_Aquatic habitat_:
_Mustela vison mink._ Mink. Reported.
_Fiber zibethicus zibethicus._ Muskrat. Reported.
Mink and muskrat are reported by residents to occur in the Galien
River in and near Warren Woods, but I was unable to secure any
specimens though traps were set for them; neither did I see any signs
of their presence.
_Buttonbush-swamp habitat_:
_Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis._ Northern white-footed
mouse. 8.
_Mus musculus musculus._ House mouse. 2.
A large buttonbush swamp occurs in the preserve just south of the
Galien River, but around this the native trees have been cut away and
over its accessible edges it has been heavily pastured, so that it is
not at all in its natural conditions, and it was not trapped. In the
unpastured flood-plain north of the river there is another buttonbush
swamp of several hundred yards extent. This latter area was the one
selected for study.
In this typical swamp the buttonbush, _Cephalanthus occidentalis_, is
practically the only plant present. It thickly covers the area with
its tangled branches, which grow to heights of four to ten feet. The
water had drained away in August, leaving the ground bare, though
still wet and soft. Under the cover of the buttonbush there is no
herbage whatever, and upon the ground there are only a few decaying
logs and a few small sticks, which often carry a light growth of moss.
Around the edges of this swamp there is a narrow belt of thick herbage,
closely encroached upon by the typical forest of the flood-plain.
Fifty mouse traps set in this habitat took eight northern white-footed
mice and two house mice the first night, August 5.
_Shore habitat_:
_Procyon lotor lotor._ Raccoon. Tracks.
_Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis._ Northern white-footed
mouse. 1.
Along the shores of the Galien River a narrow strip of bare ground was
exposed in July and August. The ground of this strip is mostly mud,
but in a few places it is sand or gravel. Usually the habitat is
narrow, but in some places it is five to ten feet wide.
Tracks of raccoon were frequent on the shore along the river. From a
few mouse traps set on the bare mud shore one northern white-footed
mouse was taken August 4 beside a drift log.
_Mud-bar herbage habitat_:
_Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis._ Northern white-footed
mouse. 4.
A few small recently formed mud bars occur along the Galien River in its
outer bends. These bars have not yet had time to become forested, and on
their outer edges nearest the river there is usually no vegetation, this
part being included in the shore habitat. On their older portions next
the forest of the flood-plains occurs a thick growth of herbs, several
annual grasses, and rarely a willow, _Salix_ sp., or a seedling tree of
white elm, _Ulmus americana_, cottonwood, _Populus deltoides_, maple,
_Acer rubrum_ or _saccharinum_, and others of the typical flood-plain
species. The vegetation during August is very thick, and reaches a
height of four to six feet. The soil is either mud or in a few places
fine sand, and the ground is quite moist.
In this habitat four northern white-footed mice were trapped August 3-4.
_Flood-plain forest habitat_:
_Scalopus aquaticus machrinus._ Prairie mole. Ridges.
_Blarina brevicauda talpoides._ Short-tailed shrew. 4.
_Procyon lotor lotor._ Raccoon. 1.
_Mustela noveboracensis noveboracensis._ New York weasel. 1.
_Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis._ Northern white-footed
mouse. 52.
_Microtus pinetorum scalopsoides._ Northern pine vole. 5.
_Mus musculus musculus._ House mouse. 2.
_Zapus hudsonius hudsonius._ Hudson Bay jumping mouse. 1.
_Erethizon dorsatum dorsatum._ Canada porcupine. Tooth marks.
_Marmota monax monax._ Southern woodchuck. 4.
_Sciurus hudsonicus loquax._ Southern red squirrel. 4.
_Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsii._ Mearns cottontail. 1.
There are considerable areas of flood-plain along the Galien River, and
except for the recently formed mud bars the flood-plains are heavily
covered with a mixed forest in which the linden, _Tilia americana_,
white elm, _Ulmus americana_, and sycamore, _Platanus occidentalis_, are
conspicuous species. Under this forest there are a few small trees, but
there is very little underbrush. The herbage also is sparse and, though
in a few places there is a considerable growth of ferns, grasses, and
sedges, and of other herbs, there are also many bare areas.
One of the significant features of the flood-plains, so far as the
mammals are concerned, is the flooding to which these areas are
subjected during the spring high-water. At that time the flood-plain for
a number of days or weeks may be covered with several feet of water.
During the period between July 29 and August 28 a total of one hundred
and seventy mouse traps set in the flood-plain forests along the
Galien River took for the first nights' trapping, twenty-two northern
white-footed mice and one house mouse. Short-tailed shrews, more
white-footed mice, pine voles, and a jumping mouse were secured on
nights after the first. Larger traps took during the whole period one
raccoon, one New York weasel, and two woodchucks. Several other
woodchucks and a number of red squirrels were seen. Ridges of moles
were numerous, but no specimens were secured. Tooth marks on an old,
partly fallen linden were probably made, perhaps a number of years
ago, by a porcupine.
Throughout the woods there are a number of small ravines. These
ravines are forested with trees mostly of the flood-plain type, and
there is evidence in many of the ravines, at least in their lower
parts, that flooding occurs in the ravine bottom during the spring.
Fifty mouse traps set August 26 in a large ravine north of the county
road took on the first day five northern white-footed mice and one
house mouse. Short-tailed shrews, more white-footed mice, and pine
voles were trapped on following days. Here also red squirrels and a
cottontail were seen, and tracks of raccoon noted. Evidently the fauna
is the same as that of the flood-plain, with which it is here included.
_Beech-maple forest habitat_:
_Blarina brevicauda talpoides._ Short-tailed shrew. 7.
_Procyon lotor lotor._ Raccoon. Tracks.
_Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis._ Northern white-footed
mouse. 86.
_Microtus pinetorum scalopsoides._ Northern pine vole. 5.
_Zapus hudsonius hudsonius._ Hudson Bay jumping mouse. 1.
_Marmota monax monax._ Southern woodchuck. Burrows.
_Tamias striatus lysteri._ Northeastern chipmunk. 1.
_Sciurus hudsonicus loquax._ Southern red squirrel. 10.
_Sciurus niger rufiventer._ Fox squirrel. 7.
_Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsii._ Mearns cottontail. 1.
The climax forest of the region is dominated by the beech, _Fagus
grandiflora_, and the sugar maple, _Acer saccharum_. The trees in this
forest are very large, so that the forest crown is high and the shade
dense. Only a few small trees occur and these are mostly young beeches
and young sugar maples. The underbrush varies much in height and
denseness; mostly it is quite open, so that one can easily walk
through the forest, but in a few places the growth is more dense.
Common members of the underbrush on the higher ground are the small
beeches, sugar maples, and the spice-bush, _Benzoin aestivale_; while
on the lower benches along the river seedlings of the paw-paw dominate
the undergrowth. The ground is heavily covered by decaying leaves and
a little dead brush and fallen branches, but nearly all the logs have
been removed. Early in the spring a thick growth of herbs covers the
ground, but by July the herbs are mostly gone, only a few remaining,
and there are many small bare areas covered only by leaves. The soil
under this forest seems to be mainly clay; in spring or after heavy
rains pools of water are formed, and these remain for a long time.
Between July 21 and August 27 a total of two hundred and eighty-five
mouse traps set in the upland forest took on the first nights one
short-tailed shrew and thirty northern white-footed mice. In addition
to these species pine voles and a jumping mouse were trapped on days
after the first. One shrew was caught alive August 30, as he was
running about on the forest floor at 7:30 A.M. A few tracks of raccoon
were seen from time to time on the road leading through the woods. A
few fresh burrows of woodchucks were noted at the edges of benches and
of ravines. A few red squirrels were seen at different times and two
collected. Fox squirrels were rare, being noted only a few times; Mr.
Norman A. Wood also saw these squirrels on two occasions in May. One
cottontail was shot, in the climax forest. Mr. Wood collected a
chipmunk in the climax forest on May 15, 1918, and saw another in the
same habitat in May, 1919.
_Aerial habitat_:
Bats were seen on a few evenings, flying about over the climax forest,
and over the adjacent region, but they were extremely rare, and
efforts to shoot a specimen failed.