Sandhill Nature Education

It’s a sure sign of spring — Male Red-winged Blackbirds have returned and are singing in area cattail marshes. They sing to declare their “ownership” of a section of land. In a few weeks the striped, brown females will return and choose nest sites. The male who has laid claim to the location she chooses for her nest will become her mate. Males with the best territories will host the most nesting females and produce the most offspring. It’s exciting to once again hear the familiar call– “oak-a-leeeeee”.

You can hear the song of the Red-winged Blackbird at any season at http://www.sandhillnature.com/phenolog or at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/id .

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Our neighborhood Red-shouldered Hawks are back and fixing up their nest. I watched this week as one snapped a branch off a nearby tree and brought it to their nest. This pair has been using the same nest for over 5 years now. At the beginning of the breeding season Red-shouldered Hawks decorate the edge of their nests with greenery.  Our neighborhood hawks use branches from the Hemlock near their nest. Red-shouldered Hawks prey on small mammals, frogs and snakes. They’re a Michigan threatened species. This means that in our state their population is low or declining, and without protection they may become endangered.

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One of our earliest returning migrants is back and beginning to set up breeding territories. Horned Larks return in February and soon begin singing and displaying to stake out an area of a field for nesting and raising their young. To find a Horned Lark look in open fields and on the dunes. One good location to look is in the fields around Wuerfel Park, near Chum’s Corners. The males return first and battle for territory. They fly high into the air and attack each other as they spiral down to the ground. On the ground they chase each other through the grasses. Between these confrontations they sing a sweet, bell-like song from high perches on snow piles, roofs or weed stalks.

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Pileated Woodpeckers are year-round residents in the Grand Traverse area, and are our largest woodpecker —  about the size of a crow. They are vibrant birds with brilliant red crests, black bodies and white wing patches. Males have red foreheads and “moustache” lines, while those of females are black.

One territorial display involves moving back and forth around the tree trunk, occasionally pecking at each other. They also stake out their territory by calling and drumming. Its stirring territorial call “Kek, kek, kek, kek, kek, kek, kek…” carries for long distances through the forest; the drumming starts loudly, then tapers off .

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One of the early signs of the return of spring is the Tufted Titmouse’s song. I heard my first Titmouse of this year last Friday, February 18th. For such a small drab bird, the song is surprisingly loud and ringing. There are several song variations but all are repeated, loud slurred whistles. It sounds something like, “Peter, peter” or “Cheer, cheer”.

Relatives of the Black-capped Chickadee, Titmice are frequent visitors at bird feeders in the area. They can be recognized by their small size, pointed crest on the head and plain gray back.

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In mid-February many local mammals begin courtship and breeding activities-an early sign of the season to come. Their increased activity is seen in the number of tracks in the snow. Two animals that will soon be out and active are Raccoons and Opossums. These two entirely unrelated animals move in a similar way – they both pace. The resulting tracks are in pairs consisting of one front footprint beside a back one. Thus there will be a left front by a right back, then a left back by a right front…

The Opossum is a marsupial — the only marsupial in North America. Opossum babies are born very early in their development, make their way into their mother’s pouch, and continue their development there. Opossums have opposable thumbs on their hind feet (allowing them to grasp and hold onto branches). This is evident in their tracks. Look for a large “thumb” pointing at right angles to the other four toes. The star-like front track ends up in the “v” made by the thumb sticking out from the back foot.

Raccoons are also the only member of their family found around here. (Others are the ringtails and coatis out west). Raccoons have agile hands that they use to pick up and manipulate things. Their tracks, with five long fingers on the front feet and five toes on the back are very distinctive and look rather human.

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Winter is a great time to find out what mammals live near your home. Every time they move around they leave tracks in the snow that tell who they are and what they’ve been doing. Two common area residents are rabbits and squirrels. Rabbits and squirrels move in similar ways, and their tracks show it. Both typically gallop–They leap, plant their front feet, and land their back feet ahead of the front ones. The result is a series of tracks in groups of four.

Squirrel tracks differ from rabbit tracks because squirrels usually place their front feet side-by-side, whereas rabbits place one front foot in front of the other. Also, when the tracks lead from one tree to another, you can be confident that you are following a squirrel.  (Unless you’ve found a rabbit that can climb trees.)

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With the advent of snow, tracks become much more evident. It becomes easier to find out what the animals in the neighborhood–both wild and domestic-have been doing. In the first of several journal entries about tracks, our household friends, dogs and cats, will be the focus.

Dog and cat tracks are quite similar in that both have four toes in each track. The tracks are evenly spaced and alternate left and right. There are several differences, however.

All canines (Domestic Dog, Red or Gray Fox, Coyote and Wolf) have feet that are oval in outline. Their claws don’t retract so they almost always show in each track. The tracks are symmetrical. The center two toes are side-by-side in the front and the side toes are evenly tucked in, beside and behind them.

Feline tracks (Domestic Cat, Bobcat, Lynx and Cougar) are round in outline. Since cats retract their claws except when making a kill or preventing a slip, their claws seldom show in the tracks. Cat tracks aren’t symmetrical. One toe leads, rather like the positioning of our fingers.

If a track is from a cat it was probably either a house cat (1” diameter) or a bobcat (2” diameter). A cougar would have a 4”-diameter track and a spacing of about 4 feet between tracks.

A dog track will either be from a Domestic Dog (varies in size according to the size of the dog. A dog’s trail wanders around exploring with no apparent purpose), a Red or Gray Fox (Tracks about 2” long, in a narrow, delicate trail.) or a Coyote (Tracks about 2 ½“long, in a straight, purposeful trail.)

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