What in the Woods Is That?

Play our biweekly guessing game!

Whatever draws us into the forest—be it birdwatching or logging, hiking or hunting—all of us are unified by the sense of wonder we feel in the outdoors. The forests, fields, and streams of our region are full of mystery, and if you stop and look closely, you’ll see all sorts of oddities.

Below find a picture of one such woodlands curio. Guess what it is and you’ll be eligible to win a Northern Woodlands woodpecker magnet designed by artist Liz Wahid. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner’s name, will appear when the next column is posted and in our newsletter (sign up here!).

Cedar Twigs

Reader Tammis Coffin found these boulders beneath a cedar blanketed with branch fragments on Cadillac Mountain in Bar Harbor, Maine. What created this surprising scene?

Answer

A porcupine went to work biting off cedar twigs! Porcupines love eating the inner bark of cedars, and the tenderest bark is found at the tips of the crown branches, so they trim off the tops to get to it.

This week’s contest winner was Emily Hoechst