Raccoon at C&O Canal NHP
When raccoons rub an object between their paws, they’re actually using their highly sensitive front feet to “see” it, not wash it.
They don’t have thumbs and don’t grasp things well, but most things they pick up are held or rolled between their front feet, often with their heads turned away.
This little raccoon (Procyon lotor) was recorded at Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park by a camera set up in the hopes of finding a fisher cat (Martes pennanti). Learn more about fisher cats at: https://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/ncrn/assets/docs/NL/NCRN_NR_Quarterly_Spring_2017.pdf#page=4
Register now for #BioBlitz2016 in Maryland, Virginia, and DC National Parks! Join scientists and park staff to inventory as many species as possible May 20-21. What will you discover? #FindYourPark
http://natgeo.org/bioblitz-dc
This is one of the ways our forest vegetation crew stays safe while doing their job-- by taping up their pant legs to prevent ticks.
Today, NCRN staff is out in the tidal marshes of DC, measuring sediment levels. We use a funny-looking tool called a surface elevation table (SET) to periodically measure if marshes are accumulating sediment overall, or losing it. This helps us know how sea level rise (and effects on tides) could change marsh habitats.
Read more about SET monitoring at:http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/ncrn/assets/docs/RBs/NCR_CC_TidalMarsh.pdf or climate change in our area at: http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/ncrn/monitor/air/index.cfm
This year, we marked our 8th year of forest monitoring! Of our 433 permanent forest plots, we visit more than 100 each summer. That means we've visited each plot twice now, four years apart. Now we can really start to watch things GROW!
A female dragonfly dips her tail in a lake to lay eggs. March 31 at Prince William Forest Park.
Swimming up Rock Creek’s Fish Ladder
Gizzard Shad, a species of herring, were spotted this morning swimming up Rock Creek’s fish ladder that leads around the 12-foot high, historic Pierce Mill dam. Flow in the creek was high and waters were murky due to recent heavy rains, but this video captures the fish starting their climb through the “ladder” on their annual springtime journey to upstream spawning areas.
For more information on fish migration in Rock Creek see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/30/AR2007033002430.html