Tracking – Page 2 – Forest Wolf Programs

Being Wrong, Skunk Tracks

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Andy Dobos

Three Red Trees lead a tracking walk at White Memorial Conservation Center a few days ago. I had gone ahead to scout and found these tracks pictured here. They were quite small and covered some distance in the open. They were beautiful and I was excited. I thought they were Longtailed Weasel and told the group so when they came later. I even convinced Deneen. We both thought on first seeing them that they were skunk but they were so small, much smaller looking that all the other skunk tracks we had been seeing recently that I called it wrong. It was not until I got home and looked at these pictures without the pressure of an audience, that I saw that the foot morphology was all wrong for weasel and all right for skunk.

In my defense the first bit of track I came across was this confusing section below that I mistook for some sort of 3 by 4 bound. I still don’t know what was going on there.

Mouse or Vole?

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Andy Dobos

I struggle with differentiating mouse from vole tracks when behavioral clues are not obvious. Voles, at least the commonest of souther New England, baseline movement (sometime known as harmonic gate) is a trot while mice move in a bound most of the time. Of course they are each capable of both gates as well as others. There are distinctions in the foot morphology but I have not looked at enough clear tracks of these species to reliably see these differences with confidence.

The creature in these pictures moved in a protected area close to cover most likely exploring the cracks and holes in the frozen sand at the bottom of a big eroded drainage. All kinds of things blow in there from the sand barren-like wild blueberry fields above.

The measurements I took fit into several mouse and vole species. Some of the morphology is apparent but not consistent. In some sets the right foot looks different than the left.

If I have it right the toes of voles show more connection to the pads giving them a finger like appearance. I don’t really see that in these tracks. These do however walk a great deal like a vole is more likely to do.

There were a few bounds mixed in as well.

Every time I think I got this tracking thing licked I find something else to learn.

Skunk Tracks Through the Yard

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Andy Dobos

Woke up the other day to these wonderful tracks outside the house. A skunk, no doubt looking for a mate, galloped down the path from the driveway past the basement door. I can tell its a lope because to start with the track pattern is in a broken rhythm, there is a space between each set of four. The next thing to look for is where the front and hind feet fall in relation to each other. Above the tracks of the hind feet both land past the tracks of the front feet. In the below photo one hind foot does not land past both front feet but beside it. That is a lope.

What does it matter? Well it is reflection of how the animal is moving and possibly its state of urgency. Often in tracking information can be hard to come by and any more of it is welcome.

March 9 we are leading a free tracking walk at White Memorial Nature Center in Litchfield CT. Come learn more about tracking with us.

Coyote Foot Study

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Andy Dobos

This poor animal was hit and killed by a car. Tragic and unnecessary though this death was (there are plenty of ways for a young animal to die with out us adding speeding vehicle to the list) a Naturalist lets no opportunity for learning go by. Studying the feet of animals take us a long way in the journey of tracking. Drawing the structure and textures, where fur is present, the overall shape of a foot all are important.

Above is the front foot of a female Eastern Coyote, below the hind foot. I did not have the opportunity to measure this animal but she was not large. The feet are so symmetrical that I have lost track of whether they are right or left. Being early in the winter there is a lot more fur between the toes than there might be the rest of the year, but nothing like a Red Fox has.

Some people may say good riddance to the coyote but I find their presence here rewarding. They live as families just like us.

Goldfinch Nest

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Andy Dobos

Birds nest identification turns out to be tricky. This nest was about 10 or 12 feet up in a Quaking Aspen sapling.

As you can see it was beautifully crafted by what we came to conclude where Goldfinches, out of strips of bark and thistle or milkweed down (both where abundant). It was in a managed successional field with nearby wetland and forest, prime habitat for Goldfinches. The other possibility we considered was Yellow Warbler but it seemed to far from the water.

We took this nest down to get a better look. The tree we cut the branches from was doomed to the brush cutter as the area is kept clear to create a specific habitat. Collecting birds nests is illegal without a permit.

Bobcat Scent Marking Behavior

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Andy Dobos

In an area known as Catlin Woods in White Memorial we came across this Bobcat trail.

Upon following it we found many scent markings. It seemed to go from one to another, not more than a couple dozen yards apart. I never think to measure or count these things but there were at least 7 or 8 within 75 yards or so.

Below is a nice section of a walking pattern. Bobcats will often use an overstep walk as well as this direct registering walking pattern. You can really see the wideness of the trail here, indicating the wide body of the animal. A fox walking leaves a much narrower trail in proportion to its tracks and stride (length between each step).

As evidenced by these tracks the animal would aim its back end at a stump or log and spray it with scent. When we put our noses to it there was a definite catty musk.

Even though the spray seems to have come out the back side it is my understanding that does not contraindicate a male. The size of the tracks and frequency of marking lead me to believe is was indeed a male, though I cannot be certain.

Hunting Crow

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Andy Dobos

I did not think of Crows as hunters until I did some research after finding these tracks. Apparently Crows are known to hunt. These pictures show the trail of what is probably a Meadow Vole but could be a mouse, disappear into the talons of an American Crow. Look closely at the bottom of the frame in the picture below.

We could tell it was a crow by the, size, robustness and arrangement of toes. The two inside upper toes are closer together than the outer.

Short Tailed Weasel Hunting Sign

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Andy Dobos

Above is the trail of a vole moving toward the camera from a gallop to a trot. This is most likely a Meadow Vole. Many voles travel by trotting about, speeding up when feeling vulnerable which I am sure this animal did. Voles much prefer moving about under the snow, for some reason on this day we saw many tracks on the surface of the golf course where these picture were taken.

Not far away we spotted this unique disturbance in the beautiful snow. From a distance I suspected an owl or hawk had pounced on a vole or mouse under the snow (in the subnivian layer) which would explain the lack of tracks coming from or going to this sign of life and death struggle.

On closer approach no feather marks or bird tracks, only marks of a violent struggle and a lot of blood for a little creature to loose. Short-tailed Weasels, also known as Ermines are energetic predators who are so slight of build they can hunt in the snow tunnels of voles and mice, in this case chasing one to the surface to kill it. One can see tail marks at the edges of the disturbance and obscure footprints inside of it (below).

We found further evidence of a small weasels presence in the area about a hundred yards away in the tracks below. A classic 2 by 2 lope with a tiny trail width (smallest measure was 1 1/4 inch wide, most 1 1/2, tracks 3/4 or less wide)

What a cool and amazing thing to see.

Wrens and Animal Tracks

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Andy Dobos

On a short walk New Years Day I came across the tracks of an Opossum also taking a short walk. Opossum don’t like deep snow and this one did not spend much time in it, coming out only to circle around the pile of construction debris it seems to be wintering under.

The picture above shows a good front foot track.

While looking at the tracks I heard what at first sounded a lot like a tree frog, a loud twittering call coming closer. I am not an experienced birder so was eager to see who the sound was attached to. This little Carolina Wren (or so I identified it as, please correct me if I am wrong) came right up to me singing away. It changed its song from the twitter to several other call like sounds which may have been alarms or scolding calls at me.

I had been scolded before by a pair of wrens at my old sit spot so was expecting this one’s partner to come along to check me out as before. When the bird pictured below showed up seconds after the first one left I assumed in my ignorance it was the mate of the first. It had a different call but I assumed that it was the female and had a less flashy vocalization.

Turns out it was a different species altogether, Winter Wren. They were the only birds I saw that day.

In the woods were some Bobcat tracks.

And these turkey tracks.

They are quite “K” shaped. That shape is usually ascribed to Zygodactyl footed birds like Owl’s and (at least some) Woodpeckers. This created some doubt for me but shortly I found long strides over a great distance, something only a ground bird would leave behind.

Bobcat and Coyote Tracks

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Andy Dobos

The sun a snow were great again yesterday. I saw many tracks of coyote and bobcat as well as mice and squirrels. Most were older. Above and below is a coyote’s scent mark on a raised area of snow.

Below a bobcat trail moving from above. The animal moved from boulder to boulder exploring under and around them. I have seen bobcat sign here many times, once a spot where the animal laid up among the boulders of this ridge.