The tracks Identified were deer, and domestic dog. I concluded that from the hooves and straddle of the deer tracks and paw points which differ from a fox/wolf. Although my site is a brook, it is home to more woodland species.
My place is a small section of the Centennial Brook down a small hill. The majority of trees in that area are Hemlocks which are not deciduous, but I did notice indications of what I assume to be American beech, honeysuckle, buckthorn and red maple twigs.
Remembering which turns to take to arrive at my place was difficult because of the difference in appearance and hard to recognize my marker trees without their leaves. Because of the snow it was hard to identify Looking around I noticed how different my site looked being surrounded by snow, having a smaller amount of vegetation and hardwoods and a covered forest floor. There was more snow on the ground than the last time I visited, and fresh falling snow makes it even more difficult to identify tracks. The borders of the brook are covered in snow and the width looks slightly bigger, which makes sense because the melting of the snow probably caused the dimensions to change from weathering of the rocks and sediment. There are sections of the brook that have frozen patches but it is still faintly running. My place’s phenology has drastically changed over the course of visiting and so has its appearance.
McDonald, Michael. Natural History and Human Ecology. January 30, 2020.
Levine, Lynn. Mammal Tracks and Scat, Life – Size Pocket Guide. 2014.