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Bark was removed from a large portion of this curl-leaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) trunk. Possible culprits include rabbits and porcupines. The lines of holes above the stripped area were probably made by woodpeckers.
Sagebrush, mountain mahogany, juniper. Near large rock outcroppings.
There was still 1-2 feet of snow in shady areas when I saw this in May, but sunny areas were clear of snow.
Spotted on May 12, 2011
Submitted on Sep 21, 2011
3 Comments
Makes sense. I updated this spotting and changed it to the mammals category. Thanks S Frazier.
Great sign of wildlife! Now we need to decide where it goes. Mammals and birds have been mentioned. I would choose one or the other for the category but information on both is acceptable and indeed desirable in the description and notes fields. The "other" category refers to "other organisms" that are not covered in the existing categories. Some examples of "other": clams, snails, worms, squid, starfish and ... others ;-)
Many animals will eat the bark from trees, porcupines do, but I would expect it to be higher they generally climb the tree.....deer will eat bark during harsh winters and food is scarce but the marks look like it may be a smaller animal. My guess by looking at the brush behind it is that the brush created an area under the winter snow where rabbits could take refuge and the tree provided a meal or two.
On another note the lines of holes are bird peck..... probably woodpeckers or sapsuckers