Black Bear Mating
Each spring I lead a bunch of wildlife photo tours. Dozens of photographers from around the world spend anywhere from a few hours up to a week with me pursuing a number of natural subjects. One of the favorite subjects are American Black Bears (Ursus americanus). The Black Bear is unique to North American and is not closely related to the other two bear species found in North America, the Brown Bear and Polar Bear. There are eight species of bear in the world, the American Black Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear, Asian Black Bear, Giant Panda, Sloth Bear, Sun Bear, and Spectacled Bear. The American Black Bear is the smallest of our three bears in North America, but they are the most widely distributed. They are found in good numbers from Florida up to New England. They are also found across the northern states and slipping down into parts of the Rocky Mountains. Small populations even extend down into Mexico. They are also found throughout most of Canada and Alaska. Black Bears in the southern states are much smaller than the bears in northern locations. This is the biological rule called Bergmann’s Rule. It is an ecogeographical rule that states that within a broadly distributed species, such as the American Black Bear, the largest ones are found in the northern latitudes and the smallest are located in the warmest latitudes. So, the bears in Florida range from 250 to 350 pounds while Black Bears in Minnesota are 250 to 650 pounds. The reason for this size difference is all based on keeping warm or staying cool. It is easier for larger animals to conserve warmth and stay warm in winter and for smaller animals to shed heat and stay cooler during summer. During my bear photo tour this year, we were lucky to see several mating encounters. This is not something you regularly see. The mating season spans several months, most of June and well into July. Male bears, called a bore, wonder the woods following their nose looking for receptive females. The females need to be at least three to five years of age before breeding. Females only mate every other year because their babies take 1.5 years to become large enough to be on their own. Black Bear females have 2-4 young on average, but occasionally they can have as many as 6 cubs at once. After mating the female, called a sow, doesn’t become pregnant right away. Bears have a unique reproductive system. Instead the fertilized eggs stay in a suspended state until autumn, usually in Oct or Nov. At this point the number of fertilized eggs that will implant into the mother’s uterine wall depend upon her overall health. If she has enough fat reserves and is in good overall heath, more eggs will implant and start to grow. If she doesn’t get enough to eat and is low on fat and is in poor health, she won’t have any young at all. Baby Black Bears are born in February while the mother is still in the winter den. At birth the baby bears eyes are closed, and they weigh only about 1 pound. They are only about 8 inches long and are covered in a fine black hair. They are completely dependent upon their mother. They don’t open their eyes until they are nearly 40 days old and will feed on their mother’s milk for up to 30 weeks. We were able to capture some PG rated images of the mating Black Bears. Witnessing these natural, intimate moments are so special. Not a lot of people are lucky enough to see a wild Black Bear and even fewer are lucky enough to witness mating Black Bears. Mating is a brief encounter. The female is only receptive for mating for a few short hours, so the male often follows the female for many days before the time is right. He gets closer and closer to her and when she accepts his advances, he has just a few moments to mate. The coupling lasts less than a minute and she often turns and becomes aggressive towards the male. More times than not, he just turns and walks off in search of another receptive female. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.
Hibernation
Winter is upon us and many parts of the country are covered in a blanket of snow. Even though the official start of winter is yet to come, it hasn’t stopped all the animals from getting ready for winter. For example, the raccoons in my yard have put on so much extra weight they look like post-holiday bandits that ate just a little too much pudding. Just to be clear, raccoons don’t hibernate. They remain active throughout most of the winter. During the coldest parts of winter in January they will hold up in a sheltered area, like in a hollow log for a couple weeks living off their stored body fat, but they are not hibernating. Black Bears are always everyone’s classic example of an animal that hibernates. Biologists will quickly point out that bears are not true hibernators. Yes, their heart rate, respirations drop and body core temperatures decreases, but the bear stays completely awake during winter. Male Black Bears tend to be groggier than females but none the less they do wake up and move around in their den. Female Black Bears give birth to their young while hibernating in their den. The females are awake enough to completely care for their new born cubs. Most would agree this is not classic hibernation. Stripped Skunks and Virginia Opossum are a lot like Raccoons. They are active for most of the winter taking a break during the cold snaps. It is a lot like you and me when a big snow storm hits. We hunker down and wait it out. Most critters put on extra weight for both insulation and for energy reserves. Most animals also grow a thick winter coat to help survive the winter. White-tailed Deer grow long tan to gray fur which is much different from their short rusty fur of spring and summer. Based on color they look like different animals. Birds that don’t migrate grow up to one third more feathers for winter. The average small backyard bird, such as a Chickadee or Goldfinch has about two thousand feathers during summer. During winter they add an addition thousand feathers, most of which are not seen because they are mostly the smaller down feathers that add extra insulation. Some animals partially hibernate. The familiar and friendly Eastern Chipmunk is a good example of a partial hibernator. During autumn they gather hordes of food which they store in underground chambers. When winter strikes, they hibernate for several weeks at a time. But since their body size is so small, they couldn’t possibly put on enough body fat to make it through the entire winter. They wake up every couple of weeks and feed on their stockpile of food. They need to feed for a couple days to put on enough fat to make it through another couple of weeks of hibernation. Now if you really want a champion hibernator you would have to look at the Woodchuck or also called the Groundhog. They are one of the few true hibernators. Before winter hits they feed nearly continuously and nearly double their weight. They dig a deep burrow below the frost line which in many parts of the country is at least four feet deep. In northern climates they hibernate from Oct to March or April. When they enter hibernation their body core temperature drops dramatically, and their heart rate drops to four to ten beats per minute. Breathing falls to just one breath every six minutes. Their GI tract is not functioning, and they are not eating, drinking or defecating. They are truly unconscious. They live exclusively from their body fat. So, if they go into hibernation without enough fat to fuel them the entire winter they will not survive. They will lose as much as half their entire body weight by spring. So this winter, when someone talks about hibernating during a bad winter storm think about the critters who are actually hibernating, because their lives depend upon it. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and film wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.
Bats
Turning off the main paved road onto the dirt mountain road my headlights sweep across the rouged rocky nighttime landscape. With each switchback we gain altitude going higher and higher into the Arizona mountains. Recent rains have left sections of the dirt road washed out and very rocky making it difficult to navigate. I needed to slow down to a crawl and steer my truck through the large exposed rocks that now constitute the road. Several miles down the road I pull into a small road-side pull out, just beyond a dry creek bed. Stepping out of my truck and into the moonless night, the darkness completely envelopes us. Above us, the night sky is a blanket of stars. Millions of stars stretch from horizon to horizon and the Milky Way Galaxy paints a white swath across the middle of the sky. We gather our photography gear and flashlights. The night is cool but comfortable with a slight breeze. We walk back towards the dry creek bed and begin to hike along the bank. Using our flashlights to illuminate the way, we hike up to a small clearing just below a rock wall and the entrance to a large cave. We leave the camera gear and climb up into the cave. The entrance is large enough for us to walk right inside. I’ve come to the mountains of southern Arizona in search of the Ring-tailed Cat (Bassariscus astutus). For many years I’ve been searching for these elusive nocturnal members of the raccoon family. They are native to the arid regions of North America. They are also called the Miner’s Cat or Bassarisk. Sometimes they are called Civet Cat. Unfortunately, all of these common names refer to them as a cat, but they are not a cat at all. They have the face of a fox, the body of a cat and very long tail, about the length of the body, with 14-16 dark rings, hence the common name Ring-tail. They have straight, semi-retractable claws which allow them to climb trees and scramble over rocks. The Ring-tails often use the cave for shelter and sleep during the day. We climb back down to our camera gear and set up and get ready for a long night of waiting. We sit down on the cold ground and look up. Above us the branches of a large Sycamore tree frame an opening to the night sky above exposing the stars. It’s peaceful and magical all at the same time. After several hours of waiting we decide to check the cave once again. This time we go further into the cave and a solitary bat starts to fly around us. Bats are usually not active in winter at this elevation, so we are a little surprised. Wanting to know what species of bat I remember that I have a “bat identifier” in the truck. I make the hike back down to the vehicle and grab a tiny plastic devise that is no larger than a book of matches. On my smart phone I have a very sophisticated app that interacts with the tiny plastic ultra-sonic receiver. I return to the cave and plug the devise into my phone and start the app. As soon as I turn on the app it started to capture the ultrasonic sounds of the flying bat. Of course, to our ears we don’t hear anything, but the app translates the ultrasonic sounds into something we can hear. My movement had stirred up some insects and the bat takes advantage of this and zips past me scooping up the insects just a few feet away. Around and around the bat flaps by me. Within a few seconds the app has recorded the ultrasonic sounds and identifies the bat as a California Myotis. I am thrill. In the past it would have been very difficult to identify the species without catching it and doing a detailed physical exam. After some fun discussions with my friends we return to wait for the Ring-tails. At one point we hear something walking slowly through the fallen leaves. We switch on our flashlights only to discover a Hooded Skunk which scurries off into the darkness. Our waiting is in vane and the Ring-tails never show up, but none-the-less it was a great night to be in the mountains of Arizona. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U. S. to study can capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com
Western Screech-Owl
Exploring the desert at night ranks up there as one of my most favorite adventures. Recently I was in the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona searching for the elusive Western Screech-owl. After driving many miles deep into the dark desert, I had parked my truck near a dry creek bed, which in this area is called a “wash”. The first thing you notice in the desert at night is the amazing blanket of stars above. From horizon to horizon thousands of stars light up even the darkest moonless night. The desert is filled with many species of cacti, but it’s only the narrow strips lining the washes where any trees grow. Not only are the trees restricted to these areas, but the trees don’t grow very tall. A towering giant of a tree in the desert would only be 20 to 25 feet tall. These trees provide homes / habitat for the Western Screech-owl. Screech-owls are small raptors standing only about 7 inches tall. Females are larger than males but they still only weight only 4 to 8 ounces. They are gray with dark markings. Unlike the Eastern Screech-owl which comes in two different colors, gray and rusty red, there are no rust morphs in the Western Screech-owl. In the not so distant past, the Eastern and Western Screech-owls were considered the same species. But genetics show us many differences along with physical differences such as the bill color and especially their call. Leaving the truck, my partner and I pulled together our camera gear, flashes, tripods and flashlights. We walked back to the dry wash that crossed the road. The sound of sand crunching under our footsteps is the only sound. Using headlamps, we worked our way up the wash carrying our camera gear, ducking under low hanging branches, and walking around rocks and fallen logs. We found a small clearing and stood together and switched off our headlamps. Silence fell across the desert. It was the kind of silence that causes you to hear the blood rushing in your head and your ears to ring. We waited in the darkness for a while listening for the distinctive call of the Western Screech-owl. We heard nothing, so we moved up the wash a bit further to another clearing. Again, we waited and listened and still nothing. Several shooting stars streaked across the sky above giving us great views of this uncommon phenomena. We started to lose hope that we would find this elusive owl but decided to try the other direction down the wash. Heading back through the area we just passed, we came back to the road and crossed to the other side. Just a few yards down the wash our path was blocked by a fallen tree. We had to make our way around, ducking again under low hanging branches and fallen trees. Back in the wash we were able to make our way down the wash, through the darkness, until we found a large clearing. Both banks of the wash were open and flat, perfect to set up and wait. Once again, we stood in the darkness with our ears straining to hear any faint sound. Suddenly a small pack of coyote started howling not too far away. My best guesstimate was three coyotes were yipping and barking about 300 yards away. It was the kind of sound that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. These are the moments that make you feel alive. About a minute later the coyotes fell silent. Standing there in the dark, we whispered to each other about how cool that was and what a great experience. Then, another coyote started to howl, this time much, much closer. I would say about 50 yards just down the wash. If it was daylight, I am sure this coyote was so close we could have seen it. This encounter left us speechless. We just stood there. “Wow” was the only thing I could think to say. We all nodded our heads in agreement. And once again it was silent. A while later I heard something moving in a tree nearby. We stitched on our flashlights and low and behold there was a beautiful Western Screech-owl. We were able to move closer and capture some amazing night-time images of this “predator of the washes”. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.
Different Birds
I am fascinated by all aspects of nature. It doesn’t matter if its insects, reptiles, amphibians, plants, rocks or mammals I love it all. But for some reason, birds seem to be rise to the top of my interest meter. Perhaps it is because there are so many of them. There are over 10,000 species of birds in the world. By comparison, there are about half that number of mammals. Or perhaps it’s because you can look outside and see a bird at just about any time. Birds range from the tiny hummingbirds to the gigantic flightless birds such as Ostrich and Emu. Some birds are incredibly common and are found throughout the world, such as the pigeon while others are rare, secretive and endangered. Some are brightly colored while others are camouflage. It is estimated that there are between 300 and 400 billion individual birds on the planet compared to nearly 8 billion people. So, there’s not only a lot of different kinds of birds, but a huge amount of induvial birds in the world. With all these unique birds there is bound to be some individuals that stand out. Recently I’ve been trying to capture images of these unique birds. I was filming a Great-tailed Grackle, which is a super common bird species, last month in Arizona when I noticed that it’s bill was over-grown to nearly double its normal size, and the upper bill was crossed over the lower bill. This bird had Avian Keratin Disorder (AKD). This condition causes the birds bill to grow exceptionally large or long and deformed. This is a serious condition that often leads to the death of the bird over time because the bill grows so large it can no longer eat. As of today, it’s unknown what causes this problem in birds. Another common condition that affects birds is Leucism. In this condition, the bird doesn’t produce the normal pigments in the feathers, often leaving them looking very different from the normal plumage. Many times, this condition leaves the birds with white patches of feathers, such as all the feathers on the head or wings are white. This can happen in all bird species. It can range from a single feather to the entire body. I have photographed American Crows with a single white feather in their wing. I’ve also seen Red-tailed Hawks that were all white except for their red tail. Leucism can also cause the birds plumage to look faint or bleached out. So, all the usual markings are visible on the bird, it just looks much duller. The blacks are brown, and the browns are tan. Last week I was contacted by a homeowner who enjoys feeding birds. She told me about a particular Black-capped Chickadee that was coming to her feeders that didn’t look like the others. I always encourage the readers of this column and participants at my seminars to give me a call or email if they have something interesting like this on their property. Of course, one day I stopped by to look and see if I could capture some images of this leucitic bird. After arriving it didn’t take long before the leucitic Black-capped Chickadee was visiting the feeders. I gathered up all my camera gear and tripod and set up in a place that wouldn’t scare the birds away but also allow me a good angle to see the bird visiting the feeder. Soon enough a very pale Black-capped Chickadee arrived at the feeder. Like most chickadees they zip into the feeder, grab a seed and fly off, leaving very little time to capture an image. So, it took several visits of the bird to the feeders before the little bird stayed just long enough to allow me to capture some images. Of course a bunch of normal colored Chickadee visited the feeders in nearly the same spot which allowed me to take some nice comparison images in the same position. I really enjoy the oddities in nature. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and www.twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.
Close Coyote
I had been searching the snowy mountain landscape the entire morning and had come up empty-handed. It was a cold morning with temperatures in the single digits but the bright sun and lack of wind made it very comfortable. Just the week before, a storm laid a 30-inch-thick blanket of snow on the ground. This is exactly the weather and snow conditions I was hoping for during my recent winter trip to Yellowstone National Park. The colder the temperatures and the deeper the snow the easier it is for me to see, observe and photograph wildlife. While waiting at a prominent overlook in a particularly wide valley, I saw a coyote trotting my direction. I knew this was going to be a good photographic opportunity and all I needed to do was wait. I grabbed my camera and long lens and for whatever reason, this time I didn’t grab my tripod. The camera and lens combined weights a solid six or seven pounds. This is not something that you want to be hand holding all the time. Also, holding the lens up horizontal and steady enough for a clear picture can be challenging. When the coyote was about 80 to 100 feet away, I took a few pictures but noticed the background didn’t look very pleasing, so I quickly went down on one knee to lower my prospective and change the look of the background. Good wildlife photographer means you need to be considering everything in the frame of the picture, not just the subject. The background is extremely important. Getting on the same level, or in this case, the eye-level, really helps make a basic image of a coyote become a great image of a coyote. I started capturing what I believed were some stunning images of this magnificent animal. The coyote had a full and thick winter coat. I am always amazed that we need to put on so many extra layers of clothing and yet this coyote was warm and comfortable. It is always difficult to judge distance when looking through a long lens. I could see that the coyote was getting closer and I was capturing some very good images. It was at this point that I saw the coyote was coming straight at me with purpose. I looked up over my camera to see the coyote with its head down and a very determined look on his face heading right for me. Of course, my instinct was to get up off my knee and fully stand up. Remember I was hand holding my camera and lens because I didn’t have time to grab my tripod. As the coyote approached me, I instinctively held my camera and lens between the coyote and me to block him. It was at this point that I realized the coyote wanted my camera and lens. I backed up one step and the coyote advanced again, I took another stepped back again and the coyote continued to advance. I lifted the front of the lens, so it wasn’t at the coyote’s level. Again, I took another step back and this awkward dance went on for several more steps. I must admit I was a bit amused at the boldness of this critter. There is no way it could lift my camera and lens. It was just too heavy. I smiled and thought to myself, how much I enjoyed the boldness and curiosity of the coyote. This is the very reason why these animals are so successful in our changing world. After another couple steps backwards, I became tired of this dance. I quickly stomped my boot on the frozen ground, quickly raised my arms and yelled very loud at the coyote. That is all it took. The coyote turned tail and took off running with its tail tucked between its legs. It looked over its shoulder a couple times and each time I raised my arms and shouted again, which caused the coyote to speed up. It seems he couldn’t leave fast enough. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and capture images of nature. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted on his web page at www.naturesmart.com
Close Coyote
I had been searching the snowy mountain landscape the entire morning and had come up empty-handed. It was a cold morning with temperatures in the single digits but the bright sun and lack of wind made it very comfortable. Just the week before, a storm laid a 30-inch-thick blanket of snow on the ground. This is exactly the weather and snow conditions I was hoping for during my recent winter trip to Yellowstone National Park. The colder the temperatures and the deeper the snow the easier it is for me to see, observe and photograph wildlife. While waiting at a prominent overlook in a particularly wide valley, I saw a coyote trotting my direction. I knew this was going to be a good photographic opportunity and all I needed to do was wait. I grabbed my camera and long lens and for whatever reason, this time I didn’t grab my tripod. The camera and lens combined weights a solid six or seven pounds. This is not something that you want to be hand holding all the time. Also, holding the lens up horizontal and steady enough for a clear picture can be challenging. When the coyote was about 80 to 100 feet away, I took a few pictures but noticed the background didn’t look very pleasing, so I quickly went down on one knee to lower my prospective and change the look of the background. Good wildlife photographer means you need to be considering everything in the frame of the picture, not just the subject. The background is extremely important. Getting on the same level, or in this case, the eye-level, really helps make a basic image of a coyote become a great image of a coyote. I started capturing what I believed were some stunning images of this magnificent animal. The coyote had a full and thick winter coat. I am always amazed that we need to put on so many extra layers of clothing and yet this coyote was warm and comfortable. It is always difficult to judge distance when looking through a long lens. I could see that the coyote was getting closer and I was capturing some very good images. It was at this point that I saw the coyote was coming straight at me with purpose. I looked up over my camera to see the coyote with its head down and a very determined look on his face heading right for me. Of course, my instinct was to get up off my knee and fully stand up. Remember I was hand holding my camera and lens because I didn’t have time to grab my tripod. As the coyote approached me, I instinctively held my camera and lens between the coyote and me to block him. It was at this point that I realized the coyote wanted my camera and lens. I backed up one step and the coyote advanced again, I took another stepped back again and the coyote continued to advance. I lifted the front of the lens, so it wasn’t at the coyote’s level. Again, I took another step back and this awkward dance went on for several more steps. I must admit I was a bit amused at the boldness of this critter. There is no way it could lift my camera and lens. It was just too heavy. I smiled and thought to myself, how much I enjoyed the boldness and curiosity of the coyote. This is the very reason why these animals are so successful in our changing world. After another couple steps backwards, I became tired of this dance. I quickly stomped my boot on the frozen ground, quickly raised my arms and yelled very loud at the coyote. That is all it took. The coyote turned tail and took off running with its tail tucked between its legs. It looked over its shoulder a couple times and each time I raised my arms and shouted again, which caused the coyote to speed up. It seems he couldn’t leave fast enough. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and capture images of nature. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted on his web page at www.naturesmart.com
Pink Squirrels
In this day and age, it is rare to discover a new species of animal. It is not surprising to discover new insects since there are nearly a million species of bugs in the world. On the other hand, there are only about 5,000 different kinds of critters on the planet. So back in 2017 is was surprising when a new species of Flying Squirrel was discovered right here in North America. Well, actually not exactly discovered, more like, separated from the existing known species. There are 44 species of Flying Squirrel in the world. Nearly all are found in Eurasia / Southeast Asia. Here is North America we have just two species: Northern Flying Squirrel and the Southern Flying Squirrel. However, along the west Coast from Central California through Oregon and Washing and up into British Columbia the flying squirrels looked different from others. They were smaller and darker. So, a researcher started looking into these differences. They used DNA sequencing and discovered this pacific population was distinct from other flyers. And just like that, a new species was discovered. A new species hiding in plain sight. It is the 45 flying squirrel species. It was named the Humboldt’s Flying Squirrel after the German naturalist Alexander Humboldt from the late 1700’s. Recently flying squirrels have made it into the news again. This time for something very different but yet again hiding in plain sight. A biologist at Northland College accidently discovered that the white bellies of flying squirrels shines bright pink under ultraviolet (UV) light. This is known as fluorescing. A friend of mind recently contacted me to see if I had seen this new study. I hadn’t, so googled it up, and low and behold I read about this crazy phenomenon. At first, I thought, this is not surprising since most things that are white will glow blueish under UV light. So, I had to see this for myself. I grabbed my super cool uvBeast (UV) flashlight which is an 18-watt flashlight with 100 LED diodes and gives off a beam of UV light. I also have a captive flying squirrel and so I dimmed the room lights and turned on the uvBeast. Instantly I could see the belly of my flying squirrel glowing a bright pink. I was shocked and amazed at how bright pink his belly appeared in the UV light. Now the question is, why do the bellies glow pink under UV light? Of course, we don’t know and right now everything will be speculation. Some are suggesting that it is for mate selection. Well, I think this theory doesn’t even start since both male and female bellies glow the same color. Some believed it helps the squirrels avoid predators. I would have no idea how this might work and find that hard to believe. The problem I have with all these guesses are, flying squirrels are nocturnal and become active well after sunset. There is no UV light at night so I am not sure how the pink shinning belly would help. Flying Squirrels are amazing little animals. They are omnivorous and eat everything from fruit and seeds to leaf and flower buds along with fungi. They are also large consumers of insects and other things such as bird eggs and baby birds. Of course, they can’t really fly but rather they are experts at gliding. They have a flap of skin, called a patagium, that stretches between their wrist and ankle that acts like a furry parachute. When they begin to glide, they spread their front and hind legs, forming a square shape. A small cartilaginous wrist bone, which is only found in flying squirrels, extends out and changes the tautness of the patagium. They also have a fuzzy flat tail which acts like a rudder and helps with balance. The last couple of nights, I take my uvBeast (UV) flashlight outside and watch the wild flying squirrels at my house gliding around in the darkness. I must say, it is very strange to see hot pink squirrels gliding through the jet-black sky at night. If you have any questions about getting your own uvBeast (UV) flashlight give me a shout. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist who travels the U.S. to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.
Blue Snow
Late winter and early spring is usually the time I start to see blue snow. That’s right, blue snow. Or more accurately, blue spots in the snow. If you have walked the woods at this time of year you may have seen small blue spots in the melting piles of snow. So, what’s up with the blue snow? A quick google search finds ridiculous comments about what causes the blue spots in the snow. I was shocked to see some people suggested that the blue spots were the results of spitting mouthwash on the snow. Others strongly suggested it was Bigfoot urine and pointed to the blue snow of evidence of their existence. Others suggested smurfs. Obviously, none of these are causing the blue snow. Upon closer inspection of the blue stained snow you will also find the round woody pellets indicative of the droppings (feces) of the Eastern Cottontail Rabbit. The Cottontail Rabbit is the most common and abundant rabbit in the eastern half of the country. As it turns out the blue stain in the snow is the urine of the rabbit. But why is it blue? The diet of the cottontail changes as the seasons change. During spring and summer their diet consists mainly of green plants such as grasses, sedges, and the leaves of hundreds of plants (including many in your garden). But as winter rolls around and the green plants are no longer available, and the rabbits switch their diet to woody vegetation such as twigs of shrubs and small trees. In late winter the rabbits have often eaten all the twigs within its reach and now turn to a less desirable food source, European Buckthorn. The European Buckthorn is a non-native and invasive shrub or small tree that is not common in many parts of the country. It is well known for holding its green leaves well into winter. If you have any woodlands or natural areas, chances are you have the buckthorn growing there. The buckthorn is well known for producing hundreds of dark blue berries which are toxic and causes upset stomach and vomiting in people. Which explains its scientific species name is cathartica, which means “to cause purging or cleansing”. In other words, it causes a lot of vomiting. Having said that, birds seem to eat the berries with impunity and relay on the berries in winter for survival. However, the Cottontail Rabbits doesn’t eat the berries. Usually the berries are either too high on the tree for the rabbit to reach or all the berries are eaten by the birds. No, the rabbits are eating the bark and small twigs and branches of the buckthorn. The buckthorn produces phytochemicals through primary and secondary metabolism. Usually the phytochemicals have biological activity in the host plant and help in the plants growth or defense when fighting competing trees, pathogens such as plant killing fungus or predators such as insects. In this case, it is believed that the phytochemicals are consumed by the rabbit when it eats the small twigs and branches. The compounds pass through the rabbit’s system and come out in the urine. Normal rabbit urine color is yellow. When they are eating buckthorn the rabbit’s urine comes out yellow, but it is widely reported (not tested) that once the urine, tainted with the phytochemicals, is exposed to sunlight it turns blue in about ten minutes. And therefore, you get blue spots in the snow. Of course, if the rabbit urinates on the bare ground you won’t see it because the urine soaks into the soils. Well, going back to college chemistry, I take an exception at the sunlight theory. You may remember from your own chemistry classes, that many things when exposed to oxygen turn blue. This is called oxidation. There are many chemistry experiments demonstrating liquids turning blue when exposed to oxygen. It makes more sense to me that the urine turns blue when exposed to the air not sunlight. Either way, if the rabbit’s urine turns blue with sunlight or oxygen, the blue snow mystery is solved. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com or twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.
Blue Snow
Late winter and early spring is usually the time I start to see blue snow. That’s right, blue snow. Or more accurately, blue spots in the snow. If you have walked the woods at this time of year you may have seen small blue spots in the melting piles of snow. So, what’s up with the blue snow? A quick google search finds ridiculous comments about what causes the blue spots in the snow. I was shocked to see some people suggested that the blue spots were the results of spitting mouthwash on the snow. Others strongly suggested it was Bigfoot urine and pointed to the blue snow of evidence of their existence. Others suggested smurfs. Obviously, none of these are causing the blue snow. Upon closer inspection of the blue stained snow you will also find the round woody pellets indicative of the droppings (feces) of the Eastern Cottontail Rabbit. The Cottontail Rabbit is the most common and abundant rabbit in the eastern half of the country. As it turns out the blue stain in the snow is the urine of the rabbit. But why is it blue? The diet of the cottontail changes as the seasons change. During spring and summer their diet consists mainly of green plants such as grasses, sedges, and the leaves of hundreds of plants (including many in your garden). But as winter rolls around and the green plants are no longer available, and the rabbits switch their diet to woody vegetation such as twigs of shrubs and small trees. In late winter the rabbits have often eaten all the twigs within its reach and now turn to a less desirable food source, European Buckthorn. The European Buckthorn is a non-native and invasive shrub or small tree that is not common in many parts of the country. It is well known for holding its green leaves well into winter. If you have any woodlands or natural areas, chances are you have the buckthorn growing there. The buckthorn is well known for producing hundreds of dark blue berries which are toxic and causes upset stomach and vomiting in people. Which explains its scientific species name is cathartica, which means “to cause purging or cleansing”. In other words, it causes a lot of vomiting. Having said that, birds seem to eat the berries with impunity and relay on the berries in winter for survival. However, the Cottontail Rabbits doesn’t eat the berries. Usually the berries are either too high on the tree for the rabbit to reach or all the berries are eaten by the birds. No, the rabbits are eating the bark and small twigs and branches of the buckthorn. The buckthorn produces phytochemicals through primary and secondary metabolism. Usually the phytochemicals have biological activity in the host plant and help in the plants growth or defense when fighting competing trees, pathogens such as plant killing fungus or predators such as insects. In this case, it is believed that the phytochemicals are consumed by the rabbit when it eats the small twigs and branches. The compounds pass through the rabbit’s system and come out in the urine. Normal rabbit urine color is yellow. When they are eating buckthorn the rabbit’s urine comes out yellow, but it is widely reported (not tested) that once the urine, tainted with the phytochemicals, is exposed to sunlight it turns blue in about ten minutes. And therefore, you get blue spots in the snow. Of course, if the rabbit urinates on the bare ground you won’t see it because the urine soaks into the soils. Well, going back to college chemistry, I take an exception at the sunlight theory. You may remember from your own chemistry classes, that many things when exposed to oxygen turn blue. This is called oxidation. There are many chemistry experiments demonstrating liquids turning blue when exposed to oxygen. It makes more sense to me that the urine turns blue when exposed to the air not sunlight. Either way, if the rabbit’s urine turns blue with sunlight or oxygen, the blue snow mystery is solved. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com or twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.