Spring and Tracks in the Snow

After a snow storm is a perfect time to look for animal tracks

Last Sunday we turned the clocks forward and added an hour of daylight to the end of the day. A sign that winter is coming to an end. And now, Spring has officially arrived. It was a beautiful sunny day, reaching into the fifties. It definitely felt like Spring, which could not have been said last Tuesday when we experienced the worst snowstorm of the season. Conditions reached blizzard conditions in certain parts of the state and when it was all said and done, we had received 17 inches of snow with considerable drifting.

A few days later I made a trip to the compost pile and the slightly hardened snow was perfect for leaving animal tracks.

White-tailed deer tracks

Here the deer tracks were leaving the woods

Unfortunately, what is apparent is that my garden is right in the middle of a deer path. Seeing as the deer regularly pass through it in the winter, I can hardly blame them for continuing this route in the summer. I just wish they wouldn't stop for a snack every time.

Using  a Peterson Guide I identified these as squirrel tracks

Knowing what animals are in the area makes it easier to identify their tracks. We have plenty of gray squirrels in our yard, so it makes sense that the tracks above are from a squirrel.

Bird Tracks

Observing the environment around the tracks is another clue to identification. Shrubbery provides shelter and a food source for birds in the winter. I suspect that the tracks above were made by juncos.

Unidentified Tracks

If you can figure out why the tracks are where they are at, it can also help in identifying which animal they are from. The tracks above were smaller than the gray squirrel tracks and they seemed to stop at the base of the birch tree. Maybe they were from a vole or mouse.

Searching for and studying animal tracks is challenging and fun. It's another way to gain a better understanding of the wildlife that exists in nature. Many animals may frequent your yard but remain elusive, coming out only at night. Finding these animal tracks and identifying them can be almost as rewarding as catching a glimpse of the animal itself.  Now that it is spring and wildlife are starting to wake up and be more active there are plenty of opportunities for finding and identifying a variety of animal tracks. It almost makes me want to wish for another snow storm.