Forest ranger Frans Kapteijns shares his knowledge of nature every week. Anyone can submit questions via [email protected]. This time Frans pays attention to, among other things, a lot of poop, two strange objects on a terrace and strange pictures. Part one of this Stuifmail was already published on Saturday.
There is also a new episode of the Stuifmail podcast every weekend. Listen to the podcast here:
What kind of objects are suddenly on the terrace?
Vic Huijgens found these two strange objects on the terrace under the roof tiles and he wanted to know what they were and whether they could do any harm. What he saw lying there are two starting nests of either a normal wasp or a German wasp, but it can’t do any harm anymore, because that has already happened for one of those two wasps.
Both starting nests were already on the ground and so they cannot be finished. If they had still been hanging under the roof tiles, well… then those starting nests could have become large nests.
Such a wasp nest is made of wood and they do this by tearing off pieces of wood from unprocessed posts or fences. They chew the wood fibers finely with their mandibles and mix it with their saliva to form paper pulp. They take the pulp ball with them and stick it in a place where it fits at that moment. Over time, a paper nest is created that can be the size of a rugby ball.
Queens of those paper wasps start building and so they look for a suitable place. Apparently the queens at Vic chose the wrong place, because the nests let go and they had to look for a better place.
Droppings on the lawn, whose are they?
Kees and Carla van Steen regularly find turds or droppings on their lawn. They wonder whether it could be from a cat, but at the same time write that in their opinion cats do not poop on the grass. What is it, they wonder.
At first I also thought of another perpetrator, but I think the feces in the photo is that of a cat. In addition, when I first lived in my house, I regularly found cat poop on my lawn. I now have an overgrown garden and I no longer have to worry about cat poop.
In addition to the feces on Kees and Carla’s lawn, I also see some dried grass and cats sometimes also eat grass, which they spit out again. Cats do this for various reasons. First of all, it removes hairballs and also helps with digestion. Grass can also provide important nutrients such as vitamin B and it can have a laxative effect.
Normally, a cat poop is firm, well-shaped, like a cigar. The color is usually chocolate brown and is neither too hard nor too soft. In principle the cigar does not fall apart, but if that does happen, as with Kees and Carla, then something is going on.
Feces in which the cat poop breaks up into pieces may be due to monotonous food, for example only chunks. This can cause constipation because there is too little fluid absorption.
Paw prints found during an early walk in the Masbos near Breda, who is the perpetrator?
Hugo Nagelkerke spotted a bunch of paw prints during an early walk in the mast forest near Breda last summer and wondered who they could be. He himself thought of a hedgehog, but I think these are prints of a beech marten or polecat.
The pictures are also not in order, as is the case with a walking track, which hedgehogs do. You only see individual prints. The shoe next to the pictures gives some indication, but it remains difficult, because what size shoe is it? I think the stone marten, pine marten and polecat all have those types of prints, but I think the stone marten has the best chance.
Also because things are going very well with stone martens in Brabant. The polecat is not doing so well. In addition, the polecat is more of an animal of wooded lowlands near water, including river banks and swamps. In winter, built-up areas are sought out and the polecat can be found near farms.
While the habitat of the stone marten is forest or forest edges. but close to humans. It is an animal that likes to live close to humans and often takes up residence in stables and barns, but also in houses, in the attic or in a cavity wall. Sometimes they also dig a burrow in the ground.
Found a pile in the driveway, whose is it?
Jan van Bussel found a ‘heap’ in his driveway, as he described it, and he wanted to know who the perpetrator was. I think the perpetrator is a hedgehog and therefore it is hedgehog poop. There are also eaten skins nearby and the hedgehog has eaten something tasty. What you can see are the empty skins of the larvae of a beetle or other insect.
Hedgehog poop is usually elongated in shape with often a point at the end. The color is usually dark, almost black and sometimes shiny. Sometimes such a turd falls apart into separate pieces, but that is not the case here.
If you were to open the turd a little, you might encounter indigestible insect remains, for example the chitin shells of beetles. These skins are often on the outside of the turd, but then the hedgehog must have eaten them.
The turds are usually not that large, with a length of 2 centimeters to a maximum of 6 centimeters. Hedgehogs are truly nocturnal animals and they like to live in a human environment and often leave their poop on the sidewalk, driveway or lawn.
Unique shot of six snow buntings in the sun at the Oesterdam (dam between Tholen and Zuid-Beveland), photo taken by Marianne Wijten-Navest.
Nature tip: Special walk through the heart of the Maashorst
Sunday morning, January 11 from nine o’clock
De Maashorst is the largest contiguous nature reserve in North Brabant. Discover the secrets of this nature reserve in an ancient landscape! Under the guidance of IVN nature guides, participants take a 12-kilometre tour, partly over uneven terrain, past cultural-historical pearls, unique geological phenomena and characteristic hamlets.
On discovery
During this walk we discover how the landscape of the Maashorst has been shaped over the centuries. The route goes through the hamlets of Loo, Bus, Menzel and Slabroek, where we also see the rounded fields. We stop at a prehistoric cemetery and walk through the Groote Wetering stream valley where water, flora and fauna together form a vibrant ecosystem.
A little further on we pass the Melle fault with the associated pointing grounds and then the Venloop where there is a small dam on our route. Here water management and nature management go hand in hand. In short, a more than fascinating tour! Well worth taking a walk…
More information
• Registration is not necessary
• Departure point De Maashorst Nature Center, Erenakkerstraat 5, 5388 SZ Nistelrode
• Walk is suitable for anyone with a good walking condition and an interest in nature, culture and landscape.
