Another eventful morning hiking Quabbin. The ride was slow but wotrth the effort. The east side hike gave up a Great Horned Owl gliding out off a tall white pine tree. The snow falling made for a nice  walk. Many small mammals and birds were busy looking for food. The light wet snow made for excellent animal tracks. Unfortunately no larger mammals crossed the road. On the hike out I decided to hike off the beaten path a bit and take a stand  on a small frozen swamp. Temperatures were right around thirty two and comfortable for sitting. Wasn't to long and I caught glimpse of a coyote on the other side of the swamp. My camera today was an old Kodiak Point and Shoot. ( didn't want to chance my good equipment getting wet) Not the greatest picture. But sure was a neat experience.

Jim

Nice morning for hiking even with the overcast skies. Small mammals and birds were busy with activity. Probably in anticipation of the coming storm .

 Heading back to the truck I met up with an east side regular who was on his hike in. . He just had an experience watching a bobcat. I enjoyed  listening to him share the story and hearing the excitement in his voice. He shared the location which was only about ten minutes away. I hustled in hopes of getting a glimpse of the Quabbin cat. Settling in at the location I watched in anticipation . After about fifteen minutes I moved and just caught a glimpse of the cat slipping away through a stand of white pine saplings. No chance for a pic. I was grateful to see what I did.This is the first cat I have seen in my Quabbin hiking quest.
I have talked to a number of folks in my Quabbin travels that have seen a number of bobcats over the years. Just need to be in the right place at the right time.
Jim

Cold and breezy this morning then turned COLD & WINDY. Tried my luck at Quabbin Park. No critters to be seen from the road so I hiked Gate 52 up to the back side of the lookout tower.

 The wind wasn't to bad in the woods. I did manage to see on single deer feeding in the hardwoods, When I got to the top and walked the field to the lookout tower , the wind cut right through you. I didn't stick around  long. Walking down the road towards Endfield Lookout the wind was brutal. Got a " Brain Freeze" , like when you eat a ice cream cone  fast.

This is what I call the " Dead Of Winter" The weather will only improve from this point on.
I did see 4/5 other camera folks attempting to enjoy the bitter morning,

Thirty degrees and just over an inch of snow when I left the house this morning. Roads were pretty slick. I headed over to Quabbin Park with hopes the gate would be closed and I could get in a decent hike before the roads were plowed. Got my wish ! I hiked from the gate to just below Enfield Look Out. You could see where the deer had been during the night, However no deer to see today. I did see one nice bobcat track.......

Its only a matter of time before I am in the right place at the right time.

The soft fluffy snow made for quite walking and a winter wonderland.

Jim

 

Quite the storm yesterday! Spent the day clearing snow. What a difference a day makes . The thermometer this morning read 7 degrees  with no wind. What an absolutely beautiful morning hiking. My hope was to snowshoe five miles. The sun rise on the reservoir was awesome. I did see two otters playing while eating my breakfast. Snowshoeing in, I crossed three porcupine tracks , six deer traveling in pairs, One single deer crossed the snowshoe tracks I made on the hike in.

MassWildlife Magazine printed my article about hiking Quabbin Reservoir with a camera.  If interested you can read more of my Quabbin travels in the quarter one 2013 edition.
Jim

A little warmer this morning with the thermometer reading 17 degrees heading out the door. Today's plan would be to hike one of the east side roads looking for tracks then  put my camera equipment in my pack and do some bush whacking looking for antler sheds.
I did see a number of different tracks in my travels coyote , fox, deer, hare, raccoon & bobcat. I did actually see the hare. Unfortunately my camera was in my pack.

With only a couple hundred yards to get back to my truck  bobcat tracks were in the road that were not there when I walked in. Go Figure !

No antler sheds to be found today
Jim

The thermometer read 13 degrees on the way out this morning. With the mid week warm up and the rain, pretty much took care of any snow. Today's hike would take me back towards the area where I found the remains of a dead eagle late last year. It gave me a purpose to head that way. Heck, what would be the likelihood of finding the federal  leg band. As I approached the area the sun was just breaking the treeline. What a beautiful sunrise. I was surprised to see how many of the feathers had decomposed in just over a month. I took my pack off and put my camera down. My plan was to start with walking in circles, moving dead straw grass in hopes of finding the silver band. I was also looking for any clues that would assist in determining how the eagle was killed. I was about 50 yards away from where the eagle last stood , there lay a leg bone with a silver band. What was the probability of that! It was an unfortunate event with the eagle. However it's interesting to learn of the eagles start at Quabbin through the leg band number. The time spent today investigating also gave me additional clues with determining ( my opinion )  how the eagle was killed.

With the mid-week warm up a raccoon had walked the shoreline looking for a meal.

And before heading back to my truck I enjoyed watching three otters play.

Jim