North Woods Guides Blog

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Spring Tracks

Friday, April 9th, 2010

   The last of the winter snows have disappeared and along with them went the perfect canvas for animal tracks. As I bummed as I am to lose the good tracking snow I’m very happy Spring has arrived. Along with Spring comes  mud season which not as plentiful as snow still has the ability to capture a perfect crisp outline of the animal that passed through it. I recently scouted a farm field not far from here. The great thing about the agricultural fields south of here is that they consist primarily of clay and the next best thing to Spring mud is Spring clay. I’ll probably return there tomorrow if I get a chance and do a little plaster casting of some of the tracks if the rain holds off. The best way to approach finding tracks in farm fields is to just walk the edge, there really is no need to venture any further than 10 feet from the sides of the field to find tracks. In fact most animals will be doing the same thing, just cruising the edges. Any animal that ventures out of the bordering brush will definitely leave evidence of it’s passing as long as the clay or dirt is wet. Take for instance the Weasel Tracks I found, weighing in at just under a pound this one left a very distinct track.  

    Weasels have a heel pad that is easy to recognize once you know what your looking for.  The size of the track and placement of the feet also give it away.

Farm fields really offer one of the best places to find and identify tracks. Prey animals are attracted to the crops and the carnivorous animals follow the prey so there is an abundance of sign as long as you keep your eyes to the ground.

If you don’t personally know a farmer then just stop and ask for permission if you can walk the edges of their field to do some tracking, most won’t mind as long as your respectful of the property. It’s a great way to spend some time outdoors especially with the kids and what kid wouldn’t love traipsing through the mud?    Happy Tracking !!

Pine Cone Meals

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

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   I spent a few hours yesterday looking for tracks. Although, I did find Bobcat tracks (a first for me), I spent a good deal of time looking for other animal signs. You may not see a lot of tracks or animals around this time of year but they do leave signs of their presence if you pay attention. The photo above  really looks like nothing more than some debris covering the snow and in all actuallity that’s what it is, but what does it tell you?

   What it’s telling me is that this tree is one of the favorite perches for a Red Squirrel. The sheer amount of scales located at the base means he frequents this tree on a regular basis to fill up on cones.  It’s not just the tree itself he frequents it is one specific branch on that tree. We can tell that by the cone debris being localized to one spot at the base.  You would think that the cones are from the same tree but actually they aren’t , this particular tree where he favors to have his meals is a  Hemlock and the cones he has been enjoying are from a White Pine.  Red Squirrels start  in the late summer storing food in large caches for their winter supply of food.  So why is he carrying cones from his cache to another tree?  He does that because that one tree is a perfect vantage point for observing any danger while he’s feeding and he eats a lot. One Red Squirrel  can consume  the seeds of up to 40 cones or more per day!  So there ya go, there are a lot more animal signs to discover other than just tracks and scat.  Keep an eye out next time your cruising the woods for the more subtle signs of what animal are around.

Happy Hiking!                                                                                                                                                           www.mynaturesite.com

Animal Tracks for Christmas

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

Here’s the perfect Christmas gift for that special someone that enjoys being outdoors. If their into hiking, camping, hunting or even fishing the MyNature Animal Track App makes the perfect gift at just $4.99!! Stop by the App Store today and pick up a gift certificate for MyNature Animal Tracks a truly unique gift idea. www.mynaturesite.com

Holiday Special on MyNature Animal Tracks APP

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

The folks at MyNature are in the holiday spirit and have a special discounted rate on the new MyNature Animal Track app for the Christmas season. Stop by the app store today and pick up a gift certificate for the Animal Track App for $4.99 for that special outdoors person on your list. Hurry this offer won’t last long!! www.mynaturesite.com

Animal Track App Screen Shots

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

 Here are a few screen shots of the MyNature Animal Track App available on the iPhone. visit us at www.mynaturesite.com


North Woods Field Guides
PO Box 107  Wevertown, NY 12886
Phone:  518-744-6011  Email: northwoodsent@aol.com

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