This is my first time visiting my phenology spot since it has snowed a significant amount! I was very excited to get out there and look for tracks and evidence of animal burrowing/traveling.

My phenology spot, once filled with ferns is now completely covered with 5-7 inches of snow. As I walked along the path I was able to find tracks (and scat). There were not many areas where there was less snow, due to the lack of tree coverage.

I am unsure of the tracks, but using the scat identifier, it may have been a raccoon. The tracks are long and dragged out, as the animal was heading up hill.

Something that I found interesting were these long tracks, although they may have been made from sticks and/or a small mammal.

Now I can’t say I am 100% on my identifying; it may have been a dog with short nails, or a bobcat. I found these track relatively far from the path going uphill.

Over the next few trips to my phenology, with more snow on the way, I am going to look for similar patterns in tracks. For now, it is interesting to see how different it looks with the snow coverage.