Observations: February 8, 1995 Time: 4:20 pm Weather: brisk cold, snow cover

The Tiny King In the shelter of the dense conifer trees, a very tiny olive-coloured bird flits from branch to branch. What makes this male bird easy to spot is a tiny orange circle on the very top of its head, outlined with black and then circled again with yellow, like a crown. This special feathered marking gives the bird its name, Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa.) Its other distinctive markings are a whitish stripe like an eyebrow over each eye, and two white bands on each wing. These tiny active birds live on insects found, even in winter, among the conifers in Irving Nature Park.
Three Spruce in Winter In winter it's difficult to identify the different kinds of spruce trees because they are very similar. Look closely at the bark, leaves and fruit. Conifers have "needle-like"" leaves and cones (fruits) that help show the differences.
Red Spruce (Picea rubens) has reddish brown scaly bark and shiny curved yellowish-green needles. Its cones are egg-shaped, and about 3.5 -5 cm long ( 1.5 - 2 inches ).
	Black Spruce (Picea mariana) also has scaly bark but its colour is greyish brown. Its needles are straight, blunt and dull blue-green. The cone is shorter, no more than 2.5 cm., and forms a ball when open.
White Spruce (Picea glauca) has scaly bark that looks brownish-grey or silvery. Its needles are straight, four-sided, blue-green and pointed. The cone is long, 3.5-5 cm and shaped like a cylinder.
Clever, Shy and Wary Late in the afternoon along the edge of the woods or through a clearing you may catch a glimpse of red fox (Vulpes fulra) as it begins its evening search for food. In the winter red fox prowl the marshlands and wooded edges of Irving Nature Park for mice, snowshoe hare or even berries. Because foxes are very shy, all you will see is a flash of silky reddish-orange fur as it runs through a clearing. This slender animal, the size and shape of a small dog, has a pointed nose, triangular ears and bushy red tail with a white tip. Marshlands are hunting grounds for food such as voles that the fox will stalk. A plump waterfowl would be an excellent meal too. Notice how the fox in this illustration has tracked mice footprints to a hidden hole. The fox is jumping in the air to break away the snow. Then with its front paws the fox will dig the mice out of their holes under the snow. Winter (January-February) is the key breeding period for fox. Usually a vixen (female fox) will have four to five cubs born in the early spring.

The Naturalist's Notebook is published quarterly. If you have any questions or topics that you would like to see addressed, please call John Gilbert, Manager, Fish and Wildlife, J.D. Irving, Limited, (506) 632-7777.