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Helping Wildlife in Spring

VINS — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 14:53:00 +0000

by Lauren Adams
Lead Wildlife Keeper

Spring is a magical time in Vermont. From endless piles of snow and bleak, gray skies, we are starting to see signs of life. Bluebirds are gathering nesting materials, pairs of Canada geese are returning to freshly thawed ponds, and bears have emerged from their winter slumbers. Springtime is a big deal for wildlife. As warmer weather and longer days fuel the budding and blossoming of native flowers and trees, insects begin to arrive, busy at their task of pollinating the world. Before we know it, Vermont will be green and lush again.

Wildlife takes full advantage of this awakening of life. This is the perfect time to nest and mate, with nature’s all-you-can-eat buffet to feed newly hatched or born young. Baby animals will spend the summer getting their fill of nourishment and learning the ropes of the wilderness so that, by the time next fall’s cold air begins to blow in, they are strong and healthy and ready to confront their most difficult missions: surviving the harsh winter or embarking on a long journey of migration.

What a great time to shake off our cabin fever and venture outside to experience Vermont’s wilderness. There are so many opportunities to view wildlife during the spring. This is also a very vulnerable time for the brand new life that walks, crawls, slithers, swims or flutters around. Before they have mastered the behaviors and skills they will need to survive in the wild, young animals are susceptible to injury, defenseless against predators and other dangers, and at risk of becoming orphaned before they are ready to be independent.

Many factors, both natural and human-caused, can subject inexperienced young to these unfortunate perils.
Thousands of baby wild animals, kindly rescued by caring individuals, are cared for and raised at wildlife rehabilitation centers every spring and summer around the world.

As we enter this special season, it is important to know how to co-exist peacefully with wildlife and how to avoid interfering with the intricate process of nesting, mating, breeding and fledging that animals are working so hard at. Also, what to look out for: when and if an animal needs rescuing, how to rescue it, and when to leave the situation alone, and just observe from a distance. Many baby animals in the wild may appear orphaned, or even injured, but are in fact healthy and being cared for by unseen parents.

First, even before you start to see young emerge, there are things to keep in mind so that you don’t disturb nests. BEFORE you trim trees or clean out gutters, check thoroughly for nests. It is actually illegal, thanks to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, to disturb, destroy or relocate an active wild bird nest. If you see eggs or nestlings, you have to wait until after the breeding season to trim. BEFORE mowing your lawn, check carefully for rabbit nests. These can look like little tufts of grass, sometimes barely visible, but already containing infant rabbits who would really not appreciate a visit from a lawnmower.

The most important thing to remember when assessing a baby wild animal is that animals are good parents. The best chance at survival for a baby is to remain with its own mother and father. The first choice is always to reunite an animal with its parents, or to leave it where its parents will return to find it. Sometimes this involves waiting and watching for a while.

Please follow these instructions to help our wildlife thrive.

If you find a baby deer:

If you find a baby bird:

If you find a baby mammal:

If you find a baby turtle:

Baby turtles actually don’t spend any time with their mother after they hatch, so usually they are fine if left alone. Most likely, you will see a new hatchling making its way from its nest site on land to the closest wetland. IF the baby is in a dangerous location, such as the middle of the road, you can help it out by carrying it across. Try to assess which direction the turtle was going, and carry it that same direction, otherwise it may turn around and cross the road again. If there is a wetland nearby, you can carry the turtle all the way to the edge of the water and set it down.

For more information, check out the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, NWRA:
http://www.nwrawildlife.org/page/Found_Animal_Help

Of course, if you are ever in doubt, please call VINS or your local wildlife rehabilitation center. If you aren’t sure, contact your region’s Fish and Wildlife Agency, and they should be able to refer you to the right place.
We all want to protect and enjoy our beautiful wildlife. Help us keep this world safe for them, so we can continue to celebrate the miracle of nature in springtime.

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Book Review: The Snake and the Salamander

VINS — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 21:09:00 +0000

by Sara Evangelos

VINS Docent

with Nicole Meyer, Environmental Educator

The Snake and the Salamander: Reptiles and Amphibians from Maine to Virginia

Alvin Breisch

Illustrations by Matt Patterson

Johns Hopkins University Press 2017

Let’s face it: Reptiles and amphibians aren’t at the top of most people’s favorite animals list. Often, says author Alvin Breisch, they’re “treated as second-class citizens.” But Breisch’s new book The Snake and the Salamander could go a long way toward changing that. With engaging, enlightening text, Breisch connects us to the world of “herps”—snakes, turtles, salamanders, lizards, and frogs.

The Snake and the Salamander is part art book, part natural history, part plea for conservation, and is written for readers of any age. Each animal’s page lists common and scientific names, size, and status as endangered or threatened. But if you’re looking for a field guide, this isn’t it. Instead of offering a structured, dry list of facts, Breisch creates a portrait of each animal, exploring aspects of behavior or biology that he considers important. Why is the eastern ratsnake such a good climber? Can a softshell turtle really run 15 miles an hour? Is the American bullfrog an invasive species? How did the eastern fence lizard move to Staten Island? Did you know that the northern leopard frog is the state amphibian of Vermont?

Breisch offers 83 portraits of reptile and amphibian species found in 13 states in the Northeast, from Maine to Virginia. Organized by habitat into nine sections, the book shows us herps in their environments, from Dry Pine Woodlands to Bogs to Wicked Big Puddles—the name for seasonal wetlands, like the vernal pool at VINS. Breisch explains how species have been affected by deforestation and recovery in New England. And he defines scientific concepts in relation to specific animals: How do salamanders and skinks differ? What’s a rattlesnake’s rattle made of? How exactly does a constrictor kill its prey?

Breisch draws on science, history, and popular culture, and offers snippets of his own encounters with herps. He adds plenty of information on biology, genetics, breeding, behavior, and diet. We learn terms like ovoviviparous, fossorial, allopatric, diploids and triploids. Through a portrait of the carpenter frog, we learn about the variety of frog calls and what they communicate. And we discover that the smooth greensnake isn’t even green at all, but a mix of yellow and blue pigments.

Each animal portrait offers insights ranging from the practical—Why is it so hard to tell exactly where those spring peeper calls are coming from?—to the scientific—What’s an obligate species?—to the entertaining—Why doesn’t Linus like queensnakes? We learn that the timber rattlesnake had such a toxic, terrifying reputation that it was chosen to adorn the “Don’t tread on me!” flag during the Revolutionary War. We also learn about the snake’s behavior, breeding, coloration, and history with Native Americans and European settlers.

Matt Patterson’s original color illustrations partner beautifully with the informative text. While photos in a field guide capture one individual—that you might expect to see in the wild, but probably won’t—Patterson’s illustrations are composites, based on many photographs. They show habitat, size, coloration, and reproduction: an eastern box turtle next to a strawberry plant; a red cornsnake swallowing a mouse; a group of adult and young broad-headed skinks; a northern dusky salamander with eggs; male and female painted turtles.

The Snake and the Salamander is full of engaging, fascinating facts presented in the context of habitat, science, and history. You won’t learn everything there is to know about these often misunderstood animals. And you won’t see maps of exactly where to find each species. But getting to know hellbenders and mudpuppies is a great start. And that’s one major benefit of this book: it inspires people to fall in love with reptiles and amphibians, to learn about how and where they live—and to protect them.

Environmentalists know that when people get excited about a single species—say, a Siberian tiger or California condor or blue whale—they want to save that animal’s habitat. During the past 30 years, as we’ve learned more about reptiles and amphibians, their reputation has improved. But there’s a long way to go. By making herps come alive, The Snake and the Salamanderencourages us to protect these extraordinary animals.

About the Author and Illustrator

Alvin R. Breisch, a collaborator with the Roosevelt Wild Life Station, was amphibian and reptile specialist and director of the Amphibian and Reptile Atlas Project for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation until he retired in 2009. He coauthored The Amphibians and Reptiles of New York State: Identification, Natural History, and Conservation. Matt Patterson illustrated Freshwater Fish of the Northeast, which won the 2010 National Outdoor Book Award in the category of Design and Artistic Merit.

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The Yearly Cycle: Vernal Pools

VINS — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 13:00:00 +0000

by Anna Autilio
Environmental Educator

Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

One of the most beautiful natural illustrations of the cycle of the year is found in the vernal pool. Often called “ephemeral”, these pools provide crucial, temporary homes for some distinct wild plant and animal species. Filling in the spring and drying in the summer, they track the changing temperatures and weather patterns without fail, year after year, for those who care to find them and peek inside!

The vernal pool at VINS went through a wet year in 2016-2017. Although it dried up in the summer, it filled again in the fall, and stayed filled through our warm yet snowy winter. A large snapping turtle even hibernated in the muddy bottom—she was seen catching some rays on an unusually warm December day.

Spring (May 2016)

Summer (July 2016)

Fall (October 2016)

Winter (December 2016)

Just this spring, the pool hosted some more diverse visitors, including another large snapping turtle to join the one who stayed the winter, a green frog (unusual at a vernal pool), several wood frogs, and even a pair of mallards and a barred owl, who were no doubt using the pool as a hunting spot.

At this time of year, the snapping turtle residents of our vernal pool have made their way uphill to lay eggs in specially dug burrows, sometimes quite far from the water. VINS has currently 6 different snapping turtle nests, which may contain each up to 50 eggs! These will hatch in September, and we will be on the look out for the tiny turtles making their way back downhill to the water.

Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina)

If you are interested in learning more about vernal pools, and even helping scientists track them down, the Vermont Vernal Pool Mapping Project is for you! Run by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and Arrowwood Environmental, this project aims to map the locations of all vernal pools in the state of Vermont. Almost 5,000 pools have already been mapped, but citizen scientists are still needed to confirm the location of potential pools, and identify the animals and plants species living within. Follow the link below to learn more:

https://vtecostudies.org/projects/forests/vernal-pool-conservation/vermont-vernal-pool-mapping-project/

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World Turtle Day (and a baby wood frog)

jbird24 — Sun, 25 May 2014 01:07:00 +0000

by Calah Beckwith, Lead Wildlife Keeper
photos by Linda Conrad, Guest Services Manager

Hatchling Painted Turtle

Turtles! They’re ancient and fearless and amazingly built. They carry a mighty defense system on their backs; they make precarious journeys through forests and neighborhoods and across roads to mate and lay eggs; and….they have ridiculously adorable and heroic babies.

For these reasons (and many, many others), each May 23, the entire world stops to pay tribute to them on World Turtle Day.

So, in honor of World Turtle Day and these special reptiles, VINS had a “return to the wild” party for some of our resident turtles. Each spring, snapping turtles and painted turtles emerge from the Ottauquechee River to dig nests and lay eggs in the meadows and fields at VINS Nature Center.

Baby Painted Turtle….so tiny!

When the baby turtles make their appearance (primarily fall for snapping turtles; spring for painted turtles), we serve as a shuttle service – transporting dozens of baby turtles down to the Ottauquechee River from their nest sites. Most of these baby turtles must make the long, treacherous journey from nest to water on their own, facing numerous predators and dangers along the way – an amazing feat for a baby the size of a quarter!

Tiny Painted Turtles serve as
ambassadors for their species.

A lucky few of the wee turtles will spend the first year or two of their lives as residents of the Nature Center, where they will be nurtured and fed and kept safe. These little turtles live in exhibit aquariums, and they serve as ambassadors for their species by participating in turtle education programs and teaching people of all ages about the fascinating and unique world of turtles.

A two-year old painted turtle makes his way toward the
Ottauquechee River….for the very first time.

They don’t live here, forever, though; and today is the day we say goodbye to some of our residents and welcome a new group of youngsters. We returned to the wild two painted turtles who have spent the past two years under the care of the VINS wildlife staff. They are big and strong and ready to thrive in their Ottauquechee River home. We also shuttled three hatchling painted turtles, giving them a leg up on life. What a special day of change, hope, and freedom!

A baby painted turtle, having just emerged from the nest,
toddles into the river. Note the pine needles for scale….he’s just a little guy!

And here’s a baby wood frog….just because he’s criminally cute.

Happy Spring!

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