December 1st

...Beaver tail drag among duck tracks near a nameless pond at the Quabbin...

December 2nd

Polypore on a dead Chestnut Oak.

December 3rd

Tracks of Eastern Coyote and White-tailed Deer, animals intricately linked in the dance of life and death.

"I wish I could do justice to your spirit. Your voice thrills us in a song that is the very nature of all songs of joy and gladness."-Ernest Thompson Seton, on the Coyote.

December 5th

The second storm of the season left us with about two inches of snow on the ground. Today I spent almost nine hours on the trail of a Black Bear. From its behavior I suspect it was looking for a denning place. It passed, without apparent interest, numerous places where Whitetailed Deer and Wild Turkeys had been digging acorns up from beneath the snow. The Bear roamed up and down a mountainside, checking brushpiles, hollow tree snags, and rocky ledges. I was especially impressed by the way it sought out logs for walking, much as Bobcats often do. Some of the logs were surprisingly small, in one case only three inches in diameter! By the end of the day I had followed the bear, step by step, probably close to ten miles through the forest, and nightfall brought my adventure to an end.

December 8th

This is a bed that was built and used by a female Black Bear and her cub - you can see the depression inside where they slept. Also note the huge pile of scat outside the bed. These two bears are still active, digging up acorns from under the snow.

December 9th

Black Bear scat comprised of Oak acorns, extremely fresh, only hours old...

...this is a different scat, same material, one day old...

...and a third acorn scat, three days old.

December 10th

Valerie and I followed the tracks of a Black Bear on ice, leading to a small open patch of water where he paused to drink.

December 12th

From left to right, the tracks of River Otter, Black Bear, Whitetail Deer, Eastern Coyote.

December 15th

Exquisite tracks of a Bobcat, showing all the salient features of the front track, below, and the hind track, above. This cat was in a direct-register walk, changed into an over-step walk, and then changed into a rotary lope.

December 16th

Valerie pointing to Shrew tracks, left, and Mouse tracks, right.

December 17th

Piptoporous betulinus, also called Polyporous betulinus, the "paper birch mushroom." This is a common winter food for Whitetail Deer.

December 18th

An Otter hole; they keep these open all winter to allow access to their prey below the ice.

December 19th

Wild Turkeys digging up acorns from beneath the snow. These magnificent birds are a lesson in nature's resilience.

December 22nd, Winter Solstice

...celebrating a wonderful day with special friends...

Fresh Beaver activity...

Deer teethmarks...

Deer feeding on lichens growing on trees...

Ruffed Grouse landing and tracks -note the tail feather marks!...

Mink tracks...note the consistent bounds, characteristic of the species.

December 23rd

This is a classic example of what is called Beech snap. The tree, American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) has been infected with a fungus which has destroyed its core. Thus weakened, the trunk has snapped.

December 24th

January 1st 2008

Otter trail at the Quabbin.

January 2nd

This is an example of Black Knot fungus, which is parasitic on Cherry trees.