The VIC trails ARE OPEN

Hard to pass up a sunny…well partly sunny, day in the Adirondacks. With the recent announcement of the Paul Smiths VIC now officially under the ownership of Paul Smiths College, I thought it worthwhile to get out for a ski.

Many of the trails are still in the good shape that they’ve have always been, however one should avoid and heed the “trail closed signs” when skiing up into the Esker Ski Trail from the Silviculture Trail.

Recent logging(click here and here) has completely obliterated upper sections of the Esker Ski Trail(we wonder if the College will return the Esker Trail to it’s former condition?)

Currently white-tailed deer are feeding on many of the downed/fallen branches that remain behind from the timber harvesting. Some beech and maple bud tips are a welcomed food source.

Skiing the Jenkins Mountain Road I found several good animal tracks to examine and follow for awhile. This Ruffed Grouse set of prints tells us that the warmer temperatures have allowed grouse to feed in comfort rather burrowing down into loose snow to wait out another snowstorm.

Likewise, the coyotes are traveling through the woods. These prints were observed crossing the ski trail. If you look carefully at a canine(dog) print you will see a “X” in the middle of the oval print which results when the toe and heel pads press into the snow leaving behind a raised “X” between all pads. The feline family(cats) have a more circular shape to the print and lack a central “X” mark. Feline toes tend to be more forward in the print.

I hope the public continues to visit the “VIC” and if you do take the time to look at your surroundings. Find some animal tracks to follow and see if you can reveal the story they leave behind. Sit patiently and watch the woodpeckers pecking for food along the tree trunks and branches, or watch the acrobatic chickadees hang upside down along a branch as they look for spider eggs or insects.

The property is under new ownership(and stewardship) but the wildlife that survive there day to day probably won’t take notice of the new “landlords”, and for the rest of us….let’s not forget that we are also just visitors into their realm.

Photo Credits: Jenkins Mt Road ski trail(and all other photos)-Brian McAllister.

Red fox video

In an earlier posting I described the movements of a fox I was observing in St Lawrence County.

After a few days of watching the adults hunt to feed the young ones, it looks like the family came out to check out the surroundings, and there I was with my camera and so I turned on the video button.

Well it’s not National Geographic video quality but it’s pretty darn cute! Click below to see video. Enjoy!

Fox with young

Photo Credit: Red fox adult with young – Brian McAllister

The fox went out one chilly night….

While traveling along the wonderful “wildlife-watching ” roads of St Lawrence County, I stumbled upon this red fox as it trotted through a dandelion-covered field. On my return trip on this road, about a half-hour later, the same fox came up to the roadside, this time it’s long pointed snout held 3-4 “meadow mice” packed in a toothy grip. Putting 2 and 2 together, I figured it was heading to a nearby hedgerow which most likely was a the site of the family den…many young mouths to feed!

On another note, this weekend appears to have all the makings for great migrant bird movements. So far I’ve tallied up some great sightings of warblers, vireos, and other migratory birds. Two highlights so far are a Scarlet tanager, and a Philadelphia vireo

Along Lakeshore Road, just north of Westport, some friends and I found a Golden-winged warbler, and a blue-winged warbler, both singing their hearts out in a second-growth field on the west side of road. A description of this area can be found in Adirondack Birding by John MC Peterson and Gary Lee. Chances are these birds are on territory and so they’ll be singing for a while longer. Hope you get to see them!

Photo Credit: Red Fox-Brian McAllister

Otter slides and beaver sounds

Just some quick highlights here of a recent back country ski into the lesser known trails to Grass Pond and Sheep Meadows via the Hayes Brook Ski Trail.

2 friends and I started out to Sheep Meadows Lean-to, (accessing the trailhead off of Rt 30(north), about 3.8 miles north of the junction of Routes 86 and 30). Finding the usual troops of black-capped chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, brown creeper, and golden-crowned kinglets buoyed our spirits as we glided over endless deer tracks in the snow. Occasionally we’d spot something different and took time to examine ermine(short-tailed weasel) tracks, snowshoe hare, vole, and mouse tracks. But as our explorations took us to Grass Pond, the wildlife tracks and traces reached a crescendo!

The photo above shows a “playground” of river otter tracks as they slide over the frozen water falls and beaver dams found near Grass Pond. Their sleek bodies flatten out on the snow and they shove off with their large, webbed hind feet allowing for an efficient, and fun, slide along the snow.

This photo(right) shows(in the center of photo) the prints of two hind feet in the middle of the slide.

Nearby was a muddy opening into the side of a beaver dam showing recent otter use. And if that was not enough evidence, my friends then found piles of fresh, and smelly scat(otter poop) close to the hole. Not wanting to overextend our presence we linger just long enough to hear some red crossbills fly overhead.

As we made our way back to the Grass Pond lean-to we skied by the protruding beaver lodge on the pond. Putting ears to the mud and snow on the lodge my friends declare, ” I hear chewing sounds!”.  My own ears pick up a gentle whining sound…maybe from the pups just recently born inside the lodge.

Back onto land and the main trail home, our hearts beat wildly. From the physical exertion?… yes. But mostly from a day filled with great nature scenes and wonders!

Photo credit-Brian McAllister

The Recent Tracks

Henry David Thoreau put it best in his essay titled A Winter Walk where he says,

“The recent tracks of the fox or otter, in the yard, remind us that each hour of the night is crowded with events, and the primeval nature is still working and making tracks in the snow.”

That certainly was the case this morning as I skied the well-designed trails of The Paul Smiths Visitor Interpretive Center. Not 50 yards from the start of the trail I came across this very clear, and continuous set of prints left behind by a pine marten. It was bounding along the Barnum Brook Trail…

The tracks may look like a snowshoe hare hopping but it’s lacking the smaller front feet of a hare. A marten or fisher has a bounding gate(track pattern) where the hind feet come up and land in the same tracks left by the front feet. This is called a “direct-register” track pattern.

Farther along the trail I see white-tailed deer tracks all over the place. A scattering of red squirrel tracks lead from tree trunk to tree trunk. Then this unusual track scene crosses the ski trail…

Here I find a deep trough(3″-4″ depth) with an alternating, or wattling, foot pattern. So, what made this track was something large bodied but small enough to fit under the branch in the upper part of picture. This was made by a porcupine.

We may still be in winters grip but a few warmer days most likely brought out the porcupine to feed and stretch its legs. They’re not true hibernators and so they’ll come out to feed after laying low during a cold spell or severe winter weather.

I found this next set of tracks interesting because the body of this animal was so light that it did not break through the snow. It recently hopped along the top of the snow and shows the characteristic gallop of hind feet landing just ahead of the front feet.

Although I’m not certain, I would guess that these are the tracks of a mouse(deer or white-footed).

The larger image to the left show the drag marks of a tail. This helps narrow down the options because voles, moles, and shrews tend not leave a tail mark, and they will borrow through snow more often than mice.

The Visitor Center is a great spot to go animal tracking and it’s a whole new slate of tracks each morning. So take the time to look at all those tracks that you might quickly ski or snowshoe over and see if you can figure out what animal made it!

All photos by Brian McAllister