What a short, strange winter it has been
Warmth, scant snow change feed habits
By DENNIS APRILL, Outdoors Columnist
Two weeks ago, just before sunset, I was finishing off an exercise workout. As I neared my mailbox, I heard loud crunching on the snow in the woods off to my right. Almost immediately, a small doe burst onto the road, crossed and galloped into the woods on the opposite side, then turned and ran in my direction.
I pulled out my small point-and-shoot camera, expecting more deer to follow her. Instead, a smaller dark silhouette crossed shortly thereafter; tail down, it was a coyote on the hunt. I snapped off a picture, but figured the animal was out of range of the flash. I then moved into the woods between the deer and the coyote, the latter exiting in the opposite direction.
This was the first time I actually interrupted a coyote stalking a deer. However, I’m sure coyote hunt deer on a regular basis, especially in late winter.
I have also heard reports this winter, second hand, of coyotes going after livestock in places they have never bothered these domestic animals before. Maybe it’s the weather that has something to do with it.
With the deer and rabbits moving easily on the snow crust, predators like coyotes have to work harder for their food. They are not the only predators I have found that are seeking out alternate food sources.
In early March, I had my photo hunter camera system (described in an earlier article) set up near a deer feeding station; apples were the main course. After getting the roll of film developed, I discovered that not only deer like apples, but fisher and gray fox as well. One photo showed the fisher with an apple in its mouth!
Fisher have long been considered heavy predators of small game like rabbits, squirrels, grouse and even porcupines, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen evidence they eat fruit.
They too may be having more trouble getting their regular prey this year, or maybe they just like partially frozen, partially fermented apples.
The gray fox was a real surprise. I had found cat-like tracks cross in front of the camera, but assumed it was a free-roaming cat. I have seen only one other gray fox since the 1970’s, so I thought they were uncommon in my area.
Gray fox tracks are, like other canines, in a straight line, the prints smaller and the stride shorter than those of the red fox. According to my field guide, gray fox eat birds, rabbits and mice and also berries. Now I can add apples to the list.
Add to these observations a flock of Canada geese flying over my house on March 9 when the temperature rose to 62 degrees (the earliest I’ve ever sighted geese in the spring), and this winter, for me anyway, is one of the more unusual I have ever experienced.