Ryan
February 25, 2020
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Critters of North Idaho: Common snapping turtle
Explore the wetlands of northern Idaho long enough and you’re bound to see a turtle sooner or later.
Critters of North Idaho: Signal Crayfish
This autumn, a male crustacean will make his way along the river bottom.
Critters of North Idaho: Bald Eagle
The bald eagle is by far the most recognizable bird in our country.
Critters of North Idaho: Yellow-Pine Chipmunk
Those rascally, bushy-tailed squirrels aren’t the only rodents running around and collecting nuts.
Critters of North Idaho: Meadow Slug
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “slug?”
Critters of North Idaho: White Sturgeon
If you explore the rivers of the Idaho panhandle, chances are that you might spy a trout, catfish, or maybe even a northern pike.
Critters of North Idaho: Turkey vulture
When an animal dies, its rotting corpse would just
Critters of North Idaho: Western skink
Bears and groundhogs aren’t the only ones waking
Critters of North Idaho: Pileated woodpecker
If you’re in the woods and you hear that rapid-fire pecking sound,
Critters of North Idaho: Garter Snake
Creepy. Solitary. Cold-blooded. These are undoubtedly the three
CRITTERS OF NORTH IDAHO: Flying squirrel soaring in North Idaho
Critters of North Idaho: Northern Flying Squirrel
Lady Beetle
I was homeschooled through much of my childhood. During one such session (math, I think?) in autumn, my sister, mom, and I looked up at our ceiling to find hundreds — literally hundreds — of tiny red and black-spotted “aliens” invading our house through an almost invisible space between the edge of a window and the ceiling. Our house was under siege from insects commonly known as ladybugs! They were looking for a safe, warm place to hibernate over the long, cold winter, and our house apparently fit the bill. We were well into the winter vacuuming up the remnants of our autumn invasion. Scientific results are inconclusive as of yet, but I suspect our insect invasion may be part of the reason my mother hates the red and black-spotted insects now.
Slimy sculpin: Camouflaged predator
If you happen to find yourself wading through one of the many clear, cool, freshwater streams meandering their way across North Idaho, you’re likely to spot some fish. Some, like trout, are skittish (for good reason!), and are likely to dart away before you get real close. Others prefer to rely on their camouflage to protect them, and will lie very still until anything they perceive as a threat has passed. One of these fish is the slimy sculpin.
Snowshoe hare: A combination of stealth, speed
Cats, bears, birds of prey, foxes, wolves and even weasels stalk the forests of North America on the lookout for prey. If you’re a small fluffy critter with no teeth, claws, or noxious scent to keep such predators at bay, you’ve always got to be on the alert. One option is to be really fast and simply outrun attacking predators. Another is to be well-hidden so the predators don’t spot you. Or you can be like the snowshoe hare and be prepared for either scenario!
Fork-tailed flycatcher
Idaho is home to many experienced birders, some of whom will be able to take one look at a bird and say, “Aha! That’s a mountain bluebird!” Or “Ooh! A pileated woodpecker!”
Consperse stink bug
“I think I stink. I turn the green grass pink. Wherever I go that smell follows. That cloud I make no one can take[1].” That was the first line of a song from a cartoon I used to watch as a kid. The singer was, appropriately enough, a stink bug character named Stanley, who often lamented about his species’ most characteristic trait. But is the lowly stink bug all smell, or is there more to this critter than what meets the eye … or nose, in this case?
North American racer
Based on its name alone, you may think of the North American racer (Coluber constrictor) as the black mamba of the New World. Turns out, you’d be quite incorrect!
White-tailed deer
I don’t know about you, but after so many false starts, I am glad that North Idaho is finally experiencing classic spring weather. So is the animal kingdom!
Deer mouse: An all-American mouse
There are hundreds of species of mice and mice-like rodents throughout the world. But to most of us, a mouse is a mouse is a mouse. After all, who cares about identifying what mouse species you are looking at when all you want to do is trap, poison, or sic the cat on them in your home? But the danger in overgeneralizing is that we miss out on learning what makes each species unique in its own right.
Mourning dove
The title of Idaho’s most sad-sounding cry might have to be the appropriately named mourning dove (Zenaida macroura). The oowoo-woo-woo-woo call is quite distinctive and sets them apart from most (if not all) other related birds.
Common green darner
As we transition from winter to spring, nature lovers should take a chance to stroll along North Idaho’s many streams, rivers and other bodies of water. If they are fortunate enough, they might catch a glimpse at one of the most relentless aerial predators of the insect world: the dragonfly.
Critters of North Idaho: Steller’s jay
Steller’s jay
Critters of North Idaho: Ye ol’ vole
If you see a little rodent scurrying about in the thicket or under the snow, you may think it’s a mouse. And it may be a mouse, but at first glance it is very difficult to tell a mouse apart from another little rodent, the vole. So difficult, in fact, that voles are often mistakenly referred to as “field mice.” What makes these little scurriers so different from each other? For starters, they belong to different families.