Tracking – Page 3 – Forest Wolf Programs

Tracking Peoples State Forest

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Andy Dobos

Went out tracking today. The snow was good, a layer of powder several inches deep on a layer of crust, then more loose snow. Forgot my snowshoes so it was a bit of work to get around. In the end I walked several miles. Here’s what I saw.

Trailed this deer and the others with it. Not far from the road where I picked up the trail I found them but not before they found me.

I spooked them out of there day beds and watched the last one leave. It moved away slowly, stopping and looking back before bounding away. I did not have the camera out so no picture. It wouldnt have looked like much anyway. The deer were bedded in the laurel on a flat bit of ground on a hillside. As I approached I knew it could be a bedding area and even thought to crawl but felt that if I crawled over every rise I would never see anything. Hard to be patient.

Beaver Brook Pond, sunny and beautiful.

Little mammal tracks. Some others showed a fairly short tail. They are small enough to consider shrew or the smallest mice. They were on the swamp ice. I went through several times and retreated.

Upstream on Beaver Brook a Mink slide. It was the only sign of Mink all day.

On the way out found these older Otter slides. They went on for a couple hundred yards.

Above is where they eventually went into Beaver Brook. Below is as far as I went in the other direction, about 200 yards. I ran out of steam and headed home. The next body of water in that direction is the Farmington River more than half a mile away.

Vulture Behavior

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Andy Dobos

I recorded this posture by Turkey Vultures over carcasses. These are only a few examples, it happened a couple other times as well.

I cannot determine if this is mantling like hawks and owls do or a signal to other vultures or something else entirely.

Muskrat Tracks in snow

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Andy Dobos

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muskrat-at-white-memorial

Muskrat tracks in shallow snow on ice at White Memorial Conservation Center, a great place to track.

Ghost Fox

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Andy Dobos

I found a scent post on this tree with my nose while doing chores outside. I put the game camera on it and a few days later got these cool pictures of this Red Fox.

It has snowed since then and tracks of the fox went to and from the tree with a cluster of tracks suggesting another spritzing but the camera is acting up and did not capture it. I wonder how often it visits there? It is within easy sight of my house.

Black Bear on game camera

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Andy Dobos

Deneen saw bear tracks at this spot one day and a week or so later I found another fresh set nearby.

Spring Time

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Andy Dobos

Sorry I have not been writing, its been a very busy spring working long hours at work and teaching a lot on the weekends.

On a walk along the road the other day I saw a lot of great edible plants. Did not have the camera but heres a list; Hog Peanut, Ground Nut, Sumac, Ramps, Burdock, Sweet Fern. All within a short walk from my house.

Here are some pictures of things I have seen around.

Skunk tracks in the garden (and a dog)

skunk tracks in garden

Skunk poop (I think)

skunk poop

Dead fish found at White Memorial on shore of Bantam Lake near shore point where otter sign was found. Otters chew tails off of fish upon catching them so they won’t swim away.

dead fish white mem

Otter scat and muskrat skull and bones.

otter sign white mem

Open muscle shell right next to otter scat. This was a super cool place that had scat of multiple ages.

more otter sign

A thrush in my back yard. I am not sure if its a wood or hermit thrush.

thrush in back yard

Thrushes nest. Female was also nearby. They had divebombed some kids who were looking at the nest earlier.

thrush nest

Bobcat hunting lay and Coyote pack gathering.

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Andy Dobos

Bobcat trail up under the powerlines near my house. If you look deep into the track you can see the asymmetry typical of the felines.

I followed him ( I think it was a hime because of the size of the tracks and stride of the trail), up the hillside and found this spot. He entered from the left, the fanlike impressions toward the top of picture are from its front feet and forlegs as it moved back and forth changing is view.

Bobcats and other felines hunt very much like humans do, using stealth and their sense of site and hearing to locate prey. This requires stopping often to look and listen, in this case the bobcat created what is called a hunting lay where he sat for a long period of time watching the hillside from above for any prey. Below is a picture from the Bobcats vantage.

At the top of the hill just above the Bobcat’s hunting lay, I found these tracks of some Coyotes gathering in there nightly rendezvous. I have heard the pack howling to each other many times in the night coming together to reinforce family bonds and share in the hunt. As you can see in the picture below they are not shy about partying near human habitation.

These prints where just steps from the gathering spot pictured lower down. I had seen tracks such as these before near pack gathering places and did not quite have the confidence to call them what I believe they are. I have seen them enough now that I am willing to say it is the spot where the initiating Coyote stood to begin the howling after which the others would have answered and then headed to the spot. The animal came in from the left leaving tracks of its front feet once then again to the right in pairs. The added depth of the pair of tracks furthest to the right suggest a lingering and shifting of weight. I take this as signs of its raising its head and straining with the emotion of its song. Upon hearing one of its comrades aproach from behind it turned around to meet it.

This is looking back toward the direction of the Bobcat lay. To the right is the gathering spot where the Coyotes greeted each other, testing pack hierarchies with posturing and muzzle licking and maybe some good natured romping.

Adjacent is a scent marking, something I see with each of these gatherings, part of the complex visual, olfactory and vocal comunication system these neighbors of mine use amungst themselves and for the benifit of strangers. Look close and don’t eat the yellow snow.

Coyote Kill site?

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Andy Dobos

In field behind my house we came upon these tracks telling a story to us. My interpretation of that story is as follows.

A female Coyote, by the size of her tracks, used my old tracks in the deep snow as she crossed the field. Both canines and felines often use old prints and trails to make walking in the snow easier, always looking for efficiency in use of calories. Upon hearing or smelling something under the snow she varied from her path, walking slowly toward the source of the sound.

This is the direct registering walk just preceding the attack.

Just before the large disturbance of the attack she hesitates probably more than once as shown by the mis-regestering tracks. Then she moves right for the initial pounce, stomping and lunging at what was probably a vole under the snow.

She then followed the little rodent as it moved under the snow to the upper left of this picture and pounced again. I imagine at this point she was either successful or gave up because from here she walks away speeding up into an overstep walk, pictured below that signifies a brisk pace where the hind feet surpass where the front feet have just stepped. You can see this below, the hind feet are the smaller ones just ahead of the larger front track.

Finally she walks away using an old trotting trail of a coyote, possibly her own, made when the snow was softer. It is possible that this is a Red Fox trail, it falls within the overlap of measurements between Red Fox and Coyote. The tracks don’t look like Fox tracks, they are on the tight side like Coyotes and seemed to lack the evidence of the hairy paws of a Fox. I have not tracked many Fox and in a desire to do so I keep trying to see Fox in Coyote tracks when really it is pretty clear these are Coyote.

Fox in Maine

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Andy Dobos

Fox trail in Maine. We saw many prints similar to this one as well as the scat below.

Fox repeatedly marked small trees and things along the trails, you can just see his trail lead up to and away from the tree. The scent marks smelled a little skunky which is consistant with a male fox this time of year (late December to early January). This is mating season and he is busy making himself known to rivals and prospective lovers.

Hunting Hawk

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Andy Dobos

Saw this in the field behind my house. I think by the foot prints it is a redtail whom must have seen the little mouse or vole poking its head up and swooped down for it from the right, grabbed it, hoped to the left as it lost speed and stopped their,standing on its prey for a few moments as I have seen them do and commeced to eat the creature. Then took off the way it had come.

Notice prints and blood and guts.