Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Critter tracks in the snow

One fat waddling Opossum
A post-holing cat
Hard to walk in snow with stumpy legs
Thirty four doves came for supper today, highest count yet.
When they cleared out the seed on the floor a bunch of them tried to crowd in to the feeder box.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Mike, good to have wildlife company, eh? I don't think we have Opossums in Alaska, at least none that I have seen.

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    1. Hi John, I didn't know we had opossums here in Maine either, but apparently they are a recent import. They have been expanding their range and have been moving north steadily. So perhaps in another 100 years or so they'll make it to Alaska. Though they are hardly suited for the cold. Most of the ones I see around here have frostbitten tails and ears. They only last about 3 years in this weather.

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  2. I try not to look too closely at the tracks in the sand around the cottage, I'd get nervous about turning the generator off at night!

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    1. Yes I thankfully none of the critters around here are quite as deadly as yours. We don't even have poisonous snakes here. Biggest danger here is rabies. Thankfully opossums are immune to rabies. Occasionally we have a visiting skunk with a leaky gland.

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  3. No snow here yet to speak of. I like seeing the tracks when we have snow, let's you know what's going on in the forest.

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    1. Yes I love seeing whats been out and about at night from the tracks they leave in the snow. The possum is quite distinctive with the swishy trail it leaves and its splayed paw prints that look like a star anise seed. I would love to get one of those critter/trail cams if I can find one that is not too expensive and set it up outside to see what comes by at night.

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