Sitzmarks!

A quick internet search gives multiple references to the word "sitzmark" as originating in the 1930s from a combination of the German word to sit and the English word mark. Originally, the word referred to a the imprint a skier would leave after falling backwards in the snow. I cannot find any reference to when the word entered the language of trackers, but to us non-skiing naturalists, a sitzmark is when an animal jumps from a tree or limb and lands in the snow (note that it no longer means to fall backward). Most commonly, the term is used in conjunction with arboreal animals like flying squirrels, fisher and marten.

Feral cat track

 

 

One of my two goals for tracking this winter was to find a sitzmark (the other was to find bobcat tracks in the Finger Lakes). I didn't realize it was going to be this easy... sort of. We have a few feral cats around and I was following the tracks of one on Tuesday trying, without success, to photograph the tracks. The snow was deep with a hard crust (think Magic Shell on your ice cream) but the cat was heavy enough to break through with each step. I imagined the experience was a bit awkward for the cat as it had its toes splayed wide and all of its nails distended. I badly wanted to photograph those cat tracks with claws out and that is exactly what I did -- I photographed them badly.

The cat crossed our side field and headed to a pile of tree trunks awaiting processing (fuel wood). The cat investigated under many of the trunks and made is way up to the top of one.









It walked the length of the log and when it got to the end, it simply jumped off into the snow.

 The feral cat sitzmark clearly shows all four legs and the body. What would have really "made" it was a tail mark.

Feral cat sitzmark

This photo give you an idea of the height the cat jumped from -- that is my glove at the top

Feral cat sitzmark

So technically, I met my objective. I found a sitzmark. But it was bittersweet at best. I mean, I really pictured myself finding something a bit more glamorous like a flying squirrel or one of the few fisher in our area. Certainly I could do better than a feral cat! But on the other hand, this was an important moment. I only set the goal to find a sitzmark a short time ago. Shouldn't I just be happy that I found one so quickly regardless of the species? The more exciting sitzmarks will come with time. The important this is that I am continuing to learn; to hone my craft.

Gray squirrel stizmark

I kind of lost myself in those thoughts for a moment until a car sped past and jolted me back to reality. Guests were coming and I had to get back to the house. I walked to the far side of the pile, stopped, backed up and looked. I had nearly stepped right on it. There in the snow was a gray squirrel sitzmark. The squirrel had launched itself from the end of a trunk nearly six feet off the ground. Not the flying squirrel I was hoping for, but a definite improvement over the feral cat!

Flying squirrel in action

I have spent so much time on this darn video that I have to keep the text short here. Earlier this month I blogged about a camera set I have in the back yard specifically for squirrels (read the original post here ). The Cuddeback Attack is pointed up a black walnut tree in our backyard and has produced slim results... until now. Last week brought an increase in gray squirrel activity on this tree and a new camera trap species for our property: flying squirrel! Check out the video. Nothing super special, but my first video of flying squirrel. Having on my home court is even sweeter.

Out on a limb...

Sometimes I am reluctant to pronounce with authority what is happening in my camera trap photos (Going out on a limb so to speak). But this time, I feel I can safely say I have solved "The Mystery of the Barkless Branch". When I came upon the branch in question, my first thought was "This is the work of squirrels!" But I had never seen anything quite like it before. I have seen thinner branches stripped and I have seen smaller patches barked, but never have I seen such a large limb laid so bare. The second thing that gave me pause was this was a downed limb. By the looks of it, it seemed dead rather than a living branch ripped from a tree. So I was puzzled as to who did it and why. A camera trap was in order! Now, someplace on this laptop or in one of the dozen SD cards floating around my workspace are the photos that I took of that limb to show you good people the extent of the damage. I will add them if I ever find them.

Squirrel bite marks
(Stony Brook SP, NY)

As for WHY, I felt there were three options. First, it could be feeding. Squirrels and other rodents  (as well as rabbits) are known to "bark" trees for food. The prize is the tender cambium layer under the bark. Take your fingernail and score a young tree and you will easily find the green cambium layer. Second, this could be a marking behavior. As it so happens, I have been increasingly looking for squirrel bites after first learning of them in February. I wrote about woodchuck bites here. (and remember that woodchucks ARE squirrels). Here is what a typical squirrel bite looks like -->
Notice that it is a long stripe on the tree. The purpose of this biting seems to be to transfer scent from glands on the cheek rather than to feed. The bites themselves never make it all the way to the cambium layer. So what I was seeing on the branch in front of me was nothing like this. But I am no squirrel-marking expert so I was reluctant to eliminate any possibility. Finally, I felt it was possible that the bark was being collected as nesting or winter den material. The only flying squirrel nest I have ever seen was in a bluebird box and was completely made of shredded bark.

Look closely to see the individual incisor marks of the squirrels.

One last shot to give you an idea of how large this stripe is. According to Mark Elbroch, the squirrel bites are likely to be on the sheltered side as this one is -- they are taking advantage of the natural lean of the tree to keep the scent from being washed away too quickly.

As for the WHO, I had several suspects in mind. I was pretty confident this wasn't a bird, but I considered woodpeckers. However, the wood was really not compromised at all as one would expect from a woodpecker. That left mammals and more specifically rodents (this just wasn't the work of rabbits). I was thinking gray squirrel since the are bigger and this was some big damage and the woods were primarily deciduous; the prime habitat for gray squirrels. I remember thinking Eastern chipmunk as well and as it turns out we never got a single image of chippies.

So our game of clue was upon us. Was it Professor Pileated with the candlestick in the library? Or Ms, Squirrel in the kitchen with a lead pipe? Time would tell.....

Here are the results:

First, the most images obtained were of mice. I never saw the mice engaged in any behavior that would account for the damage. It appeared they were using the log as a highway. I made a single composite photo of several mice just for fun:

But the second most common critter was the red squirrel. I didn't really consider this prime red squirrel habitat so I didn't really think of him as a suspect, but perhaps that is exactly WHY he was eating bark. In prime habitat, the red squirrel is eating pine seeds. I am under the impression that bark eating in squirrels is a sign that there is not enough of their preferred food. We had a very poor beech nut and acorn crop this year so maybe that had something to do with this behavior as well.

Red Squirrel
(Wayland, NY 10/12)

I have done this once before but here is a composite image of a gray and red squirrel so you can easily compare their sizes.

Red and gray squirrel compared
(Wayland, NY 10/12)

But its the video that really helps tell the story of what is happening:

Look up, look down, look all around

Gray Squirrel
(Seneca Falls, NY 9/12)

I have been playing around a little with different camera angles. My secret goal is to get some flying squirrel video footage. To that end, i have a Cuddeback Attack pointed up a tree in our backyard. I chose the tree only out of pure convenience. Without getting a ladder, I was able to reach the lowest branch and attach the camera at an interesting angle. The results so far have been slim, but today I found this photo and video of a gray squirrel. I cannot label this as "special" but perhaps "cute" is enough to blog about.




The video is only 16 seconds long and not particularly special, but I really like the angle. For a moment at the end there, I always forget that he is moving up and think he is moving straight away from me :)



Gray Squirrel
(Seneca Falls, NY 9/12)

The squirrels have been busy getting food cached for the lean times ahead. Last year we had no real winter to speak of but these guys don't seem to be fooled into thinking that will happen twice in a row. So here at our property it is all hickory nut mania. I have lots of streaky photos of squirrels going about their business and a few posers that seem to be mugging for the camera. But it is a different story at my Father's property. He has more pines and fewer hickories than I do. His acorns are nearly nonexistent this year so his gray squirrels supplement their diet with less than ideal food.

Gray Squirrel
(Fremont, NY 8/12)

Red squirrels are the ones that thrive in the pine forests. But that doesn't mean a gray cannot eat pines seeds. I found references that mentioned casually that grays eat pine cones and others that mentioned that they only eat green cones or eat cones at the end of winter when nothing else is available. All I can say is that I personally have not watched gray squirrels collect pine cones.

I also have had a few cameras pointing down hoping to catch some deer behavior. Monday, October 1st was the opening day of archery season here. Traditionally, the opener is October 15th so hunters are out two weeks earlier than usual this year. I was hoping for a nice big buck on one of the cameras to get me excited but no such luck yet. This first photo is a very small buck, almost certainly a yearling buck. I am only going from memory here, but I believe the statistic is that 90% of 1.5 year old bucks grow antlers that are not as wide as their ears. The second set of antlers are usually wider but even at 2.5 years old 25% of deer are still growing antlers that are not as wide as their ears. Even if the width isn't quite there yet, the diameter of the antlers is increasing. This final photo is set at our farthest pond. There is an area beaten down by the deer as they come to drink. I have a Cuddeback Capture set high on a limb. This is the only buck so far. I think that the thin rack that is not as wide as his ears tells me he is almost certainly a yearling or 1.5 year old deer. When I see a deer like that while hunting, I let him pass hoping that he will grow. I am not a trophy hunter by any means, but I enjoy the challenge of taking a deer that is wiser for having survived a season or two. Other hunters disagree and I can respect that. Taking the first legal deer is a valid goal and one that I ascribed to for many years. I guess I enjoy mixing it up, whether I am stalking prey for with the gun, bow or camera trap...

White-tailed Deer
(Seneca Falls, NY 9/12)

Visitors to an ever-shrinking pond...

Drying pond
(Seneca Falls, NY 7/12)

It has been dry this year and the pond in our backyard is barely earning its name. But the mud pan is good for tracking and I imagine that the small pool of water concntrates prey making it easier to catch. The camera trap is not visible in this photo but it is attached to the willow tree in the background left. BTW, this end of the pond is now completely dry so I moved the camera to the deeper end yesterday.

The mud is just littered with raccoon tracks, so it was no suprise that I captured several really nice coon shots.

Raccoon family
(Seneca Falls, NY 7/12)

I love this photo! What an action shot. Each of the youngsters is actively searching for food. The young coons will stay with their mother all summer and may even spend the winter with them. I hope to keep getting photos of these guys and watch them grow. I can't tell if that is an eye shine in the backgound. Evidence that it may be is this next photo of four young

Raccoon and four young
(Seneca Falls, NY 7/12)

Among the raccon tracks, I found a single set of skunk tracks. We only have one species of skunk in NY, the striped skunk. I have had no shortage of skunk photos this year. Check out other entries here.

Striped skunk
(Seneca Falls, NY 7/12)

Skunk and raccoon tracks have some similarities. They are both about the same size and both have five digits on the front and rear. But there are some obvious differences. The digits are not aligned the same and are much shorter on the skunk. Skunks also have some really long claws on the front feet. So when I found this skunk's tracks among the coons, it was pretty obvious.

Striped skunk track (rear)
(Seneca Falls, NY 7/12)

Striped skunk track (left)
Seneca Falls, NY 7/12)

The final track I wish to share is a little different. This one is on the camera itself! At first, I brushed it off as a raccoon. I have had experiences with coons climbing my cameras before but this one didn't look right for coon. We are looking at the print to the right of the flash. Note that only four toes are showing. That in itself doesn't eliminate coon. It is common for a toe (or two) to not show in a track, but it had me thinking of who would leave a four-toed track. The answer: rodents. And when I looked at the photos from the camera I found this:

The unmistakable tail of a gray squirrel. Look at those long whispy hairs on the edge. Here is the whole squirrel for comparison:


Gray squirrel
(Seneca Falls, NY 7/12)

FLCC Conservation Field Camp 2012

Team WILDLIFE
(l to r: Madie, Clinton, John, Alyssa)

Last week was spent at our residential field course CON 190: Conservation Field Camp. The course is required for our Conservation, Conservation Law and Environmental Studies majors. It is one week of looooong days at Camp Cutler Scout Camp in Bristol, NY (Resulting in a loooonng post here). The students rotate among different disciplines throughout the week. For faculty, this means repeating the same day over and over with different students. I spent the week with co-instructor Clinton Krager and our two Technicians Madie and Alyssa. Activities included small mammal trapping, Breeding Bird Atlas protocol, GPS, tracking, and of course camera trapping.
Here are some highlights --

Lactating Peromyscus
(South Bristol, NY 5/12)

Small mammal trapping was a huge success. Clinton runs the trap lines and had 60 Sherman traps set out in brushy and grass habitats. We captured four species this year with the big miss being meadow vole. Many of the critters were in breeding condition as indicated by swollen mammaries. Students took turns taking animals from the traps, handling them safely and applying ear tags.

Notice the swollen mammaries between the hind legs of this Peromyscus sp. Once animals were processed, they were returned to the spot they were captured.

An additional 12 traps were set specifically to target flying squirrels. They were set in a hardwood forest at about five feet off the ground. Traps are attached to the trees using surveyors flagging. Each day we caught two or three flying squirrels and they were a huge hit with the students. Although flying squirrels are common in our area, they are not commonly seen. We have both northern and southern flyers and sometimes catch both species.

Clinton and Madie affixing a flying squirrel trap
(South Bristol, NY 5/12)

We have found that putting the critters in a glass jar helps to calm them down. In most cases, the animals will almost immediately calm down and even groom themselves. It also helps the students to see the animal at leasiure. Below is a flying squirrel:

Flying squirrel
(South Bristol, NY 5/12)

Flying squirrel patagium
(South Bristol, NY 5/12)

We did not ear tag any of the squirrels so I am not sure how many individuals we captured. We would release the squirrels and watch as they climbed a tree. Often, the squirrel would then launch itself to another tree to the delight of all. I have yet to capture a photo of that though so you will have to settle for a picture of the crowd in rapt anticipation.

The results of our camera trapping were equally exciting. We placed 12 cameras out a week before the class and then pulled SD cards from some each day. We tallied 12 species of mammal and five species of birds. Here are some of the better ones:

Mammal species captured:

-White-tailed deer
-Red fox
-Raccoon
-Opossum
-Striped skunk
-Weasel sp. ***
-Woodchuck
-Gray squirrel
-Red squirrel
-Eastern chipmunk
-Flying squirrel sp.
-White-footed mouse sp.

 We had no shortage of raccoon photos. One in particular looked like a young coon. Note the color on this photo. This is the Cuddeback Attack with infrared and I believe that this color occurs when there is some ambient light but the flash still triggers.

Young raccoon
(South Bristol, NY 5/12)

This same location also produced an adult coon. Check out the bin int he background. That is an inverted tote with one side cut out so animals can enter. Inside is some bait at the far end of a home made track board (wish I had a photo for you). The bait is at the raf end of the board. At the near end of the board is a piece of felt saturated with "ink" (mineral oil and food coloring). In the center of the board is contact paper, sticky side up. When an animal leaves its tracks on the contact paper, a piece of white paper can be stuck to it so they can keep the prints without getting smudged.

Raccoon
(South Bristol, NY 5/12)

 We inspected the logs and found very clear coon tracks. I only had my cell phone so the photo is not the best. See if you can find any of the distinct five-toed tracks....

Raccoon tracks
(South Bristol, NY 5/12)

I am always anxious to show students size comparisons between different animals. The results from the Field Camp cameras allowed me to create a few spliced images that show two species "together" in order to directly compare their sizes. First up, gray squirrel size compared to red squirrel.


Composite image of gray and red squirrel
(South Bristol, NY 5/12)

The spliced together photo was created using Paint. I am pretty much a novice in this area and welcome any and all comments and suggestions.

This next image is a gray squirrel comared to an Eastern chipmunk in size.

Composite image of gray squirrel and Eastern chipmunk
(South Bristol, 5/12)

The two rarest images of the week were an owl and a weasel. First, the Mustelid! I so rarely capture weasel images that I cherish each one. This one is very nice as it shows a nice image of the weasel in action. This was an Attack camera and set to record video as well. The video is too short to be worth much.

Weasel at Camp Cutler
(South Bristol, NY 5/12)

Now the owl.... I have never camera trapped an owl so this was exciting for me. My first reaction was to call this a barn owl, but is just isn't big enough (compare to gray squirrel above). I am going with Eastern screech-owl. Thoughts?

Last year I trapped int his same area and last year we also captured images of red fox pups. I made no attempt to find the den.

Red fox pup
(South Bristol, NY 5/12)

 We set out one of the Cuddeback Attacks on a downed tree and got some fun video of raccoons and red fox (not together). Here is the best of the red fox (only need to watch the first half):

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....

Dry Spell Continues.....

Ok, I probably shouldn't complain... I obtained GREAT results from the camera sets at my Father's property recently (see previous post), but things remain SLIM here at home. Saturday was the first day of the firearm season for deer. I was unable to participate as I was in Boston for a workshop. I returned on Sunday and managed to get out with enough light to slowly walk the perimeter trail. All five of the current camera sets I have out are along that trail. I was anxious to see a few things. First, I wanted to see if the opening day of the season got any deer moving and second, I wanted to see if I captured any photos of trespassers. I can report that I got photos of neither. In fact, I have captured very few images recently. I am at a loss for an explanation. Perhaps I don't "need" one. Perhaps it is just the law of averages... there are bound to be low activity cycles or times when I have the cameras in the wrong locations. I did manage two photos worth posting though:

Racoon in the snow
(Seneca Falls, NY 11/11)

We received a dusting of snow the other day that didn't last through the whole day. Heck, the snow was so sticky-wet that I really cannot call it a dusting. I like this photo. It seems to have some artistic value to it. I cannot take credit of course, but I am still pleased.

Gray squirrel
(Seneca Falls, NY 11/11)

Here is an extreme crop of a camera trap photo. Nothing special. Just a common old gray squirrel. I mean, you have seen thousands of them, right? But let me challenge you to take a moment and really look at one... this one or another, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you make the effort to become familiar with the familiar. I read an article once that said the vast majority of NYC residents have never been to the Empire State Building. When they were asked "Why not?", I expected the answer to be "I am not interested." or "That is a tourist attraction". Instead, the article said the most common reason given was "I can see it anytime." But in the end, they never go. Just like most people don't take the time to really look at the common animals around them...

Gray Squirrel and Eastern Chipmunk size comparison

It has been a busy week and I have not posted as I should have. I only have a single camera out but have a nice pair of photos that show the large size difference between gray squirrels and Eastern chipmunks. I used Squirrel Paste again as bait. These photos were in our backyard in Seneca Falls, NY.

Gray squirrel
(6/11, Seneca Falls NY)

Gray Squirrel: One folk name I have heard for this species is "bushytail" and this photo sure shows why. The tail is as large as the body and perhaps acts as a lure or decoy for predators to focus their attention away from the more important parts of the squirrel anatomy. Anecdotally, we do not seem to have as many gray squirrels this year as we usually do. Perhaps I am just not watching closely enough.

Eastern chipmunk
(6/11, Seneca Falls, NY)

Eastern chipmunk: Despite the name, this guy is also a squirrel. As this photo shows, they are good climbers although they burrow underground. This is our only species of chipmunk in New York. We seem to have more chipmunks than usual this year.