Site Discussions

Nice article. They were gone from Danby Hill for a long time but are now back, chewing on our little log house.

Question: den in the winter, a group or a pair.

WHAT the WHAT THE?
You hit it out of the park again, Declan!

Hi Lucy

thanks for the comments.  Now I need to collect a jar full of grasshoppers to see if I can replicate your observations.

Usually I get them in samples from streams.  It’s unpredictable really; in more than 64K macroinvertebrates collected over the years, I found about 100 horsehair worms.

But now I’ll round up a few grass hoppers and see what emerges!

Cheers

Declan

Full disclosure, my nephew. So rewarding to see Connor combine his passion with a career and to be so enthusiastic about his service to the general public, to Forestry, and to private industry. Connor’s outgoing personality, kindness, sincerity and professionalism make him a natural ambassador for the Forest Service. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

A clump of yellow lady slippers on our forested property did not grow this spring.  Has not been moved in 13 years. The shoots are now poking out, as if they are looking to grow now.  What is going on?  I told them they are late, please stop, or you are going to see what winter feels like in Ontario.

Thank you for another marvelous post - and for providing the link to KQED’s “Deep Look” cricket video.

BTW: There are numerous other videos of interest to readers of this site on the YouTube sidebar.

Great timing on this article. I’ve seen a few horsehair worms over years, both in ponds and in grass, and knew what they were, but not all the details. I collected a few grasshoppers last week as pet mantis food. After a couple days there were more than 10 horsehair worms in the jar, outside of the grasshoppers. I was amazed. Thank you for this article!

Have just had one flying around around our yard for about a month. At first we thought it was a baby hummingbird until I saw it getting nectar from some pink fragrant flowers which I was watering one evening and noticed the probiscus. Quite amazing had to look it up to find out what it was

I am so lucky to have found your site! I found the cutest Eastern Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar on top of my backpack while rock-climbing up in Rumney, New Hampshire. I put it one a safe place. Finally, I was able to find out all about it today! Thank you!!  Silvia

Libby,
Jim Andrews told me that milk snakes eat other snakes, so it may have been going after the garter snake. I don’t know if the birth sac has calcium in it. My understanding is that the mother doesn’t provide parental care, but my guess is that she may protect the young from predators for a few days.

Richard, Black racers are rare in Vermont, and probably in adjacent states. If in Vermont, you should report your sighting to the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas. Did you get a photo?

It’s encouraging to know that young people like Breton are helping to promote and enhance the health of northern forests and their complex ecosystems. A new generation of good stewardship to ensure the woodlands are thriving in the future.

Great resource - very well done!  You have inspired me to put away the mower next summer.  I’ll do a lawn meadow with a pathway through it.

Thank you for this excellent and informative article.

Pitch Pine is my absolute favorite tree, hands down. In Connecticut there is a park, Pitch Pines Park, unfortunately it’s a forest in transition and the deciduous trees are winning the battle. Some very large PP in there(16”+ dia.), but only a few and not a sapling anywhere I could find. Sad.

Yesterday (8/31) I was a bit startled by a 4 ft. black racer I saw disappearing beneath the sofa in my living room. I captured it and released it in the yard.

I recently saw a video of a garter snake birthing and had some questions based on one person’s comment:  The unborn babies are carried in the sac and wonder if the sac has a high calcium content as if it were related to the biology of an egg. 

The mother stays with the babies for a few days - what is her role?  Does she do anything to support early feeding skills? 

Finally, I read it is possible to sex the babies - how does one tell male from female?

One surprise for me: I lifted a tarp from some manure compost and found a garter twined with a milk snake. They looked happy enough to be gathering the same source of heat, as far as I could tell!

We have noticed a symbiotic relationship between crows and squirrels.

We have a tree where squirrels have come to feed.  When a hawk enters the area an entire murder of crows will head to the tree and set up a perimeter.  If the hawk closes, one or two will break off to chase it away while the others remain.

Also, one young squirrel once dilly dallied in the middle of the street.  A single crow strafed him repeatedly from the middle of the street toward the sidewalk until the squirrel was safe.

In very early spring, we had 3 turkeys around every day. Then 2 of them disappeared and haven’t seen them since. However, one has stayed around and is here every day. I think she has claimed it as her home. Originally thought it was a male and called it “Tom” but have since been corrected and changed her name to Tomasina. It’s August and I am already worrying about how she will get through the winter. I don’t want to feed her but will if necessary. I live in northern MA. Please advise. Thank you.
Dorothy

Do raccoons have a dominate and non dominant hand the way most people do or is the way they use their hands not refined enough to need it?

I found this page while searching for info on Indian Pipe. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing it just a few times in my life, but after 34 years of living where I do now, in my rural location in southwestern Indiana, yesterday was the first time I’ve ever found Indian Pipe in my woodland, which I’ve often explored over the years. What a stunning, wonderful, exciting thing to come upon! My smallish woodland is completely deciduous trees. I’ve marked the spot and will visit it every day to watch and photograph the changes.