Winter Animal Tracks
Similar to the end of last semester, I will be visiting the Freetown-Fall River State Forest as my phenology site. Since I last visited the forest in the fall, there is now snow on the ground, no leaves on the trees, but still a visible amount of roaming squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and birds. The small ponds and other bodies of water are only partially frozen since it has not been cold enough to freeze completely. No insects make no appearance since most thrive in warmer weather when food is available.
This was from the first day I visited the forest again. Many people have obviously still been walking the trails, as seen by the beaten-down snow. Sunny days provide windows of time for humans to explore the outdoors in the winter.
This was taken my second day visiting the Freetown-Fall River State Forest when there was more snow on the ground and I found tracks further off the main trail. These are rabbit tracks, which are popularly found in the snow during the winter in MA. They remain active during the cold months in order to find food, shelter, and keep warm for survival.
These are most likely tracks left by a white-tailed deer, which are still very active during the winter months, similar to rabbits.