A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
Depending on their needs, animals will either remain in the same habitat during winter or move short or long distances to meet their needs. Winter’s cold temperatures, short days and storm conditions make it hard for animals to meet basic needs for food, water and shelter. Tracks and signs of feeding can tell you about animals activities outdoors. Sometimes you can find interesting tracks right in your own backyard. Winter, with its snow cover is a great time to search around your home to see what animals live there. You can tell what is around by learning to identify tracks. You may even discover an animal that has been living for months near your home that you had no idea was there. When you go track hunting you have no idea the adventures you might have.
The weirdest, unexplained track I ever saw was about 500 yards from my house. We lived near the foot of a mountain in the Hudson Valley in a secluded area. Before the foot of the mountain, there was a small field. My Mother, my brother, and I decided to take a walk because it was a fairly warm and sunny winter day. It had just snowed, and a shallow light and fluffy layer of snow covered the ground. Just before we got to the foot of the mountain, in the field, we saw “THE TRACKS!” They were, quite large about 14 inches long, and they were shaped like a barefooted human’s foot. We looked at those prints for a very long time because none of us could believe what we were seeing.
The tracks had definite toes and no long nails that a bear print would have, and it appeared to be two legged. It was too cold to go barefooted, and there were no other tracks around them. The tracks came from the mountain and then turned and went back to the mountain. We decided to go home and call some people and get our cameras. By the time we got back to that spot, a wind had come up and the tracks were just about gone. What was left did not really tell anyone too much. We never saw those tracks again, but we didn’t go to that spot very often after that day. For this article, I will be writing about tracks quite a bit smaller. I will cover mice and mouse tracks. If a winter is severe, the mice will hibernate and some will even find shelter in our homes. On warmer winter days they will still roam around a bit outside. Mice are quite lucky to have the snow of winter here as it provides cover to protect them from predators. During other seasons they have grasses, leave, and other objects to hide under.
If you see tracks like the one illustrated in this article entitled “snake tracks,” it is actually made by mice tunneling under the snow. Mice tunnel under the snow in the winter to avoid being seen by predators like owls and hawks. Their tunnels are just below the surface. As the mice tunnel the snow raises, but after they are gone the tunnels collapse leaving the funny looking little “snake tracks” trails in the snow. I get these tracks in my garden every winter. My 100+ pound dog, Charlie Horse, likes to put his nose down into the tracks (mouse tunnels). He runs along plowing the tunnels with his nose looking for whatever left such a wonderful scent. He never gets a mouse as far as I can tell, but he does end up with a cold snout covered with snow. There are five species of mice found in upstate NY they are: The White footed mouse, the Deer mouse, the House mouse, the Meadow jumping mouse, and the Woodland jumping mouse. Oh yeah, and the computer mouse.
The White-footed mouse is from six to eight inches long (not counting its tail that is two and half to five and a half inches long). Males are larger than the females. They are found in warm dry wooded and brushy areas. They may also be found in open fields and around farms that are near woodlands. Their nests are under rocks or logs and may be in burrows. Their diet consists of seeds, vegetables, fruits, insects, and various vertebrates and plants. The sound they make is a squeak. These mice have an odd habit of drumming on a hollow stick, reed, or dry leaf. This drumming produces a humming noise. The meaning of making this humming sound is unknown. Their litter size is up to five babies. They have a few litters each year. The young stay with their mother for a little more than a month. The White-footed mouse is nocturnal. They live as family units, but in cold weather they may form large groups to stay warm. They do not hibernate. They can be found in trees, as they are excellent climbers. The White-footed mouse looks a lot like a Deer mouse. Both of these species have bi-colored tails, but this coloration is more prominent in the Deer mouse. NOTE: White-footed mice are carriers of Hantavirus as well as ticks bearing Lyme disease. Hantavirus can be deadly to humans. Never handle these mice or their droppings.
The Deer mouse is a small mouse. It ranges from four and a half inches to eight and a half inches in length (not including the tail). The tail adds another two to five inches. The males are double the size of the females. They are found mostly in prairies, woodlands and brush. The prairie variety nests in burrows just below ground level. The woodland variety builds its nest near the ground on stumps, on piles of Debra, in tree cavities, abandoned bird nests, and in buildings. They eat insects, various invertebrates, fruits, vegetables, and seeds. Their voice is a squeak and they also thump their feet or chatter their teeth to warn other mice. They usually have litters of five, and multiple litters per year. They are nocturnal. The young stay with their mother for about a month. They live as family units, but group together for warmth when it is very cold in the winter. They, like the White-footed mouse, are excellent climbers and may be found in trees. NOTE: Deer mice are carriers of Hantavirus, and they may have ticks bearing Lyme disease. DO NOT HANDLE these mice or touch their droppings.
The House mouse - AKA Mouse is a small mouse. It measures two and a half inches to four inches in length (not including their tail). Their tail can be up to half the length of their body. They have soft brown or black fur and light under parts, but not as white as the under parts of the Deer mouse. Their tails and large round ears do not have fur. Their eyes are large, black and beady. Their whiskers are long. The House mouse is found wherever humans are. They can be found in barns, garages, houses, but they can also be found in wooded areas and fields. In our homes they may construct their nests within the walls. Outside they dig complex tunnels that contain several rooms, exits and a nesting site. They eat seeds, roots, insects, plant materials, and some carrion. Those that live in or near our homes tend to eat human food and garbage. The wild variety stores food in caches. Those that live with humans usually do not because they do not have to store food. Their voice is a squeak. Their litter size is five with multiple litters each year. The young stay with their mother for only 21 days. They are nocturnal living in family units. Family units are very territorial in human homes. They are fast runners (not fast enough to out run my Eddie cat though)! They are good jumpers, and they are proficient swimmers.
The Meadow jumping mouse is named for its spectacular ability to leap distances of over three feet. They will often make these leaps when startled; they then take a few short hops and lie flat and motionless (playing dead). They are a small mouse with dull brown fur on its back, yellowish-brown on the sides, and cream colored underneath. It is three to four inches long (without its tail). Their tail is a bit longer than their body. Females in this species are larger than the males. They prefer moist grasslands, but can be found in fields with thick vegetation as long as it is near water. This mouse avoids wooded areas. Their nest are usually in burrows that are several feet below the ground. Occasionally they may nest on the ground in a clump of grass. They eat berries, fruit, fungus, insects (mainly beetles and larvae). They will cut down tall stalks of grass to get at their seeds. They have an average of five per litter with two or three litters per year. The young leave their mother after about a month. Their voice is squeaks, clucks, and chatters. They will drum on the ground when frightened. This mouse hibernates in the late fall with the length of time depending on how much body fat they stored. They are excellent swimmers. They do not Cache food.
The Woodland jumping mouse is similar to the Meadow jumping mouse, but it has golden fur along its sides with a dark brown strip of fur from the tip of its nose to its tail. It also is cream colored on its under side. They are three to four inches long (without their tails), which is another four to six inches long. Their tail is very long and sparsely furred with a white furry tip. They eat seeds, fungi, insects and their larvae. Their favorite food is truffles. Their sounds are squeaks, clucks, and chatters. They will drum their tail on the ground when frightened. Their litter is an average of four who leave their mother roughly after a month. They are nocturnal, and they are excellent swimmers. This mouse interestingly hibernates for six months out of the year.
The next time it snows you might want to go outdoors and see how many tracks you can find. Maybe you will even find “snake tracks” (mouse tunnels). If you have a camera, take photos of the tracks and when you get a track guide you can identify them on a day when it’s too snowy or cold to go outside. Roger Tory Peterson Field Guides has a very good book on tracks. I have most of his field guides and they are really the best. They are good for children to use. They are great for the expert or amateur. You can find several “A field Guide to Animal Tracks” by Roger Tory Peterson used for a few dollars to &19.95 for a new book at:
NOTE: If you do go on a track hunting field trip. Make sure you are safe from hunters. Wear bright orange or red. Even just a red knit cap would work. Do not go where you think there may be hunters. Also dress warm. Tell someone what you are doing and where you are going. For children, be sure you have your parents permission, or just explore your backyards. You will be surprised at how many tracks you will find. There is one very odd-looking mouse track you can try and find. It is the track of the White-footed mouse. It looks like the track of a two-toed (cloven) animal. It looks like a deer may have made the track. This track can only be seen in certain snow conditions. It happens when a hard crust of snow is covered by a half an inch of new snow. The two points (looking like a cloven animal) is made by the animal’s hind feet extending past its front feet. The single point is made by the base of the animal’s tail. The track is made when the mouse hops. It will look like a single-legged animal with a cloven hoof had hopped in the snow.
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