Site Discussions

I was wondering why I seem to have a group of blue jays visit my feeders in the winter versus just one at a time other seasons. Your article explains it, thank you!

I love my sweetfern. I have it here, encourage it and use it in conjunction with several other local plants to create salve that we call our Anishinaabe Anti-Ow. If its poison ivy, bug bites, a scratch that seems irritated, diaper rash, fungal skin infection, acne we hit it with this first, it’s our go-to. I love this plant in tea, a bath, and will be trying it for keeping mosquitoes away this summer. If you have lots on your property it means you have poor soil. But it’s so pretty, does such good and smells so good, I would never ask it to leave.

Hi, Mark,
  I love your article about black walnut trees. I’m planning to start an acre or more this summer, but my one concern is, yellow bellied sapsuckers.Did you find anything that would help, should they attack our trees?
  Also, I live in Lancaster Co, PA.. The thousand canker disease is in nearby Bucks Co.. Is there any help for that, or should I plant a different kind of tree? Thanx for any information!

Interesting to learn about Claude Dern, Jr. My grandparents bought Claude Dern, Sr.‘s house in Dorset, which must have been where Claude G. Dern (Jr.) was raised. I feel like I was partly raised in that house too. Claude Dern Sr. was also a character, and I got to know him as a kid, as he often stopped by the house to tell stories.

I have seen a marten only once, when I was living in Boulder, Colorado. Hiking in the Indian Peaks Wilderness west of Boulder I caught something out of the corner of my eye and stopped to watch. A pine marten was crossing the trail in front of me. He/she stopped just off the trail, and we watched each other for a good minute, before the marten turned and quietly moved further back into the woods. It was an unforgettable experience.

Pest Control company just left the house as we have a bat problem. He also located a Flying Squirrel entry. They are cute right up to the point where they invade the house. Looking at some big money to resolve these two issues so, cute? Nope, not so much.

Thank you for explaining this. A kind of paradox isn’t it?

...I count Northern Woodlands as a blessing indeed. Thank you and the staff for all you do and share with us. I consider you all “good company”  on this planet. Happy New Year everyone!

I am 88 years old and have never seen such a gigantic a skunk walk through my garden this year . It was as big (but not as high) as a St Bernard dog. My daughter in Amherst says they see gigantic skunks constantly, one looked as big as one of her daughters. What is going on? We have always had skunks and their babies walk through our yard but they were normal size. This is beyond belief to explain.

Fantastic read, and I thank you for it. I am a writer, mostly about my solo hikes in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
Have only once sighted a Marten. Many years back in the Allagash region of Northern Maine. Was deer hunting. Sitting with my back against the root ball of an enormously long downed tree. The marten hopped into the other end and began a full on jog right toward me. Just when I thought it would be in my lap, it stopped at my boots and stared me down. Then jumped off and continued on its way. What a memory!

Thanks for this very interesting article; it helps connect some dots that were created for me through a conversation I had with one of Vermont’s wildlife biologists at a local town fair this autumn. As we discussed a couple of other members of the mustelid family, he mentioned that he’d recently gotten a call from a trapper he knows. The trapper told him he was sure he’d accidentally trapped a marten in the southern GMNF and asked the biologist to come take a look at the animal for confirmation.

This was interesting to me in two ways. I was very happy to hear about the previously unknown, albeit still not scientifically confirmed marten population living not to far from us and I was thrilled to hear that a trapper, a group who are much maligned by some as detriments to our natural systems, had volunteered this information to a state biologist. I think it’s important for more folks to understand that hunters and trappers are often the first line in the defense of our natural systems, providing important information about the state of habitats and the animals living there. The information was positively exciting in this case but know that flagging field observations when there are indications of problems also comes from these groups, who spend much time outdoors and understand the balance of nature better than most.

The rodent you saw is almost certainly an ermine, Deborah. See the cover of our winter 2016 issue.

Trees bring us closer to God without the burden of religion and its guilt. Harvesting trees and wildlife is God’s way,  if done with respect and intelligence.Without both, nature can become deadly.

Great article. I always marveled at the way Martin and fisher could move through their environment almost ghost- like. I have seen a few in Alaska.

I love how this was written, with humor and info to educate the casual naturalist.  (I especially enjoyed the part about having the long torso ad short legs in common with mammals…I can also relate!) I have never KNOWINGLY seen a Marten, I hope my luck changes!

Three years ago, I saw a pine marten in the trees next to my yard. I live in Marshfield, Ma.  I was shocked at how cute his face was and that he was perfectly comfortable climbing even the tiniest branches at the top of the huge white pine trees.

What you’re describing seems high risk to me.  You’re right that a tree that dead could snap, and it’s hard to say where it would snap.

I have seen a black, white and gray wolf appx 90 to 100 lbs on my 285 acre lot just south of the Canadian border. in North Troy, VT I have heard them during deer hunting, which caused me to leave my hunt because I was on the ground. The wolves are alive and well in the Northeast Kingdom and I am happy for them.

I saw our first flying squirrel in the winter of 1994 and watched as he glided across the yard from the maple tree just behind our rural home.

That was 24 years ago and had not seen one since until a few nights ago. As I walked onto our deck about 6 pm a beautiful sight caught my eye, three flying squirrels were together on the side of the same maple tree peering down at me only 10 feet away. This time I had to show my wife her first flying squirrel. She too was delighted as they appeared calm and in no hurry to glide off. It looked as though they were after the sunflower seeds that filled the bird feeders only a few feet away. I hope to see them again some night in the near future. I have cell phone photos of one them that I can post.

We saw a white (not grey or tan) rodent in the collapsed stone wall near the house. The body appeared to be 3-4 inches with a thin tail about the same. Didn’t get a very good look at it before it went underneath the rocks. This area is full of chipmunks and garter snakes in the warmer weather.