shdavis's Identifications

Pictured is what I believe to be muskrat (ondatra zibethicus) tracks these tracks were found 2/9/24 at 10:22am at the Macoskey center in a small stream by a walking bridge. The weather was 49 degrees cloudy and a high of 59 degrees and a low of 41 degrees for the day. Wind was 10mph south west. The tracks measured 1inch long by 1inch wide, I could not record stride as the two tracks were almost on top of each other but straddle was around maybe 1/4 inch. I believe the muskrat was using the small creek to leave its home and find food. Underneath the small walking bridge I saw what could have been the muskrats hole.

My mammal species account this week proved to be a bit difficult. I had visited several places on and off campus with little luck, and when I parked my car and made the journey back to my dorm I spotted what I saw as a mink crawling around the edge of a "pond" on campus. I have seen minks before as there is a family that lives in a creek near my house, so I was certain it was one. I was not able to get a clear image quickly enough, but in the one here I circled where you can see the mink swimming. Minks have an easily identifiable because of their color, they posses a dark coat with no distinct marks.

The weather was around 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit, the sun was setting but there were dark clouds in the sky.

It is likely that minks commonly inhabit the small pond on campus where this one was identified, I have even seem some there in the past.

Douglas fir has a flat needle with 2 vertical white stripes on the back. They can reach 250 ft tall and 5-7 ft wide. They grow in areas with good drainage and full sunlight. They have oblong pine cones that are 2-4 in long and have three pointed bracts that look sort of like a feather.

(Tsuga Canadensis)

This Eastern Hemlock was observed on the edge of a wetland just before 5pm on Friday, the 22nd of September. It stands at around 20 feet in height, with a width of around 8-9ft.

The wetland it sits near is comprised of Broad-leaved Cattails (Typha latifolia) and another type of wetland grass that i was unable to identify. The soil is very moist despite having near all day sunshine. However, this most likely benefits the Hemlock due to mineral runoff from a nearby roadway when it rains and the aforementioned sunshine.

It is a beautiful 70F day with plenty of sunshine. The daily forecast calls for a high of 71F and a low of 51F. No chance of precipitation and mostly clear skies.

Hiking around McConnell's Mill I found Boneset growing on the edge of a trail. Boneset has small white, fluffy flowers and have an umbel shape. Boneset likes to grow in areas of full sun or part shade, the area in which this plant was located was at a trail head, this created the perfect growing environment. Boneset also has botanical benefits; it can be used fevers, colds and flus.

Northern short-tailed vole (Blarina brevicauda)
Stride: 6in
Straddle: 2in
Length & width of track: 1in x 1/2in
Vole was spotted running across compost piles, gray and about 4 inches in length
Weather: 18°, partly cloudy and light snow covering from early morning
Other tracks identified in the area include the white tail deer, deer mouse, and eastern cotton tail rabbit

This observation is of a white striped Shelf Fungi (order Polyporales). Unfortunately, I could not identify the specific species of this Fungi. I did find matching images, however the actual name of the species was not included with the pictures. The notable characteristics of this shelf fungi are that it is mainly bright white in color with a slightly more tan coloration closer to its anchor point on the tree. I found this Fungi at the Jennings Environmental Education Center on the 14th.

Other species seen: Black Oak (Quercus velutina), Red Maple (Acer rubrum)

Interactions with other species: This shelf fungi has attached itself to a dead or dying tree in these images as well as a fallen tree on the ground. Fungi act as decomposer in their environment so that is why it is seen attached to the trees.

Weather on the 14th: Temperature 61°, high/low temperature 77°/50°.
Weather data from the 21st: 63% humidity, 0 inches precipitation, wind speed/direction ssw 15 mph

Pictured here is a common dandelion (taraxacum officinale) this was spotted next to my house, the temperature was a high of 81 and a low of 62 degrees fahrenheit . You can note this is a common dandelion from its yellow flower heads that eventually turn into round balls that will be dispersed

Prints were about the size of my open hand
Gait can be described as “bound”
About 30-34 degrees F, sunny, after fresh fallen snow
Other species: there was some moss growing on the rocks by the creek and 4 people (including myself)
The tracks hopped from one side of the creek, onto a log, and onto the other side of the creek in what looks to be a carefully calculated route
Hell’s Hollow trail

Track width: 1 inch
Track length: 2 inches
Stride: 12 inches
Straddle: less than a inch
Direction of travel: West
Weather: cloudy, 28 degrees, East wind 3 mph, no precipitation, 6 inches of snow on the ground, 41% humidity
Additional notes: White-tailed deer tracks nearby, White Oak and Maple trees nearby. There were two sets squirrel tracks so there could have possibly been multiple squirrels. No scat or urine visible nearby.

The tracks that I captured above appear to be a snowshoe hare by the way the feet are placed and the distance between the first and second pair of tracks the temperature was 28 degrees fells like 16 the wind was SW 19 mph. It appears that the rabbit was heading E 90 degrees going through the yard and back into the woods

From my research and best guess I have identified this mushroom as a parasol mushroom which is also known as a (Lepiota Procera). It is a basidiomycete fungus with a large fruiting body. Most of the time these mushrooms are found on well drained soil like in this case. This mushroom is edible, but does not settle well for some people. When I came across this mushroom it was 56 and raining. I was walking to my car from a restaurant and saw the mushroom by an arborvitae. It was on a well drained area and growing through the mulch. I had another mushroom to identify but decided to go with this as it was on our list of mushroom we had to study. This mushroom was about 3.5 inches in diameter at the top and the steam was about an 3/4 of an inch in length.

Here I believe I observed a white oak, the leaves are very distinct with the leaves alternating. The bark is also very rough. In this area there were numerous oaks in the area along with a few crab apple trees near by

Common Milkweed (asclepias syriaca) was spotted at the Macoskey Center (at Slippery Rock University) in a small marsh area right across from the solar panel system. This was identified as a common milkweed for many reasons. The most obvious characteristic was it’s small pink flowers gathered in an umbrella like shape. A small amount of white sap (resembling milk) came out of the stem of the plant when it was broken. This is another common indicator of milkweed. There were several other plants growing around the common milkweed. The one pictured in the second image is golden rod (solidago sp.). The reason why both of these flowers were flourishing in this area is because it receives lots of sunlight throughout the day on the property and because it is is a marshy area, so there is plenty of water for the abundant vegetation growing here. The weather for the day was a high of 73 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of 63. It was mostly cloudy with the winds blowing from the south East at 5.5 mph. The humidity was at 82%.

This photo of a Virginia opossum's (didelphis virginiana) tracks was taken on the muddy outskirts of a stream. I'm fairly certain that I have identified the tracks correctly because of the opossum's splayed prints as opposed to a raccoon's more close together prints. There were many sets of tracks nearby indicating that this stream was a particularly well-visited area. All of the animals that frequent the stream are likely drinking from it. Alongside the opossum tracks, as you may be able to see from the images provided, there were many sets of raccoon (procyon lotor) tracks as well. Not in the immediate vicinity of these tracks but nearby there were many white-tailed deer tracks (odocoileus virginius) as well. At the time of photagraphy, it was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit with little wind and no significant precip. There was high cloud cover, but the sun did come through occasionally.

Today at approximately 3:00pm I observed a possible Stoat (mustela erminea) in the slightly melted snow behind the Macoskey Center.
I believe it to be a stoat from the bounding pattern of the tracks along with the stride length in between the tracks which was approximately 9 inches. The print itself was .7 inches long and .4 wide. Today’s weather was sunny with a high of 46 degrees with a low of 24, with winds up-to 10 MPH. Along side the short tailed weasels tracks there was also Eastern Cotten tails (sylvilagus floridanus) and White tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) tracks. I believe the weasel was in this area out in the warmer parts of the day and sun looking for food scraps by the garden, the tall grass also serves as a home to many voles and mice which would serve as a great meal for this creature.

I spotted what I believe to be muskrat tracks on a creek bank while I was fishing in Mercer on Wednesday, February 12th at 2:54PM. That day the high was 36°F and the low was 24°F, when I spotted the tracks that day the current temp was 33°F, there was no precipitation that day as well. It was an overcast and a little windy. These tracks littered the creek side as I would assume they use the creek and the small area of woods surrounding as their food source. I am unsure if the near freezing temperatures have an effect on the activity of muskrats, but I would think the slightly warmer temperatures and a thawed creek would give ample opportunities to go look for food.

I observed these white-tailed deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) tracks at a compost pile at the macoskey center. The tracks are about 2 inches long, and are consistent of a young deer. At 12 pm the weather was 51 degrees and partly sunny, with winds coming from the west at about 15 MPH. I concluded that the young deer was looking for food, and decided all the pineapples would be a great snack.

These relatively small deer tracks were observed around 1 P.M at the Macoskey Center. The tracks measure around 1.5 inches and the weather at the time of discovery was partly cloudy with western winds of 15mph. I suspect that this baby deer was most likely scavenging the scraps of fruit that were left atop of the hill.