It's that time of year! A BIG thanks to all of our wonderful summer volunteers who made this season such a smashing success. Summer is a great time for viewing wildlife- we saw animals hunting, foraging, mating, and raising their young! This season has proven to us that theres nothing cuter then a baby bobcat (unless it's a baby bear...or deer). We have a lot of exciting wildlife sightings to share with you- including a sighting of one of our target species (the elusive pacific marten) and a first detection ever for Cascadia Wild (check out the badger below!). So without further ado, lets dive in!

This Pacific marten was our only target species caught on camera this season! That doesn't mean that our other target species aren't out there (Sierra Nevada red fox, gray wolf, wolverine), as evidenced by the scat and tracks shown below! While we have yet to see sight or sign of our namesake, the wolverine, we remain hopeful that they will return to their historic natural range, which includes the Oregon Cascades. 

The Pacific marten is considered an indicator species of high-quality, high-elevation old growth coniferous forest. This is because they require lots of connected, complex old growth forest in order to thrive. Downed trees and standing snags, along with thick evergreen canopy, (all elements of complex old growth forest structure) provides excellent hunting and denning opportunities for Pacific marten. When snow falls, they rely on small pockets formed amongst fallen trees for thermoregulation while resting. 

Signs of our other target species (Sierra Nevada red fox and grey wolf) were discovered over the summer by our awesome volunteer trackers! While we can't say for sure- the tracks below are likely those of a Sierra Nevada red fox. One way Sierra Nevada red fox tracks can be identified is by their small, linear heel-pad, which can be seen in the top track in this photo. In addition, the shape of the track and the distinct X -shape seen in the negative space tells us that this is a canine track. 

Below is a possible Sierra Nevada red fox scat found by one of our volunteer trackers. For red fox, we look for scat that is less than half an inch in diameter, and is twisty and tapered at the end. This scat has a lot of hair in it, which is consistent with a red foxes diet! ​

Finally, the scat below likely belongs to our target species the gray wolf. Gray wolf scat can be hard to identify- but like other canines we generally look for scat that is twisted, with tapered ends. We expect gray wolf scat to be significantly larger than coyote or red fox scat. 

We detected lots of coyotes this summer, and I mean lots! This makes sense, since coyotes are the most abundant wild canine in the Pacific Northwest. Coyote are an incredibly adaptable species-as unsettled natural area decreases, coyotes are increasingly found living in urban and suburban areas. While there's nothing quite like watching a coyote strut down the sidewalk at six in the morning, it's a treat to see what they are up to in a more natural setting! 

We saw coyotes looking majestic on mountaintops, rolling on the forest floor, and marking near our bait sites! Lots of species are drawn to our camera sites due to the funky combination of scents we use as bait. Some- like these coyotes- feel compelled to roll in this stinky mixture or add their own scent to the area by urinating nearby. 
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We had our first badger detection ever​ this month! It's not surprising that we haven't had many badger sightings before- the American badger range in Oregon is east of the Cascades, and generally outside our survey area. In addition- badgers are notoriously solitary creatures that spend much of their time in dens underground, which makes this sighting all the more special!

Badgers have been known to engage in mutualistic relationships with coyotes! Many Native tribes in North America have stories of this unlikely friendship between coyote and badger. They have been documented hunting together- coyotes are able to catch prey that badgers chase out of burrows, and badgers catch the prey that coyotes scare underground. 

Up next we have the felines! The big cat below is known by many names: mountain lion, cougar, panther, and puma! They are sleek and shy, rarely are they seen by people. This summer we saw mountain lions at only four of our camera sites! 

The other felid found roaming our forests is the bobcat! 

​We saw some big ol' bears this summer (and some teeny ones too!). Bears were seen at 70% of our sites! 

We saw bears strolling through burn areas and climbing trees. We saw bears see us (our camera, that is!) and bears with their babies! Black bears breed in the summer months, and then give birth in late January or early February  in their den. Contrary to popular belief, bears aren't true hibernators. What they do could be more accurately described as entering a semi-dormant state. Hibernation involves an animal lowering their body temperature and metabolic rate, to the extent that they become unresponsive to outside stimulus. While bears do lower their body temperature and slow metabolic processes while denning, they remain responsive throughout the winter. 

Striped skunks made an appearance at several of our sites throughout the summer, typically under the cover of darkness.

Skunks are nocturnal, so catching this skunk during the daylight hours was a rare treat!

Our last carnivore is significantly smaller than the rest, and can be easy to miss! Although we had a few sightings of the weasel throughout the summer, they were usually just a blur across the camera site. 

Ungulates are a diverse clade of hoofed animals. The ungulates found here in the Pacific Northwest are deer and elk. Deer were seen at 95% of our camera sites this summer. 

Elk are the larger of the two ungulate species we find in this region. There are two subspecies of elk found in the Pacific Northwest- Rocky Mountain elk and Roosevelt elk. Roosevelt elk are primarily found in the coastal region and western slopes of the Cascades, while the Rocky Mountain elk are more commonly found east of the Cascade range. 

While a few of our camera sites had small herds of elk pass through, some of the most beautiful shots we captured this summer featured elk on their own. Elk shed their antlers every winter, and regrow them in the spring. Antlers grow at an incredibly fast rate- for elk its about an inch a day! In the first photo, the young bull elks antlers are just starting to come in, and are still covered in velvet. The velvet is dense fur that helps to increase oxygen supply to the antlers. Once the antlers are fully grown, like in the next photo, elk will remove the velvet by rubbing their antlers on trees and vegetation.

Our cameras aren't set up to catch small mammals like these, but that doesn't stop them from making many appearances throughout the summer! 

We saw Snowshoe hare, rocking their brown summer coats, at four of our camera sites this summer. In the winter, snowshoe hares coats turn white. This helps them to blend in with the snow, and may also increase the amount of heat they are able to absorb from solar energy. 

 The yellow-bellied marmot is our only marmot species in Oregon. We only detected the yellow-bellied marmot at one high elevation site this summer! East of the Cascades, they can be found at lower elevations as they can live in both montane or arid environments. Marmots are true hibernators, by now they are probably snuggled up in their burrows, not to be seen again until spring!

There are several species of squirrels ​found in our forests. These curious critters are always up to something!

Douglas squirrel, like the one in the first picture, are one of the smallest squirrels in Oregon, Douglas squirrels can be identified by their small size and tan bellies. Up next we have an industrious California ground squirrel. In the colder parts of their range (such as here in the Cascades), California ground squirrels hibernate during the winter, so we don't expect to see many of them in the coming months! The next squirrel is easily identified by its long gray, bushy tail- its the Eastern gray squirrel! The squirrel seen gliding across the forest floor in the next image is the Northern flying squirrel. These little forest friends use a fold of their skin, called the patagium, that connects their hind and forelimbs in order to gracefully glide through the forest. Our final squirrel sighting is the golden mantle ground squirrel! These tiny squirrels look a lot like chipmunks. One easy way to tell them apart is that golden mantle ground squirrels lack face stripes. Check out the chipmunk below for comparison! 

See those face stripes? This chipmunk was a frequent visitor at one of our sites, and seemed to really enjoy that particular branch for taking a rest and a snack!

The last of our small mammals is the delightful bushy-tailed woodrat. If you look closely in the picture below, you can see how this critter got its name!

We had some amazing bird sightings this summer including raptors, owls, bats and ground birds, along with some more common backyard birds! The raptors below are red-tailed hawks. 

We only had a couple owl sightings this summer. We typically capture images of owls at night, and they can be hard to make out, but below is a picture of an owl captured during the daytime!

Like owls, we only expect to get photos of bats after it's dark. The photo below is our one and only bat detection from this summer!

We had several turkey sightings over the summer. The picture below is the only time we captured a male turkey strutting. 

This was our one and only grouse ​detection all summer! 

We also saw some more common backyard birds out in the woods! Including this raven that landed at one of our camera sites.

This beautiful Stellar's jay stopped by on a sunny day. 

Those are the highlights from an incredible summer season! Check back in next month to see what we discover with out winter camera sights and our winter tracking crew! 

Winter is in full-swing, January brought us deep snows and lots of photos from the Wolverine Tracking Project, and looking ahead, February is shaping up to be a busy month with March not far behind!

See below for news on our camera and tracking surveys. But first, check out some of the classes and events on the calendar.

A big thank you to our volunteers who have been braving the elements to maintain our camera sites! All the fresh snows on Mt Hood have given our camera crews a lot of opportunity for snowshoeing, digging cameras out of the snow, and bringing back some great photos! We've captured a few winter photos like this (below): 

However, thanks to our volunteers braving the elements, we have also detected a lot of wildlife. When the heavy snows weren't burying our cameras, which were originally installed about five and a half feet up a tree, they were making some cameras appear to be at ground level. The result? These wonderful close-ups:

Snow-level cameras also detected some other animals, which make up our marten's carnivorous diet: 

The fresh tracks of the deer mouse show it's hopping gait - though much smaller, it is very similar to the trail a snowshoe hare would leave: small front feet landing first and the larger, more powerful hind feet landing second just ahead of the front feet.

We also detected an up-close and candid portrait of another target species: the Sierra Nevada red fox!

Again, you can see the tracks of this montane fox in the snow. With a meandering trail like this and nose to the ground, it's not hard to assume this fox is hunting. Rodents often burrow into the snow, using the insulating layer as protection from predators and the cold. 

These many visits from these rare, native foxes help us understand their habitat use. We have also collected a few viable hair samples from some of these sites. Like scat samples, hair samples may help give us important genetic information to help us understand their population history, genetic diversity, and habitat connectivity. Hair samples are collected on wire brushes, which are attached to the black belt on the tree just under the bait. 

Our region is home to three kinds of montane fox, the Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) in the Oregon Cascades and Sierras, the Cascade red fox (V.v. cascadensis) found in the Cascades north of the Columbia River, and the Rocky Mountain red fox (V.v. macroura) who are native to northeast Oregon. And, just this week, it was announced that there is a population of Rocky Mountain red fox living near Bend, and likely has been in this area for some time! Just like the Sierra Nevada red fox in our backyard, the montane fox can be elusive and difficult to study, even when they are right under our nose.

Other recent visitors include the ever-present coyote.

We've also detected a few bobcat: 

The bobcat on the right (or bottom), is difficult to make out. However, this lucky visitor is sporting a freshly caught hare! Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are well-adapted for snowy mountains, and, like foxes, marten, and coyotes, snowshoe hare are a favorite snack. Bobcats often hunt at night, and like the marten, don't let their small size fool you! They can cover 10 feet of ground in one pounce.  

We are more likely to see bobcats on the mountain in the winter than their felid cousin, mountain lion. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are less adapted to snowy environments than bobcat and are more often detected at lower elevations than where most of our cameras are located. 

Another visitor we don't expect to see in the winter? Black bear. However, our cameras did pick up a bear between snows, a bit later than we would expect to see one.

Bears do not hibernate in the same way as most other animals, like some rodents and reptiles, who lower their body temperature along with their metabolism and sleep throughout the whole winter. Instead, they enter a state called torpor where their metabolism slows down, but their body temperature remains elevated and they are able to wake more easily. They can wake from this sleep-state during winter if the weather warms or they are disturbed, and they may even leave their dens, eating opportunistically if they come across food, but do not tend to venture out for long. Other animals that enter a similar torpor state are raccoons and skunks -  plenty of reasons why it is always good to be aware of your surroundings in the forest! Whether this particular bear is taking a mid-torpor stroll or has yet to enter this state for the winter is hard to say. 

One animal, we are not surprised (but always happy) to see is the black-tailed deer. 

Did you know Oregon is home to four native subspecies of deer? Mt Hood National Forest is home to the Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), a subspecies of mule deer. These deer are found from the coastal ranges to the Cascades, and their range runs from California to northern British Columbia (a sister subspecies, Sitka black-tailed deer, is found in Alaska). Rocky Mountain mule deer (O.h. hemionus), another mule deer subspecies, are also native to Oregon, and they are found on the east side of the Cascades summits, most commonly on the east side of our state - fittingly, their range also includes both the American and Canadian Rockies. Black-tailed deer are a little smaller and darker than mule deer, but both have large, mule-like ears. While mule deer seem to prefer open steppe, black-tailed deer tend to prefer brushy areas of coniferous and mixed-coniferous forests, sticking close to clear cuts and burns for browsing opportunities. 

Oregon is also home to two subspecies of white-tailed deer: the Columbian white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus) and the Northwest (Idaho) white-tailed deer (O.v. ochrourus). The Columbian white-tailed deer is the most rare deer in Oregon. They only live along the lower Columbia River and Umpqua Basin, and the Columbia River population is a federally protected endangered species. The Northwest white-tailed deer is found in the northeastern corner of our state and has a healthy population. As a species, white-tailed deer grow increasingly more abundant as you move toward the east coast. They can be found from Canada to South America and prefer mixed-deciduous forest types.

In our area, you are most likely to see Columbian black-tailed deer - or if you are lucky, the rare Columbian white-tailed deer. Columbian white-tails have long tails they keep held closely to their bodies, and black-tails have shorter tails held loosely to their bodies. If you head a bit further east, you may see the Northwest white-tails; these are the smallest deer of all and have very wide tails. The antlers of each species are different, too. If the antlers are fully developed, white-tailed deer have one main beam on each antler, with points coming of the main beam; black-tailed deer (and mule deer) will typically have a fork coming off the main beam, with points coming off each branch. Check out ODFW's site to read more about our native deer or watch a video on Columbian black- and white-tailed deer identification.

Almost as copious as deer and as perennial as coyote, are our forest corvids.

Plentiful snows, hearty trackers, and some luck have resulted in some great tracking surveys!

One tracking team encountered three separate bobcat trails:

The track quality on these tracks is great, even with a dusting of snow falling after they were laid. These photos show nice clarity of both the individual tracks and the trail pattern, and you can easily see the characteristic felid shape in these tracks. Compared to canid tracks, the whole of the print is quite circular and the thick, oblong pad is surrounded by four evenly spaced "toe beans." When distinguishing between dog and cat tracks, it's better to pay attention to these characteristics, rather than the presence or lack of claws: while felid claws are retractable (and canids are not), a bobcat or mountain lion can extend its claws for traction - something you may see on, say, a snowy/muddy/icy mountainside. 

Distinguishing bobcat from mountain lion is easy, at least for the adults of the two species: go by size! Under 2.25" diameter is likely bobcat; greater than 2.75" is likely mountain lion.

The two tracks we are seeing the most of are snowshoe hare...

...​and squirrel:

The abundance of hare and squirrel is great news for the bobcat, whose tracks were found above, and the rest of our forest carnivores. The photos above show how similar these two animal's tracks are, both animals having bodies well-suited for bounding along, close to the ground. They can be difficult to discern from one another, but hare will be larger than a squirrel, and hare's tracks often have less definition due to the impressive amount of fur covering their pads and toes. Squirrel tracks are also more uniform and boxy - note how well the feet line up on the bottom set of squirrel photos, compared to the more staggered landing of the hare's front feet.

In our forest, we have two kinds of non-hibernating squirrels: the Northern flying squirrel and the Douglas squirrel. However, it is difficult to tell their tracks apart. One way to tell? If you can follow the trail to the start, there will be a "landing strip" where the flying squirrel hit the ground. If you have clear enough tracks, you may be able to tell that the 5th toe on the hind foot (the "pinky toe") is almost as long as any other toe - that's a flying squirrel, too. Read more squirrel track analysis by David Moskowitz. 

Whether in town or on the mountain, we hope to see you soon!

Our summer season is winding down, but this time of year is when things really start to heat up for us at Cascadia Wild! Like our friends in the forest, we are busy gathering all our resources together to ensure a great winter survey season.

Perhaps the most exciting news from the past several weeks is the detection of Sierra Nevada red fox! 

Though this site was only up for 5 weeks, we had two separate visits from our target species Vulpes vulpes necator - one of the most rare mammals in North America, and an uncommon sight at our summer cameras! We have been operating under the hypothesis that we see this high-mountain fox at our cameras more frequently in the winter because they are drawn in more by the type of bait we use: in summer months we use commercial, scent bait; in the winter we use an eco-friendly meat bait. However, given this detection, we are now considering that perhaps elevation is key. It's possible that these foxes are only at higher elevations in the summertime, living off the ample mice and golden mantled ground squirrels (see below) on these more barren slopes, following food sources down the mountain as winter sets in. This is something to explore in coming seasons, and testifies to how little we know about this elusive animal. 

We also saw quite a few rolling coyote as well. Like the fox above, not many canids can resist the urge to roll in some nice, stinky bait. Here are a couple sampling the potpourri of Hiawatha Valley Predator (one of our commercial scent baits):

Coyotes can also be stoic. The lean and lanky look of this coyote indicates it could be a juvenile, but with its transitional coat it's hard to tell:

Compare to this coyote, who is a bit ahead of the game with its bushy winter coat:

The red coloration of this coyote is remarkable, and it's suitable camouflage for the pine needles on the ground. Coyotes can be difficult to discern from other canids, like foxes and wolves, especially when they have coloring like this. One giveaway is the tail: coyotes most often have a dark tip on their tail, while red foxes often have a white-tip on their slightly more bushy tail. Though it should be noted that gray foxes, who are rare on our mountain but more common to the south, also have dark-tipped tails, and coyotes can even sometimes have white-tipped tails, so it's best to take in other visual clues to their identification. Another clue: the ears are long and pointed on a coyote, but a fox has more rounded ears (see the photo of Sierra Nevada red fox above for a great ear-comparison). Compared to a wolf, coyotes are smaller, have slender faces with narrower snouts, their legs are more long and thin, and they walk more closely to the ground.

We also had another instance detecting a lucky animal with its dinner:  

This bobcat is carrying what is could be a gray squirrel, not unlike a squirrel seen at the same site just a couple weeks prior. However, with striped skunk also in the area, anything is fair game!

We also detected a bobcat doing something we don't often see: rolling in the bait!

This is a trait much more commonly seen with canids, like the ones above, and is the first time our cameras have caught this from a felid. The reasons behind a cat doing this are likely the same as a dog: to relieve itchy backs, disguise their scent, an/or cover themselves in something that smells so good. 

We also caught a few instances of bobcats scent marking trees, like this one:

And we got to see some photos taken in the daytime, really showing off their distinct markings:

Most of our footage of mountain lions is also at night, but we detect them during the day from time to time, and caught some beautiful shots at one of our eastern sites:

We also detected several instances of another of our common forest predators, the black bear:

This bear, not a strict carnivore by any means, is likely foraging in the vegetation. Like most other animals right now, bears are busy gathering their winter stores. Whereas squirrels stash their stores, bears carry their stores with them.

Bears are thoroughly inquisitive, curious animals, and often spend a good deal of time inspecting sites, like this one seen here smelling both our bait area and the camera. 

One of our summer sites used meat bait, and this was a very popular attractant for the neighborhood bears.

One instance the bear went after the bait, another instance the bear gave up and instead had a good scratch, and a third instance the bear forewent the bait entirely and climbed the tree. Whether the bear climbed the tree to get a better vantage point or was spooked by something in the area, is hard to say. It's possible it could have been spooked by one of the several cattle wandering through these woods:

These cows were also interested in the bait. In the second photo, the lighter cow is holding its mouth open in what is called a Flehmen response - something we haven't seen yet this summer but is common in ungulates like cows, deer, and elk, as well as in felids and bears. This is when an animal curls back its lips and breathes into its mouth, holding the air behind its teeth to better smell an area (read more about Flehmen response here).

The bait was also a strong attractant for a family of deer, the youngest still with their summer spots.

We saw deer at several of our other sites as well, like these two young bucks enjoying some early snow:

For family Cervidae, this is a busy time of year: rut, or mating, season. The soft velvet of buck antlers has been shed, and the hardened antlers are now being put to use. 

For elk, we have passed the peak of rut in Oregon, but it's not uncommon for a second or third rut "wave" to happen around this time of year. Not long after seeing this cow - or female elk - and her calf, we saw the mature bull elk pictured below:

We hope you all are staying warm and having good luck readying your own winter stores while enjoying the changing of the seasons. Until next time!