Wing Marks

The Helena valley has been seeing temps dropping into the single digits overnight and struggling to rise to much more than mid-20’s (around -6c) during the day. That’s not overly cold, but we’ve also been seeing dips into the single digits below zero (around -20c) every 7-10 days as well. When the cold goes below 0f (-18c) it makes the walking a bit hard on the Lab.

Two good things have come from the cold snaps, though.

The first is, I’ve spent a lot more time lately cleaning up the websites. I’ve updated several sections with images, and each of the nearly 500 entires in NatureMT.com now have active links to the Montana Field Guide for easy access to more info about the species that live in Montana.

The other is that the trails are amazing right now. I’m not sure when the last daytime temp over 32f (0c) occurred. So that means all the walking that people have been doing has made for miles of well packed, snowy trails all over the south hills. It also means that no ice has formed on the surface of those trails. 

And no icy crust on the blanket of snow.

Right now, the snow is perfect for capturing an ongoing record of each animal that passes and each bird that lands. I’ve seen more wing marks in the snow this month than any January that I can remember. It’s fascinating to see the physical imprints that remain in the snow.

One of the imprints clearly shows where the bird’s legs poked holes in the snow when it landed, and where the wings left marks when it departed.

We are supposed to get a bit more snow in the next week, and the temps are predicted to drop back down below zero for a couple of days.

I’m not looking forward to the disruption in the Labrador’s daily routine, but I am looking forward to the fresh canvas of smooth snow and the record of daily activity that it will provide.