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

It was an interesting day. Left the house  early so that I could be well into the Quabbin Woods before dawn. That worked out real well with watching a beautiful sunrise. Nobody told the animals that I would be early. I didn't see but a few chickadees and one hairy woodpecker.
There were many tracks to be seen. Moose,bobcat,coyote,fox,porcupine, grouse and a few mice.
This mornings hike was just over seven miles. Today's miles reached a milstone of  600  miles hiking the trails and roads of Quabbin while carrying a camera.

I was able to get a decent pic of bobcat track. I did come across two seperate sets of bobcat tracks this morning.

 Pottapaug Pond and the north east side of the reservoir are frozen with the cold spell this week,  This morning I did watch the shorline for a while in anticipation of a predator looking for a meal.

Jim

Looking out on the deck this morning and seeing a dusting of snow got things in gear fast this morning. As much as I enjoying hiking and taking pictures , I always look forward to looking for tracks. Many times this will give you the added incentive to keep hiking an area with hopes of seeing the " Track Maker "
This mornings east side hike was eventful along with the ride home. It was only a short distance when I cut the first track. This was one of four different coyote tracks this morning.

 About an hour later I came to a open spot of water on the reservoir, and watched several otters peer at me

I caught some movement off to my right and was I surprised to see five deer walk on to the ice . I was camouflaged and wind in my favor so I sat tight. I figured a predator would follow. The deer were calm.  Nothing was pushing them. They just wanted to get to the other side.I use to think that the only way a deer would venture onto the ice was to get away from something casing it. Evidently not ! I was glad to see that they adhered to the " Slow  Sign"

On the ride home I did see one mature eagle cruising low in a cornfield looking for a meal. Also saw one read tail hawk perched watching another  field and closer to home another red tail hawk riding the thermos.
Being so cold (6 degrees) this morning I didn't think I would see much but tracks.
Jim

Saturday the pickins' were slim. Not much moving in the way of wildlife, with only seeing a handful of chickadees and a pileated woodpecker. Wind stayed reasonably calm for the first few hours. I sat at waters edge for a while in hopes of seeing an eagle. None to be seen on this day

Sunday I ventured over to Quabbin Park. DCR was a little late in opening the gate so I decided to hike from Rte9 to The Enfeild Lookout.

It was an absolutely beautiful sunrise this morning. Before the suns rays broke the tree line I did see one single deer bounding away. I couldn't get a look at it. If I had to guess I would say it was a buck. The does I have been seeing in the last several weeks are in groups of 3-5.

 Typically with an early arrival  at QP you will find folks slowly riding the roads in hopes of seeing wildlife. This didn't bother the deer in the pic above. However, don't think you would of seen these deer unless you were walking.
 Big weather change coming in this week. The critters will really hunker down now!
Jim

Well had to think twice about about a hike this morning, could barely see the truck in the driveway. It didn't take long to convince myself to go. You are not going to get any photo ops sitting at home. Dawn was just setting in when I passed the gate. The plan today would be to walk slowly towards one of my favorite swamps. Snow was soft and walking was quiet.
Blankets of fog would move in and out limiting visibility. I was surprised to see nobody had walked this cart road since the last time it snowed. Great ! Hope to find some interesting tracks and maybe see a moose. This hike would give up my first set of fox tracks. In the miles hiked to date, I have not seen a grey or red fox. Continuing on the cart road showed numerous deer , several moose and an occasional coyote track. I did find what I was looking when reaching a change of hardwoods to thicker cover. A bobcat ( tracks ) had entered the side of the cart road and leaped across .
There are four tracks below. When the cat leaped and landed, the upper tracks exaggerated from the paws coming down on wet snow landed inside the first tracks.

The best bobcat tracks I have found to date were located while hiking in Southern VT a few years back.

 

Locating and identifying tracks adds another dimension to hiking and taking wildlife pictures. I am not an expert by any means, but enjoy the challenge with identifying tracks.
Jim

Damp and foggy hitting the trail this morning. Today's hike would take me to a gate that I haven't been to in a while.  It wasn't long before  several deer tracks had crossed the road. The snow was soft and wet , perfect for detailed tracks. Walking slowly, I would watch the distant woods for sign of movement while keeping an eye on the road for tracks. Not very far past the deer tracks a moose had also walked up the road.  Good sign!
The road followed a oak ridge  down into a hemlock stand. Looking down and seeing this bobcat track heightened my awareness.

When reaching the reservoir a flock of mallards flew from a small stream. Not much to see  but fog looking out over the reservoir. I continued on for a short distance. My plan today was to settle into a small iced over swamp in hopes of a coyote or a bobcat walking the edge looking for a meal.

Not today. Jim

 

 

On the way back to my truck I did get a pic of a winter regular