Church Woods Animals

The animal group of Church Woods focused on determining what types of animals live in the immediate area and what type of habitats attract certain species of animals. Using field guides to identify animal tracks, feathers, and scat, we pieced together the animal community in the woods. Much of the time spent involved weaving between the trees searching for signs of animals or observing the animal signs near a small stream that winds through the area. We were able to collect several macroinvertebrates and observe animals tracks from the muddy banks of the stream. After traversing the majority of the forest throughout the week we attempted to define portions of the woods based on the unique vegetation and animals that resided in those areas.

Tracks

We found these tracks along the wet banks of the stream, but we couldn't see more of this animal's tracks because the stream was directly behind them, and harder ground was directly in front of them; neither of these surfaces were capable of capturing prints of the animal. Despite the fact that we didn't have a full set of prints to measure the stride and placings of the animal's paws, we used other clues to determine the animal species. We used a field guide to reveal what type of animal would leave a track that had the same pattern and placing. Using process of elimination, we finally determined that these tracks belonged to a racoon.

Scat

Throughout Church Woods we frequently found several types of animal droppings and observed their characteristics to determine what kind of animal had travelled through the area. This scat was found at the base of a large tree, which gave us a large hint as to who might have left such a dropping. Since racoons characteristically leave droppings at the base of the largest tree in the surrounding area, and this scat is about the size and shape of a racoon's scat, we determined that the animal that left the scat was probably a racoon.

Although a lot of the scat we found was very characteristic of the animal that left it, our group became confused on a number of occasions. For example, the first time we saw deer scat, although it is very common, we were unable to identify it. This is because many animals' scat often takes different forms in different seasons, due to a changing diet. As we know, deer eat mainly bark and tree material in the winter, which makes the excriment stiff and pellet-like. However, the summer brings moist, lush grass and vegetation for the deer to eat, which makes the scat more wet and droopy. Consequently, deer droppings tend to look more like dropletts in the summer, instead of the pill-like pellets of the winter.

Feathers          We also learned about animals from another thing they left behind: feathers. Just like scat and paw prints, we could use the feathers we found to identify what types of birds had been in Church Woods. We used field guides to match up the length, width, and color to narrow down the species. In this feather, we were also able to use the stripe pattern to help us. Not only were the stripes thick white and brown, but they were slighly offset (the white stipe on one side of the feather doesn't line up exactly with the white on the other side). This helped us to rule out possible species and led us to assume that the feather belonged to a great horned owl.

Live Encounters

If we were lucky, we got to see real, live animals when we went out into the woods. However, even if we did see the actual animal, we would still have to identify it. In the case of frogs and toads, which we encountered frequently, there were a number of factors we considered when identifying them. Firstly, we could tell if the specimen was a toad or a frog by the surface of its back; if the back had worts, then it was a toad, but if it had a ridge running along the back behind each eye (called lateral dorsal ridges), then the specimen was a frog. In the case of the above frog, its color patterns and location made it easy to name. Firstly, we found the frog away from the stream, which indicated that the frog was probably not a frog that lives in water most of the time. Also, the frog was tan-colored, and had dark brown patches behind its eyes. These aspects indicated that the frog was a wood frog.

Birds were another animal that we sometimes got to view instead of relying on what they left behind. Seeing the above bird made it a lot easier to identify than relying on clues. Due to its destinctive coloring, we easily matched the red body with black feathers to the scarlet taneger.

Similar to finding an actual bird, bird nests and eggs proved just as useful for identifying new species. Among the factors we considered when identifying a bird's nest were size, location, materials, and egg color. If the nest itself was big, we knew that the bird that built it had to be fairly big. We could also connect the type of tree it was found in to what types of birds would be most likely to nest there. If there were eggs in them, we could use the size ang color of the eggs to help. The above nest we found was easy to identify because we found it on the ground with a top portion of the nest covering the eggs. We found out that this was charateristic of the ovenbird, so we concluded that the bird that belonged to the nest was indeed an ovenbird.

The Unique Community

After exploring Church Woods for a week, our group found the community of animals to be broad and unique. However, when we saw how many types of vegitation tbe animals lived in, we realized that the community of animals would not be nearly the same if the species of trees and other vegitation was not the same. For example, the scarlet tanager usually nests in oak trees, which are extremely rare everywhere in Vermont except the Champlain Valley. A big reason for this is that the clay-rich soil that is unique to the Champlain Valley cators to the needs of Oaks and many other species of trees. If not for the location of these woods, the soil would not allow the variety of trees, and there would not be the variety of animals. From end to end of the woods, the animals have their own niches in the community, many of which wouldn't exist if not for the unique habitat.