Tom and I went for a long hike on Sunday and found lots of interesting things . . . including this pile of scat! I've never seen anything like it! Anyone (Ruthie, Melissa?) have any ideas? Each "piece" was probably 1/2"+ in length.
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Looks like a deer on a Fiber One cereal diet to me!
ReplyDeleteI admit it. It was me.
ReplyDeletePleeeeazze! Wasn't anyone a scout? They are wingless butterflies in their 4th stage of development.
ReplyDeleteOK, this is gross, but did you happen to smell them? I'm wondering if it's from a porcupine? The field guide I have says "they have a rather sweet, resinous odor, which sometimes can be smelled several yard away since there tend to be such large accumulations of them."
ReplyDeleteI've never seen anything like that here in southern Minnesota, but your size description and photo also match the description in the field guide.
Mystery solved!!
ReplyDeleteWhile Melissa's answer was the most creative (although the 'wingless butterfly' one was good, too!), and Claire's response was the one that would have made me shoot coffee out my nose had I been drinking when I read it . . . the correct answer came via FoxyLady, TJ, and Miss KUMD (who all, ironically, responded via e-mail instead of here in the comments section)!
So, drumroll, please . . . the answer is GROUSE! So simple, yet so elusive (the answer).
We've had more grouse drumming this spring than we've ever heard up here. Not a day goes by that we don't hear this display. As FoxyLady commented, it makes you wonder, too, how long they sit in one spot to make such a big pile! I wouldn't have been surprised had this been found below an old log (which is where they perch while drumming), but it was just out in the middle of the forest floor.
Hmph - learn somethin' new every day!
cool! you made gingerale!!
ReplyDeleteSail, yayyy homemade pop! :) I just gave further info about it in the comments section of the 'Tuesday's News' post.
ReplyDelete