THIS IS SPRING?
Winter continues in Maine. Just before Easter weekend, I spent the morning at the campground before any other hikers ventured forth. My aim was to track the animals, and an early start means I only have wild animal tracks to follow. There were a lot. There has got to be a coyote hunting on the south end of the island. Their tracks can be easily confused with a dog's, but these tracks were purposeful in their pursuit of prey. I followed them through the dunes and up to high rocky areas as you see here. I did not see where anything was caught, though there were several "digs" where the animal had pawed the snow looking for voles, perhaps. No blood or guts were found, though a nice deposit of scat gave me pause. The scat gave me some insight into its food and how much earlier it had been placed. It was dark, indicating ingestion of red meat, though there was some fur too. The scat, being of dark color, had absorbed the sun's heat and sunk down into the snow cover. I was not hot on its trail!

Here are the tracks, with my glove to get an idea of their size. If these were made by a dog, they would meander, plus they would accompany a human's tracks. Below is their scat. What should we know about coyotes? Roger said I should be wary if I come across these hungry animals though I've never heard of a healthy one attacking a human. I have only seen one in Connecticut as it walked outside my kitchen window! They look very dog-like, but have a characteristic of walking with their tails down, not extended or curled up, as a dog carries his. These animals may take down a small or aged deer, usually attacking it from the rear. Remember my finding a deer foot? It is possible that was the result of a coyote attack. I rarely hear of people seeing these animals up here in Maine, though they are heard howling occasionally. They are primarily nocturnal hunters. They do chase down voles and other small mammals. I've seen their tracks in the same vicinity as grouse's, but don't think they take those birds. Cat owners worry about losing their animals to coyotes.

Snow still remains on the Maine scene, and now we hear warnings of more snow at the end of the week. Where is spring? Though there are still patches of ice on Center Pond, it is a great spot for waterfowl watching. Those little Buffleheads are bobbing and diving with a slew of Mergansers thrown into the mix. I think I saw my first Cormorant also. The Goldfinch males are definitely redefining their plumage. I've given up on seeing or hearing frogs, though I checked back to last year. I was writing about Wood Frog sightings in CT on March 31st! Those amphibians must be chaffing at the bit to escape their winter lodgings.

There has been some color INSIDE our home these days. A beautiful Amaryllis has again bloomed to glorify the scene. This is a bulb that I've kept over the years, carefully placing it outside in warm weather and bringing it back inside before frost. My reward has been what you see here. I took this picture this morning, reflecting the sunshine streaming into the window.

4/11/07 Coyote following and Amaryllis admiring, Ronnie