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!).

Whose Scat is That?

This scat’s full of apple skin and apple seeds. The washed out orb you see in the picture is a quarter, for scale. What kind of animal left this calling card?

Answer

Coyote.

The coyote’s remarkable success in colonizing northeastern forests is due in large part to its extremely omnivorous nature. Yes they eat meat – everything from grasshoppers to deer, but they’re also fond of vegetarian fare, as this apple-laden scat indicates. Evolutionarily speaking, these generalist feeding habits give them an advantage over more meat-dependent predators.

This week’s contest winner was David Dargie of Andover, MA. We have 12 correct answers!