A Winter Walk in the Woods

We wrap up the Maine Fish and Wildlife course with a mini unit on winter survival and ecology. I struggle to express just how amazing it is that creatures are able to survive the rigors of a Maine winter. The adaptations they possess to get them through are truly awe inspiring. With students having wrapped up their final exams, we spent the last classes of the semester in the T.A. forest looking for signs of life in a winter landscape that can seem desolate at first glance. With a lack of fresh snow on the ground and bitter cold keeping everything frozen solid, tracks were not as prevalent as they could have been but there were certainly some prints left over to analyze.

An old fox track preserved in the snow

A pair of coyotes crossed the once slushy venal pool leaving evidence of their travel frozen in the ice

I had hoped to show kids some signs of porcupine activity in a traditionally productive spot. These winter survivors are at home in the trees and prefer large eastern hemlocks in the winter. The tree's naturally thick branches provide a wind break and the hemlock needles are an important winter food source. Fresh cuttings of hemlock twigs and ample oval shaped scat pellets on the ground are a sure sign of porcupine activity in the winter. Individuals can spend days or weeks in the same tree  creating an obvious buildup of scat and twigs. Deer, who yard up for the winter in the same type of habitat, benefit from the hemlock twigs dropped to the forest floor by the porcupines. 

Discarded hemlock twigs and porcupine scat led us to the active trees 

Luckily, we quickly found signs of porcupine activity. I put the kids to work scouring every nook and cranny of the hemlocks with the most sign underneath them. Eventually, we located two porcupines resting in the same tree. After a closer look through binoculars, what initially looked like a nondescript dark blob materialized into a snoozing creature unimpressed by the sudden commotion below. It is not every day that plans involving wildlife work out so perfectly. Just finding the evidence of feeding porcupines would have been great but to locate and observe two felt extra special. I brought my camera with the long lens hoping to get some photos of the porcupines on day two but they were not as cooperative for my maroon day students.

Students gaining an appreciation for the challenges Maine's wildlife face in winter

Special thanks to Allie Gross for freezing her fingers off taking photos for today's entry.