RIP Dustmop...?

Just before the rush of final exams we had a spate of warm weather. I took that opportunity to get some work done in the back field. From atop the tractor I spied a patch of gray fur... it was a dead opossum. I figured it was the dustmop. She had been dead for sometime but that did not deter me from inspecting the carcass. After a cursory examination, I saw no obvious cause of death. I made a mental note to return shortly with camera in hand.

Opossum front foot
(Seneca Falls, NY 12/12)

But then finals week kicked in. Then the snow came. It wasn't until Christmas Eve that I found the time to walk back out to the spot and see if the dustmop was still lying there. By now we had ten inches of snow and I literally had to sweep my boots back and forth through the drifts in order to find her ("What did you do on Christmas Eve?", asked any sane person. "Oh, I crawled around looking for a frozen carcass of an opossum in order to take photos of its feet." said I).

 

 

 

It is a primitive characteristic to have five toes on a limb and the opossum has five on the front and back feet. Sometimes when I say that in class, I get push back from students. We don't like to think of ourselves as "primitive". But the word is not pejorative. Animals with fewer fingers and toes are more specialized. Think of horses with their single toe per limb. They are very good at what they do but do not have the generalizability that we have with our "primitive" hands. Ever get a text message from a horse? I rest my case....

 

The hind foot of the opossum never ceases to amaze me. Check out the opposable big toe. Note that it does not have a nail. This isn't the greatest of shots but the carcass was not cooperating very well.

 

Finally, let's have a quick look at the tail. Naked and semi-prehensile, it is unique in North America. There is no sign of frostbite at the tip so I think this is a young opossum (although we did have a very mild winter last year and perhaps this individual made it through without any freezer burn).

Opossum tail

I was saddened by the loss of the dustmop. Although I only wrote two entries of the opossum and skunk duo, I had literally hundreds of photos from that particular camera set. But it was Christmas Eve. Family was due in an hour and I still had presents to wrap. I trudged back to the house with my head down, concentrating on covering the distance quickly. It was then that I saw the fresh tracks...

 

Opossum trail in snow
(Seneca Falls, NY 12/12)

I knew right away that this was an opossum. Could THIS be dustmop? Was there more than one opossum visiting that carcass (I never photographed more than one at a time)? The tracks led for quite some distance and through deep and shallow snow, thus providing some great tracking opportunities. First, the trail as I initially found it in deep snow. Notice the relatively wide trail width or straddle along with the short legs (short legs are deduced by the belly drag in the trail). In our area, that usually means opossum or skunk. What sealed it as an opossum even at a distance was the numerous tail slaps in the snow. In the photo at right, you can see several tail marks close to the photographer (me) and to the left of the trail. Finally, notice that this animal is not direct registering. In other words, the front and rear feet are not landing in the same spot. Many animals direct register (I have also seen that described as perfect stepping) so this was a clue as well.

 

I was particularly pleased with this identification because I was not identifying tracks, I was identifying the trail. The snow was too deep here for me to make out much int he way of individual tracks. For me, this was a step forward (pun intended) in my journey as a tracker.

 

One more view of the tail slaps:

 

 

 

Opossum trail
(Seneca Falls, NY 12/12)

As the opossum moved into shallow snow, the tracks became more distinct, the belly drag was eliminated and the tail slaps became mere wisps in the powder. In addition, notice that the front and rear feet are ALMOST landing in exactly the same spot. I found that interesting since in the deeper snow, they were so far apart. Have you ever followed the tracks of someone else in deep snow? Its easier to step right where they stepped rather than making your own prints -- that is, unless they have a very different stride than you do. When I break the trail, I try to keep my strides a bit shorter so my wife and daughter will have an easier time following. I think the opossum with his short legs had a hard time in the deep snow even keeping up with his own trail and simply couldn't direct register easily. Last thing to note in this photo: direction of travel. I have learned from several trackers the adage "Long in, short out." Even if a trail is blown in with snow, you can tell the direction of travel because the feet make a long mark on the way in and a short mark on the way out. In this case, the opossum is moving away from the photographer. You can also see that in these wolf tracks from Yellowstone.

 

Here is one more shot in medium-depth snow. Note the tail marks. Moving to the right.

 

Finally, a shot in the shallowest snow I could find. When the opossum got to our backyard, it followed my ATV tracks for a while and went up the driveway and to the road. The two tracks are nearly next to each other, like two incorrect jigsaw puzzle pieces placed together out of frustration. The front foot is on the right and shows the typical sprawling star-like pattern that helps tell these feet from raccoons. The hind track has four toes pointing forward and the opposable big toe actually overlapping the palm pad of the front foot. These were the first distinctive tracks I had seen on the entire trail. I was pleased that I had confirmation of my identification. I wanted to continue on the trail, but a car was pulling into the driveway. My parents had arrived and I was pulled out of my adventure and back into Christmas Eve...

The dust mop and the powder puff II: CHIMERA



The uneasy truce between Powder Puff and Dust Mop described in my last post is holding. In fact, evidence shows that perhaps the relationship has been taken up a notch. Friendship? Bromance? Um, no. But have a look at the foggy photos below and tell me what you would call it:

This is the closest I have seen them. They are even on the same side of the carcass.

Opossum and skunk feeding at carcass
(Seneca Falls, NY 12/12)

Yeah, I'm not sensing total trust here....

Here is an interesting shot. The fanciest tail in all Didelphidom....

Opossum and skunk chimera

Are theses two getting chummy because they are more and more familiar with each other? Each day there is less and less food available on the carcass and each day they seem to tolerate each other more. But correlation doesn't mean causation. I am genuinely curious as to why these two were never photographed together at the start of this set and now I am photographing them more frequently together rather than apart. I don't know. But i do have one other variable to consider: There is a new actor in the night shift. A gray fox made a few tentative appearances and then got comfortable enough with the flash that he settled right into the carcass recently for some venison. Is the additional pressure of the new scavenger on the scene influencing the dust mop and powder puff's relationship? And what clever name can I give to this catish fox? These are the questions that keep me from grading papers tonight.....

The dust mop and the powder puff

Opening day of the regular deer season was November 17th. I found myself, as usual, at my Father's property. It is only the two of us now. The other regulars have all hung up their guns for the last time. So a day hunting typically plays out like this: We get up early and ride double on Dad's ATV out back. We fist bump and head to our different spots. The Van Niel's are tree stand hunters and there are several to choose from on Dad's 80 acres. We hunt for a few hours on our own and then I usually head over to Dad and join him for a bit longer and then we ride back to camp for lunch. After lunch, it may be a quick snooze before the evening hunt, dinner, and usually grading papers for me.

7 point buck
(Fremont, NY 11/12)

The only variation to the routine this year was checking several camera traps while working my way to Dad's treestand. Results will be the topic of a future post :) By the time I arrived at Dad's stand it was noon. It only took a moment to catch up on the events of the day, since neither of us had seen much. But as so often happens in a hunt, everything changes in an instant. I was still settling in when Dad grabbed my arm and whispered "Buck!". I froze. The ettiquite is simple: His stand, his deer. I ducked out of the way and caught a glimpse of the large bodied deer walking slowly across the field. One shot and it was over. Just like that. Dad has been hunting for over 50 years and still gets a thrill out of each hunt.

We paced the distance as we walked up on his buck. 193 yards. I snapped a few photos of my proud papa and then got down to the messy work. Truth is, I enjoy gutting a deer (or any animal for that matter). Besides being "The Eviscerator" I am also the butcher. But the reward is venison for us and a carcass for the camera trap.

I selected a location in our short hedgerow simply becuase it was close enough to the house to check easily. The carcass has been out for several weeks now and the cast of characters has not changed.

THE DAY SHIFT: The diurnal crew is all-avian. A murder of crows and a single red-tail hawk. I have up to seven crows in one frame but the one below is my favorite.

THE NIGHT SHIFT: The nocturnal crew is decidedly furrier and toothier. I call them the Dust Mop and the Powder Puff.

Dust Mop -- This was the first image of the opossum that I obtained and it was so unglamorous that I had to laugh. The poor opossum has quite the image problem already without me plastering unflattering photos all over the internet.

To be fair, let's have a look at a good hair day:

 

In fact, opossums can be downright cute if given the right light, a bloody carcass and an open mind:

Opossum on deer carcass
(Seneca Falls, NY 11/12)

Powder Puff -- My other nighttime visitor has more of a dramatic flair. This one knows how to make an entrance. Powder Puff makes the most of her assets and owns this carcass the moment she sets foot on the stage.

An unexpected benefit of the carcass is that Powder Puff is no longer tearing our lawn to shreds in search of grubs. This is clearly the same skunk from a previous post.

For weeks, the day and night shifts never crossed paths. No skunk or opossum photos in the day and obviously no crow or hawk photos at night. But in addition, the night shift and day shift didn't intermingle within their respective tours of duty. Not surprisingly, no photos of hawk and crow appeared and no photos of skunk and opossum were captured. But that changed recently. A few nights ago, numerous photos of Dust Mop and Powder Puff in what I would like to believe is a tentative detante.

Opossum and striped skunk
(Seneca Falls, NY 11/12)

Suet as camera trap bait

We were in the Dollar Store last week and I saw suet cakes for sale. On an impulse, I bought two -- one was a berry blend and the other nuts. I figured the price was right (FYI: I subsequently learned that the same suet cakes are 97 cents at Walmart -- six cent fail!) and it would make for interesting results. On Sunday I crumbled up half of the berry suet and put the pieces in front of the camera I have set in the back scrubby area. Today I checked and rebaited. All the suet was gone. I did not get many photos bit a nice diversity.

Species 1: Striped skunk (compare to the skunks in this post. Is it a new or known skunk?)

Striped skunk
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/12)

Species 2: Blue Jay. There are three in this photo. I obtained five photos of Blue Jays; one contained a Red-bellied Woodpecker as well.

Blue Jays
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/12)

Species 4 (remember the Red-bellied not shown): Opossum

Opossum foraging
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/12)

Species 5: Red fox

Red fox
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/12)

Species 6: Gray Squirrel. I expected more squirrel photos

Gray squirrel
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/12)

A fun two days of results. I found it unusual that each mammal species appeared only once -- and each individual stayed only long enough to be photographed once. Only the Blue Jays stayed long enough for multiple photos.

I rebaited so I should have more results in a few days....

Reflections on a wet spring

It has been a wet and cold spring. I cannot cite facts and figures to back this up, but I can tell you that it sure feels that way. I have a favorite spot on the property for a camera trap. I like it because it is a thick brushy spot in our hedgerow that leads from one neighboring woodlot to another. It is traditionally a wet area anyway, and this spring it has been something to see...

Eastern cottontail (Seneca Falls, NY 4/11)

April 12: Here is a photo from one week ago. Since then, we have received rain. Cold rain. Stiff winds. And today, even a few snowflakes.

Eastern cottontail (Seneca Falls, NY 4/11)

April 13: Much wetter! Almost 24 hours from the previous photo yet so much more of the ground is flooded. The rabbit here is trying for the shortest distance over the water. Is this rabbit really so set in his pattern that he passes this spot at the same time each night? And who is that mystery creature with the glowing eye on the far left?

Eastern cottontail (Seneca Falls, NY 4/11)

April 17: The narrow spot is now flooded as well. There are no dry feet this morning. Perhaps they will remain lucky none the less.

Virginia opossum (Seneca Falls, NY 13148)

Rabbits aren't the only ones navigating the high water. Here is an opossum making its way past the camera. Note the blunt tail. The tip has been lost to frost bite. I like his reflection.

In the final photo, a raccoon seems a bit more at home in the water than the other critters in today's entry. He seems to like his reflection too.

Raccoon with reflection (Seneca Falls, NY 4/11)

Yes Virginia, you do have sandy claws...

I am still in Florida and checked the camera trap this morning to find a single raccoon photo and a single opossum. There is only one species of opossum in North America, so we can get away without worrying about its full name. This is the Virginia Opossum. There are several different kinds of opossums in Central and South America. "Virginia" has spread her way north all the way to Canada, largely because of human changes to the landscape. We have provided food, shelter and additional warmth in the winter. The opossum in this photo is right at home in the warmer climate of Florida.

Virginia Opossum, Orlando FL (4/11)

The opossum is a little too close to the camera and the flash washed out the all-white face. But check out that hind foot. The opossum has an opposable "big toe" instead of thumb. I tell my students that they hitchhike and rate movies with their feet :) Interestingly, that big toe has no nail at all while the other toes have very sharp ones.

I have one more night here. Maybe Virginia will come back and leave some more images on my camera and tracks on the sandy bank.

Signs of Spring:"Pair o' possums" and the "Skunk stalker"

It was a good week for the camera traps! I tallied four species of birds and nine species of mammal. Here are a few highlights that tell me spring is on the way:

Striped skunk (Seneca Falls, NY 3/11)

Skunk Stalker: My last post showed what I believe are these same two skunks as well, but they were about an hour and a half apart in their travels. Last night, they were photographed within one minute of each other. Since skunks are solitary, my assumption is that this is a male trailing a female.

Striped skunk (Seneca Falls, NY 3/11)

These photos got me thinking about whether skunks are "symmetrical" or not. In other words, would the pattern hold true on each side? Can I identify an individual regardless of which side is photographed? Has someone already studied this? Could I get enough skunk photos to test my theory or should I go to fur auctions and take some measurements? Am I THAT desperate for a publication?

Virginia opossum pair (Seneca Falls, NY 3/11)

Pair of Opossums:  The opossum is also a solitary species. I believe this is the first photo I have of two adults together. Opossums have an incredibly short gestation period of 12 and a half days. Baby opossums are born the size of a honey bee. There can be over 20 young in a litter, but mom only has 13 nipples. Each baby needs its own dedicated milk supply since they are born so small and underdeveloped. So if opossums are mating in the middle of March, babies are being born as early as the beginning of April. They spend weeks in the pouch, so you shouldn't see your first young of the year until the last part of May at the earliest!

A Heart-y meal...

Laura with deer heart

My wife teaches a program for high school seniors interested in pursuing careers in the medical profession. Each year she hosts a "Cardio Day" in her classroom at the hospital where the entire focus is on all things heart related (strangely, this always happens around Valentine's Day...I am not sure that is a coincidence). Doctors, technicians and others speak but the main attraction is often the deer heart dissection. Why deer hearts? Well, they are similar in size and shape to human hearts, making them useful and they are readily available from hunters and free, making them practical. The students love the activity and learn a lot. The problem is disposal. Simply throwing the sliced up hearts in the dumpster at the hospital is far too risky. Anyone finding them might come to the conclusion that they had stumbled on human hearts.... no one needs that kind of publicity! So after all these years, I know that MY role for Cardio Day is to get rid of the hearts at the end of the day. I come home from work to find our blue cooler sitting in the driveway. I then carry the cooler into the backyard and take out one sliced open heart after another and give them the old Frisbee toss into our field (Hey, why waste them...some backyard beast will enjoy them).

We used to have an opossum that lived under our back shed. One year, on the evening I tossed out the hearts, it snowed. The next morning I got up and checked for tracks. Sure enough, our resident opossum stumbled on one of the deer hearts less than 20 yards from its winter home. His tracks told the story of it grabbing the heart and carrying it back under the shed. I found no other tracks.

Opossums are a southern species. They really are not well adapted to winters in New York. When it gets really cold, near zero F, they don't even exit their burrows. Frost bitten ears, tails and toes are all common. Nor do they have behaviors that help! They do not hibernate. They don't even cache food. I mean a self-respecting New York mammal may have taken the time to have gathered ALL the deer hearts on a night that was warm enough to forage for food (I have a series of camera trap photos of a red fox doing this very thing). But this opossum just grabbed the first food it came upon and brought it home and ate it.

That old shed is gone but this winter we still have an opossum calling our backyard home. Last Wednesday was Cardio Day and I laid out a single deer heart in front of one of my camera traps. It took less than two hours to get the following photo:

Dinner is served!