The edge habitat provided by the mixing of agricultural lands and forests provides a fantastic habitat for many bird species. The conservation center also provides many different types of birdhouses in many different places to cater to these feathered friends. Within the first few steps in the park, I saw many robbins, a few red-winged blackbirds, many blue jays, and a pileated woodpecker flew maybe 10 feet in front of my face. I watched the woodpecker investigate multiple trees before I lost it in the brush. As I went deeper into the woods, there were fewer birds other than a few large crows circling overhead. But, I did find a stunning blue jay feather again on the edge of a different patch of forest. There were deer tracks crisscrossing throughout the property and marks on the signs from where they have been chewing. The only other mammal that I saw was a squirrel and the many dog tracks made discerning any other tracks in the mud difficult. I found a groundhog hole as well with tracks on either side that were difficult to identify. But, I did find a scene of two deer that had been killed and were in the process of being eaten(WARNING: fairly gruesome image). It appeared to be a fox or coyote den but based on my research, neither of these animals are known to take full adult whitetails back to their dens. Regardless it was very interesting to see! There were also smaller tufts of fur throughout the park.
