A Change in Perspective

I just came in from a walk in the woods, and yes, where I live there is still plenty of snow in the woods. The good part about still having snow is that it's easy to find animal tracks. In fact, while I was out there I found some really great moose tracks, and some deer tracks just a few yards away. The deer tracks looked so dainty and small next to the gigantic moose tracks! It's amazing how perspectives can change so easily.

My perspective on this project has changed pretty quickly and easily, too. At the start, I really wasn't sure whether this would work. Would people log onto their computers and share what they had seen? Would anyone care? But as word has slowly gotten out about this site, I've been getting more and more comments--it's so exciting to check the blog and see new ones waiting for me! Here are some the sightings reported so far:

• I saw two coyotes in my yard on Birchcliff Parkway on Wednesday night... First sighting in my 20 years in Burlington!


• Yesterday at Red Rocks Park I saw a red squirrel. He was chastising us for walking through his woods. I wonder what red squirrels do in the winter?


• On February 28th we tracked a bobcat from the head waters of Muddy Brook across agriculture fields north toward the Leduc parcel. We also saw weasel, squirrel, rabbit, grouse and coyote tracks.


• I have seen small red foxes on three occasions at Stonehedge Townhouses off Spear Street in South Burlington during the last month. The last encounter was a fox on my deck! It reluctantly left only after I repeatedly tapped on my sliding glass door.


• While searching for vernal pools in clayplain forest of the Leduc Farm yesterday, I had a magical encounter amidst the rain and the trees. While standing up after probing through a promising pool, I caught the movement of a large object overhead, about 20 meters away. By the size and the bulk (and silence!) of the bird in flight, it was clearly an owl. Though it flew off out of sight, I found about twenty pellets at the base of the hemlock where it had been roosting. The sheer size (3 x 1.5 inches) of the pellets indicated it was a great horned owl.
• My next door neighbor saw a groundhog crossing my deck last weekend!

I feel really privileged to be hearing everyone's stories, and am amazed at the variety of wildlife that has been reported already. So, keep those South Burlington wildlife stories coming! Just comment on this posting to tell me about what you've seen in South Burlington, and where. I want to hear about chickadees, or mice, or salamanders...whatever you've seen! Check out my first post, called "Let the Fun Begin" for more info! Thanks again to all of you who have posted something already. Keep posting, and tell your friends about it, too!