The more you know

Snakes are unique in shedding their skin all at once in a process called ecdysis. They do this because their skin doesn’t grow with them, so it becomes too tight or worn out. Shedding also helps remove parasites. Younger snakes shed more often while adults shed a few times a year. Before shedding, their skin may appear dull and their eyes cloudy. They start the process by rubbing against rough surfaces. The shed skin can reveal scale patterns and even the snake’s species.

Insects from the order Orthoptera, such as crickets, katydids, and grasshoppers, rub two body parts together to produce sound in a process called stridulation. Insects communicate through song to attract mates, to give directions, to claim territories, or to signal danger. Hairs located on their bodies can pick up sounds and help determine where they are coming from. Some insects use vibrations felt in their leg joints to hear. Others have tympanal organs that process vibrati

Opossums cannot hang by their tails for long because their tails are not strong enough to support their weight. They use them to climb and balance but not for sleeping upside down. One real but rare behavior is playing dead. When threatened some opossums enter a catatonic state and appear lifeless to avoid predators. This usually happens in younger animals while most prefer to run away when scared.

Dew is moisture that forms because of condensation, when water vapor turns into water. Whether dew forms depend on how cloudy the sky was the night before. Dew is most likely in the morning following a warm, sunny day that led into a cooler night with clear skies. Dew point is the temperature at which dew will form and varies depending on factors like air temperature, time of day and location. The dew point is the temperature air needs to be cooled to for the humidity to be 1

Scientists who study dendrochronology use a special tool called an increment borer to cut out a thin chunk of a tree to count its number of rings to determine the tree’s age. Tree rings grow in relation to the weather, so a lot can be told about past climate conditions. You can use math to get a close estimate of a tree’s age by measuring the tree’s circumference to find its diameter. You can then multiply the diameter by the tree’s growth factor based off its species type.

Bullfrogs and green frogs can both be found in our ponds and look very similar to one another. Key differences include size, ridges, and their songs. Bullfrogs are bigger in size, growing up to 6 inches long, have ridges, formally known as dorsolateral folds, that wrap around their ears, and males have a deep pitched song. Green frogs are smaller, growing up to 3 ½ inches long, have ridges that go from the back of their head down to their legs, and males have a single note so

The common myth that mothers will abandon their baby birds or eggs after being touched by a human is not true. Given their poor sense of smell, mothers cannot smell a human’s touch. If a nestling is found on the ground, gently pick it up and place it in its nest. If a fledgling is found on the ground, no human intervention is needed. If you are ever unsure of what to do, ask your parents for help or ask them to contact a local wildlife rehabilitation center.

Birds have a special voice box called a syrinx, allowing them to sing two notes at once. Some, like wood thrushes and northern cardinals, create complex songs. Mimics like mockingbirds, catbirds and blue jays can copy other birds and even animals. The superb lyrebird can even imitate man-made sounds like chainsaws. Try listening to bird songs, recording them or singing along to discover the amazing voices of birds around you.