Winter Mammal Watch

Whether passing through backyards under cover of darkness, encountered while hiking, or captured by a well-placed trailcam, the mammals of central Massachusetts allowed some Club members
a glimpse into their winter lives.  

Doug Wipf's backyard wildlife camera in Rutland revealed a raccoon helping itself to a drink out of the pond.

This Eastern Coyote could have been picking up the scent of Gray Foxes that visited Bill Platenik's Brimfield property a couple of weeks earlier. (See below.)

A Virginia Opossum--the only opossum in North America--visits a Hardwick backyard in early winter.

American Mink on a frozen section of Winimusset Brook, New Braintree, 29 December 2022. Photo By Wendy Howes

As this camera-capture shows, bobcats become more diurnal during fall and winter in response to the activity of their prey, which are more active during the day in colder weather. This one was exploring Bill Platenik's Brimfield property.

Mink like to live near water and establish long and narrow territories, some as large as several miles, that stretch along river banks, or around the edges of lakes or marshes.

When walking, the bobcat usually "directly registers", meaning its hind prints fall exactly on top of its fore prints.

But sometimes the forepaw lands slightly to the side of the rear print, an "indirect registration." Photos by Doug Wipf

Bobcat track in mud showing indirect registration. January 2023 Quabbin Gate 43 Hardwick. Photo by Alan Rawle

This video "grab" of two bobcat kittens was shared by Jim Morelly, who found some excellent footage on one of his remote trailcams. To view the entire video, go to https://hikingcamerawildlife.smugmug.com/

Another photogenic mammal crosses the path of one of Jim Morelly's trailcams. This bull moose has shed the antlers that are important in the mating season and is sporting pedicles (flat bony protrusions on the skull). He still retains a good-sized dewlap or bell under his chin. This flap of skin is larger in males.

This unaccompanied young moose in Hardwick's Quabbin area may be a male born last spring. As the female who raised him gets closer to calving--around May--she begins ignoring her male calf (or sometimes, calves) and he becomes independent. Cow moose don’t usually chase female calves away, so young females are usually found with their mothers for several years. Photo by Alan Rawle, 15 March.

This River Otter image was taken from a video produced by yet another trailcam placed by Jim Morelly in the Quabbin region.

Otter tracks and belly-slide impressions over a frozen shallow pond in Hardwick. Photo by Alan Rawle.

The same set of otter tracks and slides as above. The arrow points to the endpoint of the tracks where the otter entered the water through a hole in the ice. 15 March 2023. Photos by Alan Rawle

Two healthy-looking Gary Foxes visited Bill Platenik's yard on 27 January and got their pictures taken. The stripe of black hair that runs along the back of their tails is seen well here.

Porcupine tracks in the snow, showing the swaying gait and slight foot drag that are noticeable when a porcupine is seen walking. Photo by Doug Wipf

For American red squirrels, the odds are against their survival, but the central Massachusetts population is secure. On average only 22% survive to one year of age. They have many predators. And if juvenile red squirrels are to survive their first winter, they must acquire a territory and midden. They can acquire a territory by competing for a vacant territory, creating a new territory or by receiving all or part of a territory from their mothers (Wikipedia) Photo by Alan Rawle

A North American Porcupine pair emerges from a den under a strong, protective stone wall. Captured on trailcam placed by Jim Morelly. A male and female establish a strong biological tie and mate for the rest of their lives.

A mammal we'd rather not encounter outdoors is a domestic cat like this free-roaming feline. Although domestic cats (Felis catus) can make wonderful pets, they threaten birds and other wildlife and disrupt ecosystems.

Not a mammal we see in winter, the woodchuck, or groundhog, is one of the few species that enter into true hibernation. Instead its appearance signals the end of winter. Male groundhogs emerge from hibernation before females, anytime from early March to April, which is when the breeding season begins. Like this Hardwick animal, they emerge from hibernation with some remaining body fat to live on until the warmer spring weather produces abundant plant materials for food.                Photo by Alan Rawle