The Bald Eagle Searches for Open Water

Eagles that breed here in Wisconsin have been slowly making their way south as water bodies freeze and hunting becomes difficult. Biologists are not positive where our breeding eagles move to in winter, but they think they end up along the Mississippi and Lower Wisconsin Rivers. These birds often congregate together in large groups in order to share roosting and feeding areas. In just a few short months (February), these birds will begin to build their nests in preparation for breeding in early spring.

Hear this bird's call: Macauly Library

Learn more: Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Star-nosed Moles

We rarely think about the tiny creatures living below our feet, but the star-nosed mole is definitely worth mentioning. They are only about 6 inches long and covered in thick brown fur. The fact that they have tiny ears and eyes doesn't matter to them, because they have possibly the best sense of touch of any mammal! The star-nosed mole gets its name from the 22 pink tentacles around its nose. Each of these tentacles is covered with hundreds of thousands of tiny sensors that allow the mole to identify its prey entirely by feel in 1/2 a second!

Right now, this mole is busily adding fat to its tiny frame. It will actually store a special energy-rich fat called brown fat in its tail to help it through the winter. Its diet includes insects, earthworms, aquatic invertebrates, and small fish. Star-nosed moles have such a high metabolism that they need to search for food both day and night in order to survive. The mole spends most of the winter in underground tunnels, and will sometimes curl up with other moles for warmth.

Learn more (this has great video footage of a mole hunting):

http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=103086&org=BIO

See a mole skull:  Animal Diversity Web

Compare your senses

Sight: Birds of prey have phenomenal long-range eyesight. An eagle's eyesight, for example, is at least 4 times better than ours. American kestrels can even see in the ultra violet light range, allowing them to follow the urine trails of small mammals.

Smell: Members of the canine family such as coyotes and foxes have noses that are a million times more sensitive to odors than ours. It helps that they have about 25 times the number of olfactory (smell) receptors that we do. Another helpful factor is that their noses are constantly wet. A wet nose picks up more scent molecules than a dry one. You can test this out by dabbing a bit of water on your own nose and comparing your smell-ability.

Taste: If you were a butterfly, bee, or housefly, your taste receptors would be on your feet instead of in your mouth. This helps them quickly decide what plants to feed on, as well as which ones are best for laying their eggs.

Hearing: Owls have an amazing sense of hearing. Barn owls, for example, can catch their prey in complete darkness using only their ears. Snowy owls can catch prey under almost ten inches of snow with their incredible hearing!

Touch: The star-nosed mole may win the prize for best sense of touch, but many nocturnal creatures also rely on this sense. Skunks and raccoons, for example, use their whiskers to help them avoid obstacles and search for food in the dark. Imagine their whiskers working as your outstretched hands might if you were trying to find your way through a pitch-black room.