Nov 26, 2006
Fall Tracking
BRUCE TRAIL - 4th Line Hockley valley
(HOCKLEY VALLEY PROVINCIAL NATURE RESERVE)
Meeting Report & Photos by Alexis Burnett
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On this warm fall
day 5 of us ventured down the 'Peter Beechum' trail in Hockley
Valley. most of the day was spend following a beautiful creek
flowing through the hardwood trees on it's way down to the
Nottawasaga river in the valley bottom below. Shortly after
starting we came upon many 'digs' in the leaves on the ground.
We speculated to as what had made this sign and came up with red
squirrels being the best possibility. But we didn't rule out the
opportunistic raccoon who's scats we found in a number of areas
throughout the day. |
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We followed some
deer tracks through the leaves and found some beautiful moss
growing on the limestone rocks under the shade of the towering
hardwoods. |
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The whole day we
admired the magnificence of the trees in this forest. Sugar
Maple, Hemlock, Hickory, Butternut, Yellow and White Birch,
Cedar, White Ash and many other species were common. Their seeds
were being utilized as a food source by many different animals.
It was common to find the feeding sign of red squirrels,
especially on these maple seeds. We saw many red squirrels this
day and they were quite active in these last days of the fall.
Their coats were very red in color and quite 'bushy'. |
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Along the edge of
the stream we found many tracks of raccoons and a few sets of
mink tracks. These were a great discovery and yielded us with
many questions pertaining to these elusive, aquatic creatures.
Here was a Leopard frog with a set of mink tracks right behind
it. This little guy let us get quite close and observe him
before diving into the mud. With these frogs and minnows in the
stream we figured there was no shortage of food for this
resident mink. How big was his territory we wondered? |
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Along the stream we also found what looked like
squirrel tracks in the mud. Very clear tracks in a bounding
pattern. This area was rich in animal life and there was no
doubt as to the importance of this water source. |
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On our walk back we
found a couple of mystery scats along the trail. Both seemed
like they belonged to a red fox, but we could not say for sure?
This one contained deer hair as well as a quill from a feather.
This was placed on a moss-covered rock just to the side of the
trail. A prominent place. This was common for these types of
scats that we found this day.
All in all we found tracks and sign for many
animals including porcupine, raccoon, red squirrel, mink, deer,
red fox and coyote among others. |
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We had a good walk
this day and learned many things about the nature of this place.
It is always so good to have a group like this together, moving
slowly and observing all that enters our senses. I thank
everyone who came out on this day for a wonderful time and hope
that you can all make it out again with us.
Happy Tracking! |
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