Winter Activity - Naturalist Notes
The [Bloomfield] Hills are alive with the sound of music…and sights to behold even in the winter! The snowy trails of the Johnson Nature Center may appear like you are on another planet. White, brown, beige and black colors dominate, the trees are bare and the pond has frozen over. If you’re able to endure the bitter cold and just take a moment to absorb your surroundings, you’ll notice some peculiarities. Check out the following photos and sound clip and try to identify their source. Answers can be found below.
Scene 1
Hint: These raptors swallow their food whole.
Photo credit: Kirk Gentalen
Scene 2
Hint: These rodents have smaller ears, smaller eyes, and a smaller tail than their furry rodent friends, the mouse. The photo is of the tunnels they create under the snow.
Photo credit: Robert McCaw
Scene 3
The consistent knock-knock-knock you hear while walking in the woods (called drumming calls).
Sound clip sourced from The Cornell Lab’s “All About Birds.”
Hint: One of the species is a famous cartoon character created in 1940.
Scene 4
Hint: These animals are active for most of the winter and use their tails to keep warm.
Photo credit: unknown
Answers:
Scene 1: Great horned owl, Bubo virginianus
Scene 2: Woodland vole, Microtus pinetorum
Scene 3: Pileated woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus
Scene 4: Red squirrel, Scirus vulgaris
Submitted by Cass Arsenault, Lead Naturalist, December 2021