Tracking & Nature Center | Walnut Hill Tracking & Nature Center |
| Nature Journal |
Holyoke Range, Massachusetts
| Early Summer 2007 |
| "Our ancestors might have seen this land as divinely blessed, as a continent to be revered and dwelt in as a light and gracious presence. Would they, and we, have felt the divine in every breeze that blows across the landscape, seen in every flowering plant, wondered at in every butterfly dancing across a meadow, in every dragonfly darting across a marsh, in every firefly flashing at the close of day." - Thomas Berry - In Praise of North America |
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June 21st |
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"Heal-all," Prunella vulgaris. Also called "Self-heal, this member of the Mint family has been used as a remedy for throat ailments. It often grows as a weed in lawns. |
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June 22nd |
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Black Bears dig extensively, for a variety of food items including roots, insects, and even the occasional small mammal. Here the bear was digging in the leaf litter for last fall's Red Oak acorns. Red Oak acorns are higher in fat content than White Oak acorns, which raises their nutritional value, but are also high in tannins, which reduce digestibility and palatability. While White Oak acorns sprout immediately upon falling in the Autumn, Red Oak acorns enter dormancy and overwinter, providing a food source for wild animals in the spring and early summer. |
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June 23rd |
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"Water-Lily" or "Pond-Lily," Nymphaea odorata, is easy to recognize from a distance, growing in open waters of ponds and bogs, and still waters of rivers and streams. As the species name suggests, it is aromatic. The rhizomes are frequently eaten by Muskrats, and Beavers as well. The tubers, about the size of chicken eggs, can be harvested by digging then up with your feet and allowing them to float to the surface, and then can be prepared like potatoes. |
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June 24th |
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"Copperhead" Agkistrodon contortix. This was a mature adult, about 30 inches long. Copperhead snakes are endangered in Massachusetts, and are known to exist in a very few locations. Because they are so rare and reclusive, people almost never encounter them. Like Rattlesnakes, they are shy and will either retreat or lie motionless, relying on their camoflauge for protection. The majority of reports of Copperhead sightings are cases of mistaken identity - Milk Snakes, Hognose Snakes, and young Water Snakes are frequently mistaken for Copperheads. Like most other venomous snakes, the loss of habitat, illegal collection, and intentional killing have led to their perilously low numbers. |
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June 25th |
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"Last to leave." We saw the two nestmates of this Great Blue Heron chick leave the nest on their maiden flights an hour earlier. This one, the "runt," is not quite ready to head out on its own, and here, the mother has returned with another meal. |
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| "The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible, but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance. Neither does the wisest man extort her secret, and lose his curiosity by finding out all her perfection. Nature never becomes a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood." - Ralph Waldo Emerson - Nature |
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June 26th |
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Bear mark tree, New Salem Massachusetts. This is one of the most impressive (and freshest!) Bear marks on a Red Pine that we have found anywhere, both in terms of the apparent voracity and the height off the ground. The language of animal communication is fascinating to encounter. We (humans) may never fully understand the meaning(s) behind such activity, and as trackers, we are content to merely stand in awe. |
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June 27th |
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Frog trails through the duckweed on the surface of the pond |
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Tracking Intensive Weekend, June 30th - July 1st |
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Here are a few photos from our two days exploring in the northern part of the Quabbin. This is a program we have been doing twice a year, once in the late spring/early summer, and again in the fall. Camping out gives us a chance to feel immersed in the wild for two days. As always, the weekend was full of surprises and delights. |
 | An eastern hognose snake, Heterodon platirhinos. Seldom seen due to their coloration, these snakes will sometimes inflate the skin around their head and neck like a cobra, and even hiss and lunge. However, they seldom bite, and will feign death if harassed. They are protected by law in Massachusetts. | |
| Two American robin (Turdus migratorius) chicks in their nest, with outstretched necks and open beaks seeking food from the parent bird. |  |
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 | Scat from vole? There is a distinct possibility that this may actually be scat from Southern Bog Lemming, Synaptomys cooperi, which is listed as a species of special concern in Massachusetts. Neither Paul Rezendes, Mark Elbroch, or Olaus Murie list information on this species, although Murie shows Brown Lemming and Collared Lemming scat similar in size and shape to Meadow Vole. The habitat this latrine was found in makes me disinclined to consider it to be from Vole. - N.W. | |
| A Bobcat trail through Phragmites at the shore of Quabbin. |  |
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 | Close-up of a Bobcat Front foot track. | |
| Tracking on the shoreline of Quabbin - a wild preserve of 25,000 acres of water and 56,000 acres of protected land, with 118 miles of shoreline. |  |
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 | Tracks of River Otter, Lutra canadensis. | |
| Tracks of an American Crow. |  |
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 | Scat from an Eastern Chipmunk, Tamias striatus. Compare the size with the Hemlock "flowers" in the photo (the scat is almost black and the flowers are reddish-brown). | |
| Valerie is pointing out very fresh marking(bites) by Black Bear on Red Pine. |  |
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 | Whitetail Deer scat, intermediate between soft vegetation and (mostly)woody browse. | |
| Black Bear track, pointing to the left. |  |
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 | Gray Tree Frog, Hyla versicolor or chrysocelis. You are much more likely to hear these than see them, as they can change their color to match their surroundings. | |
| Black Bear claw marks on a White Oak. |  |
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 | A Moose bed. Like Whitetail Deer, Moose generally (not always) only use a bed once. | |
| A family of Canada Geese. Four goselings have survived up to this point. |  |
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 | Twilight on Soapstone Point, overlooking the Quabbin, with Leveau Island in the middle, Mount L Island on the right, and Mt Zion Island in the middle background with Mt Ram and points beyond. In the foreground leading to the water is the former site of North Dana, the leading manufacturing village of the Swift River valley. From this point it is about 15 miles to the southern end of the Quabbin. | |
| The full moon rising over Rattlesnake Hill...or is it the eye of "Quabbie?" Legend has it that a restless spirit roams this area, perhaps a former resident of the flooded valley, doomed to wander endlessly in search of his home. |  |
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 | Smors at the campfire. | |
| Porcupine sign on a Hemlock tree. Note the sculptured or "bonsai" look of the tree, caused by Porcupines feeding on the terminal leaders for years. These trees are are a favorite Porcupine food in winter. |  |
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 | A Woodfrog, master of camoflauge. | |
| Scat from a River Otter. Note the scuffed-up forest litter and the bent and matted vegetation where it rolled, scenting, before depositing the scat. |  |
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 | Otter scat placed on a rock. They will occasionally do this rather than scent on the ground. This scat is comprised of Crayfish parts, a major part of their diet. | |
| Scat from a Muskrat. This is typically found, as here, on a rock or boulder near water's edge. |  |
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 | A Calico Pennant dragonfly on Valerie's hat. | |
| Tracking at a Beaver-made marsh. As always, this two-day program was an eye-opening experience for all of us, filled with endless delights. |  |
| "The more you involve yourself with tracking the more extensive will become its definition until it reaches the ultimate point of becoming un-definable. Literally anything that can be experienced can be tracked – any experience has the potential to be a tracking experience. And in that sense, tracking is virtually impossible to define. Tracking for the sake of tracking means observing and following each moment wherever it goes without attempting to limit, change, label, or define the experience." - Charle Worsham |
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| Nature Journal - Spring 2007 |
| Nature Journal - late Summer 2007 |
| Nature Journal - September 2007 |
| Nature Journal - October 2007 |
| Nature Journal - November 2007 |
| Nature Journal - December 2007 |
| Our Tracking Videos |
| Walnut Hill Tracking & Nature Center | |
| 325 Walnut Hill Rd, Orange MA 01364 | Phone: 978-544-6083 |
| E-mail: walnuthilltracking@verizon.net |