Look Who's Having Fun at the Bear Wallow

There’s a vernal (seasonal) pool in the forest that was created thousands of years ago, probably as a pingo scar (see this post). It fills with water every winter and spring and gradually dries during the summer. The pool is a breeding site for wood frogs and a variety of salamanders, a hunting ground where raccoons and great blue herons search for frogs, and a place for black bears to cool off on warm days (watch the bears in this post).

One of my camera traps has been at the bear wallow since late spring and has been repeatedly examined by the bears using the pool; twice this year the bears have rotated the camera to the far side of the tree to which it’s mounted, and it's sill somewhat misaligned Recently there haven't been any bears in the videos taken by the camera but other wildlife species make regular appearances.

As summer arrived the pool was shrinking, but it still held a fair bit of water at dawn of what promised to be a hot summer day. The sun was low in the sky when a white-tail doe and her two fawns from the previous year arrived at the pool.

Although some people say animals don’t have emotions and don’t engage in what could be described as play, you can judge for yourself what’s going on in this video (best if your speaker is turned on) –

At 2:45 of the video another doe and her last-year’s fawn arrived; with their arrival all semblance of play came to a halt. If the deer that were running and jumping in the pool were human, we would say they were embarrassed being caught playing like kids. There follows a dominance/aggressive interaction between the two adult does; the fawns’ relations are more peaceful. When the buck arrived the does and fawns slowly departed.

That’s all folks because at that point the camera’s memory card was full.

Winter in the North Country

Here we are at the height of summer; in northcentral Pennsylvania it’s usually hot, humid and hazy. Spring’s wildflowers are long gone, birdsong is tapering off, mammals are largely nocturnal, biting insects are at their peak – it’s just not very enjoyable to be out in forest and field. Thanks to climate change summers in most areas are getting longer and hotter. Here, the last week has given us temperatures of 90°F or more with more to come.

If, like me, you enjoy cooler weather you may enjoy these videos from our son and daughter-in-law’s property far to the north. Even there, winters ain’t what they used to be. Last winter was warmer and with less snow than in years past, but there was still cold and snow.

Here are samplings from two camera traps at their place, part of which is a long-abandoned field with some old apple trees; other areas have always been forested. The videos were taken from late-December through mid-May. The first video was distilled from the 528 clips taken by a camera trap in the area with those old apple trees: fisher, white-tailed deer, eastern coyote, blue jay, eastern chipmunk, raccoon, red fox, common crow, wild turkey, porcupine and gray squirrel –

The other camera trap was placed to look down the trunk of a broken red maple tree in an area that was once cleared but isn’t far from a steep slope that was never cleared. This camera trap had taken 302 videos over the same span of time: gray squirrel, white-footed mouse, snow on a beautiful winter day, white-tailed deer, red squirrel, wild turkey, downy woodpecker, robin, blue jay, eastern chipmunk, southern flying squirrel, eastern coyote, raccoon and hairy woodpecker –

Now, in summer when it’s hot, humid and hazy I hope you enjoyed this refreshing reprise of last winter.

A Naturalist's Year - 2nd Quarter

When the second quarter of 2020 began, the COVID-19 epidemic was worsening and thousands of our fellow citizens had already died. We were in self-imposed isolation as we try to avoid the virus, only going out for groceries every two or three weeks. We’re fortunate to live where we live and it’s been easy to continue In Forest and Field with new photos and observations because we live on the side of a large wooded hill that connects to many thousands of acres of forest land and there are other extensive areas of woodland but a short drive away.

Hopefully, you and those you care about have been able to avoid the pandemic and that you’ve been able to stay active and get outdoors to see the wonders of the natural world. Here photos from each day of the year’s second quarter –

 

 

Spring has given way to summer as the second quarter of 2020 has come to an end and the whole world has changed for many people. As things "open up" and society returns to "normal", COVID-19 is surging once again and we'll continue our social isolation. Humans may think they've conquered nature, but every once in a while there's a sharp reminder that we're not so special and are still subject to natural forces.

But the natural world is still out there and it's been a welcome escape from social isolation for many. It's good to see people in the outdoors although it's sad to see how much trash they've left behind. If they're going to be out in forest and field, those of us who've been there for many years do wish they'd respect it a bit.

From a camera trap - 5/18