This weekend, I was able to return to my phenological site after being away for over a month. I noticed several differences, the first of which was the frozen stream that separates my spot from the mainland. Last time I was there, the river was still flowing, but now the river is solid enough to walk across. Another difference is that there is now snow covering all of my area. There is not much, no more than an inch or two, but the snow is still there. There are no signs of human activity on the little island because I think people are too nervous to cross.

My spot in winter!

 

     Almost as soon as my fellow wildlife trackers and I crossed the frozen stream to our spot, we discovered tracks of an animal that must have also crossed the stream. The tracks followed a galloping pattern, with large rear feet and small front feet. The tracks meandered around the island, going near trees and into the brush. The front feet had three distinct lobes, and the back feet were very long, and also had three distinct toes. Using this information, and the length of the feet, we determined that the tracks belonged to that of a Cottontail Rabbit.

Cottontail Rabbit Tracks!

 

Ready for your close up!

 

       Later, when alone in my spot, I saw more tracks. I saw tracks right by the edge of the frozen stream. They were very small and old, but seemed to belong to a bounder. The small critter had a tail, and seemed to disappear under large cracked sheets of ice that had frozen over the land. I would surmise that the tracks belonged to some manner of weasel, especially because I found some holes near the area that seemed to lead to a small subnivean layer below. I also found a lot of crow tracks near my spot. The tracks had the classic three front facing toes, and one pointed back. There were so many of them that I believe they belonged to multiple crows.

     

A bunch of crow

 

 

Mystery track

Subnivean layer hole?? I think maybe!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also walked around my spot and tried to identify the buds of seedlings growing. There were not many of them in my area, and I could only find buds growing off of large trees that were already there. I was able to find buds from an ash tree, which I think is a green ash. I could tell because of the way the leaf scar formed a crescent shape right below the terminal bud and bud scales. I also found buds that looked like the belong to a maple of some kind, but I could not tell which species. I know most of the trees in my spot are Silver Maples, so I assume the buds were Silver Maples.

 

Three different buds! (Silver) Maple on the left, and Green Ash in the middle and on the right!

 

My drawing of one of my buds!

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