The weather may be about to give a nod to that Christmas tune that describes it as frightful, but today is Valentine’s Day and, despite winter weather, love is in the air for wild things across Pennsylvania.
Here’s a look at some of them.
Common raven
The common raven, which is increasing its numbers and expanding its range, is another of Pennsylvania’s large, early-mating birds. Courtship displays, which include tumbling, soaring and somersaulting, first solo by the male and later as a pair, take place January into February.
The pair then mates in February or March and the female lays 2-7 eggs, which the adults will incubate for 20-25 days.
A mated pair will remain together for as long as both partners are alive.
Beaver
Often while in their ice- and snow-bound lodges, beavers mate in January and February. Litters of 20 kits are born in May or June, and the babies are miniature versions of their parents, able to enter the water within a few hours. But their anal glands, where they get the “grease” to waterproof their fur, won’t be functional for another 3-4 weeks, meaning they are reluctant swimmers at that early age.
Bald eagle
Bald eagle pairs across Pennsylvania are in the final throws of courtship and eggs will be appearing in nests into early March.
For example, at the nest at Codorus State Park near Hanover that is livestreamed from HDOnTap webcams, eggs have been laid from February 10-23 in the past 4 years.
Donald Lowe
Bobcat
Bobcats mate from mid-February through early March, with a male roaming as far as 20 miles in a single night in search of a receptive females, which he will leave soon after. The male does not help with raising the cubs, which will be born 50-60 days after mating, in a den in a rock crevice, cave or hollow log lined with dry leaves and mosses.
Barred owl
Although barred owls call year-round, during the mating season in February males chase females issuing a range of hooting and screeching calls. Males also display on branches, which they slide along, while raising their wings and swaying back and forth. Courtship food-sharing and mutual preening also takes places.
Red fox
Foxes, both red and gray, can be heard barking at night just now, as they attempt to make their presence known to members of the opposite sex. After breeding in February, red fox kits will be born about 51 days later in dens in expanded groundhog holes or hollow logs.
Gray fox
Gray fox kits will be born about 53 days after mating in dens that also might be placed on rocky ledges.
Kits of both species will remain in the den for about a month. They will forage with their parents until August or September, when they will leave the den area.
Great horned owl
The great horned owl usually mates in December or early January, but the female lays her 2-3 eggs at intervals of several days in February.
The eggs hatch in a month or so and the young owls will spend the next 3 months confined to the nest.
Opossum
Breeding seasons for Pennsylvania’s only pouched mammal, the opossum, which produces 2 or 3 litters of babies per year, are late January through late March. Hairless, still-developing babies are born just 12-13 days after mating.
Mink
The mating season for minks is just getting under way. It can run right through April.
It’s a violent process, with the male pouncing on the female, clamping his teeth into the nape of her neck and pinning her down for the act, before moving on in search of another female.
Raccoon
Although raccoons spend particularly inclement periods of winter in relative inactivity, they also breed in January through February and then give birth to litters of 3-5 cubs about 2 months later.
The mother raccoon starts to wean the cubs at about 8 weeks. By 3-4 months they are matured to the point that they can be on their own, but they usually remain with their mother through their first winter.
Coyote
While February is the peak of the organized coyote hunt season in Pennsylvania, it’s also a big part of the animal’s breeding season, which runs from late December through March.
Bred females will give birth to 4-6 pups in early spring. Both parents will care for the young coyotes, often with the help of older offspring, forming into a pack.
Groundhog
Males groundhog rouse from hibernation in mid- to late February and begin their annual searches for mates. Even with snow still on the ground, they will travel – sometimes surprisingly long distances – throughout their range to inspect the dens of females to see if they are still occupied and to locate other males that might be encroaching on their territory.
The males then return to their own dens for a few more weeks of sleep, before emerging for the season in early March, when the females also emerge for mating.
Striped skunk
While striped skunks roam the countryside of Pennsylvania throughout the year, the females enter estrus in February, sending males into a frenzy of activity, chasing down every promising hormone trail.
River otter
In Pennsylvania river otters mate from January through May, usually while in the water. Like many other mustelids, female otters have delayed implantation, with the fertilized eggs remaining dormant in the uterus until the following December through February. The eggs then attach to the uterine wall and begin their development. Litters of 1-5 pups are born about 2 months later.
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