Last night Laura was awakened by a blood-curdling animal sound outside her window. Investigation revealed a dark brown cat-like animal within 10 feet of the house. I am sure it was a fisher cat. Fisher cats (or just fishers to most people outside New England) make a most distinctive sound: "Fishers are also known for one of their calls, which is often said to sound like a child screaming, and can be mistaken for someone in dire need of help."
Fisher cats are not uncommon at all now in Vermont, but I do not remember ever hearing about them when I was growing up on the farm. There are a number of animal species that are common in Vermont now, but that were rare or nonexistent when I was growing up. And I cannot think of a single animal species that was common in Vermont when I was growing up that is not still common. Some people say the environment is going to hell in a handbasket, but they must be using different evidence.
Following are some examples that come to mind. Please feel free to add your thoughts, examples or counter-examples in the comments. "Then" refers to growing up on the farm in the 1960s and 1970s, five miles from where we live now.
Bald eagles – Then: Not present at all. Now: Not uncommon along rivers and lakes. I have seen several.
Bears – Then: Uncommon. People saw bears only in the deep woods. Now: Not uncommon at all. I still have not seen one in Vermont, but many people do. Emily and Nancy saw one crossing our front yard a few years ago.
Beavers – Then: Rare. Now: Not uncommon at all. I have seen them in the Lamoille River and at Green River Reservoir. Sometimes a nuisance.
Bluebirds – Then: Very rare. I think Mother thought she saw one once or twice, and was ecstatic. Now: Moderately common. We have had some nest in our backyard on occasion. I’ve heard people also say that cardinals are more common now, although I’m not enough of a birdwatcher to opine on the subject.
Catamounts – Then: Not present at all. Long thought extinct in this part of the country. Of course, they used to be common, otherwise they would not be the mascot for UVM sports teams. Now: There are numerous unconfirmed sightings reported in the press. I have not seen one myself.
Coyotes – Then: Not present at all. Now: Very common. Can frequently hear them at night in the spring and summer. Have occasionally seen them, even in our backyard, in spite of their shyness. Somewhat of a problem with eating domestic pets such as cats.
Fisher cats – Then: Never heard of them. Now: Hear about them frequently, especially about them eating domestic pets such as cats. Roger Allen has trapped several.
Loons – Then: Not present at all. Now: Very common on Green River Reservoir. I have seen them there and at Lake Carmi.
Moose – Then: Not present at all. Now: Very common. I have seen several. There is a hunting season. People are not infrequently killed in traffic collisions.
Peregrine falcons – Then: Not present at all. Now: Several nesting pairs in Smugglers Notch each year (nearby hiking trails are closed in the spring). They also like to live on skyscrapers in cities. So much for needing wild habitat.
Turkeys – Then: Not present at all. Now: Very common. We have seen them in our backyard. There is a hunting season.
Why are more animal species present now? It is mostly because the forest has returned. Vermont was originally forested, but the early settlers cut the trees down for potash. Vermont remained mostly open through the sheep era and the early dairy era, but the forest has begun to return in the last century. Vermont is about 5.9 million acres. In 1910 Vermont had 4 million acres of cropland and pastureland. In other words, Vermont was 68% open land. In 2002, the latest Census of Agriculture, Vermont had only 650,000 acres of cropland and pastureland--only 11% open land. A small portion of that open land was developed, but most of it reverted to forest. (For more info, click here and also see the first comment on this post.)
About that fisher cat last night...it did not seem too concerned by humans in the house. It stayed around a short while, even after Laura turned on the outside lights, and eventually wandered off.
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2 comments:
Uh, Laura and Nancy think that in the interest of full disclosure, I should admit that I did not actually get up to see this fisher cat. Nancy did. And, of course, Laura did. Laura was the only one to hear it. It did not make any more sounds after Nancy got up.
(Nancy and I have heard fisher cats in the night before. It's an unforgettable sound.)
Nancy and Laura report that the fisher cat sat on our walk, watching the garage. We had cleaned out the garage that day. I wonder if we disturbed a mouse population, which caught its attention.
Regarding bird species, the Burlington Free Press published this article on April 28. It is about the 2nd Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas, conducted 25 years after the first Atlas in the early 1980s.
The print edition of the Free Press article (but not the online edition) lists 14 species found in the 1st Atlas and not found in the 2nd Atlas: red-breasted merganser, cattle egret, northern pintail, American coot, gray partridge, barn owl, short-eared owl, common nighthawk, loggerhead shrike, redheaded woodpecker, Cape May warbler, bay-breasted warbler, Wilson's warbler and Tennessee warbler.
The article says there were 17 species found in the 2nd Atlas but not the 1st Atlas, but the sidebar in the print edition lists 18 species if I have my commas in the right place and counted right: bald eagle, osprey, peregrine falcon, great egret, double-breasted cormorant, sandhill crane, Caspian tern, black-backed gull, ring-necked duck, tufted titmouse, merlin, ring-necked pheasant, red-bellied woodpecker, fish crow, palm warbler, clay-colored sparrow, white-winged crossbill and red crossbill.
The Atlas is online (see link above), but I cannot find these lists at that web site.
In short, this Atlas does not support my dramatic conclusions that there are lots more species around now. The Atlas appears to show about as many new or increasing species as absent or declining species. But I still stand by my examples.
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