Friends of Murphys Point Park

This week’s #SpeciesOfTheWeek is the Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus)! Named for their large, snowshoe-esque paws, Snowshoe Hares are well-adapted to walking on snow during winter. Their fur also changes colour in winter to blend in better with the snow – but the tips of their ears are always black, a helpful identification tip. It takes them about 10 weeks to fully change colour, so we could be seeing cute mid-change hares like the one in the second image very soon! You might wonder why they’re called hares and not rabbits – hares are much bigger than rabbits, and flee when threatened, while rabbits will often just freeze. Snowshoe Hares are omnivores, consuming mostly plants in the summer months and twigs, branches and bark in the winter, occasionally switching it up with a small mammal (like a vole or a mouse). They breed multiple times a year, and females can have up to 3 litters per summer, each of which can include up to 13 babies! Unlike rabbits, which are helpless at birth, hares are born with their eyes open, fully furred and ready to run. They can live up to 6 years, but due to predation and disease, few live more than 2-4 years. Snowshoe Hares can be found almost everywhere in Canada, and at Murphys Point, we often see them near the Lally Homestead and along the Silver Queen Mine Trail. 

Happy #FernFriday! Our species this week is the Northern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum). The name derives from its dark, slender stipes (stalks that connect leaf blades to stems) which resemble wisps of a young woman’s hair. Interestingly, the stipes have been used in basketry as a weaving material. The dark colour creates a nice contrast against cedar roots or sweetgrass, both of which are commonly used in basketry. The fronds (divided leaves) are resistant to rain — appearing dry even after a hard rainfall, and their broad fan-like pattern is unique among native fern species. This delicate perennial is relatively common in the park and can be found on many of the hiking trails and throughout the campgrounds!

This week is dedicated to the Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)! Sometimes called the Red-spotted Newt, these amphibians are common at Murphys Point. They go through three life stages — larval, juvenile (when they are known as red eft), and adult. Individuals move from the water upon reaching the red eft stage, and back to the water once fully mature. Pictured here is an adult. It has dull, olive green skin with black-rimmed red spots that warn predators of toxins within its skin. Interestingly, Garter Snakes are immune to Eastern Newts’ lethal toxins. Their warning spots appear at the red eft stage and remain for the newt’s lifetime — close to ten years in the wild! These amphibians are carnivorous — they feed on a variety of insects and aquatic organisms that live in or near their wetland habitat. Like Salmon, Eastern Newts return to the same body of water where they were born to reproduce.