by Roland D. Hallee

While driving to work one morning before Christmas – one of those balmy days we had back then – I could smell the unmistakable odor of a nearby skunk. As a matter of fact, I smelled it two days in a row.

Strange time of year for skunks to be out and about. They usually go deep into their dens when the winter temperatures head south.

While growing up, I was told, by my grandfather, about the “seven sleepers.” Animals that “sleep” during the winter. Skunks were one of them. There are several animals that hibernate: skunks, bees, snakes, groundhogs and chipmunks. However, bears and bats are the most well-known.

There are several ways that animals respond to winter: they migrate, adapt or hibernate. But hibernation isn’t as simple as going to sleep for a couple of months. Although there are various degrees and duration hibernation always involves certain changes for animals. Their body temperature decreases, their breathing slows, and their metabolic rate drops.

It can be a lot of work, getting ready to hibernate. Many animals have to find or create that perfect, safe spot to bed down for months at a time, whether in a cave, a hollow tree, or a den dug into the ground. Usually, before hibernation, the animal has to increase its body fat to survive, which means eating much more than usual in the months leading up to winter. Although hibernation always happens in winter, many different things can act as the actual trigger for animals to start, including temperature drops, decrease in food availability, changes in day length and hormone changes.

Bears enter their dens for hibernation based on changes in the weather. They generally begin hibernating in September or October and emerge six to seven months later around April. During hibernation, bears don’t decrease their body temperature as much as some other hibernating species. This gives them the ability to warm up more quickly in response to danger.

Chipmunks hibernate in their burrows, their heart rate declines and their body temperature lowers until it becomes as cold as the temperature in the burrow. They have to raise their body temperature periodically, slowly raising it when it becomes time to eat from caches they established during the previous year.

But recently, animals’ hibernation patterns themselves may be at risk. New studies have found that as the winter temperatures heat up due to climate change, chipmunks in these warmer areas are less likely to hibernate. This raises the question about how climate change is affecting hibernation, migration and other ways animals cope with the changing seasons.

Spending a few months asleep may be a good way to get through the winter, but it’s not without its risks. If an animal isn’t able to store up enough fat, or find enough food after it awakens, it may not survive. And if a hibernating creature wakes up too early, they can burn through their fat reserves far too quickly, and die.

So, back to skunks.

Skunks are not true hibernators in the winter, but do den up for extended periods of time. However, they remain generally inactive and feed rarely, going through a dormant stage. Over winter, multiple females (as many as a dozen) huddle together, males often den alone. Often, they use the same den repeatedly from year to year.

Skunks are solitary animals when not breeding, though in the colder parts of their range, they may gather in communal dens for warmth. During the day, they shelter in burrows which they can dig with their powerful front claws. Males and females occupy overlapping home ranges through the greater part of the year, typically about 1.5 square miles for females and 7.7 square miles for males.

Although they have excellent senses of smell and hearing, skunks have poor vision, being unable to see objects more than about 10 feet away, making them vulnerable to death from collisions with automobiles.

So, even though we are now in January and heading into the teeth of winter, beware of that skunk who may just be attempting to cross the road at night. Skunks are nocturnal creatures.

Roland’s trivia questions of the week:

The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowls I and II, and the New York Jets won Super Bowl III. Which team won Super Bowl IV?

Answer on can be found here.

by Roland D. Hallee

My wife and I had a dear friend visit with us last week, and following many different conversations, she asked the question, “Why are Canada geese flying north in December?”

Interesting question.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, there are several possibilities, but in fall it’s likely these are family groups moving around, now that the yearlings can fly, in search of feeding grounds. Canada geese raise their young near water, where the goslings can feed and, if necessary, dive or swim away to escape predators. In late summer the adults temporarily become flightless as they molt their wing feathers. This usually takes about six weeks, during which the geese remain grounded. Once the young have learned to fly, and the parents have regained their flight, the whole family will take off from their nesting grounds to find more productive feeding areas – and this movement could be in any direction. This happens in the late summer before the massive southward migration as temperatures drop across the continent.

First and second year geese (not old enough to breed), along with those that lost nests early in the breeding season also undertake a molt migration. Individuals may move several to hundreds of miles during the late spring and summer to large bodies of water where they will be safer as they molt their wing feathers. In September and October many of these individuals will be returning from this seasonal journey, and again may be seen flying in almost any direction.

Also, bear in mind that there are increasingly large numbers of resident Canada geese across North America. These birds do not migrate at all, and so you may see them at any time of year flying in any direction. Their numbers have been growing exponentially since the mid-20th century and they have begun to be seen as nuisances in some communities.

Our friend noted that these geese were in their flight V formation, and there were three separate groups.

Johnnie St. Vrain, of Times-Call, states that what she may be seeing are geese that decided this is as far south as they needed to go. They probably came from further north in Canada. They’ll spend the night on a relatively large reservoir or lake where they feel safe. In the morning, they’ll fly out to whatever feeding grounds they have. They might be flying to a local park or to a nearby cornfield.

If their feeding ground is north of their roosting area, you’ll see them flying north in the morning, but you might miss them heading back south that evening.

Some of these winter geese fly in from neighboring states. Others fly down from the mountains to spend the season in front range cities.

Geese are pretty well adapted. They will fly only as far south as they need to make a living.

Historically, most Canada geese would migrate through this area, with very few sticking around. But agriculture, specifically the grain left in farmers’ fields, has caused geese to spend winters here.

The geese that fly north-to-south in fall are less noticeable. They fly a couple thousand feet high.

But locally, large numbers of geese will sit out on a lake. Their warmth will keep the water open. The geese might move when we’ve had really cold weather and a lot of the lakes around here ice up and become unavailable. But we have enough warm days, that if there’s enough geese hanging out, it will create holes they can stay in. Or they’ll stay on the river, but they don’t like that as much.

Our friend lives on the river in Fairfield, probably why she sees these flocks of Canada geese flying north. There are many cornfields north of Fairfield.

It may be worth paying a little more attention to see if they return at night.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

The New England Patriots have appeared in 10 Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. Name the three teams that are next with eight appearances each.

Answer can be found here.

by Roland D. Hallee

A couple of weeks ago, while my wife and I made our semi-annual trip to my brother’s in Vermont, he pointed out to us all the pine trees that were a yellow-orange in color. We were on our way to Sunday morning breakfast when he asked me what I thought might be causing it. At first I attributed it to road salt – the state of Vermont is experimenting with a salt brine, which is supposed to be less invasive than the usual mix of rock salt and sand.

But something that was peculiar about that is that it was not only trees by the road, but also stands of red pines deeper into the woods. That was curious.

On our way home, my wife and I noticed that these yellowish-colored red pines did not exist in New Hampshire and western Maine. We figured it was a Vermont issue.

I only bring this up because on my way home from work later that week, I noticed the same thing happening to a stand of tall red pines along Lakeview Drive, in China. OK, now we need to investigate.

Here, in Maine, we have experienced a white pine needle damage epidemic for at least the last six years. The needles brown prematurely and drop very quickly, at least since 2014. I have witnessed that in my own backyard, a constant battle to keep up with all the fallen needles, year-round. That is caused by a brown spot needle blight.

But what is causing the yellowing of the red pines?

Craig Dusablon, landscape coordinator for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, said that road salt is the culprit, washing into the soil all winter long. A chloride concentration of just one percent can cause extensive plant injury, specifically in red and white pines. And it is not concentrated to trees by the roadside, it can also occur deeper in the upslope and downslope.

Red pines, however, are a different species. They have straight trunks, often used for utility poles, with hardly any branches down low, but with a tightly packed crown. They often compete with maples, beeches and white pines for space, but fair much better on rocky ridges where other tree species can’t get a toehold.

The signs of poor health are evident for years before the average red pine dies. The first signs of trouble appear on individual branches near the lower part of the crown, after which it spreads, with the needles slowly changing colors from a healthy green to a sickly yellow to a completely dry red that consumes the entire crown.

Researchers are not prepared to pin the tree deaths on any one killer. First up, in turn that seems more relevant in light of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement recently, is climate change. The fact is, while there’s near consensus in the scientific community, that the planet is heating up, it’s much harder to pin down the exact impact on any particular species. There could be climate factors that can contribute to tree stress, considering the periods of drought we have experienced over the last several years.

Another possibility is disease.

University of New Hampshire researcher Mike Simmons, who has been on the case, feels there may be some needle pathogens causing mortality or tree decline as well. “At this point, we don’t have conclusive evidence if there’s a uniform factor across all these stands.”

Though he won’t clear these suspected tree killers, or rule out the possibility that they may be working in concert to undermine the health of red pines, Simmons is really focused on a prime suspect: red pine scale, a tiny, near microscopic insect that crawls beneath the tiniest of bark flakes, injects its mouth into the tree’s vascular tissue, serving as a path for the distribution of food material, and begins to feed, sucking sugars and other metabolic products as the trees try to circulate them from the sun-catching needles to the rest of the tree’s body. The invasive insect was first discovered in Vermont in 2015.

No one knows for sure what’s allowed the bug to spread into local forests, with climate change and human migration both possible causes. Since its arrival in the Northeast, it’s been wreaking havoc. It has the potential to wipe out a whole species from certain areas.

Though there is no known cure for red pine scale, officials hope to slow or contain it by removing infested trees, and encouraging the public not to transport wood that may contain the pest.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

With Red Sox outfielders Mookie Betts being named the American League Most Valuable Player for 2018, who was the last Red Sox outfielder to be named MVP?

Answer can be found here.

by Roland D. Hallee

There they were! Marching along the railing of my porch as my wife and I were enjoying the day’s end of sunshine on a Saturday afternoon. They formed a column like a trucking convoy, one behind the other, all heading in the same direction. Blackish-colored bugs with red stripes, about a half inch long. I had seen them before, but not this many.

Then, it happened! The next morning, one had found its way into the house, clinging to the outside door, trying to make its best impression of an opossum. Playing dead, not moving.

It was time to find what these things were and why were they trying to enter our domain.

It really didn’t come clear to me until a little later, when evidence started to fall into place. First was a call out to my contact, Allison Kanoti, acting state entomologist, with the Maine Forest Service. But, it was the weekend, and I would have to wait until mid-week for an answer.

Second, I met with an arborist with the plan to cut down some dead trees on my property. The arborist informed me the trees were boxelders, and would have not much heating value. (That was OK, I just wanted to get rid of them.)

Then came the news from my state contact: the bugs were most likely boxelder bugs. Ta-dah! There is the connection.

Boxelder trees and boxelder bugs

The boxelder bugs feed almost entirely on boxelder, maple and ash trees. Another clue. I have a maple tree directly in front of my porch.

These bugs also like to winter indoors, if possible. Should they enter your home, they will hibernate there, mostly in cracks in window frames, gaps and crevices, and tears in screen doors. But, once they get in your home, they will lay dormant while the weather is cool. Once your heating system becomes active, they falsely perceive that it is spring time and they will head out in search of food. Their extracts may stain upholstery, carpets, drapes, and they may feed on certain types of house plants.

The next question: do they bite?

They are not typically known as biters, but they have the ability to pierce into skin, which makes the skin a bit irritated and results in a red spot that resembles a mosquito bite. Medical attention should be sought in the case of a bite. They are, in general, harmless to humans and pets.

These bugs are not classified as agricultural pests and generally are no danger to ornamental plantings. They are, however, known to do damage to some fruits in the fall as they leave their summer homes in trees to seek areas to overwinter.

The boxelder bug, Boisea trivittata, emits a strong scent, similar to stink bugs, should they be disturbed or threatened. Spiders are their minor predators, but because of their defense mechanism, only a few birds or other animals will eat them.

Eggs are laid by females in the cracks of tree bark during spring. They prefer female boxelder trees, which produce seeds, as opposed to male trees that do not.

Boxelder bugs prefer seeds but will also suck leaves. They are frequently seen on maple trees as these trees provide them with seeds as well.

So, the arborist is coming in a week or so to take down those boxelder trees, and that should help reduce the population. However, my maple tree stays.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Have the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers ever met in a World Series?

Answer can be found here.

by Roland D. Hallee

We’ve covered this subject before, but I think it’s worth another go-round.

Earlier this year we talked about the rather large number of squirrels running around our countryside – even city-side – and the many we find dead along our roads. Well, I want to know how come there is now a proliferation of mice. Last year, I trapped 13 mice in my camp in the month of September alone. That pales in numbers compared to this year. In the month of September – 17 mice trapped in camp. And we’re still counting. Camp is closed for the winter, but I check in periodically to find if I have trapped any more. Incidentally, my neighbors are experiencing the same problem.

Over the 30 years my wife and I have had our camp, we had only sporadic sightings of mice inside the building. The last two years have seen a population explosion.

A small mammal, although a wild animal, the meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus, sometimes called a field mouse, is active year round.

A lot of people confuse the field mouse with house mice. They are a little different. A house mouse in uniformly brown-gray, right down to the tail. They typically have small hands and feet with big eyes and ears. And if you have a house mouse, you will know it because of their strong smell.

The meadow vole has sandy brown fur and a white to gray belly. A cautious mouse which always sniffs anything unfamiliar before approaching, this mouse does not have a very strong smell. Which, obviously, is why I didn’t know we had mice in the house. There was no odor. The mice I have been catching also have white bellies.

The meadow vole has the widest distribution of any North American species. It ranges from Labrador west to Alaska and south from Labrador and New Brunswick to South Carolina all the way west to Wyoming. They are also found in Washington, Idaho and Utah.

Meadow voles have to eat frequently, and their active periods are associated with food digestion. They have no clear 24-hour rhythm in many areas.

Contrary to what you see in the cartoons, mice do not like cheese. They actually like to eat fruits, seeds and grains. They are omnivorous, which means they eat both plants and meat. The common house mouse will eat just about anything it can find. In fact, if food is scarce, they will eat each other. (I bait my traps with peanut butter – works every time!) They have voracious appetites, and usually build their nests near places that have readily accessible food sources.

Male mice are usually ready to mate after six to eight weeks. One captive female produced 17 litters in one year for a total of 83 young – no wonder the population is escalating. One of her young produced 13 litters (totaling 78 young) before she was a year old.

The house mouse, Mus musculus, originally came from Asia, colonizing in new continents with the movement of people. Either of the three species can transmit diseases, though not on the same scale as rats.

The house mouse lives more comfortably with humans, while field mice, Apodemus sylvaticus, prefer to live underground, although they will, from time to time, enter buildings.

The house mouse and field mouse are nocturnal and are active only at night, while meadow voles have no time schedule. My little intruders are active only after dark, especially in the early morning hours.

They also have strange names. Females are does, males are bucks and babies are called pinkies. In the wild, the life span of mice is usually one to two-and-a-half years.

If a female lives 2-1/2 years, and can produce up to 17 litters a year (up to 83 pinkies), that comes up to a lot of little mice, which will grow to be adult mice, roaming around out there. The numbers seem to be climbing.

I know they are looking for warm and dry shelter for the winter, and ready supply of food, but they are not welcome in my world.

MOOSE UPDATE

According to Lee Kantar, state moose biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Aroostook County remains a stronghold for moose in Maine. This September moose hunting season has been off to a great start with cold morning and all. “We currently are heading into the sixth year of our moose research study on adult cow and calf survival,” he said. “While winter tick has become a large focus of our work and the news, the reality is that the winter tick attacks smaller moose which is primarily overwintering ‘calves’ trying to make it through their first winter. Adult winter ticks feed on moose from mid-winter to early spring and can be a physiological tax on those moose that carry heavy tick loads. Again our survival study shows that the biggest impact by winter ticks has been on overwintering calves in our western study area. Overwintering calves in our northern study area have double the survival rates. Adult cows in both our western and northern study areas continue to have high annual survival rates.”

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What was the Houston Astros nickname in 1962, 1963, and 1964? – (Thank you Michael.)

Answer can be found here.