The continued "tail" of the squirrel...

Last week I posted a camera trap image (seen at left) of a stray cat with a strange looking red squirrel in it’s mouth. Red squirrels are mostly…well, red. Of course there are variations, and they’re not ALL truly red. But this was really something, the body appeared (in this picture) to be either naked of fur, or covered in a very light coat of white fur. Strange color variations can occur in all mammals like leucism (lack of pigment in localized areas), melanism (excess of pigment), and albinism (complete lack of pigment: all white/blonde fur, pink skin and eyes). If it was anything, I guessed this squirrel was leucistic through it’s trunk/abdomen area. Other theories were that this was a baby squirrel, it was albino, it had an ectoparasite like mange, it was shaved, and/or fur loss. Having only this grainy, unfocused camera trap picture to go by, we could only guess.

Then, yesterday morning I opened the back door to let the dog out, and there was ANOTHER “white” red squirrel in my backyard, this time alive, and happily feeding on bird seed. I quickly got my camera and started taking pictures.

A side by side of the front and the back of Squirrel #2.

As you can see, he or she appears very healthy and is gorging on black oil sunflower seeds. You can also probably see that this squirrel IS covered in fur, but just a fine downy layer. It was suggested, and I agree, that this squirrel appears to just be missing the guard hairs, but the downy undercoat is still there. If you have a dog or a cat, part their fur and you’ll likely see a color difference in the coat. Longer hairs also are longer and coarser than the fine down.

So, are these squirrels just shedding or molting? It’s the strangest thing.

I stuck my camera trap back out to try and get some footage of them. Here are a few of the images.

 

Then, this morning I sit down at my kitchen table, at which I have a great view of the backyard, and there are TWO of these strange-looking squirrels now! So a total of the strangest looking red squirrels I’ve ever seen, end up in my back yard!

Two “white” red squirrels in my yard, Schoharie, NY

The bar you see in the above picture is part of an old porch swing frame that I use to hang my feeders from.
I’ll leave you with this video of Squirrel #2 yesterday afternoon. Feel free to comment with ideas. I’ve sent pics in to the DEC and am awaiting a response!

 

Finicky fisher-- no more!

When I moved east to Schoharie County almost 2 years ago, I had a mental bucket list of critters that I would like to encounter while living and going to school here. Although I lived in rural areas in Western, NY, there are several animals in lower density there, than are found here. Primarily, the fisher and the bobcat. Both animals, historically, ran rampant across the entire state. But, as the old story goes, over hunting/trapping, development, habitat destruction etc, drove these animals almost to extinction in New York. Here, just north of the Catskills, you have seasons to hunt/trap both the fisher and the bobcat. While some may not LIKE this, this means that biologists know the populations to be viable, and sturdy enough to withstand harvest. Sometimes it’s almost necessary, to make a population grow. Think of a rose-bush. You have to prune it, right? Then the following year it should come back bigger and bushier, with new growth. In the finger lakes, the numbers of fishers and bobcats are lower, but on the rise. Since I moved from there in 2012, the instances and stories I’ve heard about both bobcats AND fishers being spotted (with eyes and cameras) has increased steadily.

When I first moved here, I set up cameras in the fall of 2012, in my backyard. I also had some classmates set their cameras up too. Almost immediately, both of them snagged pics of a fisher, the same on in fact, minutes apart but on different cameras:

A fisher caught on camera trap, Schoharie, NY. Photo credits: Courtney Stein, Adam Rogers (respectively)

Fisher in Schoharie, NY

It took me over 2 months longer to FINALLY get a fisher on camera in my backyard, on Christmas morning! Merry Christmas to me, indeed! I don’t know why these large members of the weasel family were able to escape the ever-watchful eye of my camera traps, but it took 3.5 months of active camera-trapping to finally catch one. And what a picture, too! Well, soon this fisher (or perhaps more than one?) were regular visitors to the scraps I threw out in the woods in front of my camera. I also often use scent lures (nasty concoctions of unspeakable bits) to draw them in. I don’t want to say I got BORED of the fisher(s), but after a while, I like to see some variety. Or… I’d like to catch a glimpse of one myself. Right now, I live at the base of a north-facing slope. Night “falls” here about 2 hours earlier than elsewhere. It’s dark, and shady, and cold. Nice in the summer, depressing this time of year. This also means that I have significant amounts of snow still, and probably will til May! I can see from where I sit now, at my kitchen table, right up the hill. The stark snow gives a great background to track movements of critters. I’ve seen rabbits, squirrels, deer, and many birds up there. I’m still waiting on my fisher.

Several weeks ago, my buddy Tyler and I took a drive up to some local state land (see the first part of that adventure here: Neature is Neat) for a weekend reprieve from school work, and to get out and enjoy the outdoors. It was a balmy (35*F), sunny day. We drove as far up the unplowed, seasonal roads would take us. We saw tons of tracks, and other signs that despite the heavy snowfall, wildlife was still out and about.

Fisher track highway. Click to enlarge.

As we’re driving over snow-covered roads with snowbanks 4+ feet tall, admiring the hemlocks and pines, watching sun filter through the needles…it happened. My moment and a MAJOR bucket list check happened. A FISHER came out of the trees on the right, ran across the road, jumped up the snow bank where it perched for a moment to look at me, then took off to the left into the hemlocks. It all happened in about 1.5 seconds. Poor Tyler, I screamed and simultaneously slammed the car into park (while still moving forward) and leapt from (a still moving?) the car. Tyler was focused on…something else…at the very moment of my excitement, and once he figured out what I was screaming about, he also jumped out and took off into the woods in the direction of the fisher. I have NO idea what he was hoping for. A sighting? A run-in? To catch it? He went tearing through 2+ feet of snow, through a thick blow down. I stood on the snow bank looking at the tracks, and trying to calm myself. Did I really just see a fisher? Did I just see a squirrel and freak out? No. I was staring at FRESH fisher tracks that had been laid down about 10 seconds ago. For a snow tracker, it was ideal conditions. Crunchy, hard snow with a 1/4″ light dusting on top. PERFECT.

About 5 minutes later, Tyler came huffing, puffing, and swearing back in my direction. He missed it totally, and was really bummed out. He kept asking me “Why didn’t I see it? What was I even looking at?”…. Um, I don’t know.

While he had been gone, I got my camera out to snap a few pics of tracks.

A mish-mash of tracks, possibly from different animals or different events of travel.

Fisher hind right track I believe. The smallest toe (thumb) is on the inside for a fisher. Someone please interject if I’m incorrect!

Winter tracking is such a treat, and a look inside the lives of our wild neighbors. Without snow, a skilled tracker, or lucky novice will be able to find tracks. I’ve been out in the woods with people who are seeing things in the leaf litter that I’ve looked over before. But, in snow or mud, I’m your girl!

Tyler and I were so excited by this experience, that we returned the next day to this spot to hide camera traps. We took a risk, and left them on public lands. But, they’re tucked away in safety of the hemlocks, and are only staying up for 1 more week. We’re hoping for some great fisher pictures, but I also wouldn’t turn my nose up at a bobcat either!

Do good, little Bushnell.

Neature is neat!

Have you ever seen Lenny Peppercorn videos? It’s hysterical. A satire on all nature show hosts, and a poke at all nature nerds. I love it! Check him out below…

I couldn’t help but laugh at myself this weekend as I was hiking with my dog and a friend. We kept coming across all sorts of *neat* things, and I kept exclaiming, “This is so neat!”… Am I a Lenny Peppercorn?

Shared via: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/48283.html

Tyler and I have spring fever. It’s now March, and STILL bitter cold with a lot of snow on the ground. Our spring break from courses at SUNY Cobleskill is in 12 days (who’s counting?) and we are tired of being cooped up in the house. He and decided to take my VERY energetic and young golden retriever out for an adventure. The temps here in Schoharie County on Saturday were mid-30s, a heat wave by all accounts of recent ambient temperatures, and it was sunny… perfect day for some outside time.

We have a few state forests around us within easy driving distance (Mallet Pond, Patria, and Petersburg State Forests) that we’ve explored for field labs during various courses, and we decided to try and get as far into the state land as possible. This was a challenge though, because many of the roads within are seasonally maintained, and this is not the season they are maintained.

We first tried to get to Rossman-Fly Pond (which is within Mallet Pond State Forest), a beautiful pond with access to launch a motorless boat. I like to think it’s a hidden gem, but I know others have to know about it. I really want to get up and check the ice out, but unfortunately the plow had stopped a mile or two from the turn off to the pond. We got out and hiked a bit with the dog in the snow, but I’ve been experiencing a flare up from an old ankle injury, and didn’t want to push it.

LUCKILY though, we observed something really neat from the side of the unplowed road. Lots of field sign that a porcupine or several, had been foraging in the hemlocks!

Have you ever seen this? I know it looks kind of unassuming, just some twigs on the ground, but with all the snow we’ve had, it’s not dead stuff that’s fallen over time. All of that would be covered over with snow. THESE twigs, are the sloppy leftovers of our largest arborial rodent.

Here’s the proximal end of a hemlock twig 

that’s been neatly nipped off by the sharp

 incisors of a porcupine.

Porcupines eat soft vegetation like leaves, shoots, and needles. And in the winter they have the advantage over others with similar diets, to be able to climb up trees, and nibble twigs and branches.

Porcupines are a solid critter, not as chunky as a beaver (but close), and not as light as a squirrel. So, they’ll eat their way along a sturdy branch, moving farther and farther from the tree. They are sloppy, and often drop as much as they eat. They nip a twig off, and it falls to the forest floor.

I’ve read (somewhere) that porcupines are often relied on by other forest-dwelling herbivores who can’t reach up into the canopy to eat. Deer, rabbits, hares, moose have all been documented eating porcupine “nip twigs” from the forest floor.

Here’s a porcupine I got to observe quite up close while living in Alaska. You can see her orange inciscors poking out. That orange color is enamel that covers the teeth of many rodents, especially those who eat or gnaw hard woody materials.

We wandered around the feeding grounds for a few minutes, checking out the carnage, when we noticed a well-packed trail in the snow. Porcupines, due to their short stubby legs, don’t often leave a very well defined set of tracks, but more of a trench where they’ve plowed through the snow. It’s hard to see in this picture below, but what I want to share is that we noticed it leading right to the mouth of a drainage culvert pipe alongside the roadway.

Porcupine trail through the snow, to a den in a culvert pipe.

We were intrigued. Could we possibly actually catch a glimpse of the porcupine?

Addie and Tyler trying to decided whether or not sticking your face into a hole in the ground, which might contain a porcupine, is such a good idea…

I did NOT want my dog to get a face full of quills. Tyler, well he was on his own, but I didn’t want Addie to get quilled. So we pulled her back, and I sacrificed myself to get down in there and investigate.
 
My first observation, was the overwhelming stench of ammonia. It reminded me of my pet rabbits cage. Porcupines are nasty animals, in the way that they defecate when and where they want. Many animals attempt to keep their dens clean of fecal matter, but not the porcupine. Check out this entry from last winter when I found a den, and the amount of built up porky poop outside: http://blog.timesunion.com/nywildlife/porcupine-sign/887/

A look inside the “den”. What a cozy place to live, right? Hemlocks in your front yard, and totally protected from the elements. You can see on the left side of the picture, the fecal matter scattered along. Just out of view above this picture, along the top rim of the pipe, were ice crystals. This led me to believe that the porcupine(s) were generating enough heat to melt ice and snow around the entrance which had frozen back over. Unfortunately, or fortunately, no one was visible. I have no idea how far back this tunnel went, but it was freaking cool!

So that’s one of my *neat* finds from this past Saturday. I have another really cool story, but I’m saving that for another entry. I’ve been reading for hours, and just thought I’d take a break to share this cool story. Hae a great Monday!

What have I been up to?

Sunset at SUNY Cobleskill on 1/27/2014.

The holidays have come and gone, winter break has ended, and I’m now back at SUNY Cobleskill taking classes. Over my “winter break”, I was hardly relaxing. I was taking an online statistics course and finishing up the last hundred or so hours of my internship at the DEC! It’s been busy for me and I haven’t had much time to update my blog. But today I found time!

This semester I am taking: Chemistry I, Fisheries Science, Evolutionary Biology, and Herpetology. It’s not a bad schedule, and they’re all pretty interesting. Although, Chem I is going to give me a run for my money!!!


I’m also an officer for our student chapter of The Wildlife Society on campus. We have a great club, and we’re really active on campus and in our community. It takes some work to manage the club because we are so active and our department faculty really impress on us the importance of an active chapter.

Last week in Fisheries Science we began learning about standard methods of “sampling” for fish. This is so an agency, for example, in Nebraska can conduct a research project similar to one running in New York, and we can compare data because it’s been taken in a standard way. Our first lab for the class entailed us driving over to Otsego Lake to conduct ice angler surveys. We’re interested in how much in resources (time and money) anglers are investing in their fishing trips, as well as what kinds/ages/sizes of fish they’re catching. We have the opportunity to go out on our own for extra credit, so my friend Ben and I headed out immediately after class, and spent all day Saturday on the ice of Otsego Lake.

A freshly caught Lake Trout on Otsego Lake, NY

Myself and classmate Ben attempting to measure the total length of this Lake Trout.

In Evolutionary Biology we’re reading this fascinating book, “The Naked Ape” by Desmond Morris.

The first text we’re reading

 in my Evolutionary Biology course, 

The Naked Ape.

Read this immediately.

It’s so interesting to read about ourselves in a totally different way. It was published in 1967, so it’s dated, and theories have changed. Regardless, read it. It will make you think about where we came from, how we got “here”, why we are the way we are.

I purchased it for the Kindle app and have it on my iPad, which is making for a whole new reading experience. Normally I like to read a physical book, but for my last semester, I decided to purchase as many books as I could via Kindle and just tote around my iPad. Six books cost me $63, and the iPad is less than a pound. I wish I had been able to do this from the beginning!

In herpetology last week we learned how to “probe” a snake to determine it’s sex. I have to say, I’m not a “herp” person. I like salamanders and turtles, I don’t mind frogs or toads, but I really don’t like snakes or lizards. It’s not that I’m afraid of them in the sense of getting bitten or scratched, it’s that I imagine them to be crawling with germs. I’m sure mammals have just as much or more germs, I just have this irrational thought in my head that I WILL get salmonella or coccidiosis when handling a herp. SO, when Dr. Losito asked who wanted to probe a snake first, I volunteered right off the bat. I wanted to prove to myself and others that I could do it, and guess what: I’m still alive.

Here I am, with the help of classmates, probing an adult female pine snake.

Here I am, with the help of classmates, probing an adult female pine snake.

To be brief, a small metal probe is inserted in the vent of the snake, and you kind of feel around in there for resistance. If you meet resistance, it’s a female. If not, it’s a male. We have a nice collection of snakes and turtles at SUNY Cobleskill used for teaching and for community outreach. I’m eager to learn more about them.

I’ve had this beautiful Red-bellied Woodpecker visiting my feeders lately as well. I love watching the birds come!

Red-bellied Woodpecker in Cobleskill, NY

SUNY Cobleskill Fish and Wildlife Students at the SCCA Fishing Derby

Wildlife Students at the NYPA

Wildlife Students at the Huyck Preserve

(PS I just set up a camera trap in a really neat spot…hopefully I will have something cool to report in a few days!)

Winter camera-trapping

This is the camera I’m currently 

using: A Bushnell Trophy Cam HD.

If you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time, you’ll know that I LOVE using camera traps, or game/trail cameras. I love sticking them out in the woods and seeing who comes when I’m not looking. This set of pictures doesn’t contain anything too exciting, all common critters, but I got some multi-species pictures. I love it when that happens, I feel like I’ve totally breached the code of wildlife and am a secret agent spy. “HA! I KNEW you all hung out like in Disney movies!” Well, in this case, several members from different species hung out together, because I sprinkled a handful of black oil sunflower seeds on my favorite camera-trapping log.

Enjoy!

(BTW, I had around 1,500 pictures from 3 days. Once the seed was discovered, critters descended and burned up all my battery by December 20th! The camera was set until January 5th, but due to lots of action and/or frigid temps, the camera died.)

The normally EXTREMELY territorial red squirrel is shown here sharing the log with another red. They are known for caching food in an accessible hiding spot, and then defending it. If you’ve walked in a conifer stand, and heard someone “yelling” at you from the trees, it was probably a red. I’m assuming because it’s winter, these 2 were able to put aside their differences and munch amicably on the seed within feet of each other.

400 pictures “later” than the duo of squirrels, I caught many pics of these 4 American Crows together. Crows are often seen in groups, but what interests me now, is that they appear to be eating the seed! Crows are opportunists, so they WILL eat anything, but are not typically seen at a bird feeder eating bird seed. Well, I suppose in the winter I’d eat bird seed too, if I had to.

A handsome Blue Jay makes a brief appearance!

Here are two species eating in harmony! The red squirrel and a Mourning Dove.

Another multi-species picture. I see the American Goldfinches and Dark-eyed Juncos.

Here’s Red, looking guilty? Did he just chase off the birds?

 

 

And the last picture I found to be of interest, has 3 different species in it! Can you find them all? From the bottom of the picture up: Dark-eyed Junco, red squirrel, and a Black-capped Chickadee.

Flying squirrel video

After the last couple of posts, I decided to go for something a bit more pleasant for ALL, on Christmas Eve.

Minty things seem to please all cats, 

domestic and wild, according to many 

forums I’ve read. SO, I found a catnip 

spray for pets on discount at the local 

farm and garden store, and used up 

the last bit of toothpaste on my set.

I set up my Bushnell Trophy Cam HD at my home in Schoharie about 3 weeks ago, and made a “set” to hopefully lure in bobcat. Well, that didn’t work. All I captured were white-tails, crows, cottontails, and this 1 flying squirrel video. It’s not the best, but if you watch it several times, you’ll get to see him. To make the “set” for bobcat, which is a term that trappers (camera and otherwise) use when describing the area around a trap (camera or otherwise). I used a few things I read bobcats would be interested in. See picture at right.

Over a year ago now, in September 2012, I camera-trapped a bobcat in my backyard. Even though I hung a feather (which is a known visual attractant for bobcats), I think he or she was just passing through and got a picture taken. It’s a great “first” for me, but I want more! Anyway, I’ll ALWAYS take pictures or video of a flying squirrel. They are certainly a favorite of mine. For more information about them, please peruse my other flying squirrel entries.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Blessed 2014!

(by the way…the date and time are WAY off…I changed batteries and forgot to reset it!)

Thoughts on deer hunting: Part II

Last week I posted a blog entry with personal thoughts on deer hunting (Part I). People often ask me how I feel about hunting and trapping, because I am SUCH an animal lover, but I’m also realistic about wildlife management. So, please check that out. This entry is dedicated to the successful and ethical hunters and huntresses that submitted pictures of their deer takes during the 2013 bow and regular season in New York. Deer hunting season in the southern zone of NY ended on the 17th, and in the northern zone, it ended December 15th. Aside from Wildlife Management Unit 3S (Westchester County), all deer hunting is closed for the year in New York State! For more info: Deer and Bear Hunting Seasons – NYSDEC.

Thanks for submitting!

The first submission, which inspired me to start sharing deer take pictures, was when my aunt sent me these pictures of my Uncle Mark! He’s been a long-time hunter, and hasn’t gotten a deer in a few years. This year was his YEAR! He took 2 gorgeous, large bucks (one a 10 point, one an 8 point) during the bow season, and one during the regular season. Norwich, NY

Hunter Nick Gualtieri took this nice buck during the bow season in Yorktown, NY.

Rachel Slover took this 6 point on East Hill near Honeoye Lake this fall while hunting with her husband, Jerry.

Hunter Jesse Phillips took this massive buck that he’s been watching for awhile during the bow season in Baldwinsville, NY. We’re not sure if it’s a record or not, but what a rack!

Huntress Beth Burchill harvested this buck with her Winchester model 70 rifle , 25-06, in Claverack, NY!

Marion, NY Hunter Matthew Mayville (shown with sons Blake and Jacob (age 4) and Jackson (age 2). The Mayville Men pose with Dad’s buck taken during the archery season in Potter, NY. With dad as a hunter, hopefully these 3 little boys will grow up and fill his boots!

Huntress Michelle Uthe with her 11 point buck harvested during regular gun season 2013. The buck dressed out at 180 pounds, her biggest deer yet! This is her 3rd season hunting, and she shot him with one took him with her 270 rifle – her domestic partner, Arland Bradley, Jr., gave it to her for a Christmas gift last year. Prattsburgh, NY.

This buck was taken in Wildlife Management Unit 4C in the town of Pittstown NY by Josh Ten Eyck. He was taken during archery season with his G5 Quest bow. Photo credit to his father, Jeffery Ten Eyck.

Jack Van Niel has been a long-time hunter, and harvested this year’s buck on his Wayland, NY property during the regular season. Deer hunting has been a family affair for the Van Niel’s, and Jack’s son, John, helped set him up in a ground blind this year. Jack couldn’t manage climbing into a tree stand this fall due to a pinched nerve, but the ground blind seemed to work just fine! Congrats to both Van Niels.

Huntress sisters Lauren and Mady Richardson managed to take their first does of the season on the same day- opening day of the regular season! Hunting has also been a family affair with the Richardsons, and the girls have spent countless hours in the woods with relatives learning how to hunt, and the ethics and safety revolving around the sport. Congrats, ladies! Taken in Johnsonburg, NY.

A good personal friend of mine, Tyler Barriere, took this nice 8 point buck during the regular season in the town of Enfield, NY. Tyler also took 2 does this season, so his freezer is packed full of good venison!

SUNY Cobleskill classmate, and recent graduate, Corey Sullivan took this handsome buck during the archery season in Horseheads, NY. Congrats on your graduation and buck take, Corey!

Huntress Leslie Svoboda: “I am an avid hunter and fisher-woman. I have been gun hunting since I was a kid but recently, (last year) took up bow hunting. I love the quietness and solitude of bow hunting. On November 2, I shot my first buck, a 7point, and needless to say I am very proud of myself! I was all by myself on my dads property in Steuben County, town of Ingleside, and I called the deer to my stand and took the perfect couldn’t have asked for a better first Bow Buck! I believe in totally respecting the animal you harvest, so I like many of my fellow hunters, say a prayer and thank the animal. I also bury his heart. I am 47 and a grandmother of 2 boys (5 & 2) and am already teaching them about hunting and fishing.” Great story Leslie, and thanks for sharing!”

Mike Hedderick and sons Hunter (age 3) and Dominik (age 6) pose with Dad’s bow season doe. Here’s another great example of the tradition of hunting being passed along the family. Thanks to wife and mom, Amanda, for the submission! Manchester, NY

Another family affair! This time and Mother-Daughter duo. From Tori Penrod-Clark: “The little girl is my daughter, Adele Clark. She is 9 years old and hopes to be a hunter one day. She tracked this buck fawn out for my husband on East Lake Road in Honeoye. He shot it just before shooting hours closed and had to give up the search for the night. Adele was hot on it’s trail the next morning. The second picture is of me with my first buck. I started hunting turkey when I was 12 and deer when I reached the legal age limit for big game (the rules have changed since then). I am now 38 and I have not hunted in 8 years due to being a busy stay-at-home mother. First morning out in the season this year and I shot this 8-point at 8:18 in the morning in Springwater, NY!” Tori’s father is a retired NYSDEC biologist who definitely instilled the love and respect of wildlife. Glad to see Tori is passing this on to the next generation. Thanks for the submissions!

Yet another huntress, Kerri Reuter, shown with her first deer and her boyfriend Jesse Palermo. Kerri says, “Jesse and I were hunting the evening of opening day in Bloomfield, NY. We were hunting right by a corn field and the wind was directly in our face. To the right of us was a large thick bedding area where the deer usually come from in the evening to go eat in the corn field. The corn field was to the left and we hoped they would cross in front of us. Because the wind was in our face we positioned ourselves right on the edge of the bedding area so we could see any deer that came out to go to the corn field. At about 4:00 we spotted a group of does at the end of the bedding area about 125 yards away. The first two does that crossed were small and moved quickly. The third doe to come out was huge. Jesse positioned the camera on her and grunted to get her to stop. She did and turned broadside to us. It was then that I pulled the trigger on the Remington 270. I hit her right behind the shoulder in the heart and she walked 10 feet into the woods before she went down. It was as great hunt!” Congrats Kerri, and thank you for sharing your story.