We’ve looked at needle-leaved and broadleaved trees this winter but standing and fallen dead trees make enormous contributions to PEI’s forests, too! Trees die naturally from a variety of causes: old age, disease, insects, fire, weather damage, or environmental stress, among others. The death of a tree is part of the life of a forest and is necessary for the survival of everything from plants, lichens, and fungi to insects, birds, and mammals. Insects such as Bark Beet

Tracks and scat may be the most common signs of PEI wildlife, but they are not the only ones. Other examples include dens, nests, cavities, caches, browse, and this very cool adaptation: eyeshine. Not all animals have eyeshine, but those that do have a special membrane called the tapetum lucidum (Latin for bright tapestry) behind the retina – the light-sensitive part of the eye. Light passes through the retina and is reflected off the tapetum lucidum back to the light sourc

There are two types of tracks I am seeing everywhere on PEI this year: Snowshoe Hare (featured March 3), and the topic of today’s post:...

Reading wildlife tracks and sign has very practical uses. For example, even with the recent cold snaps this winter, the Striped Skunks on...

PEI wildlife leave all sorts of signs that they’ve been around: tracks, scat, dens, nests, and feeding spots, among others. Some of my...