Mouse trails

What a great kick off for our first Quabbin tracking program as professionals! We thoroughly enjoyed our

Porcupine tracks

inquisitive and astute participants, the bright sunshine, clear blue sky, and the gifts of animal tracks and sign that called us over rocky cliffs and along a gentle wetland. It was a chilly, but spectacular day. It was also remarkable how many tracks had accumulated since the  snow storm only 24 hours before. That just goes to show how good the habitat is at Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts.

I thank my co-leaders, Susan Fly and Bob Moore, for their outstanding work in finding and interpreting tracks and sign, not to mention their good humor and all round good nature.

By the way, there is still space, at the time of this writing, in our remaining animal tracking programs this winter. Check the schedule, read more about them and register here.

Species list for January 10th, 2015 Quabbin Wildlife Tracking Program

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  Ruffed grouse tracks and feather marks from take-off. Photographed by one of our participants!

  Moose feeding sign: browse, incisor scraping, and walk overs / pull downs

• Deer tracks, scat, rub, and browse
• Gray fox tracks, scent posts, and probable mating
• Bobcat tracks, leaping up vertical cliff, and sit print where it prepared to leap
• Porcupine tracks, recently used den, and scat
• Flying (and other) squirrel tracks
• Deer mouse tracks
• Vole tracks and tunnels
• Possible black bear marking behavior (decapitated conifer)
• Abundance of beaver sign
• Ruffed grouse landing, tracks, and take-off
• Plenty of fresh, pileated woodpecker peckage
• Small song bird tracks