Surge of Activity
general, tracking September 28th, 2008Have you noticed that the wildlife is getting busier? There seems to be a lot more bird and mammal activity as the autumn starts to kick in.
A good indicator of this surge of activity is the number of different tracks that have suddenly appeared on the main pathways of my local wood. The last time I went to identify tracks in this area about a month ago, very little was to be seen.
Today, in my local wood, it was like a mini motorway.
There was badger…
Fox…
Muntjac…
Rabbit…
Cat - actually I think that’s a kitten, but might be wrong.
Not sure what the tracks between the fox tracks are. It could be weasel [edit - more likely a Stoast]
It was a beautiful weekend here and despite family commitments that stopped me going to the East Sussex meet, I was able to get out for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, in Poor Park, I must have just missed some fallow deer laying up in my camp (no less - the cheek!) There were signs where they had scraped away the surface debris and in this photo you can see a dark urination patch (dead centre of picture). I deducted they were there perhaps 30 minutes before I came along. There were 4 other lays like this.
Today, I soaked up the sun while tracking away on the outskirts of the woods as the temperature pushed its way into the 20’s. After five hours in the woods I came home, sat in the garden with a beer and ate some strawberries. What a life!
September 29th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Nice one Pablo. Similar evidence of activity down Sussex way this weekend……a number of deer lays just as you’ve photographed (cheers) and various parties of fallow plus two bucks with wonderful racks of antler. Many fungi in evidence including Birch bolete, chanterelles, cauliflower fungi, fly agaric and false death cap plus a few dragonflies at one of your favourite spots.
September 29th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I managed to scrape a night in the woods recently and saw more wildlife in one evening than I did in all of my last three nights out…. must be getting ready for winter!!
September 30th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
The Fall Shuffle is on as wildlife is either heading south for the winter, gathering food supplies, or eating as much as possible to store food energy as fat reserves. This does make for a great deal of movement. Also, for many species the young have matured and are seeking territory and resources, which means an abundance of wildlife on the move.
September 30th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Thanks Pablo for capturing such good examples of tracks (and sharing them here ;-). Your camera work is realy good.