Browsed by
Tag: animal tracking

Fisher Tracks

Fisher Tracks

I love the way everything looks immediately after it snows. The freshly blanketed world becomes a blank sheet of white paper and the animals and birds get to write the first lines of that day’s story with their tracks. Unfortunately, the snow on Cape Cod is long gone after a couple 50-degree rainy days last week, but I was able to do a little bit of exploring while it lasted. I encountered tracks of numerous species just within my own…

Read More Read More

10 ways to enjoy nature in winter

10 ways to enjoy nature in winter

This week marked our 3rd snowfall of the season, and winter technically doesn’t even start for another week (December 21st). The cold weather, snowy trails, and depressingly early sunsets have most people going from home to work (or school) and back again with little to no time spent outside in nature. But with a little planning and a slightly different approach spending time outside, even on cold winter days, it can still be enjoyable. Below I’ve compiled a list of…

Read More Read More

Animal Tracks: Eastern Gray Squirrel

Animal Tracks: Eastern Gray Squirrel

When conditions are right, spotting animal tracks becomes much easier. Wet sand or mud and fresh fallen snow are two of the best surfaces for capturing imprints. While some parts of New England received a foot or more of snow over the last day or two, here in Bourne we only received about 2 or 3 inches. With snow, less is often more when it comes to studying animal tracks. This morning, when I left the house for work, the…

Read More Read More

Animal tracks: Raccoon

Animal tracks: Raccoon

Thoughts of salt marsh wildlife typically evoke images of great blue herons, ospreys, hermit crabs and various species of fish. Seldom due people consider the mammals that inhabit a salt marsh, particularly during low tide when the exposed marsh platform and mud flats provide considerable opportunities for foraging, but many mammals do regularly utilize these habitats for foraging, including raccoons. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are found everywhere in Massachusetts, except on Nantucket. Although we’re all familiar with raccoons’ reputation as masked…

Read More Read More

Animal tracks in winter (3)

Animal tracks in winter (3)

Despite the occurrence of the vernal equinox tomorrow, it’s looking very un-spring-like outside these days – three nor’easters in three weeks and another one forecasted for Wednesday! While I am immensely looking forward to returning ospreys, blooming flowers, and green leaves on the trees, I also appreciate the insight snow can give us into animal presence and behavior. Previous posts have highlighted mammal sign left in fresh snow, including eastern cottontail and mouse tracks, as well as other sign left…

Read More Read More

Black Bear (Ursus americanus)

Black Bear (Ursus americanus)

Although black bears (Ursus americanus) spend the winter hibernating in New England, there are still opportunities to find signs of bear activity from previous seasons or previous years. For example, on a recent walk in Asheville, MA with naturalist and tracker Kathy Dean, we found a tree sprinkled with claw marks. Discovering a tree marked by a black bear climbing activity is not uncommon, since these animals are known to forage in oak trees for acorns, in beech trees for…

Read More Read More