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!).

Mesmerizing Marks

Reader Dan Zucker shared this photo of intricate patterns “in the rust-colored artist’s bracket (fungus) spores on a large fallen birch trunk.” What made these marks?

Answer

This is an elaborate example of a snail feeding track. The patterns were made by the snail’s radula – a tongue-like organ comprising numerous tiny teeth – as they scraped particles off the surface of the wood.

This week’s contest winner was Matthew Charpentier