This week in the woods, the arrival of snow means a shift in wildlife activity, and also the greater visibility of some more subtle sights as they become more obvious against a stark white background. Here are two images from our archive, and one recent one from the White Mountains.
American tree sparrows are frequent visitors in yards, where they often appear in small flocks, foraging in the snow for seeds that other birds have kicked off the birdfeeder. You can also find them in wetlands, hedgerows, and other shrubby places. In our region, tree sparrows are mostly winter birds; their summer breeding habitat is near the tree line in Canada. You can read more about them in this new Outside Story essay by Susan Shea.
Most black bears have gone into hibernation by this point, except, perhaps, those that enjoy skiing. A day after Christmas, Associate Editor Meghan McCarthy McPhaul found this hefty bear track, along with a pile of bear scat, at the top of the chairlift near the summit of Cannon Mountain (elevation ~4,000 feet). Despite popular depictions, bears don’t all pull up the covers and go to bed at the same time; typically, pregnant females are the first to go to den, and young males are the last, lingering as long as food supplies remain available. Fun fact: unlike people, bears can maintain bone mass during prolonged periods of inactivity, thanks to how they’re able to use the hormone leptin. You can read more about this adaptation in this Outside Story essay.
Even if the birds and bears elude you, chances are high that you can find birch seeds on top of the snow. Yellow and paper birch seeds (pictured) are formed in such a way that they easily “skate” across ice-rimmed snow, which helps them to disperse to new growing sites. Here’s yet another Outside Story reference, written by Bill Amos in 2009.
What have you noticed in the woods this week? Submit a recent photo for possible inclusion in our monthly online Reader Photo Gallery.