There is so much
I want to tell you
and most of it
is not in words.
There aren’t any
to describe the quiet
footfalls of a cat
as it gently allows
its weight to shift
from one paw to the next.
I can’t speak it
because it is silent.
I could only have you
lay down by the river
and feel the gravity
of the earth.
Ask you to surrender
to its embrace
and let it fill your heart.
Then I’ll tenderly
press my hand onto
your body in reverence
and gratitude for your being.
California Ground Squirrel Collecting Acorns
I heard some rustling at the top of an oak tree and various bits of debris and an acorn or two were falling through the canopy. I looked up to see a squirrel rustling around in the foliage. It appeared to be gathering acorns, but I couldn’t quite get a clear view. After about 5 minutes or so, it came scurrying down. It would climb down the trunk, perch on a limb, and survey the surroundings. Once the scene was assessed to be safe after about half a minute, it would continue down to the next limb. When it got low enough, I saw that it was a California ground squirrel and its cheeks were bulging with acorns! Ground squirrels have cheek pouches that they can stuff with extra food to take with them to cache for later. This one looks like it managed to cram maybe six to eight acorns or more in there! Maybe it had already retrieved any acorns that had fallen on the ground or maybe it was just easier to gather and choose yummy, healthy, bug-free acorns from the tree instead of hunting for them on the ground. I’m not sure, but it was interesting to see a ground squirrel at the top of an oak tree. I hadn’t really imagined it venturing up there, but it seemed at home navigating its way around high up in a tree.
Ripe Osoberries
As I walked around the arboretum this week, I have been really surprised to see all of the ripe osoberries. Usually, I am lucky if I can find one that actually ripens enough to eat. When the cedar waxwings show back up at the arboretum, they will descend on these berries and gobble them up before they completely ripen. In years past, it was common to see 3 or 4 cedar waxwings in one osoberry shrub devouring the unripe berries. Also, I usually get lucky enough to see waxwings doing their courtship routine by passing a berry (see blog post: Osoberries Ripening, June 8, 2022), but I haven’t seen many waxwings down in the shrubs so far this year. Maybe they have been there when I haven’t been around. Robins will also eat their fair share too, and I have seen a few robins eating them. I suppose what I am getting at is that there seem to be fewer birds. Maybe there is a more inviting, nutritious food source around that they are eating at the moment. I am not sure. I also saw a chipmunk harvesting them. It was fun to see it pluck one and scurry over to a limb to eat the thin layer of fruit and the seed inside.
Mossy Meditations
Climbing out of a thicket of blackberry, this California ground squirrel sprawls out on a soft bed of moss to catch some rays of the morning sun. I see them sit in the low limbs of oak trees that are around 10 feet or so off the ground. Its a nice place to warm up in the sun and get a better view. They have to stay vigilant of the surroundings because red-tailed hawks are nesting nearby. The hawks are always circling overhead and ground squirrels are definitely on their menu. If I stay tuned in to the barking alarm call of ground squirrels, I will often see a red-tailed hawk cruising through the landscape.
Squirrels
Tree squirrels are amazing acrobats. They fearlessly climb out onto the tips of branches to reach seeds or take fearless leaps between limbs. They chase each other up, down, and all around the trunk of trees with speed and agility. Their lives seem to involve a great amount of risk or chance.
Not to worry, squirrels have the body mechanics and dexterity to live a life in the trees. To hold on to the tree, they have sharp, curved claws that help them grip the bark. To climb and leap between branches, they have powerful muscles in their hind legs. They are noticeably bulging in the photo as it supports its body facing down the tree. This brings me to what inspired me to write this post. To be able to descend head first down a tree, a squirrel’s back ankles can rotate a full 180 degrees! In the photo, you can see them swiveled back as it hangs on the tree.
It is safe to say that they are at home up in the trees and have a great ability in navigating their world. They have immense knowledge of the forest in how the branches grow and weave together. They must create intricate mental maps of the canopy which is a complex maze of roads leading to food, safety, and shelter. Squirrels are such fascinating creatures to wonder about and observe.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. I look forward to seeing you out there.
Resources
Brookshire, Bethany. “Do the Twist, The Science behind Death-Defying Acrobatics of the Average Squirrel.” Sierra, no. Spring, 2023, pp. 54–55.
Coyote Hunting
I watched this coyote for a few hours as it wandered around the meadow, hunting for food. Most of the time, it walked as it explored. If it heard the rustling of a rodent, it would turn in that direction and intently listen and watch. Then it would slowly position itself as it honed in on its prey. Finally, when it was ready to strike, it would crouch down, leap into the air and pounce on its prey. I saw it successfully catch and eat four rodents. Coyotes are omnivores and will eat almost anything they can catch. Tom Brown states,” A typical meat diet includes fifty percent rabbit, twenty-five percent small rodents (mostly voles), and twenty-five percent carrion… They also eat birds and a variety of fruit, nuts, and leaves.” I was amazed that birds were not more upset with its presence. Once, it flushed a Bewick’s wren. The wren popped up onto a blackberry cane and intently watched, but surprisingly, it never made an alarm call or any other vocalizations.
Interestingly, Tom Brown writes: “Contrary to popular belief, coyotes are solitary. (The so-called ‘bands’ of coyotes that are sometimes seen are almost always family groups composed of a mother and her young.)”
Coyotes are well camouflaged. Their coats are a broad range of grays, browns, and white. There were moments when I was watching that it seemingly disappeared as it blended in so well with the dead grass.
Coyotes are nocturnal for the most part, so it seemed a little unusual to see this one hunting throughout the morning and into the afternoon. That said, it was one of those gray days when the entire day looked like the dim light before sunset.
Reference
Brown, Tom, and Brandt Morgan. Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking. Berkley trade pbk. ed, Berkley Books, 1983.
Camas Pocket Gopher
Above the White Oak Pavilion at the arboretum, the ground is covered with freshly dug soil. This is the industrious work of a pocket gopher.
Pocket gophers are fossorial rodents named for their fur-lined, external cheek pouches. A fossorial animal is one adapted to digging and lives primarily, but not solely, underground. They have prominent, yellow incisors that are always exposed. They have small eyes, ears, and noses which probably leaves them vulnerable to predators when they are at the surface. I often see them pausing at the entrance of the hole, cautiously investigating their surroundings. They don’t leave their burrows open for very long, so you will usually see them plugged with a mound of dirt.
They prefer moist soil that is easy to excavate but can also be found in rocky landscapes. The dirt excavated by pocket gophers behind the White Oak Pavilion is littered with rounded stones, revealing that a stream once flowed through there. They have large, curved front claws for digging, and their protruding incisors probably come in handy when penetrating the dry, hard soil during the summer.
They dig extensive tunnels and the dirt typically gets deposited out in fan-shaped mounds. As they shovel the dirt to the surface, they will launch the soil away with a burst of energy.
Pocket gophers are herbivores. They forage on roots, tubers, and surface vegetation which they collect in their cheek pouches. When walking along the trail, I often see vegetation moving and then slowly disappearing as it is pulled underground.
The species we have at the arboretum is the camas pocket gopher (Thomomys bulbivorus) which is endemic to the Willamette Valley. Its distinguishing characteristic is a white patch surrounding its bottom two incisors.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. Hope to see you out there.
Resources
Burt, William Henry, and Richard Philip Grossenheider. A Field Guide to the Mammals: Field Marks of All North American Species Found North of Mexico. 3d ed, Houghton Mifflin, 1976.
“Pocket Gophers.” National Wildlife Federation, https://www.nwf.org/Home/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Pocket-Gophers. Accessed 28 Sept. 2022.
Harvesting Hazelnuts
Hazelnuts are being eaten and carried off to be cached. I can hear the squirrels clamoring around through the hazelnut tree limbs as they search for nuts. When they find one, they will find a perch to eat it, which doesn’t take long. I can hear them gnawing on the shell and see bits of it falling to the ground.
Steller’s Jays are also hopping around through the hazelnut trees gathering nuts. When they will collect one to eat, they take it over to a limb big enough to perch on and to hold the nut. I love watching them hold the nut in their bill and with their feet. Every day over the past week, I have heard them in the trees pounding on the nuts trying to open them. It takes more time and effort for them to open the nuts than their squirrel neighbors.
I am not sure why these squirrels and jays are eating hazelnuts now. They haven’t fully matured. Hazelnuts are usually harvested in the fall. Maybe other food sources are scarce at the moment. Or maybe they just like the taste. Perhaps there are certain nutrients that the nuts provide at the moment that they are craving. Whatever the answer, come fall, there won’t be any left on the trees at the arboretum.
Weasel
There are weasels at the arboretum!
The weasel family includes weasels, minks, otters, martens, fishers, skunks, badgers, and wolverines.
Paul Rezendes writes: “The weasel’s generic name, Mustela, means ‘one who carries mice.’ The word weasel comes from the Sanskrit visra, which means ‘to have a musty smell.’”
There are two kinds of weasels in Oregon, short-tailed and long-tailed. Which one did I see? David Moskowitz had this to say: “These two species can be difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish in the field, either from live sightings or tracks. While long-tailed weasels are usually larger than short-tailed weasels, because they are both sexually dimorphic, a slight size overlap exists between large male short-tailed weasels and small female long-tailed weasels. A few minor habitat use distinctions between the two species are also not absolute.” Also, both of these weasels have black-tipped tails. When I looked at my photos, I noticed that this weasel didn’t have a black-tipped tail, which added to the mystery.
Long tail short, sometimes it is best to let go of names. Tom Brown, Jr. reminds us that: “Everything worth knowing about the animal lies beyond the name… Concentrate on concepts, feelings, and sensations. Most of all, concentrate on interacting with the things you encounter in nature.”
That said, what I do know is that this little animal is slender, fast, and action-packed. It can swim, climb trees, travel tunnels, search burrows, explore hollow logs, slide in between rocks, and dive into snow banks. This makes a very skilled hunter.
Out at the arboretum, they have many small mammals to eat, such as mice, voles, chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels, and pocket gophers. They will also eat birds, eggs, berries, seeds, and forbs.
This is just a brief introduction to an amazing animal, and I hope that you are inspired to learn more. This encounter always reminds me that there are so many fascinating discoveries to be made in local parks and in my backyard. Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. See you out there.
References
Brown, Tom, and Brandt Morgan. Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking. Berkley trade pbk. ed, Berkley Books, 1983.
Moskowitz, David. Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest: Tracking and Identifying Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Invertebrates. Timber Press, 2010.
Rezendes, Paul. Tracking & the Art of Seeing: How to Read Animal Tracks & Sign. 2nd ed, HarperCollins, 1999.
Story
I heard some rustling coming from the underbrush at the edge of the forest, and I heard a California ground squirrel and a spotted towhee alarming. As I turned to see what was going on, a rabbit jumped out of the grass and started running down the road. A moment later, a weasel popped out onto the road chasing the rabbit. They zigzagged in and out of the grass a few times and then came back out onto the trail. The weasel caught up to the rabbit and was right behind it. The weasel then jumped on the back of the rabbit and grabbed it behind the head. The rabbit got loose for a moment, and the weasel grabbed it on its throat. As the weasel started running away with the rabbit, it got loose again. The rabbit must be hard to hold through all of that fur. The weasel shot into the grass leaving the rabbit behind. Dazed, the rabbit took a couple of small hops to the edge of the meadow, hunkered down into the long grass, and became as still as a rock. A second later, the weasel came running out of the grass searching for the rabbit. The weasel retraced its steps to within a foot of the rabbit but didn’t find it. Curiously, he even ran over to me a few times, perhaps wondering if I had taken his rabbit. After a few minutes of investigating the area, he decided to move on. Once I thought the coast was clear, I quietly walked over and checked on the rabbit. It peered up at me through the grass and didn’t move a muscle. I decided to move on too and let it recuperate. I was uncertain how bad it was hurt, if at all. I went back the next morning, and it was gone.
Chipmunks Eating Serviceberries
I have been watching the berries ripen on the serviceberry shrub to see if the rust will coat all of them. So far, many of them are untouched. Some are starting to turn red, and a few are turning blue. I first tuned into this with the help of a chipmunk. I heard it nervously chirping, and when I went over to investigate, I saw it running around a serviceberry eating the fruit. I am not sure why it was alarming, but it seems to feel vulnerable in the shrub for some reason. I have noticed it doing this a few times. Another mystery is that it is eating the green berries. Is it richer in a certain nutrient that it craves at the moment? Is it more interested in eating the flesh of the berry, the seeds inside, or both? Anyways, I love watching this little creature scurrying around and investigating the world.
Coyote
One of the most beautiful animals in North America lives among us here at the arboretum—the coyote. The color of its fur is a varied palette of earth tones. Myriad hues of browns, grays, blacks, and whites are woven together to form a magical coat. It is a thatch work of clay, dry grass stalks, morning sun, bird songs, river sediments, decaying pine needles, a summer breeze, wildflower seeds, frost, burnt trees, lichen, pollen, moths, and moonlight.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. Hope to see you out there.
Western Gray Squirrel
The western gray squirrel is a marvelous creature. Its defining feature is an amazingly bushy tail that is nearly as long as its body. It has a beautiful coat of gray fur frosted with silver-white tips. Its underside and the crescents that bracket its eyes are white.
Look for this animal acrobatically moving through the trees or hopping around on the ground as it forages for food. A staple part of its diet at the arboretum is acorns. When the nuts are ripe, it will bury them in the ground or use a tree cavity to cache them. In June, I’ll see it whittle down the oak galls, presumably to eat the insect larvae inside. In early August, I’ll see it eating the inner bark of big leaf maples—under the tree will be small pieces of bark etched with teeth marks. I also see it eating Douglas-fir seeds and fungi.
For nesting, it uses tree cavities or builds a nest of sticks and leaves. It bears a single litter each year between late February and May.
It is a fairly shy animal and is rarely vocal. It is very aware of its surroundings, so I have to move slowly or be still to observe it. If it feels uncertain or afraid, it will scurry up into the tree canopy or bound away along the forest floor.
References
Mathews, Daniel. Cascade-Olympic Natural History. Raven Editions in conjunction with Portland Audubon Society, 1988.
Moskowitz, David. Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest: Tracking and Identifying Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Invertebrates. Timber Press, 2010.
Muskrat
Recently, I have been fortunate to observe a muskrat out in the lily pond area. It has been merrily swimming around collecting aquatic plants and eating them under the safety of a thick shelter of willow branches overhanging the water.
The “musk” part of its name comes from two musk glands found beneath the skin at the ventral base of the tail. These musk glands are used during the breeding season to mark scent posts to establish territory and to signal the male’s maturity. The “rat” part of its name is misleading. It has a naked, scaly, narrow, slightly flattened tail that is similar to a rat, but it is not a rat. That said, they are both classified as rodents.
Muskrats love water and their habitat is marshes, ponds, lakes, streams, and other wetlands.
Its body is designed for water. They have a dense coat of waterproof fur that is overlaid with coarse guard hairs. Its hind feet have specialized hairs that grow on the sides of its long toes to help propel it through the water. It has a third, clear eyelid called a nictitating membrane that protects its eyes underwater. Amazingly, it can stay underwater for up to 17 minutes! Also, to be able to gnaw on plants in the water without drowning, its incisors are outside its lips.
For housing, muskrats may either decide to dig a burrow in the bank or build a small lodge made out of plant materials, small sticks, and mud.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. Hope to see you out there.
Burt, William H. and Richard P. Grossenheider. A Field Guide to the Mammals: North America north of Mexico. 3rd ed. New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976.
Rezendes, Paul. Tracking and the Art of Seeing: How to Read Animal Tracks & Sign. 2nd ed. New York, HarperCollins, 1999.
California Ground Squirrel
California Ground Squirrel
Citellus beecheyi
These little creatures have a beautiful, speckled coat of fur that provides great camouflage. They are colonial and active during the day. There is a small settlement of them on the gentle-sloping hillside above the creek trail. There are narrow paths marking their travels across the landscape around their burrows .
They have a varied diet that consists of green vegetation, seeds, acorns, mushrooms, fruits, bird eggs and insects. The hillside where they live is pockmarked with small holes they are digging in search for food. I am not sure what they are eating.
They spend most of their time on the ground, but I occasionally see them in trees looking for food or escaping danger. In the last photo below, there was one in a tree along the creek. It was stressed about something happening on the ground nearby and was warning others with a loud chirp.
In the Peterson Field Guide to Mammals, it says that most adults estivate in July or August. Estivation occurs when conditions become hot and dry. To conserve energy they seek cool, shady areas, and they will lower their breathing, heart and metabolic rates. This sounds like a good strategy to cope with the very hot and dry weather we are experiencing at the moment.
With the creek dried up for the summer, I often wonder how animals like these ground squirrels find enough water to stay hydrated.
Blacktail Deer
I briefly watched this deer the other day browsing on the new leaves of an Oregon Ash. In reading about blacktail deer, I found that they have a varied diet that can include hundreds of different kinds of plants, fruits, nuts, etc. Naturally their food sources of forbs, grasses and browse can evolve throughout the year as the seasons change.
In Cascade Olympic Natural History, Daniel Mathews writes, “They strip the old-man’s-beard lichen from tree limbs; it contains few nutrients, but enhances the deer’s utilization of plant nutrients in the winter diet of twigs, evergreen needles and leaves. Like other cudchewers, they are able to live on this high-roughage diet thanks to cellulose-digesting bacteria in their first (precudchewing) stomach. They have to browse for the nutritional demands of these bacteria; inadequate protein can kill the bacteria, leaving the browser literally starving to death with its belly full.”
For me, this really underscores the importance for the preserving the diversity of life. Animals have evolved in complex ecosystems that need to be taken care of and protected. It is crucial for our health and wellness.
Definitions:
Forbs (sometimes referred to as herbs) are herbaceous (not woody), broadleaf plants that are not grass-like.
Browse is the leaf and twig growth of shrubs, woody vines, trees, cacti, and other non-herbaceous vegetation available for animal consumption.
Blacktail Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus)
Hoary Bat
Hanging upside down in a Douglas-fir tree, this little creature looks like a cone or a clump of moss at first glance. The fir on its back and tail membrane is tipped with white which gives its coat a frosted appearance. Usually hanging from one foot, it wraps its tail membrane around its body like a cozy blanket. They primarily roost in trees where the canopy is denser where I imagine it keeps them protected from the weather and from predators. Perhaps this one picked this spot in the sun to help keep warm on these cool spring days. Like many animals they are migratory. Obviously moving throughout the continent seeking hospitable geographical regions as the seasons change. So here it is at Mt Pisgah which provides habitat for its needs of shelter, food, etc. Welcome my furry, little friend. May your time here be happy and peaceful. Stay as long as you like, and I hope to see you around.
Cool fact:
A subspecies, the Hawaiian Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) is the only terrestrial mammal native to Hawaii.
Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinerus)
Hazel & Fern
There are a pair of rabbits that hang out in this little thicket next to the river. They forage along the edge, seldom venturing more than a few feet away from cover. I was walking along the trail the other day and came upon them foraging. Their instinct is to stay stone-still. I took a couple quick photos as they stood absolutely motionless. I decided to keep walking so they could hop into the bushes where they feel safe and can relax. I looked back after a few steps and one had already disappeared. The other one waited until I was probably fifty feet away before it moved into the bushes. They have large eyes and ears that are acutely tuned into the sights and sounds in their environment. There are many predators out at the arboretum, so they need to be aware. Whenever I see them, it reminds me to check in with my surroundings - listening to the river, feeling the wind, watching for birds, smelling the earthly scents in the air and tasting the yummy snacks from my pack.
Eastern Fox Squirrel
I noticed something falling from a tree. I looked up to find this squirrel busily opening the samaras of a bigleaf maple and eating the seeds. I was amazed at its ability to balance on such a small branch as it ate. It sat there so effortlessly, even though apparently it was only gripping the limb with its toes. Its tail was an integral part of the high-wire act. At this moment, it tucked its tail forward to act as a counterbalance. For awhile I continued to watch its arboreal performance as it climbed around and fearlessly navigated its way throughout the tree. It was at home up there.
I opened the end of one of the wings to examine its contents. The seed had a thin, brown skin that encased what appeared to be a bundle of tender, green leaves.
Voles
The south meadow of Mt Pisgah is a network of well-worn paths connecting entrances leading to small burrows. This is the work of voles and they are active during the day and night. During the summer at dusk, I would watch the meadow come alive. As I stood on the road, I would see this little brown animal quickly dash in and out. They only leave the safety of their burrow for a few seconds. Sometimes I saw a dozen or more at once. I’m hoping to capture a photo of one this summer. Their small tubular scat is seen along their trails, especially near the burrow entrance.
While looking around this sea of holes and pathways, I came across many slugs and a rough-skinned newt. I also noticed small, perfectly round holes around many of the burrow entryways that were maybe made by worms. Additionally, I see American kestrels, great-horned owls, coyote scat and snakes all around this meadow. This grassy field is a fascinating and thriving world!
Tracks
Animals are bare footed with mud squishing between their toes!
One of the benefits of the rain is that it creates an excellent canvas of mud to capture the tracks of animals. Even though the maker of the tracks is gone, they still emanate life and mystery. Animals are in intimate communication with the earth. I imagine that immense knowledge of the landscape is absorbed through their direct connection with the ground. A track is a gift. It teaches me to also learn and understand life through my sense of touch. It reminds me that we are sharing this world with other creatures.
