For this weeks project, we were tasked with tracking animals around Burlington and seeing what different things we could find.
I went to Centennial, such a classic space for interacting with wildlife. In centennial, I saw a lot of animal activity. As soon as I went in, I saw two dogs. They were so cute! I went walking down the main path, and then veered to the right to explore a large fallen tree. At the back of the fallen tree is where I saw my first set of tracks! I used iNaturalist and my tracking guide to narrow this down to …… a Mink!
I decided on a mink for this track because of how it has 5 toes, already eliminating several other kinds of animals. I am still not fully sure exactly what animal it is though. The main thing that made me decide was the way that the heel pad was shaped and how the toes on the end sort of stick out. They almost look like thumbs. I was deciding between a mink and a weasel, but at the end I chose mink because of how the heel pad is more rounded. iNaturalist was really helpful and actually recommended mink as the first thing it could be.
I continued walking up the path. I went past the creek bridge and up the hill to the flat area, where the creek continues down the slope. I walked over there and found more tracks! They were leading in a trail all around the area and were all over a log leading across the creek. It was so cute! I used my tracking book to confirm this, but I knew basically immediately. It has a hopping pattern where the back feet land in the front.
I identified this as a red squirrel, because of how the tracks are really small. The toes are also very clumped together, unlike a gray squirrel. Gray squirrel tracks are larger and their toes are way more spread out. They also have toes that look almost like thumbs on the side. I really did not think that this animal had that, so I went with red squirrel. iNaturalist seemed to agree with me. These tracks were actually one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.
The final set of tracks I saw were when I was walking back to the dorm. They were right next to the Magnolia tree by Jeffords hall.
These tracks were so fun to find because I had really been wanting to see them. I am not fully sure as to what these are, but I decided at the time that they were Cottontail rabbit tracks. I decided this, with the help of my tracking booklet, because of how they are very long and thin. The other animal I was considering was a snowshoe hare, but their tracks are much larger and wider-looking. iNaturalist agreed with my idea. It also knew that this was a rabbit/hare of some sort, but it didn’t know exactly which one.
All together, I had a great time exploring Burlington and finding wildlife! I really love seeing the evidence of their existence and how cute their tracks are.