November 21, 2004
MONO CLIFFS - 25th Sideroad entrance (North
side)
Fall Tracking Day
Meeting Report & Photos by Alexis Burnett
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Three people turned
out for on a misty/overcast/sunny/cloudy fall day. It was
however a beautiful morning and we began our journey by
following a deer trail that ran parallel to the road. We stopped
and looked at some rocks that were covered in different mosses
and lichens -- so alive and vibrant as many of the other plants
are dying/going to sleep for the winter. |
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A little further
down the trail we found a large larder of milkweed seeds and
stopped to examine what was feasting on these abundant seeds.
Many animals and birds feed on the harvest of the milkweed
plant, from many kinds of rodents to rabbits and hares,
chickadees etc... It has become a very important plant to a lot
of these animals. It also has many utilitarian uses for us as
well, but that's another story. So... do you know who has been
storing these seeds in the birds-nest? |
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Or how about who
was feeding on these seeds? |
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There were many
animal trails coming and going from this field, some small and
some quite large. When the sun goes down you could tell that
many animas are moving on these small thoroughfares! |
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As we entered the
forest and neared the top of the escarpment, we all split up and
wandered alone through this enchanted part of the forest. Along
the edge of the field there was at least one deer bed that we
found and a lot of sign of the deer that move through this area.
It was really nice to be able to wander through this area alone
and really experience the mood and transitions of the forest. I
spent a lot of my time following the deer trails as they weaved
their way through the hardwoods along the top of the limestone
cliffs. You could feel the impressions left from their hooves as
they walked across the wet leaves. |
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I came across quite
a lot of scat, many of it looked pretty fresh. These deer, along
with many other mammals really change their movement patterns at
this time of year. There was also some sign of the lingering
"Rut" that is coming to a close in this area. I noticed a lot of
antler rubs, some old a couple new, along with some foot scrapes
where there was some scent deposited. It was a lot of fun to
follow these trails left by the deer and get a sense of what
their lives are like at this time of year. |
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The leaves on the
forest floor were nice and wet, which afforded for a quiet
fox-walk through the forest. Most of the summer birds have
vanished from the landscape recently, but many of the more
common winter residents were around. Including: Blue Jays,
Chickadees, Red-Tails, Ravens, Crows, etc... At one point there
was a Blue Jay imitating a Red-Tail. Has he seen the Red-Tail
that was perched up in the trees in this area I wondered? Along
the deer trails I also passed a number of raccoon scats, mostly
containing apples, another sign of what the animals are eating
right now and the time of year. There were a few large Red and
Gray Squirrels around as well, it seems they have packed on some
extra ounces of fat and fur in anticipation of the coming
winter. There was also sign of a porcupine beginning to feed on
bark as this porcupine had dined on some sweet cambium of this
maple tree. I was wondering when these animals and others would
be switching to a more fiber-based diet. The amount of succulent
green vegetation is quickly diminishing from the landscape! The
Red-squirrels could be seen stripping cedar bark from the trees
to line their nests with. These small rodents are very busy at
this time of year. |
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I decided to sit
for a while on the top of the beautiful cliffs in this area and
soak up this amazing fall day. It would be hard to capture the
spirit of this day in words. It was very comforting to
experience it alone, yet with others as we separately wandered
alone. I'm thankful to Skeet and Colleen for joining me on this
fall day and know that they also had a special time walking the
land on this fine day! Happy Tracking!
--Alexis Burnett |
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