snow and scat

We’re getting a small snowstorm here today. Flakes are swirling outside the window. However, we don’t really have that much snow on the ground so far. That’s made it fairly easy to walk around in the fields without snowshoes, although I may have to get them out this week.

Don and I have spent the past two weekends on trail maintenance at the back of the farm. The first day, we cleared up poplar trees that were brought down by the recent ice storms. The remainder of the days were spent creating some new trails into parts of the forest that were not very accessible before. The problem here is that we have areas of succession forest with a lot of impenetrable brush and undergrowth in some areas. We’ve just left those parts of the farm to do their own thing for 30 years. The larger trees are now tall enough that they’re shading the understory, making it possible for us to clear trails through the woods without having to keep going back to clear vegetation two or three times a year. Last weekend, we cleared a quarter mile loop of trail that leads through some low growing trees and bushes like Hawthorne and Salix. It will give us access to an area where there is a creek-like drainage ditch through the forest. In the past, when I’ve managed to struggle through the brush to get there, I’ve found it filled with many tadpoles swimming along through the filtered light. It will be great to be able to visit it without being torn to bits by the hawthorne and wild raspberry canes.

This week, Sabrina and I have been including the new loop in our daily walks around the farm. I shot the above photo along the new section of trail yesterday morning. We saw tracks of fox, coyote, snowshoe hare, deer, and Ruffed grouse in the new snow back in that section of the woods.

On the way home, a Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) burst out of the snow and flew through the forest (note: the linked photo was taken back in Dec. 2005). I stopped to photograph the spot occupied by the grouse before it took flight (see above). For those of you who don’t live in the north, Grouse and some other birds, burrow into the snow to keep warm, especially at night. Sometimes they remain under the snow in daylight, perhaps not bothering to leave their warm spot as to conserve energy. In the above photo (click on it for a larger view), you can see a few tracks circling around and leading to the little snow burrow hole. To the right of the burrow is a mark in the snow. That’s where one of the wings hit the snow as the bird took flight. There are also some droppings in the snow.

Further along, we came upon some Coyote (Canis latrans) scat in the middle of the trail. It is quite common to find Coyote scat in a conspicuous spot when you’re out walking the trails. We often find it at either end of little bridge over a stream or some other place that the Coyote probably figures will be noticeable to other creatures (like us). I can’t remember where I read this, but some naturalist or biologist wrote of observing wildlife while seated atop a particular rock. The next day, he returned to find some Coyote scat up on the rock. Anyhow, as you can see from the above photo (and yup, if you like, you can click on this one for a better view), the scat contained a lot of hair — looks like deer hair to me. In winter, we occasionally find a deer kill site and plenty of evidence of Coyote all around. They will work on a deer for awhile, coming back to gnaw on the bones after eating the meat. Apparently, scat such as the above is typical when the Coyote get down to the last of what’s left of a carcass, as they eat the organs and such first, and leave the less desirable parts for later.

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7 Responses to “snow and scat”

  1. Duncan Says:

    I’ll bet they tickled on the way out. ;-)

  2. Cathy Says:

    First: Duncan is naughty :0)
    Next: That is the dearest picture of the Ruffed Grouse. The picture and explanation of the snow burrow hole and the shadow of a wing strike – wonderful.
    When I read about your trail clearing and rambles with Sabrina – I travel with you – I smell the clean air. I hear the snow crust giving beneath Sabrina’s paws.

  3. Ruth Says:

    You are a veritable Sherlock Holmes of the natural world! I am intrigued by what I see in the snow but am unable to interpret the signs like you do. I would love to see some more snow track posts from you.

  4. Jimmy Says:

    I enjoyed your post….I seen two grouse that were run over by snowmobilers…It was sad.

  5. burning silo Says:

    Duncan – Ha! Never thought of that!

    Cathy – Thanks! That photo of the Ruffed Grouse was quite a lucky shot. Yes, it is nice back in the woods – the air is clean and smells and tastes of fresh snow… I noticed that when we were back there yesterday.

    Ruth – A Sherlock Holmes… I like that! I’ll try to put up a few more snow track images sometime soon. We went from no snow to very cold snow, so not that many good opportunity for tracks. However, we should get some mild days soon, which should make for some nice tracks.

    Jimmy – Thanks! I’m sorry to hear about the grouse being run over by snowmobilers. That’s not too nice.

  6. robin andrea Says:

    We’ve been seeing coyote scat very much like that. I did not occur to me that the hair might have belonged to a deer. That makes so much sense because that is what it looked like.

  7. burning silo Says:

    robin – I think that in most areas, rabbit or hare are probably common foods for coyote, but (at least in this area) deer is part of their diet. Whether it’s that they kill and old, young or injured animal, or benefit from one that’s fallen somewhere in the bush following a vehicle collision (common around here), deer would be a good food source for them.