The Animal List

It's Spring whether the weather knows it or not. I'm going to be presenting a "tracking your backyard" feature at the library in June and have been having a fun time learning the difference between tracking guides and the real world. I thought now might be appropriate to sum up a winter's investigation of the mammal life at the Governor Ames Estate.

One problem is that the guides all feature animal tracks and trackways, but the lawns and woods of the Trustees property is only good for tracking under the right snow conditions or in the rare muddy spots. Only in snow are you likely to find a trackway that will tell you about the direction and speed of an animal's travel. Sadly because people illegally let their dogs off leash at the Estate, most trackways are made by lumbering labs.

Here's the animal list and how they were identified
         White-tailed Deer-Visual sighting, tracks, scat
          Gray Squirrel-Sighting, tracks, food remains
          Red Squirrel-Sighting, food remains
          Muskrat-Sighting, tunnels, scat
          Voles-Probably Meadow voles-tunnels under snow
          Coyote-Scat, probable tracks
          Red Fox-Tracks, scent posts, hunting sign
          Domestic Cat-tracks
          Raccoon-tracks
          Weasel-probably Long-tailed-scat
          Skunk-Grub digs

Missing from the list but present are mice and flying squirrels. Possum, mink, and otter are possible visitors whose sign remains to be discovered. I saw no signs of Fishers, the area's largest weasel and increasingly common here, or bobcats, the elusive predator which is known to be breeding in town. We have two fox species in Easton, but other people have actually seen the red fox so we'll put the gray fox in the possible. but not yet category. Birds, butterflies, and dragonflies are very visible which makes them attractive subjects for naturalists. Mammals are part of an invisible world where behavior can only be worked out indirectly from hard to detect signs.