Who made these tracks in the snow?
or
A white-tailed deer left those tracks. A deer foot is called a
hoof and it looks like this:
They have two toes on each hoof. Can you count the toes?
Deer tracks are easy to see because we can see each toe mark
in the snow.
In the picture on the first page you can see that sometimes
they drag their hooves through the snow when they are
walking. That is another clue to tell you they are deer tracks.
The other pictures is a crow. Their tracks are
very small.
Who made these tracks in the snow?
or
You can tell the tracks are made by a dog because you
can see the claw marks in the snow. When dogs walk
their claws are always out.
When you see a track made by a cat, it will look a little
bit like a dog track, except you will not see any claw
marks. Cats keep their claws tucked in when they walk.
They keep them tucked into their paws unless they
need them. Why might a cat need to use their claws?
Do you see
any claw marks? These are the tracks left by a cat.
This is a ruffed grouse. It lives in the woods all around us.
Where do you think it likes to sleep at night in the cold and
snowy winter?
Here,
or here,
or here?
Here!
When snow is scarce, grouse tend to roost in the
protected layers of conifer branches.
Or here!
However, if enough snow is
present, grouse will ‘snow roost’ by diving under the snow and creating a hollow
where temperatures are much warmer than in the air above.
This is a picture of tracks that a grouse left when it left its “under the snow” bed.
Can you see the wing tip marks and where the body of the grouse was? This is sort
of like a grouse “snow angel”. Have you ever made a snow angel?
If it snowed enough to reach the 10 inch mark on this
ruler, and then the snow melted, where would the
water level be on the other ruler? If the snow melts in
your yard, where does it go?
10 inches of snow will melt to 1 inch!
Fill a jar with snow and put a mark on the jar. After it melts, look how much water there is in the jar.
This is a snowshoe hare. Hare is another name for rabbit. This rabbit,
just like the weasel, looks different in the winter. Which picture do
you think it looks like in the winter?
In the late fall, as winter gets closer, the snowshoe hare will turn from
brown to white to help it hide in the snow. Lots of animals like to eat
snowshoe hares, so hiding is important to the hare. Why do you think it
is called SNOWSHOE hare?
Look at the BIG back feet. Those big back feet act like snowshoes and
help to keep the hare from sinking into the snow too much. Have you
ever tried walking on snow with snowshoes? Would you like to try it?
These are tracks left by a snowshoe hare. Have you ever seen tracks
like these? Can you tell which tracks are the front feet and which
tracks are the back feet? How would the hare jump to make tracks
like this? Can you jump like this to make your feet land in front of your
hands?
Which animals do you think will live under the snow in
the winter?
or
Did you know?
There is a lot of activity under the snow in the winter!
It stays warmer near the ground under the snow and
lots of animals stay very busy in the tunnels they make.
Look for tunnels under the snow outside! It is called
the subnivean (under the snow) zone.
This is a long – tailed weasel. It lives around us, also. You might see it
in the woods, in fields, or even around your house! It is tricky, though!
It does not look like this in the winter. Which picture do you think it
looks like when there is lots of snow on the ground?
This picture or…
this one?
Why?
Twice a year the weasel sheds its fur. Late in the fall it will become all
white so that it can hide in the snow. In the spring it will shed its white
coat and look like the first picture above.
What do you think happen below? Those are weasels tracks by the
tree. What do the other tracks look like? That weasel may have been
lunch for an owl that likes to eat weasels!
Who made these tracks in the snow?
A wild turkey
or
a dog?
These tracks were made by a wild turkey! Did you know that
there are wild turkeys living in the woods near us?
Where do you think they spend the night in the winter when it
is cold and snowy? Do you think they go in the snow like the
ruffed grouse?
Turkeys go up into tall trees at night. It is called roosting.
Why do you think they want to sleep so high in a tree? Do you
think a predator might like to eat them?
Here are some more interesting facts about wild turkeys:
The boy is called a “tom” and the girl is called a “hen”. When
they are teenagers they are called “jakes”.
Wild turkeys are very fast runners. They can go as fast as a
car when it is driving in town. (25mph)
Look back at the picture of the turkey. See that thing on the
front of it that is hanging down? Does it look like hair? It is
called a beard. Only the boys grow them. They think they look
cute for the girls when they have a long beard!