tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72685425437383000582024-02-20T12:20:11.327-08:00Trailblazin': adventures in wildlife ecologyThe benign adventures and ponderings of a wildlife ecologist who is interested in old school, down-and-dirty field research. Not cutting edge, but occassionally forced to blaze a trail when in the outdoors.Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.comBlogger209125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-25352279036675373902014-05-27T21:36:00.000-07:002014-06-04T19:16:43.618-07:00Baby Badgers!There are a ton of things I should try and catch up on.... Wolves, snakes, turtles....my, oh my!<br />
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But, these just came across my computer screen today. From my Advanced Ecology class. I've posted about this class many times before....and as you may recall...camera trapping is a large component of the lab. It's a spring semester lab. I'm not one to do anything indoors, so our fieldwork is centered around what can be started in January. Around our neck of the woods, January is cold and snowy....which limits what we can accomplish. <br />
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Collecting data on mammals is, therefore, something we focus on.<br />
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On the last day of lab this spring....when I knew we were no longer in need of the cameras for class....I instructed my students to move their cameras over any existing burrow we could find. Last year, we got some nice pics of a <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/05/wildlife-babies-2013-red-fox-pups.html" target="_blank">baby Red Fox</a> (<em>Vulpes vulpes</em>). This spring we got alot of nice Badger pics, and I was hoping one of the burrows would result in either Fox pups or Badger cubs.<br />
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The cameras sat out for four weeks untouched.....just too busy with the end of the semester and the beginning of the field season.<br />
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Today we finally checked and one of our eight burrow cameras was a bullseye!<br />
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The first two cameras I checked, however, were not very promising. I mean...there were badger pictures, but they went until about May 5th, then suddenly stopped.<br />
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Here's one example...<br />
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...and another....<br />
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The latter pic is particularly awesome as it shows evidence of diet! You can see the Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (<em>Ictidomys=Spermophilus tridecemlineatus</em>) in the Badger's mouth! I was very excited by this, as I seem to never get cool pics of natural predation.....just of feral cats nabbing things. The best part is that the wild predation captures wouldn't end here (see below).<br />
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While both of these captures were great....they were fleeting...and they weren't of babies! The camera location that I thought was most promising looked abandoned today. The burrow entrance appeared un-used....and almost as if it had been abandoned for a new location nearby (which we DIDN'T have a camera on!). I was nervous we missed the cubs.<br />
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But, today while reviewing the pictures...at about the third camera card in, I got the big surprise. Over 2,000 pics were taken by this camera. A good sign!<br />
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Almost immediately, there was a picture of a Badger at this location. It was the female sitting on top of the burrow alone the night after we placed the camera. She also sat out briefly in the morning alone...<br />
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Then, a little fluff ball appeared next to her.<br />
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Soon, I could see two....<br />
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And the next day....THREE!<br />
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These three little ones looked like they were constantly in motion. I don't think there are two pictures where they are in the same position.<br />
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The momma looked accordingly tired. Constantly harrassed by her playfull offspring...<br />
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Sitting up at night near the burrow entrance....<br />
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And bringing back food for the young ones (here it's an Eastern Chipmunk; <em>Tamias striatus</em>)...<br />
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The poor girl must have been bushed.<br />
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But every time she'd sit down to rest.....the kids were on her!<br />
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Literally, ON HER....<br />
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Even when she moved....<br />
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...it didn't take them long to find her again....<br />
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....even if she kept moving....<br />
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....her cubs would not give her a second to herself....<br />
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You can see how it would make a parent tired!<br />
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Not only do they get after their momma....but they also get after eachother.<br />
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Sometimes the sibling rivalries gave momma a few seconds of much-needed shut-eye....<br />
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But they always made their way back to her....<br />
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It didn't really matter how far away she moved....<br />
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Even though it clearly grew tiresome....<br />
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....she showed extreme patience....<br />
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All-in-all, we got over 2,500 pics of the little family over the course of four days. The number of pics we got was astounding....some of which were pretty darn cool!<br />
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I'm very happy my students got to experience it....Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-75053862393976627072014-05-21T19:28:00.002-07:002014-05-22T14:27:51.697-07:00Good Bye Sampson....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Been busy, which has kept me away from blogland.<br />
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Today, however, I wanted to post something in memory of my old pooch, Sampson....who had to leave us this morning.<br />
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My wife and I got Samp when he was 10 months old from a Great Pyrenees Rescue facility in January of 2003...which was not long after moving into our first house.<br />
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There were many things about Sampson that were not neccessarily ideal. He wasn't a bad dog, but it would be untruthful of me to gush about how perfect he was. On the contrary, he barked alot at nothing, he whined and barked during thunderstorms (which meant for alot of long summer nights of sitting up with the dog), he couldn't really be allowed to roam around off-leash (he was prone to wandering into roads and off of our property), he was big enough to easily snatch food from counters and tables (which he did frequently), and he didn't really like other dogs. <br />
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Like many Great Pyrenees, he was also a free spirit and didn't take to commands very well.<br />
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I'll never forget one of my early lessons about this: I had left the back door open while loading things into my car. I turned to see Samp bolt past me and out towards freedom. He had no intention of stopping as I yelled his name and ran after him through the yards. <br />
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The only thing that saved me was that one of our neighbors had a fence, which forced the big fella to stop. Like his namesake, Sampson wouldn't not yeild so eaily, however. Once he hit the fence, he did a 180 and barrelled straight at me. He was a large breed dog...and although alittle on the small side for his kind....he still weighed about 100 lbs. It didn't take long for me to realize he wasn't going to bother running around me. He wasn't very agile. Instead he was going to go right through me. For the first time since High School football, I broke down into an athletic stance and collided with him like a linebacker to stop him from getting past. Somehow I managed to grab his leash and hold on. Of course, all the while, Samp thought we were playing....he jumped around me, hoping to get me to chase him more....while I was just happy that we were both uninjured.<br />
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Regardless, I think we both gained a bit of extra respect for eachother after that.<br />
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For many years Sampson was the closest thing we had to a kid and he was the center of our attention.<br />
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But, once our daughter arrived, things had to change for Samp. He was no longer the focus of our free-time and, out of neccessity, took second-fiddle to the baby. But this is where all of Sampson's no-so-great qualities were out-shone by why he was amazing. Despite us bringing the new member of the family around, he was always loving. He never held it against us or my daughter that she was born. He was always calm and put up with her pulling his hair and climbing on him. He also never seemed sad or needy, even though he always wanted to be with us. Like many of his breed, most of the time he was just happy to sit and watch things. He didn't need long walks, which was a blessing when my wife and I were living on no sleep and caring for a newborn. So long as we fed him and took him outside when WE went outside and gave him some love, he was happy.<br />
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Yet, the lot of most dog owners...especially those whom are bogged down with busy jobs and kids.....is to look back with guilt. Although he always got the highest quality dog food and we basically never boarded him overnight because he didn't like it (which means we have not went on a trip that wasn't dog-friendly in 12 years), there are things I wish I could do over. I went through a string of new jobs over the last six years, each of which was more stressfull than the last. That, coupled with learning to be a parent, meant I frequently got annoyed with the old boy and surely did not always give him the attention he deserved.<br />
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I'll probably never fully forgive myself for that, and it's too late to rectify things now. <br />
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He'd been getting progressively slower and more stiff looking this last year. Cataracts had set-in, we felt lumps under his skin, and he was having frequent accidents in the house...so his trips out for the bathroom more than doubled. Yet, he had been holding at about the same state for several months now. He had been limping and one hind leg was arthritic....but it wasn't any different than normal as of late. <br />
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Then, suddenly, Monday night...he started in with a very raspy pant that wouldn't quit. It got bad enough that I stopped working at the computer to check him out. I thought maybe he had to go outside, but he refused to get up. So I managed to coax him up on his front legs and then lifted up his back end (which I was doing alot lately to help him get outside). As soon as I let go, he flopped back down onto his haunches. It took both my wife and I to get him out for a bathroom break that night and the next morning. He also needed us to support his weight to drink from his water bowl and he refused his food.<br />
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So, my wife made that terrible call to the vet's office. He was always truly her dog, and I am amazed at the strength she's had in dealing with his failing health. Taking him there today was easily the worst thing I have ever had to do in my life. Although possibly worse was sitting here with him this morning, knowing it was coming. Knowing that today was the last time I'd wake up and see him laying in the living room, or next to our bed. Knowing that it was the last time he'd raise his nose to the wind....or sniff at the grass.....or lay at our feet.<br />
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My daughter was at school. So I carried him out to the back porch and laid him in the shade, while my wife and I sat next to him for a few hours.....just like we used to do before our daughter was born...back when it was only the three of us. Even though he couldn't stand on his own and mostly slept, he seemed happy. He'd lift his head occassionally and look up at us....perhaps in disbelief that it was just us three again. He seemed happy, which made it all the more terrible knowing what we had to do. I wouldn't wish having to put down a beloved pet on my most fearsome enemy. If I live a million lifetimes, I hope I never have to do it again.<br />
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I wish I had made more time for him the last few years. Work, kids, etc. interfered (although I always let them interfere). I also wish I hadn't lost my temper with him and snapped at him on the occassions that he ate food off of the table or pulled things out of the trash. <br />
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But that is another special thing about Sampson....something I've just learned today. His passing reminded me that you can't take things back and you have a limited amount of time to do right by the ones you care about. Don't waste it. If it were possible for dogs to understand such sophisticated concepts, I think Sampson would be happy to know he taught me one last lesson.<br />
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I am, at least, grateful for the times we spent at night and in the morning when I took him out potty. Just him and I. Even if only for a minute or two. I made some great wildlife discoveries during those times. We heard great-horned owls, <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/10/back-to-backyard-denizens-carnivores-in.html" target="_blank">saw North Carolina gray foxes</a>, watched a <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/02/an-interlude-of-mink.html" target="_blank">mink run through the snow</a>, and also heard many, many frogs over the years.. Our tiny adventures frequently ended up as blog fodder, from the time we found the "<a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/02/white-footed-mystery.html" target="_blank">mouse-cicle</a>" to checking <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2011/12/merry-christmas.html" target="_blank">snowed-in camera traps in Minnesota</a>.<br />
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I owe him alot for those times as well.....<br />
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Good bye, old pal. Please forgive me for not being there as much as I should have these last years.<br />
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See you on the other end of the trail.....<br />
<strong> </strong><br />
<em><strong>-Trailblazer</strong></em><br />
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<em> PS. I hope you enjoyed these pictures. I tried to chose ones from his younger days. when he was most full of life. It's how I prefer to remember him.</em><br />
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Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-12241456367919896182014-02-21T16:49:00.001-08:002014-02-21T16:49:25.187-08:00Lucky Bob....In my most recent <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2014/02/winter-wildlife-trackingand-more.html" target="_blank">post</a>, I mentioned that we found tracks of the Bob-tailed Cat (<em>Lynx rufus</em>) in the snow.<br />
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After reviewing the video clips on the cameras we checked, we found the following:<br />
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This was very close to the Bobcat tracks we found and is likely the same individual.<br />
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Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.<br />
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Bobcats are pretty hard to come by for us. In the southern part of our fine state, they are mostly nonexistant (or very, very scarce). They are much more common in the northern part of the state, but still don't exist in very high densities compared to other mammals of comparable size and trophic status.<br />
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It's only becuase this particular project is ongoing further north that we are able to get Bobcat clips (see also <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/08/sneaky-bob.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/02/wild-cat-o-woods.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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Thus, 'cats are one of my favorite critters to get on a camera trap!Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-42114347854241116052014-02-17T09:06:00.000-08:002014-02-17T09:06:08.787-08:00Winter Wildlife Tracking....and moreRecently, I accompanied my research students into the field. We are in year two of a project focused on Wolves (<em>Canis lupus</em>), which I've previously posted tidbits from (see <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/01/wolves-which-batten-upon-lambs.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/07/wildlife-trackin-and-some-scat-to-boot.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-pursuant-wolf.html" target="_blank">here</a>). I haven't been able to get out with them to do fieldwork as much as I would have liked on this project. However, they are amazingly competent, organized and detail-oriented.....so I haven't felt the need to hover over their shoulders.<br />
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Although I haven't <em>needed</em> to be there, I have desperately <em>wanted</em> to go out with them more often. Circumstance has always intervened, unfortunately. During their most-recent trip, however, everything fell into place. <br />
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Before I share some of our observations from that trip, allow me to give you a bit of context for what their fieldwork involves. This project requires that every two weeks, they take a 3 hr car trip north. Because it's too expensive to stay in hotels, etc., all of their fieldwork must be crammed into one day. This means a 14-15 hr day, including drive time, assuming everything goes smoothly (if you want to know about some of the 'hiccups', ask them how many times they've gotten a vehicle stuck during these trips :) ). The days are shorter up here in the winter. So, to insure that they have enough daylight to finish their objectives, they leave early (5 am). This way, they arrive at the first site at alittle after sun-up and valuable light isn't squandered while driving.<br />
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Winter fieldwork is the best, in my opinion. Many folks I know talk about how much they love summer, and given my fondness for herptiles...I understand. But summer can get just too dang hot. There are only so many clothes that you can legally take off to deal with the heat of summer and eventually you just have to wallow in your own moisture. Winter is the opposite: you can always add more clothes. So long as you are dressed appropriately, winter fieldwork is great.<br />
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We needed that appropriate dress at the first site we visited...the sun had barely been up and the air was bitter cold. Just having the fingers exposed to take pictures with my "fingerless" gloves (with the flip-up mitten tops) set my skin to burnin'!<br />
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But, the research students (Phil and Sarah) got right down to work, while I got some photos of them in action.<br />
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Pretty soon, we were headed back to the vehicle. It wasn't long before the air started to warm a bit and it was downright pleasant to be working outside. The amount of time spent at each location isn't too great....although sometimes the walking in and out can take time, depending on the amount of snow. However, it's the time we spent on-foot that gave us opportunities to observe some very cool stuff!<br />
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Wolf packs are in the general vicinity of every study location we stop at. We obviously don't know where they are. They could be 50 yds away or 5 miles away, depending on where the pack is within it's territory. Regardless, we know wolves have probably passed through our immediate area at some point in time. Thus, there is wolf-sign galore! We had some great opportunities for photographs....<br />
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There was lots of Wolf scat around. Its fun to try and find some evidence of recent meals by looking at scat.<br />
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Take the example below:<br />
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I was an idiot and forgot a ruler....but the print to the left is from my size 12.....<br />
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Here's a close-up:<br />
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Lots of hair (which a quick inspection appeared to be from White-tailed Deer). Also note the dark consistency...which would suggest alot of muscle or organ meat was consumed. This is an important point to remember, especially when viewing other examples of scat we found.<br />
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Take a look at another scat below, which was along a different trail.....<br />
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Notice the track at the bottom....scat more towards the top.<br />
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Here's a close-up of the scat, itself...<br />
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This scat is much lighter in color...a bit more chalky in appearance. My guess would be that this wolf was consuming less meat and more bone. Perhaps this individual was scavenging on an old-carcass...crunching up bones, etc. In fact, there appears to be some bone fragments visible in there.<br />
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What's really interesting about this particular scat is that there appears to be a bit of blood (just above the excrement in the picture below).<br />
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It looks more black in the picture than it did in real life. On the snow it was a dark red. So, is this blood due to a bit of scraping from the wolf passing that scat with the bone chunks? Possible. Another explanation is that the blood came from a female in estrus. In this area, we found lots of urine marks. Perhaps this spot represents a location where a female in estrus dribbled a bit of urine and also defecated.<br />
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We are currently in the wolf breeding season (January through April), so females could be in estrus. Interestingly, females are apparently in estrus for a short period of time (1 to 2 weeks). Wolves are "monestrous", meaning they have one estrous cycle annually, which occurs at roughly the same time of year.<br />
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Speaking of urine...like many canids, wolves mark their territories with urine. Such territorial markings can be referred to as a "raised leg urination", or RLU. <br />
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Because wolves often travel along roads, a good way to quickly assess for the presence of wolf activity is to watch for RLUs from a slowly moving vehicle. This is relatively easy to do, as the urine really sticks out against the white snow.<br />
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After you see an RLU, its important to get out and assess the area to find more evidence of wolves. Obviously, folks walk their dogs along roads too, or bring dogs into remote areas for hunting, so you have to check things out a bit to confirm wolf activity. Tracks, for example, or the height of the RLU can be good bits of evidence in support of wolves being present.<br />
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In another location we found beautifully pristine wolf trails along old tire tracks in the snow. These were along a little-traveled snowmobile path and there were many associated RLUs. Thus, the RLUs we found here were very likely to be from wolves and not dogs.<br />
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Here are two examples:<br />
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Finally, and as you probably already guessed, there are a plethora of tracks and trails!<br />
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There were so many wolf trails on the route in the picture below, it was sometimes hard to tell how many wolves were present.<br />
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From the picture above, you can also see how deep the snow was by looking at it in relation to Sarah and Phil, whom are standing in a single set of tire tracks on this trail. Also, note the wolf tracks leading away from us in the tire impression.<br />
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Some of these tracks were perfect imprints (and I wish we had brought some snow track-casting gear).<br />
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Below is a picture of a domestic dog print, for comparison. Although my hand is meant to provide scale, this obviously isn't perfect. The distance of my hand from the track, etc. can confound things, but it will give some you idea of the size relationship.<br />
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Wolves weren't the only critter we saw evidence of on our trip....<br />
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Rodent trails were abundant, and some areas looked as like a criss-crossing highway of rodent tracks.<br />
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...more (and bigger) rodents to come!<br />
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Lagomorphs were also easy to observe. One of my favorites from those we saw were the tracks of the Snowshoe Hare (<em>Lepus americanus</em>).<br />
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In these pictures, the front feet are obviously on the left, and back feet on the right.<br />
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Just check out the size of those kickers!!<br />
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There were other carnivore tracks at some of the sites. Sarah found the tracks below in the road. I stepped right over them, as I was watching a little Red Squirrel (<em>Tamiasciurus hudsonicus</em>) moving through the underbrush next to the vehicle. Thank goodness she was paying attention!<br />
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A Bobcat (<em>Lynx rufus</em>) had wandered around along the road very near where we parked.<br />
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The diminutive size of their tracks always amazes me...<br />
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The day was coming to a close. We made our way to the last of the sites we needed to visit. On the way, we stopped by a dead-end road where Phil and Sarah had seen lots of Bobcat tracks in the past. There was a very small culvert just off of the road. They had found a high concentration of 'cat activity near the culvert on a recent trip. This suggested that the culvert was perhaps a winter refuge spot for the 'cat. We thought we'd see if we could get some more track photos, so we took a quick detour to check things out.<br />
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We pulled up and I hopped out to peek at the culvert. The snow was very deep (up to my knees, right off of the road), and it took me a second to clumsily lumber over to the culvert. From about three feet away, I could tell something had been moving around near the entrance. There was some brown particulate matter on the snow, and I saw a few recently shed hairs.<br />
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However, I didn't see any obvious 'cat tracks. I moved to my left a bit, so that I could see the culvert entrance, without being too close. From that vantage point, I noticed several large pellets in the snow and my first thought went to a Lagomorph (cottontails and hares) of some kind. <br />
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Yet, when I leaned over and saw that the it wasn't just a few pellets, but lots of pellets lining the culvert floor, it instantly triggered memories of a picture in the book "Tracking and the Art of Seeing", written by Paul Rezendes in 1992. This picture depicts a Porcupine's (<em>Erethizon dorsatum</em>) winter den, and shows a pile of pellets exactly like what I was seeing.</div>
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I craned my neck slightly....and there was Porky.....</div>
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I was able to stick my camera in front of the culvert and snap a picture. It's not an outstanding shot, but I also didn't want to disturb him too much by taking lots of photos.</div>
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It's amazing...who would have thought to look in this small, unobtrusive opening in the snow? </div>
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Just to show you how unobtrusive it is, below is Sarah taking a picture of the outside. The opening is just to her right.</div>
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Ultimately, what more could we ask for from a single 14 hour field day? It's days like this that remind me how much I love my chosen profession.</div>
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Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-52030927303344056992014-02-05T19:30:00.001-08:002014-02-05T19:40:55.286-08:00A Year-Old Tale of Romance (and how my students uncovered the continuing story....)Happened across these pictures recently and can't believe I didn't post them before...<br />
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Last January, I happened to get pictures of two twitter-painted Red Fox (<em>Vulpes vulpes</em>)...they were together smack-dab in the middle of the fox breeding season 'round here (which is usually January/February).<br />
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I'm willing to bet that this is the pair whom are responsible for the pup we caught pictures of on the same site several months later (see <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/05/wildlife-babies-2013-red-fox-pups.html" target="_blank">here</a>)....<br />
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So...the ATV activity this summer really cut down on the number of fox pictures we got on the cameras for awhile.<br />
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But....<a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2014/01/wil-e-returns.html" target="_blank">much like with the Coyotes</a>....that has changed this winter. However, I wasn't sure if we would see any kind of breeding activity or evidence this year. I thought that if the ATVs scared them off this summer, they might not consider it safe enough for breeding again.<br />
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Which leads us to my Advanced Ecology class this year (which is a class I've posted about during past years...see examples <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/02/advanced-ecology-lab-2013-weeks-1-2.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/02/advanced-ecology-lab-week-1-deploying.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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Two weeks ago, the students deployed their camera traps for a semester of monitoring. <br />
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They also spent some time assessing the habitat communities on-site and using GPS units to delineate community boundaries.<br />
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This gave them a chance to get a good feel for the property we are working on, and make some important observations.<br />
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Now, zoom forward to this week. We gathered on-site to begin our weekly exercise, while also checking camera traps, etc.<br />
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Not long after we got started, one of the students called me over to their camera trap location to show me a burrow he had found. In the picture below, the student is standing about where the entrance to the burrow is located.<br />
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He's pretty critter-savvy (experienced hunter and trapper). We agreed it was in the size range for Red Fox....<br />
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There were clearly tracks heading to the entrance and it appeared to be active. But we had snow the night before, so it was hard to tell (a) what species left the tracks and (b) how recently the burrow was used.<br />
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Could it be a pair of Reds is making a nice little love nest in which to rear their pups again this year?<br />
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The nearby camera trap the students put up gave us reason to be hopeful.<br />
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Here is our first glimpse of a fox leaving the den. Not a great picture, unfortunately, but you can tell its coming out of just about parallel to where the student is in the picture above.<br />
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...and again later that evening...<br />
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Then...just to give us something to brag about....our resident Badger (<em>Taxidea taxus</em>) lumbered by for a sniff.<br />
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So fingers crossed that we will get a repeat of the fox pups this year! Always fun to get pictures of them....<br />
<br />Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-44037751220921436492014-01-27T18:53:00.000-08:002014-01-27T18:53:27.813-08:00Wil E. ReturnsThe Coyotes at one of my study sites grew sparse after some heavy <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/11/bucky-red-tail-and-others.html" target="_blank">ATV use</a> began in the summer.<br />
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However, the snow seems to have curtailed the ATV activity, which gave the canines a chance to sneak back onto the site. In fact, the beginning of the calendar year seemed to really bring out the 'yotes....<br />
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Although glimpses of them were as fleeting as you might expect at first....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'yote is in the far background in this picture, partially obscured by a dead branch</td></tr>
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They also appeared to be appropriately skittish. The IR flash of the camera caused this individual to turn-tail and run. This is a response to IR cameras that I've observed from Coyotes several times in the past (see <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2011/05/wary-coyote.html" target="_blank">here</a> , <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/03/advanced-ecology-lab-week-9-tod-and.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2011/02/coyote-cams.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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Skittishness is probably one of their greatest survival mechanisms. It might even be a reason why (despite the best efforts of humanity) the Coyote has avoided eradication throughout recent history.<br />
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Yet, sometimes, skittishness is over-powered by the desire to check out what the neihbors are up to.<br />
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This individual (on January 10th, perhaps the same one from the 5th and the 9th?) is very interested in the canine urine we deposited in front of the camera. <br />
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Considering we are in the general time period of the breeding season, it's not too surprising to see the canines doing some territorial investigations.<br />
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I imagine "curiosity" treats the canine, much like it does the cat .....if said canines don't learn quickly. Canine urine is a common tool in the trapper's toolkit.<br />
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Another quick capture on January 15th....<br />
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I've also seen a large number of tracks and trails throughout the site since the first of the year. One of my research students even found an interesting trail in the snow two weeks ago. It appeared to tell a story of ol' Wil E. catching a Cottontail (complete with blood and tufts of rabbit fur). I'm pretty happy to see them return after their long absence this summer and very sparse appearances in the fall.<br />
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I can't imagine our resident forest ghost is particularly thrilled (seeing that Coyotes will exclude Red Fox)...but it hasn't scared him/her off completely. <br />
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Although he does appear a bit more on-edge than before....<br />
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Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-71944077252679358402014-01-15T19:36:00.001-08:002014-01-15T19:36:13.045-08:00Getting Rid of the Winter Blues: 2014 Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back to the cabin we go for another year of fun, fishing and catching up with long-time friends. The same six of us high school buddies made the trek north for three days of fishing and frivolity, as we have done for almost a decade.<br />
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The trip would not start easily, however, as Old Man Winter decided to show his face during our drive up. As a result, we pulled in at the cabin amidst a bout of freezing rain and snow. Although we arrived unscathed, we were all glad to be out of the storm.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy looking out at the lake through a snowstorm</td></tr>
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After unpacking, my first order of business was to set out camera traps. The short duration of our stay means there is a low probability of catching things on the cameras. In fact, you'll note that past years have yeilded very little (see <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/01/getting-rid-of-winter-blues-2013-edition.html" target="_blank">here</a> and<a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/01/getting-rid-of-winter-blues.html" target="_blank"> here</a>). Regardless, the quicker the cameras are out....the more time we have to catch something. <br />
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So, Justin and I made a rather hasty trip into the dark with a bucket of cameras and smelly stuff. Whether I catch anything or not, it's fun to try. Its also fun to bring a different scent lure each year.....just to mix things up a bit. This year my lures of choice were Beaver castor, Muskrat Gland and Fish Oil.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Applying some Muskrat gland to a stick that will be stuck in the snow in front of a camera</td></tr>
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After our quick adventure, it was back to the cabin for some catching up with the others.<br />
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"Catching up" often includes long, even-keeled debates on topics such as which NFL quarterbacks should be considered among the top 10 or 15 in the league.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chad and Andy discuss things....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chad and Andy discuss things further.....</td></tr>
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After a discussion that left all parties satisfied, we played cards and then turned-in at a reasonable hour. One needs plenty of rest to effectively fish in the morning.<br />
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We awoke to the sight of frosted trees, thanks to the Old Man's activities.....<br />
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....and the view from the lake was very nice.... </div>
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Once out on the ice, we began to drill holes with the ice auger so that our fishing tip-ups could be set....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justin (background) and Hank (foreground) help Dan (right) drill and clean out a hole in the ice</td></tr>
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Then it was back inside for some breakfast.......<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nate is nice enough to cook most of the meals on the trip, and boy-howdy....they are good!</td></tr>
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After breakfast, we waited....and played cards. Cribbage is a favorite, as is Euchre. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan, Chad, Andy and Justin wait for some action on the ice....</td></tr>
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We have almost no demands on our time, which allows us to undertake whatever whim comes to mind. For example, I was able to do some random meandering and hunt for tracks in the fresh snow. Most of what I found belonged to White-tailed Deer (<em>Odocoileus virginianus</em>).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A heavily used Deer trail into the woods (note the woodpecker tree to the right).</td></tr>
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Rodents and Shrews were among the more interesting trails I found in the snow, and although I was hoping for Fisher or weasel, I'll take what I can get....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rodent trail (probably a Peromyscus of some sort...either white-footed or deer mouse). Normally all four feet are more obvious in the trail, but the snow was deep here. Thus, the treail looks alittle more dumb bell shaped. You can also see the drag mark from the tail. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I believe this is the trail of a shrew (Sorex or Blarina sp., but probably the latter). The tracks are roughly comparable in size to those above, which is very small. But, the footsteps alternate rather than bound as in the rodent above.</td></tr>
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By the end of day 1, we had done pretty well fishing. A total of 11 fish...including the Yellow Perch (<em>Perca flavescens</em>) and Walleye (<em>Sander vitreus</em>) below.<br />
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Thus, we went to sleep satisfied.<br />
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The next morning broke clear and breezy. The weather front, which had hung over us the day before, moved on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nate and Andy working on clearing the holes in the ice</td></tr>
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So we marched back out onto the ice to re-deploy our fishing gear...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nate and Chad checking the gear before deployment</td></tr>
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...and then marched back inside to play the waiting game again....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gang playing cribbage, patiently waiting for the next fish</td></tr>
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Luck would not be with us for most of the morning or afternoon, however. By late afternoon, we decided to try a different location nearby. This required we haul our gear to the opposite side of the peninsula. Here we drilled new holes, deployed the fishing tip-ups and....again....waited (this time continuously exposed to the elements, not inside of a cabin).<br />
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Thus, a nice fire was in order....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy and Chad work on the fire, no easy feat when it is on top of snow and there is very little dry wood around</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fire takes on life!</td></tr>
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Although the fire and conversation were great fun, our last full day of fishing ended with only one capture: a single Northern Pike (<em>Esox lucius</em>).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chad holds our only capture on the second day of fishing.</td></tr>
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Despite a slow second day, our good cheer would not be diminished!<br />
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The camera traps deployed were a similar story. Very little activity and what we got was mostly White-tailed Deer (which is a small improvement over the last two years).<br />
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They even did me the courtesy of investigating the scent I put out. In the clips below, it's muskrat gland.<br />
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They even came in for a sniff of the camera.....</div>
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Of course we also got lots of pics of the two pooches that come along for the trip.....and their ball.<br />
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As you can see: few things in life trump <em><strong>Ball</strong></em>.....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note: Wrigley (on the right) with Ball and Hank (center) whom first wanted Ball, but now sees the camera</td></tr>
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<em><strong>Ball</strong></em> is all-consuming....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrigley repeatedly picking up and re-presenting Ball to us, while Hank investigates the camera</td></tr>
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It matters not if the Master ignores them at first. So long as they continually present <em><strong>Ball</strong></em> to the Master...the Master will eventually be driven to madness, and they will recieve their reward.....<em><strong>Ball</strong></em>.<br />
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Maybe....<br />
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There is one <em>OTHER</em> thing that almost rivals the importance of <em><strong>Ball</strong></em> for these dogs....and that's thieving bait that I've put in front of my camera traps.<br />
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Even if that bait is frozen Fish Oil.<br />
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Note the bottle in my hand, as I dump out some fish oil sporadically.<br />
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Now, note the giant frozen sheet of fish oil that Wrigley has decided to liberate.<br />
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After this year, I'll also give up using our left-over minnows as camera bait (or will only do it in front of cameras that are further away). I've seen past evidence of Red Fox (<em>Vulpes vulpes</em>) on the ice near our tip-ups scavenging the left-overs, which gave me the idea in the first place.<br />
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BUT...any camera trap on the ice with minnows in front only attracts two naughty canines.... :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hank (left) and Wrigley (right) stealing my bait....</td></tr>
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And no matter how many times one yells<em> "Leave it!",</em> they are just so sneaky....<br />
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...and eventually they cleaned out every jowl-lickin' one of those fish-cicles.<br />
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It's also worth noting that the pictures above are but a few of several <em><u>hundred</u></em> that the cameras snapped of Hank and Wrigley.<br />
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Still...it's pretty hard to be mad at them. I'm asking alot of the dogs by putting out food and expecting them to ignore it. Plus, they know how to find the soft-spot.....<br />
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And so it was that our time at the cabin ended for 2014. We pulled out of the driveway with heavy-hearts and drove off to face the real world again. <br />
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It seems a shame that every day can't be like the time we spend ice fishing in January.<br />
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But...if that were so....we wouldn't have anything to look forward to next year, would we? If I frame it in this way, then the road back to reality doesn't seem so dismal.<br />
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In fact......it's <em>actually</em> kinda pretty....<br />
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Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-22120152027914427262014-01-06T08:50:00.004-08:002014-01-06T08:52:34.974-08:00Bring In the New Year with Bucky!The New Year Badger!<br />
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...and unlike the collegiate athletic team who uses his visage....this Bucky's New Year's outing gave me something to be happy about...<br />
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You'll notice the individual above is much-fattened since the last video clip we got back in <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/11/bucky-red-tail-and-others.html" target="_blank">October</a> (assuming its the same individual).<br />
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Badgers are not obligate hibernators. They do, however, reduce activities and movement in the winter months (reviewed<a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/10/lucky-bucky.html" target="_blank"> here</a>). When we saw him or her in the fall, I still thought it might have been a transient individual. There has not been a resident Badger on this property in recent years. Furthermore, a Badger did pass through in the fall of 2012, but this encounter yielded only one fleeting picture, which indicated it was a transient.<br />
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I'm assuming that this Badger has a den nearby, given that they tend to stay closer to their dens in the winter, and it has been bitterly cold these past weeks. <br />
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Anyone who follows this blog may remember that I have a particular fondness for Mustelids. And, of course, I grew up with a love of Badgers, having been born in Wisconsin. Therefore, I am happy to have <em>something</em> related to Badgers that I can celebrate for the New Year!Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-12039898784995450012013-12-31T15:49:00.001-08:002013-12-31T15:51:24.767-08:00A Ghost in the WoodWe have a few resident Red Foxes (<em>Vulpes vulpes</em>) that occassionally come near the rural home where we live. I hadn't seen much of them this summer or in early fall. But come late fall and winter, their presence has been easier to detect, thanks to the snow. <br />
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I know that they have also become more active at one of my research sites since December.<br />
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...even stopping to investigate some scent we put down to attract him.....<br />
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I've never actually seen them with my own eyes near the house, only their sign. I bring a spotlight with me when I take the dog out for his nightly evacuation in the hopes that I will get a glimpse of our resident forest spirits in the orchard next door, or in the pine trees behind the house.....but so far, I've seen nary an eye-shine.<br />
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I would wager they are often out there, however....probably carefully watching the dog and I as we lumber along the driveway. I often picture them hiding silently behind a wall of dormant raspberry, waiting for us to head back into our luxuriously warm abode before continuing with their constant struggle to survive during these frigid months.<br />
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Today, however, I found evidence that the Ol' Todd had recently come a bit closer than normal.<br />
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I found a set of fox tracks near the White and Red Pine Trees immediately behind our house. We had an inch of new snow last night, so I knew the tracks were fresh. They purposefully moved along the back side of our garden and past the compost bins.<br />
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The trail then passed along the pines behind our garage and just barely around the west wall, where the fox would have had a better view of our driveway and the road beyond....<br />
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....here the trail abruptly stopped. <br />
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The fox then turned almost on a dime, planted on all fours once...perhaps to stop and scan his surroundings....before moving away from the driveway and back up into the safety of the pine trees.<br />
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If you look carefully at the picture above, the track in the foreground was the last in the trail moving this direction....the ones in roughly the middle of the frame are of Toddie's new direction (note the four to five tracks near eachother....probably where the fox stood to get a better look before moving on).<br />
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And so he went....until he hit one of my old foot trails back into the woods and I stopped following.<br />
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I like to imagine that perhaps it was the dog and I, coming out at just the right time, that caused the ghost to alter its silent course and head back into the woods. Perhaps he saw the beam of my spotlight, or heard us clumsily walking over the snow from a mere 10 or 15 yards away on the driveway.<br />
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Whatever the case, I wish Todd the best of luck during these cold winter months...and wish all of you a happy New Year!<br />
<br />Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-35888421692842214712013-12-20T20:34:00.001-08:002013-12-23T06:10:56.667-08:00The Pursuant WolfYou may, or may not, remember the following video clip from earlier this year.....<br />
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Anyways, after I had posted this, one of my research students was reviewing the video clips and actually found something interesting in the clip right before this one. <br />
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You'll notice two critters in the clip below: one at the beginning on the right and another several seconds later.<br />
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We had looked at this when we first uploaded it onto my computer and dismissed it as two White-tailed Deer (<em>Odocoileus virginianus</em>) bounding through at top speed. Closer inspection at a later date yielded the truth. <br />
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Take a closer look. <br />
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That second critter isn't a deer. That's a Gray Wolf (<em>Canis lupus</em>). He and his pack mates were on the hunt, it appears.<br />
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Who would have thought that canine could leap as high as a deer? I've always heard they have the ability, but you can't believe it until you see it!Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-44687113499481000442013-11-24T08:57:00.001-08:002013-11-24T08:57:03.619-08:00Happy Walkin' Bird Day From Your Friendly Neighborhood Trailblazer!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In anticipation of the coming Holiday, I figured I should post the best camera trap picture of a Walkin' Bird (<em>Meleagris gallopavo</em>) that I could ever hope to get. Some students and I obtained this picture in the spring during a class exercise. We didn't get any photos of hens on this occasion, so I'm assuming they were behind the camera. This is the pose one would expect from a Tom on a greeting card for Thanksgiving (which is ironic, seeing that they usually adopt this posture in the spring, during the breeding season, and not in late November).<br />
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Also...have a look at this rafter (look it up :) ).<br />
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Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-87916128687338274082013-11-13T17:01:00.000-08:002013-11-15T20:47:16.735-08:00Bucky, the Red-Tail and Others....Mostly random stuff to post today....<br />
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I can't help but post another clip of the resident <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/10/lucky-bucky-returns.html" target="_blank">Badger</a> (<em>Taxidea taxus</em>). I just don't get them that often, so I get excited about any clip we get.<br />
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Then, another rarity, a raptor on the cams. I have gotten Red-tailed Hawks (<em>Buteo jamaicensis</em>) in the <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/02/advanced-ecology-lab-week-3-red-tails.html" target="_blank">past</a> (as well as a few other raptors, see <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/02/riparian-walkers.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2011/05/right-of-way-wanderers.html" target="_blank">here</a>). This is the first video clip, I think.<br />
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From what I can tell, this Red-tail appears to have nabbed something....<br />
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We still get some Canids, but they have become rare on this site lately....mostly becuase there has been an increase in human activity from the landowners.<br />
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I can't blame them at all for wanting to ride their ATVs on the property. Plus, they are nice enough to let me use the land for my research, so I can't really complain. Just a shame to see a real decline in the activity of some species on-site due to the ATVs.... Especially considering the the diversity I had seen on that tiny parcel prior to the ATVs (including Otters, Mink, Long-tailed Weasel, and Badgers).<br />
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Recently, we got a few fleeting shots of Red Fox (<em>Vulpes vulpes</em>) and Coyotes (<em>Canis latrans</em>) on-site. We hadn't seen either species since July, whereas the Red Fox in particular was a constant fixture in the previous two years. We even had <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/05/wildlife-babies-2013-red-fox-pups.html" target="_blank">pups</a> this spring, but shortly after the pups showed up, there was a real decrease in Canid activity on-site (which coincided with the greater ATV activity).<br />
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So, I was very happy to see some Canids on the cams this week, even if the Red Fox <em>does</em> look a little mangy....<br />
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Wil E. appears characteristically cautious....<br />
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There's also an impressive (but lazy-eyed) buck still occassionally running through the site. He's also been pretty rare since the ATVs started moving around. We now only see Bucks like this after there has been no ATV activity for a few days in a row. <br />
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He's avoided the arrows so far (probably because he only appears to be active when its dark out, from what I can tell). We'll see if he lasts the gun season. Interestingly, I don't think he's one of the two bucks seen earlier in the year (see <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/09/holy-18-point-buck-batman.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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That 18-pointer hasn't been back since the summer.Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-49058068900002764032013-10-28T08:32:00.000-07:002013-10-28T08:32:55.591-07:00Happy Halloween from Your Friendly Neighborhood Trailblazer!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Happy Halloween everyone!!</div>
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<br />Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-12968733200477180142013-10-23T18:37:00.001-07:002013-10-28T08:33:17.352-07:00The Bull in the JarI recently needed to access the specimen collection housed at a nearby University.<br />
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This collection has many specimens that are of historical importance.<br />
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As I was climbing up and down the ladder, looking through various jars, I happened to glance up and see the following tag.....<br />
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Peering back at me through the sheer wall of his eternal resting place, sat The Beast......<br />
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<a href="http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae316/jkapfer/CopyofDSC09371_zps02857aae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae316/jkapfer/CopyofDSC09371_zps02857aae.jpg" width="640" /></a> ......a large Bullsnake (<em>Pituophis catenifer sayi</em>), which is now a rather rare species in our neck of the woods. In fact, it has likely been decades since one has existed on campus at the now urban university where this specimen is housed.<br />
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Although his clouded eye didn't see me, I couldn't help but smile at him. It may seem strange to smile at the sight of a dead snake in a jar....and it is perhaps a shame that this once impressive critter ended up sitting in preservative on a shelf.<br />
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Yet, my smile was broad. <br />
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Just imagining this large fella scaring the hell out of the inhabitants of the "men's dormitories" at the university over 80 years ago....one cannot help but chuckle.Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-66406250255352166702013-10-11T19:48:00.002-07:002013-10-11T19:55:04.067-07:00Lucky Bucky Returns!I've never gotten a good picture or video clip of a North American Badger (<em>Taxidea taxus</em>).<br />
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I've come close on two occassions (see <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/10/lucky-bucky.html" target="_blank">here</a>), but it's never quite been what I was hoping for.<br />
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FINALLY......at the same site where I got only a fleeting picture of one last year, we nabbed a good video clip of a Badger!<br />
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Other video clips at this spot, indicate that it overflow-eth with mice (<em>Peromyscus sp</em>.) and Eastern Chipmunks (<em>Tamias striatus</em>), either of which would make a nice meal. <br />
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How could a person NOT be fascinated with Badgers? They're the complete package, for me: a mustelid, hard to camera trap (around here), ornery, and cute as hell.....<br />
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Wish I could give a more detailed post.....but was at The Wildlife Society's annual conference this week. The conference was great (even got to hang out with Alyssa from <a href="http://bearlyalyssa.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Nature in a Nutshell</a> and JVN from <a href="http://con102.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Backyard Beasts</a>), but it put me way behind the 8-ball.<br />
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Yet, it had been so long since I posted anything, figured I better sneak something in!<br />
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Hope you all are well!Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-73879532474723915112013-09-22T19:02:00.004-07:002013-09-22T19:05:36.997-07:00The End of the 2013 Herp Season Approach-eth....but there are still TURTLES!The beginning of the semester sort of stinks.....<br />
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The collision of the field season and the school season means there isn't a free second. We have three projects still in the active data-collection phase, which we are trying to coordinate schedules for....and everyone has class (students) or teaching/grading (me).<br />
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All of that will change sooner than we think, though. We are in that time of the year when weather becomes highly variable. Last week, for example, we had a high of 90 deg. F on Tuesday, and a high of 63 deg F on Friday. This week we had two days in the mid-80s, while today it was in the mid-60s over the weekend.<br />
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That means Fall is coming, which also means the cold-blooded critters will be going down for the winter very soon.<br />
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So....thought I'd share some late-season "herpstuff". Mostly a random conglomeration of neat things seen over the last few weeks.<br />
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Our 200-level Field Methods in Ecology class had their annual day of turtle trapping and marking (see <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/09/field-ecology-methods-week-2-2012.html" target="_blank">here</a> for last year's haul). This year was another great one. By luck, we got to take advantage of the last few good days left for trapping before the turtles started to focus on hibernation (and, thus, aren't as attracted to bait). <br />
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We set traps out for two days straight. Day 1 yielded some nice little Painted Turtles (<em>Chrysemys picta</em>)........<br />
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........ and of course some nice Common (northern) Snapping Turtles (<em>Chelydra serpentina</em>).<br />
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On Day 2, however, our traps were nearly exploding with turtles! <br />
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A ton more Paints....<br />
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.....no Snaps (suprisingly)...BUT...a much rarer find: a Blanding's Turtle! (<em>Emydoidea blandingii</em>). <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo courtesy of T. Gotrik</span></td></tr>
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In three years of trapping this location, we've never caught a Blanding's Turtle before.....<br />
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We also trap the nearby creek...and this year got another first: a Spiny Softshell Turtle (<em>Apolone spinifera</em>).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo courtesy of T. Gotrik</span></td></tr>
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The students were pretty excited (and so was I). In the end, we caught 26 Paints, 2 Snaps, 1 Blanding's Turtle and 1 Spiny Softshell.<br />
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Enough turtles for everybody to be able hold at least one in a group photo!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo courtesy of T. Gotrik</span></td></tr>
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The students worked hard and enjoyed themselves....even when hip waders weren't quite enough to keep them dry....<br />
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OH...and it's the time of year when salamanders are migrating from their summer ponds, to where they will spend the winter.<br />
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As we found out when checking our drift fences recently.....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tiger Salamanders (<em>Ambystoma tigrinum</em>).</span> <br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo courtesy of N. Rudolph</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Blue-spotted Salamanders (<em>Ambystoma laterale</em>)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo courtesy of N. Rudolph</span></td></tr>
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<br />Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-16833982330267811062013-09-01T06:13:00.000-07:002013-09-01T06:13:36.867-07:00Holy 18-Point Buck, Batman!!I had to sneak this one in quick.....<br />
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Two impressive animals on the cameras.<br />
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The first one would make most hunters drool.....<br />
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The second one, however, would probably give the average hunter a heart attack, if they saw it from a deer stand.<br />
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Despite the title of this blog post, I'm honestly not sure how many points this one has. I count anywhere from 16 to 18, depending on the picture. <br />
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Here are more....he's still in velvet, by the way.<br />
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This is the same site where I've been getting these nice bucks on camera year after year (see <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-death-of-titan.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/11/white-tail-chemical-ecology.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2011/09/spirit-of-brute-endures.html" target="_blank">here</a>). I will point out that we have a plethora of Coyotes on this same site. There is also a fair number of hunters in the general area, and the property in-question is hunted. <br />
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Still...every year I get these massive bucks on my camera traps, although the pictures are always in the middle of the night.Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-19985436657340591372013-08-24T07:07:00.000-07:002014-02-21T16:48:17.889-08:00Sneaky BobBobcats (<em>Lynx rufus</em>) are a somewhat tricky lot to camera trap around here. <br />
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They aren't really found in the southern part of our fine state, which is where I spend most of my time. Further north the ol' Bob-tailed Cat becomes more common, but still doesn't exist in very high densities (at least compared to other frequently cam-trapped critters). <br />
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Much like many Felines, they are also very secretive and sneaky. Slinking quietly through an area, leaving little evidence of their passing, unless one is lucky enough to find some tracks.<br />
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But we finally caught up with this Sneaky Bob!<br />
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Earlier in the Spring, the students on the wolf project had a few quick glimpses.<br />
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You have to watch this first video clip in its entirety....he/she doesn't show up until the very end....off to the far right.<br />
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In this second video clip, which is several minutes after the one above, we basically get a second. The 'cat is now on the far left and appears to be spraying a stump before moseying on.<br />
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In late July, however, we got a better clip of Sneaky Bob.<br />
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I haven't put alot of thought into it, but I do wonder why this species doesn't take to the more populated areas in the southern part of our state? Especially considering that out west they have acclimated to urban edges in parts of California (e.g., <a href="http://www.nps.gov/samo/naturescience/bobcats.htm" target="_blank">Santa Monica</a>), Colorado, <a href="http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/urban_bobcat.shtml" target="_blank">Arizona</a>, and <a href="http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/tag/bobcat/" target="_blank">Texas</a>.<br />
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I suspect these urban 'cats have access to some pretty rugged habitat immediately adjacent to the edge of Santa Monica (for example), which makes crossing over into the urban sphere pretty easy. At the same time, we have lots of rural and sparsely populated areas 'round here. Lots of "green space" and public natural areas....seems like there would be plenty access to the more southern parts of the state. <br />
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Perhaps it has to do with the fact that some of the states listed above have more arid environments. Thus, the 'cats are drawn into the well-watered greenspaces/lawns (and associated rodents) in urban areas. We aren't as dry here, but neither is Dallas/Fort Worth, and Bobcats apparently end up there.<br />
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Perhaps its only a matter of time?Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-40695847678846186362013-08-10T18:46:00.002-07:002013-09-01T08:43:15.430-07:00The Frenetic MustelidI've been cam-trapping this property for about two years. Just when I think I've got a very complete inventory of the species on-site, I get a surprise!<br />
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As we poured through the video footage from our cameras on-site, we saw this (from July 29th).... You may have to "maximize" the clip to see the critter. It's sort of in the lower right of the frame and you can see the eye-shine in the shrubs a few seconds later.<br />
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...and this....(same date, lower left-hand corner now).....<br />
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Looks "weaselly" to me. This also wasn't far from where I found <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-beaten-bear-poor-ol-slim-and-size.html" target="_blank">Poor Ol' Slim</a> dead on the road earlier in the summer. So...weasels are a real possibility on-site.<br />
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There are also gillions of Eastern Cottontail clips (<em>Sylvilagus floridanus</em>), including babies, from this exact camera set. They often move in and out of the shrubs where the weasel went. I was desperately hoping for an awesome predation event on camera, but alas....it was not to be.<br />
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These clips were pretty cool, but the weasel only makes a brief appearance in each of them.<br />
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So, I was incredibly thrilled to see this video clip from July 31st. Different camera on the same site.<br />
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I'm going with a Long-tailed Weasel (<em>Mustela frenata</em>) on the ID for this critter. The tail appears to be at least 1/3 or greater of the total body length (you might have to maximize the clip size to see it). The length of the tail suggests <em>M. frenata</em>. If correct, this would be a different species than Ol' Slim, which I <em>think</em> was the Short-tailed Weasel <em>M. erminea</em>.<br />
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Weasels are always tough for me to get pics or vids of. It's only happened once or twice before (<a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-weasel-on-stink-poles.html" target="_blank">see a previous post</a>). Having never seen any evidence of them on-site after about two years (no tracks in the snow nor other camera pics), I had given up on them for this property.<br />
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I guess....if nothing else....it really shows the importance of being patient and acquiring a long-term dataset when cam-trapping!Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-5870043850787262112013-08-02T19:32:00.000-07:002013-09-01T08:45:16.487-07:00"The Timber Wolves Will Be Our Friends...."<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>"The Timber Wolves will be our friends,</em></div>
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<em>We'll stay up late and howl,</em></div>
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<em>At the moon 'til nighttime ends,</em></div>
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<em>Before going on the prowl."</em></div>
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-Bill Watterson (creator of Calvin and Hobbes)</div>
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The <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/01/wolves-which-batten-upon-lambs.html" target="_blank">Wolf project</a> has been going well this summer. My students have seen some incredible stuff while out conducting the field work. They've also picked up some great video clips.<br />
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Below is recent example....<br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/C7f_M4kJnHY/0.jpg" height="399" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/C7f_M4kJnHY?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/C7f_M4kJnHY?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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This is such a nice bit of video footage. Not only does it give a perfect glimpse of the Wolf, it gives a clear look at how the tail is held. Note how straight that tail is out behind the body....not drooping down at all, as one might expect from a Coyote. <br />
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The little poem by Bill Watterson at the top is sort of silly, but still great. It simply, yet eloquently encapsulates how one should feel about seeing a critter like a wolf. As a wildlife biologist, few other species embody that visceral feeling of "wilderness" as do the Wolf and (for me) the <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/search/label/Timber%20Rattlesnake" target="_blank">Timber Rattlesnake</a> (<em>Crotalus horridus</em>).<br />
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Enjoy! My students have worked hard all summer for clips like this!Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-88103203481822991592013-07-28T10:16:00.000-07:002013-09-01T06:31:43.977-07:00More Box Turtle Stories? Not Quite!I had mentioned at the end of my recent <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/06/return-of-turtle-dogs.html" target="_blank">Turtle Dog post</a>, that there would be more box turtle stories to share. Figured it was about time!<br />
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Earlier in the summer my students and I had another opportunity to work with our state regulatory agency to conduct some rare reptile surveys.<br />
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This time, however, we would not be fortunate enough to have Turtle Dogs along to help. Instead we had a lot of humans, which we got together in a coordinated fashion to "pound the ground" looking for turtles. <br />
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Thus, we all met at a completely different site than the ones we had worked previously.<br />
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After a brief organizational meeting and a run-through of our objectives (find as many turtles as possible), we set to our task. The habitats we would be working in were very cool...including some beautifully well-managed oak savanna....<br />
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High-quality oak savanna habitat is something of a rarity these days. The primary reason for the loss of such habitat is its conversion to agriculture and urban/suburban development. But, there's still more that threatens oak savanna and prairie habitat: uncontrolled vegetative <em>succession</em>. </div>
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<em><strong>What is succession</strong></em>, you ask?</div>
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I'll have to keep this somewhat simple, to avoid making this post too long. So, I'll briefly define succession as the directional change of a plant community from an early community of species that establish immediately after disturbance to a final community of species that are superior competitors. </div>
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The community that establishes immediately after a disturbance (such as a fire, or heavy grazing) is called a <u><strong>Pioneer Community</strong></u>. Pioneer communities usually consist of colonizing species that have specific characteristics. </div>
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<li>They are often small annual species, and ones we might consider "weedy"</li>
<li>They can generally handle harsh conditions (high light intensity, high heat, low moisture)</li>
<li>Their seeds are often dispersed by wind</li>
<li>They are easily out-competed by later successional species.</li>
<li>They reach sexual maturity quickly. In this way they can quickly reproduce and disseminate their seeds to adjacent disturbed habitats before the later successional species (which are theoretically superior competitors) move in and push them out.</li>
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Eventually, other species, that perhaps grow taller (e.g., shrubs) enter the area....shade out the pioneers and change the species structure within the community. An example would be a mowed field that is left untouched for years eventually growing in with shrubby vegetation.</div>
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In theory, successional change will continue to occur (i.e., the plant communities will progress from pioneer to climax) if no further disturbance happens. Thus, over time this community will eventually change from a pioneer to a <strong><u>Climax Community</u></strong>. The climax community is the final community an area can achieve post-disturbance....in other words, these species are the best competitors and will not allow new species to come in, out-compete them and replace them. The plant species in Climax Communities have the following characteristics:</div>
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<li>They are usually larger as adults and shade-out competitors (e.g., trees)</li>
<li>They are often slow to mature</li>
<li>They have shade-tolerant seedlings</li>
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Their seeds are dispersed by gravity or seed-dispersers, such as birds </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Source: <a href="http://faculty.ycp.edu/">http://faculty.ycp.edu</a></td></tr>
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<strong><u></u></strong> </div>
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<strong><u>One last important point</u></strong>: Although successional change is directional (i.e., moving from Pioneer to Climax Community) if a new disturbance happens, the community undergoing succession can be knocked back to its pioneer community (or some earlier successional state).</div>
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<em><strong>So, how does the concept of succession relate to the previously mentioned oak savanna?</strong></em> Well, although too much disturbance is obviously a bad thing, not enough natural disturbance can be bad as well. Habitats like prairies and savannas typically have a vegetation community that is in an earlier successional state when compared to woodland. Thus, these habitats are dependent upon natural disturbance to persist. Usually this disturbance comes in the form of natural fire or moderate levels of grazing/browsing by herbivores. What this means is that even if a prairie or savanna parcel is protected from development, it must be properly managed or succession will occur until the parcel is no longer comprised of savanna. So, legally protecting land is only half of the battle. It is necessary to have the means and resources to effectively manage the prairie and savanna to keep it in an earlier successional state. The typical management practices used on savanna and prairie include mowing, hand removal of vegetation (chainsaws, etc.), herbicide applications, and purposely starting (controlled) fires.</div>
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<em>WHEW!</em> Sorry about the wordiness of this post!</div>
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Anyhoo...back to the story.....</div>
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The site we were surveying in had received appropriate management to maintain savannas. For example, you can see the limited understory vegetation, yet mature trees, in the picture below. This occurs because a controlled fire was used to kill back much of the small vegetation. The large trees, however, are resilient to low-intensity fire and so they persist. Management of this habitat is designed to keep the community in an earlier successional state in a way that specifically promotes oak savanna.</div>
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Interestingly.......this post about "Box Turtle Stories" doesn't have much ado about Box Turtles!<br />
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Not for lack of trying, however.<br />
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There were at least 18 individuals surveying at one point during the day. We went over and back over locations on-site that exhibited evidence of box turtles. The oak savanna habitats were surveyed intensively, as were the more open grassland/prairie type habitats (note the prairie below is starting to grow in with more woody vegetation, i.e., succession is occurring!).<br />
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Some of the strongest evidence to suggest box turtles are around is the presence of fresh "forms" in the ground. These are shallow burrows that the turtles dig in the ground for short-term respite from unfavorable conditions, or to sleep in at night. These forms usually don't go back very far, and they are shaped sort of like the profile of a box turtle shell. We found plenty of fresh forms on-site during our surveys (see below), so we knew box turtles were active in the area.<br />
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One would think that 18 competent surveyors vs. a slow-moving innocuous reptile would be a contest stacked heavily in favor of the humans.<br />
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You'd be wrong!<br />
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Despite the fact that we knew there were box turtles in the area, and found fresh evidence of them when we arrived, not a single box turtle did we see!!<br />
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We <em>DID</em> find other reptiles (one of which was possibly even better than finding a box turtle.....more to come). For example, we found several beautiful Smooth Greensnakes (<em>Opheodrys vernalis</em>).<br />
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This species is mostly insectivorous (eats insects) and prefers the shrubby edges adjacent to grassland/prairie, as in the picture below.<br />
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Let me tell you, there are few species that are <em>harder</em> to find than a green-colored snake that hangs out in the grass!<br />
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We also found a nice little juvenile Eastern Hognose Snake (<em>Heterodon platirhinos</em>). Note the upturned scale on the tip of the rostrum (or "nose"). This gives them the appearance of having a "nose" similar to a hog....or that's how it appeared to the person that named them!<br />
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But those weren't even the <em>best</em> finds that day!<br />
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Looks like a snake, doesn't it?<br />
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It's not a snake, although it is a reptile....and it is in a closely related group: the lizards. Snakes and lizards are both in the taxonomic Order Squamata, while snakes are in the Sub-Order Serpentes.....the lizards are in the Sub-Order Lacertilia.<br />
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What we have here is a <em>leg-less</em> lizard....the Western Slender Glass Lizard (<em>Ophisaurus attenuatus attenuatus</em>). An incredibly rare find in our neck o' the woods!<br />
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So, how can we tell this is a lizard? Superficially, it looks just like a snake. Yet, there are certain clues that belie this critter's ancestry....<br />
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First, all lizards have a hole on each side of the head, which is essentially an ear opening. Snakes have no external ear-opening.<br />
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See the hole circled in red below? You have to look carefully!<br />
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Lizards also have movable eyelids, something that snakes don't possess. In other words: lizards can blink. Obviously, I can't show you moving eyelids in still photos, so you'll have to trust me that these lizards can blink! <br />
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There are other differences too, but this is good enough for the current blog post.<br />
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These interesting little critters are not only hard to find, they are hard to catch. At certain times of year (such as late spring) they have a tendency to sit concealed in the thatch of short grasses. This provides them with cover and allows them to still soak up the sun. It also makes them incredibly difficult to find. Usually one only sees these lizards if they are almost stepped on, which prompts them to make a quick break for it. The motion gives them away and they can be located.<br />
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In addition to their cryptic nature, there are two other difficulties a glass lizard surveyor must deal with: (1) they are incredibly fast, (2) they have the ability to perform <strong><u>caudal autotomy</u></strong> (i.e., break off their own tails when captured). <em>Why?</em> The tail, after separated from the body, continues to thrash and twitch....presumably to distract the predator and allow the lizard to escape. The ability to break off pieces of their body is also apparently the origin of the name <em>"glass"</em> lizard.<br />
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We don't want them to loose their tails if they don't have to. The tail takes a while to regenerate. Better if they use that strategy when it really counts (i.e., avoiding a real predator). Yet, if one is incredibly gentle when capturing and handling the lizard, they are much less-likely to drop their tails.<br />
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So, capturing glass lizards requires a quick, but careful, response.<br />
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We actually found a fair number of glass lizards, which was even better!<br />
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I tried to explain to my students that I had seen less than five of these lizards in my entire life up to that point. On that day, we found 10!!!<br />
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On at least one occasion, there were two right next to each other......<br />
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...and so ended our second effort at finding box turtles. Although not a box turtle was found, we still got some great wildlife captures!<br />
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There's still one more small box turtle story to tell, but I'll save that for a later date.Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-82182119840462038852013-07-20T20:11:00.001-07:002013-09-01T08:49:38.044-07:00Wildlife Babies 2013: Twin CrittersI've gotten twins of several species numerous times in the past. In fact, last year I had a mother with five baby Raccoons at two of my study sites (see <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/08/your-weekly-fawn-and-still-more.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Furthermore, at one of these sites, the baby raccoons were a constant fixture in front of my camera traps.<br />
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This year, however, there have been very few Raccoon babies to speak of. One of the sites with the momma and five offspring is now devoid of Raccoons....so I wonder if she got hit by a car, or met some other untimely demise.<br />
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Regardless, it was not until a little over a week ago, that a camera at a completely new study location yielded some baby raccoons. Not quintuplets this time, but twins....<br />
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White-Tailed Deer offspring also seem to come in "multiples" frequently. I had twins at two sites last year (<a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/06/your-weekly-fawn-and-more-wildlife.html" target="_blank">here</a>)....and have even had triplets at a site in North Carolina (<a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2011/02/triplet-fawns.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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This year, however, I have gotten relatively little in the way of fawns (in general) at the site where they were very common last year. In fact, at a site where I not only had twins last year, but several other fawns, I've only got pictures of a momma with a single baby once (<a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/07/baby-stinkers-sibling-rivalries-and.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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Once again, the completely different sites (with the twin Raccoons) is where I've gotten pics of twin fawns this year.<br />
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On a different subject, it appears that a large buck who was at one of my study sites last year survived the hunting season and is back. This <em>could</em> be the third year in a row that he's been around (see 2011 shots <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2011/09/spirit-of-brute-endures.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and 2012 examples <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/10/some-new-brutes-for-2012.html" target="_blank">here</a>).....</div>
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You may remember that there were two at this site last year, but one was taken down by an automobile in late fall (<a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-death-of-titan.html" target="_blank">here</a>).</div>
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Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-49010982806523385652013-07-11T16:43:00.002-07:002013-07-12T14:05:49.823-07:00Wildlife Trackin' and Some Scat To-Boot!We often observe lots and lots of random mammal sign when going about our daily field activities.<br />
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At one of the sites where we have drift fences installed...there's a beaten down path that we follow back to the fence arrays. This path is often muddy and can be a great place for tracks. This week we found some rather nice Mink (<em>Neovison vison</em>) tracks.<br />
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The tracks below are a double-register (where the back foot lands almost directly on top of where the front foot had been), which is why there appears to be so many toes in this track.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by K. Rutzen</td></tr>
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The tracks below show the front and back foot with better separation. Here you can pretty clearly see the five toes from each foot, which helps identify the tracks as belonging to a Mustelid (weasel/mink/otter family).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by K. Rutzen</td></tr>
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Other critters have five toes....such as the very common Raccoon (<em>Procyon lotor</em>). Yet, Raccoon toes tend to be (proportionally) much longer than the toes of Mustelids. Raccoons also have plantigrade locomotion/stance, where the entire podials and metapodials (basically the entire soles of their feet) come into contact with the ground at each step. This creates a long flat impression, compared to the Mink above.<br />
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See an example of a plantigrade stance below (the squirrel is the example here). Also note the digitigrade stance of the canines (basically standing on their toes, or digits, which is often associated with speed and maneuverability) and the unguligrade stance of the deer (standing on the nails, or tips of the toes) which futher increases the length of stride for super-fast running! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Animal Diversity Web (<a href="http://www.arlis.org/">http://www.arlis.org</a>)</td></tr>
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Mink have more of a digitigrade stance, which is particularly obvious when compared to a Squirrell or Raccoon.<br />
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In fact...see the pictures (below) of a Raccoon hind foot from a roadkilled individual I happened across back in North Carolina several years ago. Note how these feet have long fingers and very long "soles"..... You can also see the types of imprints Raccoons make in the third picture below. See the long toes and long foot impression (the key in the picture is almost exactly 3 inches)?<br />
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Raccoon hindfoot<br />
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As we reached the banks of the stream we have to cross during our trek, we came across a possible Mink scat (likely from our little friend whom left the tracks). Note the bits of crayfish and possibly some snailshells in there. Seemed too small for Otter scat to me. Couple this with the nearby tracks, and I'm leaning towards Mink on the ID for the scat.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by K. Rutzen</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by K. Rutzen</td></tr>
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Of course, these fuzzy cutesy critters can also be a wee bit O' trouble. Something ate half of a snake captured in our drift fence trap the day we found the tracks. I'm hoping a Raccoon, just because I don't want to have to blame the Mink, which I have such a soft-spot for :) .....but regardless, this could become a problem.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by K. Rutzen</td></tr>
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The students working on the <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/01/wolves-which-batten-upon-lambs.html" target="_blank">Wolf Project</a> also see lots and lots of cool tracks when up north. The soils up there are very sandy, which can be great for tracking.<br />
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They see the tracks of Wolves (<em>Canis lupus</em>). The ones below were apparently freshly laid over their tire tracks when they returned to the campsite after an evening of field work. The thing I really like about this picture is it clearly shows the obvious "X" (between the toes and inter-digital pad) that is indicative of canine tracks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae316/jkapfer/580d5860-40c1-41a6-8004-fa0655d23a7e_zpsa4e71b59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae316/jkapfer/580d5860-40c1-41a6-8004-fa0655d23a7e_zpsa4e71b59.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by S. Wyrick</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by S. Wyrick</td></tr>
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They also see lots and lots of nice Black Bear tracks (<em>Ursus americanus</em>). Bear tracks are fairly obvious and easy to identify. They are big, first of all....and sort of pigeon-toed. There's nothing like them at that size in our neck o' the woods.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by S. Wyrick</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by S. Wyrick</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by S. Wyrick</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by S. Wyrick</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by S. Wyrick</td></tr>
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This last picture above is great. There are a few different critters in there. The Bear and White-tailed Deer are obvious. There is also a bird (to the right), that could be a Wild Turkey, a Sandhill Crane....or perhaps a Great Blue Heron. There are also some smaller tracks that are hard to identify, but Bobcat is not out of the question. The tracks are comparable to Bobcat tracks, although there is barely a hint of <em>maybe</em> a fifth toe (and the Bobcat has only four toes). Yet, the gait could be what Paul Rezendes shows as a "fast walk" for the Bobcat on Figure 7.15 (1999, Tracking and the Art of Seeing; Harper Collins Publishing).<br />
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Another mystery! Any thoughts on ID of those tracks are welcome!<br />
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Oh yeah....and just for the heck of it....thought I'd tell you that we caught an Eastern Milksnake (<em>Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum</em>) in the drift fences today. <br />
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I also thought you'd enjoy knowing how much it appreciated being caught.<br />
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Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-10524355428249924732013-07-03T21:25:00.000-07:002013-09-01T08:50:49.290-07:00Baby Stinkers, Sibling Rivalries, and a 'Yote in Summer CoatAs with last year, wildlife offspring are starting to show up frequently on the camera traps.<br />
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This year, "Skunk" has been the word in baby critters.<br />
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Here a momma with a bunch of tag-a-longs shuffle by the camera (I count six baby tails).<br />
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Not long after, two baby skunks (<em>Mephitis mephitis</em>) whom are likely siblings start to get after eachother. There's nothing funnier to me than watching these little puff-balls tumble around in front of the camera.<br />
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I've posted similar incidences of sibling rivalries last year, albeit with Raccoons (<em>Procyon lotor</em>)....see <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/08/sibling-rivalries.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/08/more-sibling-rivalries.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/09/raccoon-fight.html" target="_blank">here</a>....<br />
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Now that I mention Raccoons.....where are the Raccoon babies this year on my sites? Last year, there was a <a href="http://www.blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2012/08/your-weekly-fawn-and-still-more.html" target="_blank">momma with at least five offspring</a> all over the same site where I got the skunk babies this year.<br />
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We shall see.....<br />
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I saw my first fawn of the year back on May 19th....but didn't get my first on a camera trap until recently.<br />
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Another random event.....this appears to be a Great Crested Flycatcher (<em>Myiarchus crinitus</em>). See the tuft of feather on the crown (top of the head), the yellow belly and the brownish tail feathers. This species is fairly common 'round here....but a first on the camera trap for me. Interesting tid-bit about this species, their nests apparently almost always contain snake skins (or strips of plastic that might resemble a snake skin).<br />
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Finally, some very nice shots of a 'Yote (<em>Canis latrans</em>) in summer coat. They look much different now than they look in the winter (especially considering this one is soaking wet and looks even more scraggly). But I love those ears! <br />
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I don't get too many pictures of 'yotes at this site, so I'm always happy when I'm lucky enough to get one coming through.Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-80679345512115628322013-06-28T10:41:00.002-07:002013-09-21T07:18:28.481-07:00The Beaten Bear, Poor Ol' Slim, and a Size-13 Snapper!A random conglomeration of stuff from recent happenings during summer field work. There's been alot of things going on. There's so much to share that I can't fit it into a blog post in any type of logical order.<br />
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We've been running the drift fences surveys since the beginning of May, which has resulted in many excellent captures (one of which is below).<br />
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Yet, we also see cool stuff while we are walking out to our fences. For example, there's an old gnarled tree that overhangs the creek near one of our fences. Every day there are multiple Northern Watersnakes (<em>Nerodia sipedon</em>) hanging on the branches catching some rays.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by N. Rudolph</td></tr>
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They never really appreciate my grabbing them...and the result is usually a bit of drawn blood (as you can see on my hand below). The bite looks much worse than it is, however. They are non-venomous, and their teeth feel like nothing more than tiny pin-pricks.<br />
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The poor watersnake frequently suffers greatly at the hands of humans. When the average person sees a snake near the water with a body pattern that is NOT similar to a gartersnake, they often think: "cottonmouth!" or "water moccasin!" and the snake is killed. There are NO cottonmouths or moccasins in the upper Midwest, unless one inlcudes southern Illinois (and I don't think they do?). <br />
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Amazingly, folks often argue with me about this! Here are example responses I get to telling them it wasn't a cottonmouth they saw: "<em>Nope, I saw a cottonmouth on that canoe trip. There's nothing else it could have been</em>." ...or..... "<em>Well, I'm pretty sure that it was a moccasin that swam along the bank next to me while I was fishing.</em>" <br />
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But, let me re-iterate: the snakes in my hand above are NOT cottonmouths/moccasins! We do not have said venomous species 'round these parts.<br />
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BUT....none of this is even the point of my current post! So, I'll get on with it....<br />
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<strong><u>The Beaten Bear:</u></strong><br />
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Below is an impressive and "battle worn" Black Bear (<em>Ursus americanus</em>) that the <a href="http://blazin-trailblazer.blogspot.com/2013/01/wolves-which-batten-upon-lambs.html" target="_blank">wolf researchers</a> captured on one of the camera traps.<br />
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Take a look at the lip on the left side of his face (right at the beginning of the clip). It looks to be torn....and his ears have clearly seen better days. He must be a wily sort to have avoided the hunters all these years.<br />
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I wonder whom he had a run-in with to have acquired all of that damage? Males compete for breeding rights, and perhaps his<br />
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I wonder whom he had a run-in with to have acquired all of that damage? Males compete for breeding opportunities and perhaps this was from another male Black Bear? They certainly run afoul of wolves, which may be particularly problematic when wolves have pups in the den. Hunting dogs are another possibility, I suppose. But all of that damage is to the face and head. Is this type of damage typical of such encounters? Could the torn up ears be where identifying ear tags were yanked out?<br />
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I love a natural history mystery!<br />
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<strong><u>Poor Ol' Slim:</u></strong><br />
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Poor Slim.....the unfortunate Short-tailed Weasel (<em>Mustela erminea</em>) that I found dead on the road not far from my house. I caught a glimpse of it while my daughter and I were driving home one day....and I thought it looked like a weasel, so we had to turn around so I could pull over and snap a picture (it wasn't in good enough condition to turn into much of a specimen).<br />
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Slim is either a juvenile Long-Tailed Weasel (<em>Mustela frenata</em>) or an adult Short-Tailed Weasel (<em>M. erminea</em>), based on the size and the black tip on the tail. The other weasel in our state...the Least Weasel (<em>M. nivalis</em>) has no black tail tip. <br />
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Adult Long-Tailed Weasels attain average sizes (13-16 inches) and this individual is not that large. Yet, this could be a juvenile Long-tailed Weasel....which would also make sense, seeing that the Long-Tailed Weasel is more common in the southern part of the state (where I am located) than the Short-tailed. But the tail on this specimen looks to be particularly short. <br />
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Hmmm.....<br />
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Another good mystery!<br />
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Fortunately, the summer hasn't been only negative encounters with weasels. Below are pictures of a little <u>Least Weasel</u> my students and I captured in a drift fence a few weeks ago (note the lack of black-tip on the tail). The drift fences are primarily for amphibians and reptiles, but we get just as many small mammals. In fact, the hidden secret of this herpetological technique: it's probably just as effective and less work day-in and day-out for small mammals as Sherman Traps. Although the fence takes alot of effort to install initially, there isn't the hassle of setting and re-baiting traps all the time. Plus, we get many intectivores (Shrews) and the occassional weasel, which Sherman Traps aren't effective at catching.<br />
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I imagine these little carnivores are attracted to the fence due to the smell of vole, which we catch many of. According to King and Powell (2007, The Natural History of Weasels and Stoats, Oxford University Press) the Least Weasel is the weasel that is the most narrow in its dietary preferences....eating almost exclusively on rodents and then focused primarily on voles (especially Microtus sp.). I've caught Least Weasels on several occassions in drift fences in years past, so I wasn't totally shocked. This is also not my first weasel post in the last year (see <a href="http://www.blogger.com/[URL=http://s983.photobucket.com/user/jkapfer/media/CopyofIMAG0287_zps9dc6e2ec.jpg.html][IMG]http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae316/jkapfer/CopyofIMAG0287_zps9dc6e2ec.jpg[/IMG][/URL]" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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But that doesn't mean I wasn't incredibly excited to see one! The Least Weasel, in particular, is rare 'round here....so it was quite a treat! Holding still is not the strong-suit of these frenetic little carnivores....so forgive the blurry pics (these were the best of about 30 attempts).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by N. Rudolph</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by K. Rutzen</td></tr>
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I love me some Mustelids.....<br />
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<strong><u>A Size-13 Snapper:</u></strong><br />
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Mid-summer is when I often do most of my turtle trapping. As part of survey work this summer, I've been trapping in wetlands with the hopes of catching some Blanding's Turtles (<em>Emydoidea blandingii</em>). I've caught a few (as you can see)....<br />
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We also catch many, many Painted Turtles (<em>Chrysemys picta</em>)....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by N. Rudolph</td></tr>
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Frequently these are given a unique mark. This is done by notching the edge of their shells in a certain order with a file or dremel tool so that we can identify the turtles in the future.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by N. Rudolph</td></tr>
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But, in addition to the Painted Turtles, I almost always also catch Northern Snapping Turtles (<em>Chelydra serpentina</em>). In fact, I would not be shocked if just about every water body in the state (from tiny pond to giant river) has at least one snapper lurking in the depths. The Northern Snapping Turtle (previously called the "Common" Snapping Turtle) rarely leaves the water. It doesn't usually sit on logs and bask in the sun, like many other pond turtles. It mostly remains unseen in the mud and muck on the murky bottom. The females are seen more frequently on land during the nesting season, when they must traverse the dangers of an over-land movement to lay their eggs. It's during these times that snappers must frequently head out into vehicular traffic. Poor snappers. Especially considering that <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/college-students-turtle-project-takes-dark-twist-182457207.html" target="_blank">people apparently swerve to hit turtles</a> crossing roads.<br />
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Regardless, the Northern Snapping Turtle is one of my favorite turtles: ornery, cantakerous, dirty, smelly, mean-looking.....everything I like in a critter :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by N. Rudolph</td></tr>
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This summer, we've been lucky enough to catch many snapping turtles, like the individuals above. At one particular pond, I caught at least five individual snappers in a single night that had carapaces (upper shells) which ranged from 8 to 12.5 inches. The one below is a prime example.....<br />
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But that one pictured above wasn't even the biggest captured this summer.<br />
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That prize belongs to the individual below. To put this into perspective, the boot on my chest-waders in this photo is a size 13.<br />
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It would be nice if more snapping turtles could make it to this size (or bigger). <br />
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I guess we have to start by getting folks to restrain from hitting them <em>on purpose</em> (I can't believe I had to actually say that). <br />
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Next we can try and come up with ways in which the average person can avoid hitting them on accident.<br />
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<em>-sigh-</em><br />
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Trailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.com6