Strange Stains in the Snow

About a month ago, I started noticing spots like the one in the photo above around my yard. The color isn't exaggerated - it's really that blue. Like mouthwash. Or antifreeze. But I don't imagine that something worrying about fresh breath is rinsing and spitting in the back yard or that some nut is pouring antifreeze around on the snow. The patches reminded me of something I saw at the nature center about ten years ago.

I was hiking with a group of students when we spotted a patch of blue snow. It was near juniper bushes. After the class was over, I did some research and learned that if rabbits eat juniper berries it can turn their urine blue.

Looking at the stains in my backyard, I was pretty sure rabbits were responsible. As I explained in earlier posts, my yard has been overrun with rabbits this winter. Any time it snows overnight, the yard is trampled with rabbit tracks by morning. So, the source of the blue patches seemed most likely to be rabbits. But not because they were eating juniper berries - there aren't any junipers in the area. Time to do some research again.

Since the last time I looked up information on-line (early in the 2000s), some new ideas have been found. According to an article published by the Ontario Woodlot Association, when rabbits are desperate for food, they'll eat bark from things they would avoid otherwise - stuff like buckthorn. (Ah, yes - wonderful buckthorn.) The author of the paper did an experiment - he feed pet rabbits buckthorn. Once they peed in the snow, the color went from yellow-brown to bright blue within about ten minutes on sunny days. (www.ont-woodlot-assoc.org/sw_nonfibre_redskies.html) I know there's buckthorn around and the amount of snow could make it challenging for the rabbits. So, I think the mystery is solved. Now if only the nibbling would kill off the buckthorn...

Can Spring Be Far Off?

The end of winter is in sight – really. This coming Friday, March 1, begins meteorological spring so it’s time to start watching for the return of our migrating and hibernating critters and the emergence of dormant plants. Dodge Nature Center is doing more than just watching – we’re sponsoring a contest to see who can do the best job of predicting when we see those first blooms and returning animals. Go to the website below to download the contest form.

www.dodgenaturecenter.org/attachments/Signs%20of%20Spring%20Contest%202013.pdf

Look over the list of events in the table and place an “X” in the box of the week you think will be the first time the event happens or is the first sighting of the animal on Dodge Nature Center’s Main Property. Dodge naturalists will determine the actual dates of the events/sightings.

Email your contest form to troot@dodgenaturecenter.org by Tuesday, February 26, 2013. Late entries will not be accepted.

Winners will be notified on Monday, June 3, 2013 and prizes will be awarded to the three individuals with the most correct guesses.

Join the fun as Dodge watches spring unfold!



Apple Blossoms





It's Time for the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Do you enjoy watching the birds? Would you like to help scientists better understand the world of birds?  Then become a particitpant in this year's Great Backyard Bird Count! From the GBBC website:

Today through Monday, February 18, we invite you to be part of this massive citizen-science effort. The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) helps scientists learn where birds are in winter. Join tens of thousands of fellow bird watchers from around the world by counting the number of individuals of each species you saw during a single counting session (of at least 15 minutes) and submitting your checklist to www.birdcount.org. You can report any birds you see, even those birds flying overhead. Submit a new checklist for each day and for each new location. You can count in as many locations as you like. Just be sure to enter a new list for each site.

This year the GBBC is being integrated with the eBird online checklist system—which means that the count will be global for the first time. Anyone, anywhere, with Internet access can take part in the count. If you already participate in Project FeederWatch or another Cornell Lab citizen science project, you will not need to create a new account for the GBBC. To enter counts to the GBBC, go to www.birdcount.org, and you’ll be prompted to enter your login information. Then you’ll select your location on a map, answer a few questions, enter your tallies, and share your sightings with others around the world.

GBBC Participant Perks

Drawing Prizes

Don't forget to check out some of the great prizes you could win just by taking part in the GBBC. We'll award prizes in a random drawing from among all participants.

Birding App Special

A special GBBC offer on the BirdLog app is available through the February 18. You can get the BirdLog app for iPhone (iOS4 and higher) and Android smartphones for just 99 cents. BirdLog allows you to upload your sightings from the field into the free eBird online checklist program as well as the GBBC. Take it for a test flight today!

Software Deal

GBBC participants can also get a special deal from Thayer Software. You'll receive a 20% discount on Thayer Birding Software DVDs at the OnlineNatureMall. Just enter the promotional code “GBBC” at checkout. Offer valid now through March 30.

Please consider participating in this free, fun, late-winter bird count!

Beautiful World

Fresh snow - blue skies - pictures can't quite capture the beauty of this morning. But check out these shots to see how this spectacular day began.

Curved Ice

Fresh snow, sunshine, and warmer temperatures this week have created fabulous icicles along the eaves of the office building roof here at Dodge Nature Center. Some are short, some smooth, some bumpy, some are long and thin, and some are curved. Right there in the middle of a row of straight icicles is one that is bent. Odd.

According to an article entitled “Why Icicles Are Long And Thin: Mathematical Physics Explains How Icicles Grow” (www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0202-why_icicles_are_long_and_thin.htm), scientists have figured out a mathematical formula describing the process behind the formation of icicles. Basically, you start with melting snow. “As water drips onto an icicle and freezes, it releases heat. The warm air rises up the sides of the icicle. (University of Arizona Physicist Martin) Short says that warm air layer acts like a blanket that's an insulator, and so the blanket is very thin near the tip and thick at the top. That allows the top to grow very slowly and the tip to grow rapidly -- creating a long, thin icicle.” Kind of similar to how stalactites form in caves – only with calcium left behind as water evaporates.

So what makes some icicles bumpy and others curved? I didn’t find anything that specifically, scientifically answered the question, but wind must play a role. That’s how you get variety like these icicles on the office building.

              

Read more about how icicles form at these websites:

http://www.livescience.com/1074-icicle-formation-mystery-solved.html

Icicle Formation Mystery Solved

http://weatherjackwilliams.com/snowy-science-lessons/

Snowy Science Lessons by Jack Williams

A Hare-Raising Time

It's snowed every night for the past four - and every morning the backyard is trampled with tracks. Whose tracks you ask? Well, tracks from Roger, Bugs, Thumper, Peter, and all their relatives.

Rabbits everywhere. They're there at dusk. They're there at 3:00 a.m. They're there at dawn. And then they go away during daylight.

They're browsing under the birdfeeders (which I don't mind) and snacking on the rose bushes (which I do mind but shows how desperate they are for food.)

Maybe it's time to fix the gate along the fence - to keep them out. Maybe...