Meadow Vole Circles
Congratulations to “Maine Naturalist” and Stein for identifying not only that a Meadow Vole made the mystery tracks, but why they were circular! Thank you all for your comments, many of which were laughter-producing!
More NC readers have witnessed this phenomenon than I would have imagined – the tracks were made by a Meadow Vole that had neurological problems which could have been caused by a brain parasite, brain tumor, inner ear infection, or a stroke. While the exact nature of an affected vole’s neurological impairment cannot be confirmed without the vole in hand, it is highly likely that a common brain parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, is responsible for a vole running in circles.
The snow-covered corn field where these tracks were located was just down the road from a dairy farm, where it’s likely cats could be found. This is relevant because cats pass this particular parasite on to rodents (and birds) who eat the cats’ feces. The parasite goes to work on the brains of animals that have eaten cat feces, causing them to become disoriented (to the point where they lose their fear of cats). Cats then eat the fearless rodents and the cycle continues. When infected and disoriented, the rodents will often run in circles – hence, the unusual track pattern in the snow.
T. gondii can infect humans, too, through consumption of under-cooked foods, contaminated drinking water, and through contact with cat feces. This is why pregnant women are discouraged from tending kitty litter boxes, as the parasite can infect their unborn children.
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Mystery Photo
What or who do you think is responsible for these tracks in a snow-covered corn field? To respond, go to the Naturally Curious blog (www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com ), scroll down to “Comments” and enter your solution to this mystery! Answer will be announced this coming Friday, 2/5/21.
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Mystery Photo
If you think you know who has been feeding here, go to the Naturally Curious blog (www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com) and enter your answer under “Comments.” (Hint: photo taken in large agricultural field in Champlain Valley of Vermont.) Answer will be revealed on Monday, January 11. (Difficulty 1-10 = 10)
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Mystery Photo
Do you think you might know what this is part of? The two structures that look like hot dogs are approximately 1/4″ long. If you would like to hazard a guess, go to the Naturally Curious website, scroll down to “Comments” and submit your entry. The answered will be in Monday’s Naturally Curious post.
Mystery Photo
If you think you recognize the subject of this Mystery Photo, please go to the Naturally Curious blog, scroll down to “Comments” and enter your thoughts. Size: 3” x 1 ½”. Hint: found near a large body of water. (Discovered and submitted by Jody Crosby)
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Whirligig Beetles Active
Congratulations to Stein Feick, the first person to correctly identify the Mystery Photo as a Whirligig Beetle! You usually see this aquatic beetle swimming around and around in circles on the surface of a pond searching for prey. A unique feature of most beetles in this genus is their divided eyes. Each eye is completely separated into two portions (see photo). One portion (dorsal) is above the water line and the other (ventral) is beneath the water on each side of their head, allowing them to see both in the air/on the surface of the water as well as under the water. The dorsal eyes have a limited field of view, so these beetles rest one of their antennae on the surface of the water to help them detect any motion caused by prey.
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Mystery Photo
Can you identify this Mystery Photo? Hint: In all likelihood if you’ve visited a pond, you have seen one. If you think you might know what this creature is, go to the Naturally Curious blog site, scroll down to “Comments” and enter your guess. The mystery will be solved on Wednesday, April 29th.
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Mystery Photo: A New Perspective
In my desire to show a close-up of the shredded nature of the bark-stripping in Friday’s Mystery Photo, I didn’t take into account that knowing the height of the stripping was as crucial to solving the mystery as the shredded bark! Today, instead of revealing the creature that is responsible for this activity, I am posting a photograph that gives the viewer the perspective necessary to correctly identify the sign-maker. Please feel free to resubmit a guess with the aid of this added information if you would like to. The photograph was taken within the last two weeks, and the sign was very fresh. The bark stripper’s identity will definitely be revealed on Wednesday, February 26th!
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Mystery Photo
Who has been hard at work on this young Sugar Maple tree? If you think you might know, go to the Naturally Curious blog site, scroll down to “Comments” and enter your guess. The answer will be revealed on Monday, February 24th. (Photo by Margaret Barker Clark)
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Mystery Photo
Any idea who has been visiting these Sensitive Fern fertile fronds? If so, go to the Naturally Curious blog, scroll down to “Comments” and enter yours. Answer will be revealed in Friday’s post.
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Mystery Photo
Do you know what is responsible for the two parallel lines that run diagonally across the bottom of this photograph? If so, enter your comment on the Naturally Curious blog. Scroll down and click on “Comments.” Hint: there are numerous clues in photo. Answer will be revealed on Wednesday’s (1/8/20) blog post. (Photo by Mike Hebb)
Mystery Photo
Do you think you know who was here and what he/she was doing??? If so, go to the Naturally Curious website, scroll down to and click on “Comments” and enter your answer. Wednesday’s post will reveal what transpired here.
(Photo by tracker/naturalist/wildlife videographer Alfred Balch.)
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Mystery Photo
Can you tell who has been here and what they were doing? If so, share your explanation on the Naturally Curious website by scrolling down to “Comments.” (Hint: those are acorns scattered on the dirt.) Answer will be revealed on Wednesday, December 4. (Photo by Ashley Wolff)
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Red Squirrel Belly Flop
Congratulations to Mary Pratt, the first reader to correctly identify the impression a Red Squirrel left in the snow. Red Squirrels are fiercely territorial, and will chase each other furiously in order to defend their territory and their food caches. The photographer, Susan Bull Riley, witnessed this behavior as she watched two Red Squirrels racing after each other in the crown of a maple tree. Suddenly one of them fell to the ground, where sleet and wet snow cushioned its fall and recorded the belly flop landing. No time was lost in the resumption of the chase!
There were many “Flying Squirrel” responses, which makes great sense as they are approximately the same size as a Red Squirrel (just an inch or two shorter in length) and are gliding from tree to tree or from tree to the ground. My assumption is that a Flying Squirrel’s landing impression might show some of the patagium, or membrane, that stretches from a squirrel’s wrists to its ankles, due to the fact that it is extended as the squirrel glides. (Any firsthand Flying Squirrel landing-in-snow impression observations welcome.) Thanks to all who submitted an answer to this Mystery Photo. Many were very amusing!
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Mystery Photo
What do you think made this six-inch-long impression in the snow? Please enter guesses under “Comments” on the Naturally Curious blog (scroll down). Answer will be revealed on Monday, November 25.
(Photo by artist Susan Bull Riley – http://susanbullriley.com/ )
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Mystery Photo
I am often asked how I find the subjects that I photograph. Sometimes I am consciously looking for specific plants and animals, but more often I’m simply looking for something that is either out of place or out of character. In this particular instance, I noticed an American Beech sapling with leaves that were bunched up into an odd shape. If you think you know what caused this roughly 2-inch long x 1-inch wide, leaf-covered cylinder, go to the Naturally Curious blog (www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com), scroll down to “Comments” and enter your thoughts. The answer will be revealed Monday, Oct. 7.
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Mystery Photo
Who’s peeking over this leaf??? Go to the Naturally Curious blog and scroll down to “Comments” to enter your response. Imaginative answers welcome. This mystery will be solved in Wednesday’s 9/4/19 post.
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Mystery Photo
Whose tracks are these? This is a loaded question, as these particular tracks are not something you come across every day in the snow. Hints: You would not find these tracks in the dead of winter. The width of the pictured trail is roughly 12” – 16”. It ends in a shallow, open wetland. The photograph was taken two days ago.
Responses may be submitted by going to the Naturally Curious blog site (www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com) and scrolling down to and clicking on “Comments.”
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Mystery Photo
I encountered this scene days ago after a light snowfall when I was on a trail that had been cleared through woodlands last fall. I noticed large bird tracks (present, but not identifiable as such in photo) leading to debris that had been piled just off the cleared trail. Why, I wondered, was any bird attracted to this particular site. As I continued snowshoeing there were several more areas where a similar scene (bird tracks and stumps/logs/branches/sticks) presented itself. What I saw moments later above my head solved the mystery of these scenarios for me. Can you solve it without the revelatory clue I was presented with?
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Mystery Photo
The icing over of ponds has begun as a result of the recent cold weather. Holes are appearing in the (thin) ice of some ponds. How do you think these one-to-three-foot holes are formed? Responses may be submitted by going to the Naturally Curious blog site (www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com) and scrolling down to “Comments.” The answer will be revealed on Friday, 12/7/18.
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A True Mystery Photo
A discovery recently brought to my attention has stumped this naturalist. What you are looking at is a collection of Flying Squirrel tails lying within a 30-square-foot patch of ground adjacent to a stand of Eastern Hemlocks. For several days in succession, additional tails appeared each morning, eventually totaling 20 or more.
Flying Squirrels, both Northern and Southern, are part of many animals’ diet. Among the documented predators are Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, Screech Owls, Northern Goshawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Martens, River Otters, Weasels, Fishers, Red Foxes and Bobcat. Many of these animals can gain access to the trees where the Flying Squirrels reside. Others take advantage of squirrels foraging on the ground.
The puzzling part of this mystery is the large number of tails. In cold weather (usually in winter, but we’ve had below-freezing nights recently), Flying Squirrels huddle together in tree cavities in an attempt to provide themselves with added warmth. Did a foraging Fisher discover a communal den? How did it manage to capture so many squirrels? Did the survivors remain in the same cavity, only to be captured in subsequent nights? So many questions that this naturalist cannot answer. Perhaps a reader can! (Thanks to John Quimby and Michael O’Donnell, who kindly shared their fascinating discovery with me.)
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Mystery Photo
Any idea what lurks under the bark of this rotting log (look through hole)? If so, go to the Naturally Curious blog (www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com ) and enter your “comment.”
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Mystery Photo
Can you name this 1/3-inch-long flower? If so (or even if you want to make a wild guess), go to the Naturally Curious blog (www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com), scroll down and click on “Comments” to submit your entry. Look for the answer Monday, in the next Naturally Curious post.
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Mystery Photo
Do you recognize the spotted jelly-like blob on the lower right leaf of this Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) plant? If so (or even if you want to make a wild guess), go to the Naturally Curious blog (www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com), scroll down and click on “Comments” to submit your entry. Look for the answer in the next Naturally Curious post. (Hint: Turtlehead likes its feet damp.)
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