Despite the cold, the deer were out browsing late yesterday afternoon. Hadn’t ever observed them on the backside of the beaver lodge, but since it’s in the shoreline, it’s likely frozen solid they can access this area now. That’s one benefit of this cold weather-access to new habitat!
Hope you’re warm and safe and planning to get outside and explore winter landscapes once it warms up a smidge! We’re hiking our two plus miles of the Buckeye Trail that traverses our Zimmerman Trail on Sunday, out and back (yes, 4+ miles!). You can find more information about the hike and how to register at the link in the comments.
All’s quiet on the eastern front, well, mostly. This White-tailed Deer passed the beaver den cam yesterday morning and it’s the first activity we’ve observed on the can in days! With no open water on Shipman Pond and a decent snow layer, not as many animals are active at this site.
How do deer survive these cold and snowy winters? First of all, they grow winter coat of hair with “thicker, longer, and darker hairs called guard hairs, while also growing in a much thicker undercoat. This winter coat absorbs more sunlight and traps more body heat than the summer coat, and provides an extraordinary amount of protection from the cold. Deer also have oil-producing glands in their skin that help make their hair water repellent, which is especially valuable in the snow. For further insulation, their bodies also begin to retain more fat in layers during the fall” (Tufts).
In really cold weather, deer will hunker down in sheltered areas, too, to limit energy expenditure and live off of body fat reserves. Since deer are browsers, most of their food isn’t buried under the snow. They will amble along chomping on twigs and stems from small saplings and trees and shrubs that are within reach. They will sometimes dig for acorns in snow covered areas, too.
There’s sure not a shortage of deer around the Marsh. We spot them and signs of their presence nearly every time we’re out on the trails.
For more information on winter deer ecology, see comments.
Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 1/14/25
Got your warm winter clothes on today? Check out the thick fur on this Coyote that passed by the beaver den at the Marsh last night. Isn’t the winter fur amazing on this animal? Coyote fur can be up to 4-5 inches long with an extra bushy tail in winter, making the animals look larger than they really are. They’re only about 30 pounds at their heaviest. Beautiful!
Hoping you bundle up and get outside today! The Mentor Marsh Nature Center is open from 11 am to 4 pm and we’re hiking at 2 pm to explore the wonders of our winter world in this new year. Maybe we’ll see you!
Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 1/4/25
Carolina Wrens have a repertoire of calls. Do you recognize this call?
With mild winter weather, Carolina Wrens are exploiting resources and expanding their range northward. They have also benefitted from forest fragmentation and from backyard bird feeders, too.
Beaver dens, lodges and dams add structure for wrens and so many other animals to use. “Feeding on or near the ground, the wrens run, hop, and flit around leaf litter and tangled vegetation; they dodge in and out of dark spaces created by downed trees, decaying logs, old stumps, and upturned roots. They climb up vines, trunks, and branches, poking into squirrel nests and probing nooks and crannies in search of insects” (All About Birds). These perches on the marsh den at Shipman Pond are used by so many birds!
Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 1/2/25
Is anyone watching? It’s kinda a tight squeeze! 😬 May have overindulged over the holidays!
(It’s not just beavers using the den at Mentor Marsh’s Shipman Pond!). This marsh sure is marvelous!
More in comments!
Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 12/27/24
It’s not just beavers using this den at the Marsh! On both Christmas Eve and Christmas in the wee hours of the morning, several times Opossums climbed down into the den! Since Opossums are nomadic, they roam and use available dry spots for shelter including dens of other mammals, hollow logs, holes in rock piles and even under buildings. So neat to see this on the beaver cam! See more in comments!
Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, December 2024
Happy Wednesday! Here’s another wildlife wonder from our marsh cam. Virginia opossums (more commonly just called opossums/possums) are solitary and nocturnal and a visitor we’d expect to see on our cams overnight, like this critter captured in the wee hours of this morning.
Opossums do not hibernate over winter, but they do reduce their activity during bitterly cold and snowy winter conditions. Although opossums live in suburban and urban areas, they generally live near water, like our wetlands. They are also opportunistic in food preferences based on season and availability of food.
Don’t you just love these critters? When was the last time you spotted an opossum?
For more information on Virginia opossum, see the link in the comments.
Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 12/18/24
The thaw continues at Mentor Marsh’s Shipman Pond with these mild temperatures. Fox squirrels are busy provisioning caches of food for later, as seen in our beaver den camera. We often observe squirrels burying acorns on this cam and wonder when we’ll have an oak growing here!
Both Red Oaks and Northern Pin Oaks grow along this forested edge of the Marsh. These oaks are in the red oak group and produce acorns with higher tannins, making them more bitter than the white oak group. This strategy protects their acorns from getting eaten. Red oak acorns germinate in the spring, too, so animals like squirrels and blue jays help disperse them across the landscape, with some of them growing where they’ve been cached. Thanks for planting future oaks, little squirrel!
Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 12/16/24
Interpretive nature preserve owned & managed by CMNH-Natural Areas Division; co-owned by ODNR-DNAP.
