This week in the woods, despite the frigidity, we found this snowfly marching and tumbling across the snow on Black Mountain in Benton, New Hampshire. These members of the wingless cranefly genus Chionea have numerous adaptations to tolerate the cold, including the ability to detach frostbitten limbs. Additionally, their winglessness and the fact that they do not eat as adults mean that they spend less energy flying inefficiently in the cold and searching for food and more time seeking mates, as this individual likely was. Snowflies move as fast as 30 inches per minute, and males sometimes leap comically when startled.
Not far away, we observed more insect activity – holes in red pine bark made by pine bark beetles. The individuals that made these exit holes in the summer are likely overwintering now beneath the forest floor. If they survive the cold season (more probable with milder temperatures), they will emerge in the spring, make galleries beneath pine bark again, and lay the eggs that will produce the next generation. Most outbreaks of this pest occur during drought years, when stressed pines struggle to produce enough pitch to repel burrowing insects. For more on bark beetle galleries, see Elise Tillinghast and Judy Rosovsky’s article from the Winter 2023 issue of Northern Woodlands.
When allowed sufficient sun (often after a fire or other disturbance), sheep laurel thrives in subalpine coniferous forests such as this one, as well as in bogs. Named for its toxicity to sheep and other livestock, this short evergreen shrub can retain its fruit (the small capsules seen here) for years. Adirondacks Forever Wild provides helpful guidance on distinguishing this plant from other similar species that share its range; it differs most noticeably from Labrador tea, bog laurel, bog rosemary, and leatherleaf in the placement of its flowers and fruit, which appear below the ends of stems rather than at their ends.
Lower down the mountain, back in the hardwoods, we found porcupine sign on this beech sapling. Outer tree bark and cambium make up the primary winter diet for porcupines. Healed-over areas, such as the one visible on the right-hand fork in this photo, indicate that porcupines have fed on this same tree for multiple years.
Even the most common owl in our area, the barred owl, remains a thrill to see – especially when out in the open and unobscured, like this one perched on a stake by a roadside in Lyme, New Hampshire. Barred owls vocalize year-round, but this time of year marks the beginning of courtship and peak vocalization season; by February, barred owls move beyond the classic who-cooks-for-you-who-cooks-for-you-all call to noisy duets and a greater variety of sounds. We photographed this owl from a respectful distance, with a telephoto zoom lens and no flash (which can scare owls and affect their night vision). As dusk approached, the owl continued to swivel its head slowly, looking – and listening – for signs of small prey moving in the surrounding field.
What have you noticed in the woods this week? Submit a recent photo for possible inclusion in our monthly online Reader Photo Gallery.