NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Jan 3,
2023
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Edited by
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Proofreading
thanks to Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**
Jane LeBlanc took part in the Hampton-Quispamsis CBC on Monday, Jan. 2nd.
The bird of the day was a Carolina Wren. The birder knew it was in his yard for
a week or so, so when they stopped at his house for lunch, he used the app on
his phone to call it out. Not only did they see the bird, but they also heard
it sing.
The other
note of the day was a lack of birds (suspected to be because there was no snow
and it was very open). One other note....75 White-tailed Deer were counted, all
in people's yards!!
**It’s that
time of year when there is light wet snow cover to take note of tracks to know
who’s been there. Mammals can be very secretive and nocturnal but don’t hide
their tracks or scats.
A great
place to start to make comparisons is using your yard if you happen to have a
dog. Nelson Poirier attaches a few photos of the evidence his dog Sadie leaves
behind that would never be seen in summer.
The
domestic dog track is very similar to the coyote with 4 toe pads and nail
imprints. The nail imprint of the two forward toe pads is often absent in the
coyote due to wear. The Red Fox has a similar print pattern, but the pad is
very hairy which usually shows.
The
stride (distance between two track imprints) is very helpful to distinguish Coyote
and Red Fox. The stride of the Red Fox tends to be in the 16-18 inch range whereas
the coyote would be in the 19-21 inch range.
The
domestic dog can be a challenge due to the huge difference in size of the
various breeds and their tendency to meander about where Red Fox and Coyote
tend to travel in straight lines.
Nelson Poirier
Nature
Moncton
