Red Squirrel Blog

Aurora Borealis

Tue, 24 May 2011 11:52:58 -0400

We rarely stay up late at squirrel camp: our tired legs carry us to bed early in the night in preparation for another hard day’s work. And even when darkness dominated our evenings in the long Yukon winter nights, the cold kept us inside by the fire. It was a rare night, then, that we spent stargazing. But the Yukon sky is packed with stars, and on occasion it is also brightened by the Northern Lights. On one particular winter night, the lights began as a faint light on the horizon. Slowly they grew, inching and flowing above our heads until most stars in the sky were peeking through a green veil. It’s hard to describe the splendour of this sight, nor what it is like to sit in the winter cold in the middle of the silent, frozen Yukon wilderness watching it. But the closest we can come is to borrow the words from Robert Service’s Ballad of the Northern Lights:

Oh, it was wild and weird and wan, and ever in camp o’ nights
We would watch and watch the silver dance of the mystic Northern Lights.
And soft they danced from the Polar sky and swept in primrose haze;
And swift they pranced with their silver feet, and pierced with a blinding blaze.
They danced a cotillion in the sky; they were rose and silver shod;
It was not good for the eyes of man – ‘twas a sight for the eyes of God.
It made us mad and strange and sad, and the gold whereof we dreamed
Was all forgot, and our only thought was of the lights that gleamed.

And the skies of night were alive with light, with a throbbing, thrilling flame;
Amber and rose and violet, opal and gold it came.
It swept the sky like a giant scythe, it quivered back to a wedge;
Argently bright, it cleft the night with a wavy golden edge.
Pennants of silver waved and streamed, lazy banners unfurled;
Sudden splendours of sabres gleamed, lightning javelins were hurled.
Therein our awe we crouched and saw with our wild, uplifted eyes
Charge and retire the hosts of fire in the battlefield of the skies.

They rolled around with a soundless sound like softly bruised silk;
They poured into the bowl of the sky with the gentle flow of milk.
In eager, pulsing violet their wheeling chariots came,
Or they poised above the Polar rim like a coronal of flame.
From depths of darkness fathomless their lancing rays were hurled,
Like the all-combining searchlights of the navies of the world.
There on the roof-pole of the world as one bewitched I gazed.

Squirrel Camp Votes

Tue, 17 May 2011 15:16:12 -0400

The buzz from the Canadian elections has finished, with interesting results. And like the rest of the country, Squirrel Camp was busy during the elections discussing the merits of the various parties. We were even visited by the Yukon Green Party candidate! But when the time came to cast our votes, it was more difficult than we expected. During a trip to Whitehorse, Jess brought in everyone’s applications to vote in our home ridings from Squirrel Camp. Although the people in the Whitehorse Election’s Canada office were wonderful and helpful, we encountered some setbacks during this process! The office had to send our applications to Ottawa before we could get our ballots. However, there were delays somewhere between Ottawa and the Yukon, so we received our ballots mere days before Election Day. After all this, we sent our ballots Priority Post through the mail, and they just barely made it in time. It was a frustrating experience and, in the end, somehow educational: we learned how difficult it can be to participate in the elections process in an isolated region. But it was an exciting couple of weeks in camp!

Lisa and Eryn discussing the voting instructions.

Lisa demonstrating the materials required to vote.

Amy and Jess ready to send off their votes to Ottawa!

Lynx

Tue, 10 May 2011 12:46:01 -0400

The two lynx crouched placidly in the snowy meadow, occasionally grooming or gazing into the surrounding forest with golden eyes. Suddenly, one lynx jumped to its feet and paced towards the second one.
The lynx who was still crouching ignored its approach at first, but the approaching one was insistent that they should walk off together into the forest. Both lynx began to call to each other, uttering haunting and strange sounds which resembled barks and howls. The calls were sometimes accompanied by the lynx rearing on their hind legs. Eventually the lynx settled the matter, and both returned to nestle into their previous perches in the snow. Ten metres from this strange spectacle stood elevensquirrellers excitedly watching the activity. It is impossible to remain silent while hiking over crunchy snow on snowshoes, so our approach had not been a quiet affair. Despite our noisy approach though, the lynx totally ignored their attentive audience except for an occasional casual glance in our direction. We think that this was probably a breeding pair of lynx, so perhaps flirting with each other was more important than paying attention to a whole group of field researchers sitting mere metres away.

We’ve had some great lynx sightings this season! Some days, we just see tracks in the snow which tell the story of the lynx’s passing, such as one day when it passed silently through our camp without our knowledge. Sometimes we hear the eerie sounds of their calls echoing in the distance through the crisp winter air. Other days, we just catch ghostly glimpses of this tawny cats stalking through the forest in search of snowshoe hares to eat, which are their main food source but which are particularly sparse this year. Many of our sightings this year have been rather close encounters, and, similar to the pair of lynx that we watched, usually the lynx are rather unconcerned about our presence. The first time Jess heard the haunting noises of lynx howling to each other, she saw a lynx in a distant clearing. It glanced her way the first time she passed by, but after that it ignored her even though she was noisily marching along on icy snowshoe trails. That same day, Jess was checking a trap for a squirrel when she looked up and saw two lynx walking towards her. The one in the lead was meowing like a house cat, and a third was answering from the woods. The two lynx walked to within a few metres of Jess straight towards her, before turning onto her snowshoe path and disappearing into the depths of the wintry woods. It was probably these two lynx that eleven of us braved the cold to watch later that day. Another day, Eryn was hiking through the forest when she saw a lynx lounging in the snow. The lynx took a cat nap as Eryn sat down nearby, only opening its eyes to look up in search of calling squirrels.

Typically, lynx mainly eat snowshoe hares, but this year the hares are very sparse. It must be a difficult winter to be a lynx, with cold temperatures, lots of snow and little food. We sometimes find squirrel tails on the ground, evidence that the lynx are supplementing their diet with an occasional careless squirrel. We live-trap squirrels in order to keep track of individuals, and perhaps the lynx are slightly jealous of our ability to catch such quick, alert creatures. Kristin once had a lynx crouch nearby and watch as she handled a squirrel, and it was surely disappointed when Kristin let it go out of the predator’s reach. Emily had seen two lynx cross the road, and she followed their tracks in the freshly-fallen snow. The trail wound through the woods, and passed right by a trap with a squirrel in it. The cat was likely wishing that there were no metal cage bars keeping the lively little morsel out of its reach.

The snow is beginning to melt as spring proceeds, and so the stories written into the snow by passing animals are now being erased. But as we hike through the waking forest, we always look forward to our next encounter with the graceful felines, even if we cannot read of their passing in the snow.

Woodchopping

Fri, 1 Apr 2011 14:27:28 -0400

The black behemoth of a potbelly woodstove is a hungry beast in the dead of winter, and charged with the task of warming the toes of the eleven gals who were the sole proprietresses of camp, it is one of the main workhorses. Thus, not surprisingly, the chords of spruce logs, deposited in the driveway must be split into bite-site bits. Luckily, one of those among us is a pro. Having skillfully competed in wood chopping competitions at the University of New Brunswick during her undergraduate degree, we were in good hands as Jess showed us the ropes. We spent a wonderful afternoon flexing our chopping muscles, honing the skills as well as the axe blades. Since then, most have tried their hand at keeping the pile stocked, and some have acquired quite a taste for the satisfaction of a clean split. What better way to ease the frustrations of the “arboreal” squirrels nesting far underground, beneath several feet of ice and snow and far from our reach, than letting the axe fly as the spring sun sinks over the St. Elias peaks.

Jess in her lumberjill gear showing us her techniques.

Amy honing her wood-splitting skills

Amy and Jess beside the fruits of their labour.

Travelling to Camp 2011

Tue, 1 Mar 2011 14:21:40 -0500

We drove from southern Canada to the Yukon in order to get people, gear, and a truck to Squirrel Camp. Half of the crew left from Ontario, with the other half joining in Edmonton. The best part of the trip started once we reached the Rocky Mountains and, later, the St. Elias Mountains that are visible from Squirrel Camp. Judging by the empty roads, tourists don’t consider winter the best time to drive through this part of the country. Although the roads can definitely be tricky at this time of year, we think the mountains were incredibly beautiful completely covered in snow.

One highlight of the trip was all the great wildlife sightings along the way. In the forests of Alberta, we saw white-tailed and mule deer. As we passed through the Rocky Mountains and into the Yukon, we saw caribou, wood bison, and moose. The wood bison grazed on the sides of the roads, using their foreheads to plough wide paths through the snow. Even when we didn’t see bison, the huge tracks made it obvious where they spent their time. The bison also occasionally stood on the roads, boldly watching us as we drove past! The caribou herds would also stand on the road, but would throw their heads back to jog off the highway and into the forest as we approached. Moose were less numerous, but we spotted a few easily loping through chest-deep snow on their gangly legs or browsing on the banks of frozen rivers.

Along the way, we stopped at the Liard Hot Springs. The changing rooms at the hot springs are unheated, so getting changed into a bathing suit is an adventure in itself when it’s -30C! The changing room floor was caked in frost and the boardwalk to the springs was covered in snow. However, sitting in a natural hot tub while our breath condensed into ice on our hair and while the trees were draped in frost was a wonderful experience, and it was definitely worth braving the cold. Afterward, exiting the hot springs required quick reflexes in order to get through the -30C air to dry off in the unheated changing room before hiking back to the truck.

We stopped at a few other landmarks along our journey, such as the giant beaver statue in Beaverlodge, Alberta. We also visited the signpost forest in Watson Lake, Yukon, and found a sign posted by previous people from Squirrel Camp.
We came to the conclusion that there are not enough picnic facilities open during the winter, and as a result we spent several lunches eating sandwiches which we made in the cramped back seat. These experiences definitely made the trip memorable, but we were excited when we finally made it to Squirrel Camp.

The start of 2010

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 00:37:33 -0500

The winter 2010 season of the Kluane Red Squirrel Project is well underway. The crew arrived in February and has been hard at work opening up camp, setting up projects and preparing for the year ahead. There are some returning squirrelers, new technicians, and we’ve already had several visitors to camp. The weather has been fantastic and we’ve seen all sorts of wildlife and spectacular mountain views.

On February 12, Ben Dantzer, a Michigan State University grad student and his field technician, Frances Stewart, arrived at Squirrel Camp. By February 15 they had camp organized and were starting to deliver peanut butter to the squirrels on the food addition grids. Manu Landry-Cuerrier arrived from McGill in Montreal to really help them out with this huge task. Together, they delivered over 320 kilos of peanut butter in less than four days. Once the peanut butter was all in place, Ben and Frances started trapping squirrels to start Ben’s current project. They are trying to determine how perceived population densities affect red squirrel reproduction.

The rest of the late winter and spring crew arrived at Squirrel Camp on Wednesday, March 3. The five of us had driven for three days from Edmonton after watching Team Canada take the gold medal in Men’s Olympic Hockey and successfully completing our University of Alberta Driver’s Tests. Returning to Squirrel Camp for their third time were McGill grad student, Devan Archibald, and Kristen Rostad. New to camp this year, were Dylan White, Lindsey Valliant, and myself, Cass Stabler. Ben and Frances welcomed us all into camp with a delicious dinner and we all found warm places to sleep in the loft of the data hut and the PhD hut.

The next day we started training. The spring crew is responsible for collecting information about all of the squirrels living on the six long-term research grids. We need to know which squirrel lives on each midden and the reproductive status of each female. This allows us to determine when and where the new pups will be born on each grid. We can then find the nests and identify the pups. Training went very well as we learned how to set traps, monitor the trap line, and collect information about the squirrels we saw and trapped on the grids.

Since training, we’ve all been out trapping each day to gain an understanding of where each squirrel in the current population lives. During this time, Dr. Stan Boutin from the University of Alberta came to visit camp. Stan is one of the principle investigators on the Red Squirrel Project and the person who set up this camp back in the 1980’s. He passed on a lot of great advice about trapping squirrels, told us interesting information about the history of the camp, and got our snowmobile running.

On grid we’ve seen moose, lynx, goshawk, snow bunting, snowshoe hare, ermine, and several grey jays and chickadees. The birds like to rob the peanut butter bait from our traps and that can make it difficult to catch squirrels. We’ve found two nests and have successfully counted and identified the new male and female pups. This has been pretty exciting for everyone involved because squirrel pups sure are cute! This past week we also completed our second peanut butter addition. With the entire crew working hard we had all the peanut butter delivered in one day.

As spring begins in the Yukon, we’re already noticing the increase in daylight hours. The sun sets around 8:30 pm, but it’s still quite light out when we go to bed. We’ve had a few very mild days and it seems like the snow will be melting soon too. The returning crew has told us all about how muddy the area can be when this happens. We’ve still got a few squirrels to find and a lot of nests to come. Business as usual at Squirrel Camp!

Winter 2009 Crew in Camp

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:58:01 -0400

The winter crew arrived at squirrel camp on March 2: Claire, Josiane, Emily, Kyle, Jamie, Sara and myself. For most of the crew it was the end of two and half days of driving from Edmonton, while for Emily and I it marked the end of a full week of driving from Guelph. By far the best part of the drive was from Fort Nelson, BC to Whitehorse, YT, where we saw a lot of wildlife: moose, caribou, bison, a couple foxes, and an owl.
The snow is surprisingly deep around camp and on the grids. Most camp chores seem to involve shoveling snow, and it keeps snowing! On the positive side, the snow has made for some great sledding! During the peanut butter addition to the food experiment grids it seemed as if we were wading through snow. Even with snowshoes on we were sometimes up to our waists in the fluffy white stuff. There have been quite a few grouse sightings on the grids, and lots of lynx and moose tracks.
The new crew started their squirrel trapping and handling training after the peanut butter addition was completed. Training went well and now the new crew have been assigned to their own respective grids. Temperatures have been pretty cold lately, around -20C in the mornings, and warming up to around -15C during the day. There have been no nests yet, and only a handful of females caught so far are pregnant. This is quite the change from last year where we were finding squirrel pups in the buckets during the peanut butter addition in March.
Julia S.

Mt Decoeli

Sat, 5 Jul 2008 15:32:26 -0400

The summer crew at squirrel camp did an overnight hike up Mt. Decoeli on July 3-4. There were 7 of us: Cate, Katherine, Meghan, Bastien, Ben, Issac and Julia. We started after dinner on Thursday night and hiked until 11pm. Starting from the pullout on the Alaska highway we hiked along a wide trail to a stream, and then continued along the bank to the slopes of Mt. Decoeli. Hiking along the stony bank of the river wasn’t too hard, but several times we were forced to cut into the willows which were unbelievably thick and tangled.

On the slopes of Mt. Decoeli we saw some mountain sheep and marmots. We camped overnight in an alpine meadow with lots of wildflowers. The midnight sunset was spectacular!

The next morning we continued our trek to the peak. The climb was steep and rocky, but the view from the top was incredible. We could see a large rain cloud raining down on camp, but everywhere else was sunny. Oddly enough that pretty much describes the current weather at camp for this past week. The way down was faster, but only involved a short slide down a small patch of snow in one of the valleys.
Julia

Spring in Squirrel Camp

Fri, 16 May 2008 15:44:14 -0400

Spring has arrived here at squirrel camp and it's pretty exciting! Chipmunks are up and running around all over the place, the ground squirrels are also out and there’s one that’s living under the data hut. The snowshoe hares have started to change colour and are mottled looking right now, with brown fur coming in on their backs and the white winter fur still on their legs and feet. Bear tracks have been spotted on Agnes but no one has seen any bears yet. More birds have arrived in the area including yellow-rumped warblers, varied thrushes, white-crowned sparrows, and buffleheads have been seen on Sulphur pond. Lots of raptors have been spotted lately including bald eagles, red tailed hawks, harriers, and goshawks. A large porcupine has been roaming around the huts in camp. Almost all the snow has melted and even the mud has mostly dried up. A few mosquitoes have been seen flying around, but they’re not a problem yet. Juvenile red squirrels have started to emerge from their nests on all of the food addition grids, and they seem to be running around and rattling all over the place. The May midden census is in full swing, and the crew has been assessing the activity and conditions of the middens on each grid as well as trying to determine which squirrel owns each midden. The crew went on another short hike along the Alsek valley last week. It was a beautiful warm sunny day and the highlight was seeing a moose swim across the river.
JKS

Blog photo 1: A vigilant least chipmunk

Blog photo 2: The squirrel camp crew hiking along the Alsek valley

Blog photo 3: A snowshoe hare with its summer and winter coat

Blog photo 4: A juvenile red squirrel eating a spruce cone

Radio Telemetry

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:29:03 -0400

Definition
Telemetry (tele = distance, metry = measurement) refers to measuring from a distance. "Radio" telemetry refers specifically to telemetry in which information is transmitted over VHF radio waves. Although several aspects of an animal's biology can be measured remotely with telemetry, we use this tool specifically to measure a squirrel's position in space.

Components
There are three components to a radio telemetry system.:

1. A transmitter is worn by the animal subject. It transmits a pulsed signal (every 1.5 seconds) as a VHF radio wave. Squirrel transmitters weigh 4 grams and are worn around the neck.

2. A receiver receives the radio signal and translates it into something we can interpret such as an audible beep. The receiver can be tuned to receive specific radio frequencies within a broad range, thus one receiver can be used to identify and track multiple animals whose radio collars transmit at different frequencies.

3. An antenna amplifies the radio signal being received. A "directional" antenna receives the radio signal with different sensitivity (gain) depending on the orientation of the antenna - the beep is loud when the antenna pointed toward the animal, but becomes increasingly softer as the antenna turns away from the animal.

Techniques
In Squirrel Camp, we use radio telemetry primarily for radio tracking - following the radio signal until the animal is located visually. Starting at some distance from the squirrel, we travel in the direction in which the radio signal is strongest. As we get closer to the squirrel, the radio signal increases in strength, i.e. the beep gets louder, and we can reduce the sensitivity (gain) on the receiver for better sound resolution. We home in on the squirrel until we make visual contact. This gives us the squirrel's exact location in space, and allows us to observe its behavior at the time. Experienced researchers can locate squirrels in less than ten minutes with this technique.

Occasionally, we use triangulation to locate squirrels from a greater distance. Triangulation involves recording the direction from the observer to the squirrel as a compass bearing from two or more observer locations. These bearings are then plotted as lines on a map, which intersect at the animal's location. Unlike radio tracking which gives an exact location, triangulation involves some estimation error, but can be kept small by experienced researchers.

On foot in the boreal forest, we can detect the radio signals from squirrel radio collars from distances of about 300 meters. Antennas positioned higher can receive signals from greater distances. Common tactics to increase the range involve gaining elevation, and include climbing hills and trees, or when these are not available, standing on your vehicle.

Applications
Radio telemetry has many applications in wildlife biology. Telemetry-based analyses we conduct on the red squirrel project include:

Resource use - nest sites, feeding locations
Habitat selection - used sites chosen from among those available for use
Survival - Longevity, location and cause of death
Movement patterns - sequential locations of moving animals such as dispersing juveniles
Activity patterns - timing and duration of activity and sleep, nest use
Behavioral observation - focal sampling for determining diet, mating choices, caching behavior
Home range analysis - drawing polygons around a large set of mapped locations

-MCA