Cascadia Wildlife Blog
News from the Wolverine Tracking Project and more
Our previous blog post has been corrected to account for an error: a turkey vulture was identified as a turkey! We thought it might be interesting to see a comparison of a turkey (top) with a turkey vulture (bottom): Often, factors conspire to make identification difficult. We may only get one, blurry shot of an animal as it zips through a site, or high contrast lighting conditions can make things tricky. And, like comparing the Douglas and Western gray squirrels or rabbits and hares in low photo conditions, similarities can make an ID tricky. Both birds are equivalent size with bald, featherless heads. However, female or juvenile turkeys like the one above are easier to differentiate since they are more slender and upright than a turkey vulture - the long legs and neck and larger size also set turkeys apart from other ground birds like pheasant and grouse. Also note the characteristic speckled coloring of the turkey vulture. Another way to tell? The beak of each animal reflects its diet. Turkeys are foragers that feed off vegetation, insects, and sometimes even lizards and so have more slender beaks, while turkey vultures have sturdier beaks to suit their scavenger diet, one that includes insects, berries, and so on, too, but is primarily focused on carrion. While both birds are an indicator of a healthy ecosystem, they each play different roles. Read more about turkey vultures and turkeys.
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Summer is in full swing! While that may mean staying up late under the stars, taking dips in glacial waters, and counting the hours spent outside in mosquito bites, at Cascadia Wild it also means hauling off to the woods to check on camera sites and combing trails for signs of Sierra Nevada red fox and gray wolf. These wildlife surveys bring back valuable data, and in the past month alone we have collected over 8,000 viable photos, five wolf scat samples, one red fox scat sample, and, with our twenty or so new volunteers for the red fox scat survey, we are looking forward to more red fox samples, too! You may have heard the big news last week about six new wolf pups in the White River Pack! This video, captured by biologists of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, is worth a watch with the sound ON. We hope the best for the newest members of this pack, and we are keeping an eye out for them! It's only a matter of time and luck before some of them disembark to find new territory of their own. We are very interested in how their presence will shape the ecosystem of wherever they choose to call home, and, should they come our way, the information collected from our wildlife surveys will help us understand that. It bears repeating: All this work is made possible by the support of our community – whether you are a survey volunteer, member, have taken courses with us, or have offered financial or material support, your presence is invaluable. Together, we are deepening our understanding of the forest. Thank you! And now, the camera highlights! All our cameras are up, and we’ve gotten footage back from all but one. Since our first photos of the season, we’ve seen more elk, deer, coyote, black bear, and of course, squirrels. We also have our first summer sightings of turkeys, skunk, cougar, and bobcats! Most of our footage so far is of deer, which is more good news for our mountain predators. This buck near Timberline was out way past his bedtime, however, and deer at night can indicate that their environment is relatively safe from predators, so it will be interesting to see what else this site finds over the summer. If you're planning on being out at night, keep an eye out for this nocturnal critter! Striped skunks like this one may get a bad rap, thanks to their odorous nature, but they are highly adaptable omnivores and can be important for insect control. They have been known to eat wasps and even venomous snakes! It's not surprising that while they are now classified in their own family as Mephitidae (skunk and stinking badgers), they were long classified in the family Mustelidae, along with wolverines, weasels, martins, and their other similar, feisty counterparts. That's all for now, and we're looking forward to seeing what the next few weeks bring in!
Until next time: take care, and thanks for being a part of our community! We had camera checks at Clear Lake, McCubbins Gulch #1 and #2, and Yellowjacket East. A tracking trip visited Teacup Lake. Tracking Trip UpdatesOur tracking trip this week enjoyed an overcast day in the trees at Teacup Lake and observed some interesting weasel tracks, and some fun squirrel tracks, too! weasel bounding (left) and squirrel going UP! (right) In the following photo you can see the path the weasel took underneath the snow, quickly reemerging to the surface after just a short distance. Weasels are thin enough to squeeze into the tunnels left by mice and other small creatures, and will follow those tunnels in pursuit of prey. They definitely don't forget about the surface though! We love the idea mentioned by one of our trackers of a weasel poking its head above the surface of the snow like a little periscope! Wildlife Camera FindingsThe team at Clear Lake encountered some pretty amazing conditions that might have you drooling or cringing- depending on your preferences of snow sports! Either way, it looks BEAUTIFUL! McCubbins #2 was visited by a coyote, a few deer, and a Douglas squirrel apparently competing for space with a (much larger) western gray squirrel that regularly appears on camera. This yearling buck at McCubbins #2 will be losing his antlers any time now. An annual drop in testosterone (occurring after the rut in fall) leaves the connective area of the antlers weakened, eventually resulting in their loss in late winter or early spring. In summer, surges of testosterone trigger the regrowth of larger antlers. Have you come across any shed antler yet this season? McCubbins #1 was exclusively visited in groups, whether it was a herd of deer or a flock of turkeys! This herd contained more than 6 individuals grazing together. Have you ever heard of a "rafter of turkeys" before? Groups of turkeys are commonly called "flocks", "gobbles", or "gaggles", but "rafter" is a rather unusual one that seems reserved for domesticated birds. This site discusses the same "rafter" in detail for those of us who are curious!
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