I got up at first light and hit the trail before sun-up.I’d hoped to capture a glimpse of wildlife. But I’m just as happy to have photos of tracks in a dusting of snow. By the time I finished my hike, many of the tracks were gone.
This photo captures the track pattern of a fox running, the pattern of a squirrel bounding, and if you look carefully along the left, you can see the tracks of a tiny rodent - maybe a shrew or a vole.
It’s handy to find coyote tracks and fox tracks side by side on this abandoned woods road. Coyotes are bigger and heavier. If I had better tracking skills, I’d be able to tell who was out first and who was traveling with a mate.
Raccoon tracks are easily visible. But along the top of the screen you can see fox and rabbit tracks.
The tiny rodent traveled out and back across the trail, stepping in rabbit tracks. I have no idea if they ventured out before or after the coyote trotted by.
One advantage of a dusting of snow, is the chance to see details, like the toe ridges, heel pads and claw marks of this squirrel track.