SQUIRREL!!!

On this morning's weekly nature walk, we went out to the burn to see what was happening.  We kept finding smallish burrow entrances with great mounds of sandy dirt outside of them.  What could be doing it?  Do we have thirteen-lined ground squirrels here?  It should be good habitat for them, but we've never documented them on the property.  

Then, in the distance, I saw movement.  "There's one!"  I called, pointing to the little mound of ground about 30-40 feet away.  (Yeah, right.)

Soon, we saw another one, this one a little closer.  (Look in the center of the photo below...click on it to see it larger.)

I was all set to go sneak up on it to take its photo, but everyone else wanted to see where it was, too!

So I decided to sit and wait.  I plunked myself down on the burnt ground and aimed my camera at the hole.  Before too long, a tentative little face peeked out...

...and then darted back in.  Hm.  This was going to take longer than I thought.

 Patience is a virtue when working with scared dogs, children and photographing wildlife.  So I sat and waited.  The head would pop out, *click* would go the shutter,

and zzzippp! down it would go back into the hole.

I took advantage of its lengthy absences to inch a little closer to the hole.  At one point my whole left leg was sound asleep.  I was able to get within a foot of the entrance.

Finally, the stress of my presence got to be too much.  With one final look at me....

and then the other direction, to make sure the coast was clear, 

 it turned and made a hasty departure.

When it got about 20 feet away it stopped and looked back...just to be sure I wasn't following, no doubt.  (Can you see it in the middle of the photo below?)

Thirteen-lined ground squirrels are about the same size as chipmunks.  They have hardly any external ear flaps, and they have a lot more stripes (and also have spots).  I kind of like that one of the  common names is the Federation Squirrel (for its stars and stripes).  I wonder if more local people knew this then perhaps they would dislike these guys a little less. 

These squirrels can be found in fields, lawns, cemeteries...generally in open grassy areas.  I've read that where they live near people, they can become rather friendly and tame.  The ones we watched today were really very skittish.  I'm not surprised.  If it weren't for the burn, we'd never have known they were there, and no doubt they feel the same...if not for the burn, they'd never have know that people were here!

According to Mammals of Michigan, their burrow entrances have "no excess dirt."  Hm.  Apparently the ones in our grassland didn't get that memo.   The burrows are up to 20 feet long, and can be several feet deep, with multiple side tunnels (including a hibernation chamber) and exits/entrances.  So much for my theory that this guy had just the one entrance, for why else would he stick around with me looming at his front door?  Maybe he hadn't gotten around to putting in the second or third door(s).  Or, maybe he was overcome with "satiable curiosity," like the Elephant's Child.  After all, he didn't make any trilling whistle alarm calls, which are supposedly de rigueur when they feel threatened.

It's mating season for these squirrels...or at least it has been.  The young are born in May, so if they haven't gotten around to it yet, they are pushing the envelope a bit. 

This little guy is a seed eater, as most squirrels are, but when insects are in season, it puts them at the top of the menu.  Yum. 

AND!  It is one of Michigan's True Hibernators!  It tends to go underground before the chipmunk in the fall, often as early as September, and emerges after the chippies come out in the spring.  This makes it one of the longest hibernators in the state.  Unlike the chippie, it won't even wake up during the winter to feed (how many of us have seen chipmunks out and about in the snow when the temperatures border on mild).

I know that I for one will be keeping my eyes peeled whenever I'm at the grasslands, especially in late May and into June...just on the off-chance that I might see a group of juvenile ground squirrels standing upright to check out their surroundings, just like a troop of meerkats!

Prescrption: FIRE!

The call went out Saturday:  some time late afternoon the fire crew would be on-site and we'd be burning the grasslands.  It was a glorious day - in the 70s, sunny, and with a good breeze going. 

It was close to 7:30 PM when they arrived at the Ecology Farm, fresh from another burn about an hour away.  Because it was getting late, they got right down to business.

Gear was unloaded from the trailer and loaded onto vehicles.

The drip torches were filled with fuel, 

and the Indian tanks were filled with water.  These tanks, which each member of the crew carries on his or her back, weigh about 65 pounds when full.

A quick drive brought us to the grasslands.  After setting a test patch alight to determine wind direction and speed of burn, the crew got right down to the work of getting the area lit and burning.

We made sure that visitors knew what trails were safe to walk and which ones were closed.  We ended up having a few visitors join us for a bit as spectators.  This was a great educational opportunity for them and as well as for us.  

A small wooded area was part of the burn.  The fire crew wanted to hit it first because a) it was downwind and b) it would be the most difficult part of the burn.  Downed trees pose a potential problem - they might become flaming torches.  Also, a clump of sassafras trees were also problematic - their resin is highly flammable and the way they were growing, in tight clusters, created potential "chimneys" that could be very hazardous.

The large amount of fuel in the wooded section meant that the crew was constantly dousing the flames with water to cool them down.

Refills were necessary.

Fires that are set downwind, that have to burn into the wind, are called backfires.  These are slow-moving - like trying to swim against the current.  This helps the fire crew manage the flames in tricky areas.

The area with the problematic sassafras was handled by boxing them out of the burn - if no flames reached them, then the hazard was avoided.

Here's what the wooded area looked like after the fire went through.

Then we were on to the grassland.  Whoosh!  The flames hit some good fuel and the crackling heat was impressive.

This area had been burned two years ago, with some mixed success.  One of the reasons we wanted to burn it again so soon was because of the prevalence of spotted knapweed.  This invasive plant has the ability to create monocultures by putting chemicals into the soil that prevent other plants from growing.  It also does not burn well, as is noted by the spotty nature of these flames.

Several of the brush piles that our Cut-n-Dab Society (volunteers who work on invasive species removal for us) have made went up with impressively tall flames.

Soon the grassland was just patches of lingering flames.

Some areas took longer to burn than others.  It was headed for 10:00 PM before the last flames were out.

As I was coming around the trail toward the end, I heard the peent of a woodcock calling to impress a mate.  And there he was - right in the middle of the trail! 

The next few nights should be good hunting for the local owls and other predators.  Be sure to come out and watch as the grasslands and woods quickly re-green this spring, as the fire works its magic to regenerate the land.

Tuesday Morning Walk, 14 April

Signs of spring were simply everywhere last Tuesday as we hit the trails with the Tuesday Morning Group.  It was a mild morning, with a cloudless blue sky - perfect conditions for seeing what spring had unveiled so far.

The recent warm weather was doing its thing for the trees:  many flower and leaf buds were swollen and ready to burst.  Some have already bloomed - missed by most of us!

We were delighted when we found this chickadee excavating a possible nest cavity along the trail.

It was only topped by a second chickadee doing the same about 20 feet away!  I was able to catch this one with a mouth full of sawdust that it had removed from the cavity and was about to spit out.

 We didn't find any forest flowers in bloom yet, but the trout lily leaves were up.

Looks like some recent visitors decided to memorialize their visit on our bridge.  We hope this is not a sign of a trend that is coming back.  

We had a fair-sized group this day, which included two young lads who are very much into nature and birds.  They were quite keen on looking for all the birds Gary pointed out to the group.  Yellow-rumped warblers and golden-crowned kinglets were among the day's finds.

These painted turtles were out sunning themselves on a log in the Reflection Pond.

We recently had an Eagle Scout candidate out to work on his project:  a scenic overlook for the fen near the grasslands.

We put it to good use this morning.  Well done.

Bluebirds and tree swallows are staking out the nest boxes on the grassland.  They would soon be in for a surprise (see next blog).

And there was plenty of evidence of winter hardships suffered by the local rodents.  We don't mind, though, when it's the non-native plants that they girdle.  

Spring is definitely showing her stuff around the property now.  Sunday night we had a woodcock walk planned (cancelled due to rain)...another spring event.  And later (April 23 and 24) is our Night of the Amphibians, when we go looking for frogs and their friends.  Come on out and join us!