1 Mount Holyoke College Wildlife Trail Species Marker #1: Ardea herodias, Great Blue Heron Figure 1. Courtesy of Kate Ballantine Conservation Status: Least Concern, Population Increasing Geographic Range: Marshes & Shores from Canada to Central America Diet: Carnivore – Fishes, Amphibians, Turtles, and Small Mammals Behavior: Great Blue Herons nest in trees and shrubs – off of the ground and away from predators. Males pick the nest location, and display building materials such as twigs to attract females. Great Blue Herons mate with a new partner every year, increasing the genetic diversity of the population. A single clutch contains typically 3 to 5 pale blue eggs. Great Blue Herons breed in large colonies, but forage alone, and defend a solitary territory outside of nesting season.
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Mount Holyoke College Wildlife Trail...winter snow melts, when they migrate to breeding ponds. It can take females up to 2 to 7 years to be able to reproduce. 3 Mount Holyoke College
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Mount Holyoke College Wildlife Trail Species Marker #1: Ardea herodias, Great Blue Heron
Figure 1. Courtesy of Kate Ballantine
Conservation Status: Least Concern, Population Increasing
Geographic Range: Marshes & Shores from Canada to Central America
Diet: Carnivore – Fishes, Amphibians, Turtles, and Small Mammals
Behavior: Great Blue Herons nest in trees and shrubs – off of the ground and
away from predators. Males pick the nest location, and display building
materials such as twigs to attract females. Great Blue Herons mate with a
new partner every year, increasing the genetic diversity of the population. A
single clutch contains typically 3 to 5 pale blue eggs. Great Blue Herons breed
in large colonies, but forage alone, and defend a solitary territory outside of
nesting season.
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Mount Holyoke College Wildlife Trail Species Marker #2: Ambystoma maculatum, Spotted Salamander
Figure 2. Courtesy of Kate Ballantine
Conservation Status: Least Concern, Population Stable
Geographic Range: Freshwater Forest Rivers & Wetlands in the Eastern US
and Canada
Diet: Carnivore – Aquatic and Terrestrial Invertebrates
Behavior: Spotted Salamanders spend most of their adult lives hidden in leaf
litter. When threatened, they release a sticky and milky toxic liquid from glands
in their backs and tails. Breeding season begins during the first rain after the
winter snow melts, when they migrate to breeding ponds. It can take females
up to 2 to 7 years to be able to reproduce.
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Mount Holyoke College Wildlife Trail Species Marker #3: Chelydra serpentina, Common Snapping Turtle
Figure 3. Courtesy of Elena Kraus
Conservation Status: Least Concern, Population Stable
Geographic Range: Freshwater Lakes & Ponds in the Eastern US and Canada
Diet: Omnivore -- Fish, Small Mammals, Amphibians, Eggs, and Aquatic
Vegetation
Behavior: Common Snapping Turtles can live up to 30 years in the wild. They
bury themselves in the bottom of murky waters in order to ambush aquatic
prey. Snapping turtles communicate to mates with leg movements while the
turtles face each other. Social interaction is limited to breeding, despite that
many individuals may share a territory.
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Mount Holyoke College Wildlife Trail Species Marker #4: Aix sponsa, Wood Duck
Figure 4. Courtesy of Kate Ballantine
Conservation Status: Least Concern, Population Increasing
Geographic Range: Woodland Ponds and River Swamps in the Eastern US and
Canada
Diet: Omnivore – Aquatic Plants, Seeds, Insects, and Acorns
Behavior: Wood Ducks nest in tree cavities lined with down feathers from the
female’s breast. Breeding pairs search for a nest location together, and prefer
cavities over 2 ft. from the ground. Clutches average 6 to 11 tannish-white
eggs, but up to 29 have been found in a nest; the result of egg-dumping by
other females. Hatchlings leave the nest for the first time within a day. A
breeding pair may be seen grooming each other when together.
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Mount Holyoke College Wildlife Trail Species Marker #5: Orconectes rusticus, Rusty Crayfish
Figure 5. Courtesy of Kate Ballantine
Conservation Status: Least Concern, Population Stable
Geographic Range: Native to Lakes and Streams of the Great Lakes region &
Introduced to the Northeast
Diet: Detritivore – Aquatic Debris & Plants, Invertebrates, and Fish Eggs
Behavior: Rusty Crayfish can lay 80 to 575 eggs at a time and have a life
span of 3 to 4 years. Individuals live in shallow burrows under rocks & debris,
and will force other crayfish out of hides during the day; always fighting when
they come across other crayfish of their own kind. They communicate using
urine when engaged in fights, as a cue of recognition.
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Mount Holyoke College Wildlife Trail Species Marker #6: Procyon lotor, Northern Raccoon
Figure 6. Courtesy of Cal Cray
Conservation Status: Least Concern, Population Increasing
Geographic Range: Woodlands in Mainland US, Southern Canada, Mexico, and