Western Grey Squirrel
Fox
Raccoon
Opposum
Skunk
Mule deer
Mole
Gopher
Deer mouse
Coyote
Many of these mammals are rarely seen during daylight hours but we thought we might see signs of them along the trail if we looked closely.
Here is a little glimpse of what we saw along the trail as we kept our eyes out for signs of mammals. We obviously don't have any snow at the moment so we were looking for tracks in the damp earth. My husband thought it might be a deer trail but the branches of the bushes are too low for a deer to easily slip through. I think it must be a smaller mammal...maybe a fox? We looked very carefully but we could not see any clear tracks in the mud which is even more curious to us.
We also found several holes that looked promising and this one looked freshly dug. No prints in the dirt though.
Here is a pine cone that shows signs of having been someone's dinner. Scattered around this area were parts of the cone as well.
Now for the photos for the more serious mammal hunters. Scroll down for some scat photos or you can finish here. :) Seriously, these are really graphic animal dropping photos. Don't feel bad if you skip them.
This was full of fur and very black. After looking in several reference books, including the Discover Nature in Winter book, I think this is fox scat.
This one was full of some kind of red skins, maybe from some berries or fruit. I am not sure at all who it belongs to.
How about some nice photos to finish with?
Pretty green moss from my frontyard.
Great winter weeds from our weekend hike.
Although we didn't see any rabbits or signs of rabbits, we had a great time looking for other mammals during our afternoon walk.
Have a great week.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom