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Terrestrial Monitoring
Winter Training
November/December 2012
Agenda
Sign-in
Pick up & drop off data sheets & trail maps
Introductions
TRCA update
Fall survey discussion
� feedback & questions
� photo survey
Winter protocol & safety
Winter survey species
TRCA Update
Watershed Monitoring & Reporting
• TVM 10 year report will be prepared in 2013
• balance of 2012 data needed urgently
Fall survey photo tour
photos by
Daniel Morodvanschi
Giant puffball mushrooms
found in the forest
Site 16
looking west, we are at the
northeast corner of the site
Lichens: Mealy rosette found growing with candleflame – note that the
lobes of the mealy are almost as small as those of the candleflame
(unlike other grey-blue or grey-green lichens you'll see). The photo
was taken through the hand lens – Nice job !!
� including scale in the photo
Lichens: Rough speckled shield
Lichens: Hammered shield
More cool lichens, some not very common in our jurisdiction
Cladonia sp.
Peltigera sp.
Graphis scripta
Cladonia sp.
just starting to bloom – zig-zag
stem helps with identification
Zig-zag goldenrod
Disturbance
Winter Training ProtocolSeason Month Indicator Species Frequency Effort Total
Winter • Jan or Feb
• March
• trees, 3 fauna
• screech owl
• 1 morning
• 1 evening
• 1.5 hrs
• 0.5 hr 2 hrs
Spring • April
• May
• frogs, birds
• spring
flowers, birds
• 2 evenings
• 1 morning
• 1 hr/ea
• 2 hrs 4 hrs
Summer • June
• Jul & Aug
• song birds
• summer
flowers
• 2 evenings
• 2 afternoons
• 1.5 hr/ea
• 1.5 hr/ea 6 hrs
Fall • Oct • woody plants
• lichens
• 1 afternoon • 3 hours 3 hrs
Safety
• Work with a companion
• Compass & map, warm clothing, water, small light
• Avoid walking on ice-covered ponds
• Tell someone where you are going and when you
plan to return
Safety & incident reporting
• site concerns/hazard reporting
• emergency contacts
Theresa - cell: see first page of manual for #
Scott Jarvie - cell: “
Victoria Kinniburgh - cell: “
• moving through site
• awareness of surroundings
• allergies, asthma, epi-pen?
• partner informed of emergency contact for you
Indicator Species - Winter
• porcupine L2
• mink L4
• ruffed grouse L2
• screech owl L4
• eastern hemlock L4
• white pine L4
• white cedar L4
Winter Visit #1
� Importance of protocol adherence
� Jan or Feb, morning, 1½ hours
� Morning – the earlier the better once light – before other people are out
� After a light snowfall is ideal
� Take camera if you have one
� Take binoculars if you can
Mink (Mustela vison) L4
Why mink?
� mammalian predator (carnivore)
� needs healthy riparian habitat
(both terrestrial & aquatic prey)
� year-round resident
� L4 species – good indicator for condition of
urban zone
Photo: Tom Lusk
Protocol: Why winter morning?
� Jan – Feb beginning of mating season – more
active
� easier to observe – trails in snow
� crepuscular –active early morning, as is its
terrestrial prey – very difficult to find later in
day
How to find Mink
• Go early !!!
• Habitat: in & alongside water – riparian zone
• Look for and follow trail of tracks (footprints) in this habitat
• Distinguish from other weasels and raccoon/squirrel/rabbit
tracks
• Measure track (footprint) and trail (series of footprints)
• Photograph if possible - include scale (preferably a ruler)
• follow trail to den if possible – is den in riverbank, wetland,
muskrat den, or is it under cover such as old log in forest?
Identifying trail patterns
• Bounding
• 2-2 bounding
• Alternating
Mice, squirrels,
rabbits/hares
Weasel family including
ermine, mink, fisher, otter
Porcupine, raccoon,
muskrat, beaver, coyote
Measuring tracks & trails
� Track length
� Track width (single footprint) & trail width (set of two)
� Stride
� take series of photos with a ruler lined up to measure track width, trail width, & stride or length
trail width
length
stride
track width
Mink Tracks
� Front foot: 1 to 2" (3 to 5 cm) long &
wide – 5 toes
� Hind foot: same size (+up to 1” if heel
registers) – 5 toes
� Trail width: 2 to 4" (5 to 10 cm)
� Stride: 11 to 38” (28 to 95 cm)
� Pattern: 2-2 bounding
Photos: Jason Shabaga
Mink tracks & trails
� may show groups of 3 or 4 prints
� follow trail - impression of overall pattern
� slides in snow – otter or mink – measure width
Photos: Jason Shabaga
Photo: Garry ConwayPhoto: Glenn Reed
Photo: Glenn Reed Photo: Glenn Reed
Winter surveying
Photo: Pat Stone
Mink
slides
Photo: Glenn Reed
Squirrel
Photo: Glenn Reed
Mink
Red fox
Photo: Glenn Reed
Photo: Glenn Reed
� smaller foot, shorter stride in
relation to width of track; small body
size results in lots of drag even in
quite shallow snow
Ermine (short-tailed weasel)
NOT mink
� tracks were found in forest far from water
� 2-2 bounding pattern with characteristic offset of feet each time
they land (i.e. one foot a little ahead of the other)
� clue to mink – tracks are on ice and lead to open water
� view whole trail and take measurements (but not on thin ice!)
Photos; Pat Stone
Mink Tracks
� NOT mink – feet too large, placed too far apart, width of trail
much too wide (ruler is 6"/15 cm)
Photo: Bernie Taylor
Photos: Derek Basdeo
� weasel family, but is it mink??
� each track less than 2 cm across (3/4")
– foot is too small for mink - most likely
long tailed weasel
� drag mark also suggests this species
Mink (Mustela vison)L4
1o one foot long, skinny, furred tail
2o black/brown colour (small white
spot under chin often visible)
3o tracks in 2-2 bounding pattern; near water; to 4" wide per
pair; pairs 11" to 38" apart; trail may include slides up to
4" wide (submit photo or comment with measurements)
Photo: Tom Lusk
Porcupine (Erithizon dorsatum) L2
Why porcupine?
� one of just 3 mammal indicators
� area sensitive – needs ≈ 100 hectares
� sensitive to fragmentation of habitat – slow moving –
won't survive most road crossing attempts
� critical winter habitat area &
food supply – native trees
� L2 species – good indicator for
rural zone
Protocol: Why winter morning?
� easier to observe in winter when foliage reduced
� if found, site is providing critical winter needs,
i.e. food supply of native trees
� primarily nocturnal – look while still active early
in the morning
� trails & other signs on snow help
How to find Porcupine
• Tracks, signs in forest, along trails, around edges
of wetlands or streams
• Signs – torn hemlock branches on ground – look
up – bark peeled from trees
• Binoculars help
• Piles of scat, urine trails in snow
• Tracks – with belly drag – "mini snow plow trail“
• Alternating pattern – 5 to 9” wide (12 to 23 cm)
Porcupine sign
Porcupine sign
follow the trail & signs
Found him/her
Porcupine sign
Porcupine (Erithizon dorsatum) L2
1o black, dark grey or dark brown
2o no mask on face, or bands on
tail
3o trail in snow 5-9" wide, showing body drag all along
length & may contain urine trails; sign includes fresh
stripping of bark from trees*
*enter description of observation if this characteristic is checked;
digital photo with scale if possible
Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) L2
Why ruffed grouse?
� year round resident
� ground nester
� need for drumming platforms (logs)
� need for winter cover & food supply of native
trees (aspen buds important winter food)
� L2 species – good indicator for condition of
forest in rural zone
Protocol: Why winter morning?
� easier to observe in winter – less foliage, and
may find tracks
� more active early morning & dusk
Ruffed grouse
� foot adapted for winter – scales expand – act like snowshoes
Clark, G. A. 2004. Form &
Function: The External Bird. In
Handbook of Bird Biology,
Cornell Lab of Ornithology (S.
Podulka et al.,eds.). The Cornell
Lab of Ornithology. Ithaca, NY.
Drawing by John Schmitt,
from Fig. 3-39 on page 3-45,
reproduced with permission
Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus)
� Look/listen in forest – cover all forest
area
� Wing noise when take flight
� Tracks:
� track size: approx. 2 x 2 inches (5 cm.)
� hind toe not visible, or smaller than others
� single line of prints
� about half the size of wild turkey track & similar in
shape
Photos copyright by Walter Muma
Used with permission
See more photos at:
www.wildwoodtracking.com
Ruffed grouse tracks
Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) L2
1o when flushed - brown bird with loud wing flutter
2o tracks chicken-sized, raised hind toe often
not seen in track
3o chicken-sized bird
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) L4
� climax species in our native forest
� moist slopes
� winter food/shelter for porcupine
� L4 species
� sensitive to over herbivory
� survey all coniferous indicators
in winter – easier to observe
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) L4
1o single flat needles on a
small stalk in a flat
arrangement on branch
2o needles very short with
pale stripes on back
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) L4
Photo: R. Shachak
White pine (Pinus strobus) L4
� also a climax species - mature forest
� upland forest – drier
� L4
� sensitive to over herbivory
� target species for forestry
� often planted in restoration
� enter comment if trees you
find appear to be planted; also if
you observe regeneration (seedlings)
White pine (Pinus strobus)
L4
1o soft needles in clusters of five
2o cones open loosely,elongated (8-20cm),woody
Careful:
Norway spruce cones are similar
size, but closed and with papery,
not woody scales
White cedar (Thuja occidentalis) L4
� swamp, wetland habitat
� thick growth provides cover for resident
fauna species
� often planted – enter
comment if trees
appear to be planted
White cedar (Thuja occidentalis) L4
1o evergreen tree with
flat scaly leaves, not
needles
2o tiny brown cones in
clusters
Careful:
Don’t confuse red cedar with this one –Note “messy” growth form of native white cedar vs. “neat” garden variety red cedars; red cedar has blue berry-like fruit, not straw-coloured cones
Winter Visit # 2
� Importance of protocol adherence
� March evening
� ½ hr visit
� after dusk, i.e. ≈7:00 pm(19:00) earliest start till Mar 10
� clocks change on 11th, plus sunset gets later
� go ≈ 8:00 to 8:30 pm (20:00 to 20:30) later in month
Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) L4
Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) L4
� avian predator
� year round resident
� good indicator urban zone
� out-competed or preyed on
by larger owls (great-horned)
� tree cavity nester
� March is breeding season
� nocturnal
How to find Eastern Screech Owl
� Deciduous woods & wetlands (swamp or marsh
with dead standing trees)
� Play call, listen and wait 2-3min
� Move and try again if no response
� STOP playing as soon as response heard or if
another owl responds (enter comment)
� Continue to wait quietly – may fly right in to
investigate
� one or both of pair may respond
Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio)
1o call is a mournful horse-like
whinny and/or a deep trill
2o sings at night
3o about the same size as a
grey squirrel
* responds to recording - play where
there are large deciduous trees, & at
wetlands with dead standing trees
• www.allaboutbirds.org
• identification, habitat info., range maps,
photos & sound files for N. American birds
• Book: Tracking & The Art of Seeing, How to
read animal tracks and sign
By: Paul Rezendes
Birds & Tracking Resources
Wrap up
� Questions?
� Online data entry
� Hand in fall data and trail maps
� Sign in sheet
� Pick up winter data sheets
Contact
Theresa McKenzie
Terrestrial Volunteer Coordinator
416-661-6600 Ext. 5658
tmckenzie@trca.on.ca
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