During Dark Sky Week, spend a few hours outside in the darkness, admiring the stars and listening for sounds of the night creatures. Or, considering tonight’s Cook Forest forecast, you’d more likely be in the darkness, in the rain.
Even if the night of the new moon is rained out, you can help spread the word about light pollution and the importance of dark skies. Notice how dark your yard is – or isn’t – and talk with friends, family, neighbors, or government representatives about why an unspoiled night environment is crucial for the health of humans and creatures alike. Visit the IDA for more information and resources, or the CFC’s page on dark skies:
This recording was taken 3 April, a rainy Tuesday when River Road was about as quiet as it ever is, in the daytime. On the recording are: a dozen or so robins, a pair of warblers, a red squirrel or two [long chatter sound]. Automobile sounds, near the end of the clip, come from people getting into a car and preparing to leave, and another car driving east on River Road toward Clarington. No alterations were made except for volume normalization and trimming of the ends of the clip.
This is the first in a series of recordings to be taken in and around Cook Forest. Please add our channel on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/cookforestconservancy/
How Birds Live, by Claude R. Hill, 1940 revised printing by American Education Press Inc., is a charming 36-page overview on the workings of the bird world, with pen-and-ink illustrations.
Mr. Hill reprints an interesting technique for sketching birdsong with dashes and curves, the results akin to an avian morse code. Hill attributes the idea to wildlife artist R. Bruce Horsfall, but, sadly, little can be found online regarding his contributions to song sketching.
How Birds Live is an endearing and succinct introduction to bird biology and behaviour, and should engage any young naturalist. Hill illustrates some of the ways birds benefit people, e.g by eating mosquitoes and crop-damaging insects and rodents – one pair of barn owls ate more than 2,000 mice in a summer. He also explains how birds evolve to suit their métier: by having webbed feet or hunting talons, and downy feathers for warmth and stealth or strong, sleek feathers for flight.
Fighting for the survival and protection of Pennsylvania’s old growth hemlocks.
This is taken from an email sent by PPFF on 19 January, and to date no further information has been found. You can view the complete message, including all the other designees, here: http://bit.do/PPFF2018awards.
Any additional news regarding this designation will be posted as available. In the mean time, please take a moment to tell us what you love most about the forest, and what you think we should focus on this coming year: Submit a Survey!
For those who enjoy celebrating obscure and slightly silly holidays: 21 January is Squirrel Appreciation Day. Cook Forest has a fair number of squirrels — including chipmunks, which are ground squirrels — but the squirrels of the year at CFC are the southern flying squirrels:
These fellows are tiny (~ 2 oz), nocturnal (look at those eyes!), and fearless leapers – flying squirrels glide, rather than fly, using the furred membranes between their front and rear legs on each side, called the patagium. Though they primarily leap among trees in a stand, they’ve been recorded gliding as far as 295 feet, which is nearly 98.5 yards, which is nearly a football field’s length – and they do it at speeds between 10 and 30 mph.
They’re predominately active at night and spend very little time on the ground, so many folks never see these fellows. Despite a small disparity in size and coloration, it’s quite difficult to tell the southern from the northern flying squirrel, which is endangered in Pennsylvania. Since the Cook Forest flying squirrels had pups (or “kits”) in the autumn, we know they’re the southern variety, as only the southern squirrel has two small litters annually. Sugar gliders look similar, but are a different animal altogether.
Flying squirrels are among the only communal squirrels – as many as 30 have been found living in a single drey, since the’re so small they need to nest together to share body heat. Flying squirrels don’t hibernate, but they often become less active during colder weather.
Fun fact: if you find a nest in your attic, you’ve got a “scurry of squirrels!” Lucky you!
Some of us are in the same boat:
young flying squirrel investigating movie night
This is not his natural or his normal habitat, but he and his siblings won’t be evicted into custom-built three-tier tree-hung condos until spring. If you’ve got a similar problem, please contact the CFC and we’ll happily share any advice or information.
The CFC has lately obtained its 501(c)(3) charitable organization status, and is now working on the website and our initial park programs. Please help us out by taking a minute to let us know what’s most important to you — we’ve created a quick survey we’d very much appreciate your taking the time to submit:
Hello! Welcome to the blog of the Cook Forest Conservancy. We’re just starting out, and we’ve decided to keep things interesting by posting not only current news and events, but also mini-articles about flora and fauna and other things you might see in the forest. The best way to navigate topics is the search bar, or the tags that should appear below [most] posts, which will bring up similar entries and more things to learn.
The CFC does have a facebook page for posting & re-posting events and articles, and a twitter for similar, but please also subscribe to our email newsletter list, which should be coming out in the [semi-]near future. We promise to keep volume light, you can opt out any time, and the CFC will never sell or trade your contact information:
In addition to current issues & events, this “news” page is meant to serve as an archive of information on all things forest — flora & fauna posts, camping & hiking tips, etc. Whatever you’d like to learn or remember, please browse using the tags, or search.
