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!).

Who Walked This Way?

We discovered these tracks in a snowy field next to a shed in central Vermont. Who left these prints?

Answer

A Virginia opossum. Although poorly adapted to endure northern winters (and prone to frostbite on their bare ears and tails), North America’s only native marsupials have been moving north, thanks in part to the abundance of shelter and food opportunities available to them around human dwellings. Learn more about this species’ northward shift in this Outside Story essay.

This week’s contest winner was Jeremy Withnell