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!).

Mystery Den

Many mammals, including opossums, red foxes, woodchucks, raccoons, skunks, and cottontail rabbits, use holes for den sites, sometimes simultaneously. This particular hole is only being used by one mammal species at the moment – if you look closely, you’ll be able to tell me with certainty which one it is.

Answer

Red Fox. The giveaway was the canine tracks in the lower right hand corner of the picture. Stay tuned for a column by Sue Morse in our Autumn issue on how to distinguish red fox tracks from gray fox and coyote tracks.

This week’s contest winner was Sarah Larose of Enosburg, VT. We had 27 answers overall, 12 of them correct.