Summer time is always bustling and exciting for wildlife. Squirrels, birds, deer, bear and even insects are all out and about, gathering food, feeding young, building homes and more. The commotion of the woods is especially apparent to those who are out walking and hiking in it! You get to see squirrels running and chasing each other up and down trees, birds enjoying a snack in your backyard, and if you are particularly lucky, a mother bear leading her cubs along! By the time winter arrives, many of us take note from the wildlife and cozy up in our homes with warmth and food. The winter is often calm and quiet, with fewer wildlife sightings. However, it is also one of the best times to truly see into some creatures lives. If it is so quiet, how do you know what is around in the winter? Snowfall. It is one of the best tools to learn about wildlife in winter! Snow gives us tracks, and wildlife tracks are truly exciting to spot while outside. Not to mention, decoding who they belong to, where are they going, and reading their snow story is fun and informative. The Cottontail Crew is out almost every day in the winter, so we get to see some pretty fantastic stories: Rabbits! Of course the first snow story is that of our cottontails. Rabbit tracks are unique because of their feet and the way they run. They are characterized by two oblong feet- almost like little snowshoes- with similar but much shorter prints right behind the larger. The smaller prints are their forefeet with the larger being the hindfeet. Rabbit tracks are often seen running into and out of bushes, sometimes with a few pellets (rabbit scat) along the way! The paths help us choose where we should set our traps even! Similar tracks: Rabbit tracks can often be confused with squirrel tracks, however. Squirrels, like rabbits, have larger back feet and a similar mode of walking, however, squirrels are smaller and you can often see their claws a little more clearly. In addition, if the tracks lead up to a tree, it is probably a squirrel!
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Cottontail Captures 2019-2020!
AuthorDrew Eline is the graduate student on the New England cottontail project. She currently runs the winter/spring field season. Archives
December 2020
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