This week saw a large increase in the amount of snowfall coming down in the Burlington area and beyond. The freshly fallen snow blanketed the ground and trees of Centennial (see Figure 1), reminding me of Christmas time. However, this mid-winter wonderland was starkly contrasted with the chirping of birds in the close distance. Since January, the snow cover has increased significantly in addition to appearing more powdery than the icy cover which coated the forest floor last month. The groundhog’s prediction must have been correct this year because the birds chirp constantly now, signally the coming spring. I had some trouble locating defined wildlife tracks this past visit. The deep snow seems to have kept the larger animals in their winter homes and or caused the smaller animals to dig underneath the top layer. I did, however, located a few small grey squirrel tracks originating at a smaller pine tree and headed in the direction of a small snow bank closer to the stream. Most likely, this squirrel felt the warmer weather earlier this week and deemed it safe to venture out to find more food. On his or her path through the woods, I noticed that the tracks seemed to disappear briefly as he or she dove into the deep snow (see Figure 2) – maybe to avoid a passing predator? A fox? I looked for any tracks to back up this suspicion but ultimately came up empty handed.
As the squirrel scurried across the small frozen landscape, he or she seemed to stop at several trees along the path to the snow bank. I examined the trees, looking for small scratch marks, but instead found something quite different but just as intriguing. On a small section of exposed tree, there were small carvings (see Figure 3). At first I thought these carvings to be human made, but upon further inspection I came to the conclusion that they were most likely made but a small worm digging its way through the underside of the tree bark. Either way, it was an interesting find!
Returning to our small grey squirrel. The tracks terminated at a small snow bank (see Figure 4). I think this could be a good little shelter for the squirrel on warmer days, shielding the small creature from the harsh winds of today and yesterday while also providing a sufficient amount of warmth from the surrounding insulation.
