Thursday, December 29, 2016

River Otter Tracks?

Just before Christmas, after our big snowstorm, but before our big melt, a friend and I snowshoed down the 10th Sideroad, just three roads north of us here.  It used to be a road, and you could probably still get a vehicle down it with care in a dry summer, but they don't maintain it anymore, and now it makes a nice walk in to the point where it crosses Wodehouse Creek.

Dry Beech leaves rustling in the breeze. 

We parked across the road, beside the tiny New England cemetery, and headed down the trail.

Passed one of my favourite giant old Sugar Maples.  It's got such character; it's rough bark suggests to me that it's been growing 150 years!  Each of those lower branches is big enough to be a substantial tree in its own right.

The entire distance, almost a kilometer, is bordered on one side by an old stone fencerow, built of fairly big boulders, but so overgrown it's hard to get a good picture - and at this time of year smothered in snow.

We got in as far as the bridge, but surprisingly didn't see even a trace of open water.  There's a fair current in the stream here, and it hasn't been that cold, so I didn't expect it to be frozen over.

With the deep fresh snow, this was a day for the big snowshoes, and we left the trail to tramp along the riverbank and see what we could see.  In spring, the water will be just a torrent down this little valley.

The evergreens are Eastern Hemlock, here backing the dry Beech leaves.  Hemlock will grown in the shade of taller hardwoods like Sugar Maple.  There are quite a few of them along the creek here.

We couldn't see any open water, but we could certainly hear it gurgling under the ice.  Then we spotted a single hole in the ice, a hole that looked suspiciously like a breathing or access hole for some animal.

Past a tree, I spotted these unsual tracks down on the snow over the ice, leading to that hole.  Could they possibly be a trail left by an Otter!?  They were the right size, and this is the only place in the valley where I've previously seen otter slides in the snow, down to the river.

I'm going to call it an otter track, probably most exciting evidence of wildlife I've seen in the valley.  Challenge me if you will!

****

Meanwhile, it was down to the cardiologist today in Kitchener.  Good news, as it looks like the old ticker will work a few more years yet.  But this half of the drive was nasty, with blowing snow covering the road.  A much slower drive than usual, but we're home safely.  More snow to come tonight.

17 comments:

  1. I would think it's otters behind that.

    The snow was busy here all day as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We have Western Hemlock (of course) but also Mountain Hemlock. They cross pollinate to create a hybrid. I can't tell the difference but our good friend who takes us on quad trips into the backcountry is a former logger and points out those kinds of things. - Margy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful news for your heart. And the snow, hope you are always safe where there is running water under a trail.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Probably an otter, otherwise it would be a mink. The slide mark certainly looks wide enough for an otter, so you're almost certainly correct in calling it otter.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great news! Great walk! Love the old tree!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cool to see otter slide tracks in the snow!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello, the otter track is cool. Great find! Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend. I wish you all the best in 2017, Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's good to hear that your heart is healthy. And I also love the pretty pictures of the dry beech leaves and the otter tracks. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. the snow is really gorgeous, especially hugging that sugar maple!! tracks in the snow are always so cool and a fun challenge to figure out!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love old stone fences. Your pictures are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am enjoying you snow pictures and looks like you are enjoying it as well.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Picture number 2 reminds me of an image from Kipling's the cat that walked by himself.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Glad your home safely and good news about your heart.
    That IS a neat old tree and I love stone walls.
    Sounds like a good winter walk with some fantastic pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful photos and what a great find those tracks were. Thanks for the recent comments you've left on my blog, I've not been very good at visiting other blogs lately myself!

    Wishing you a very happy 2017!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nice find FG. I remember my encounter with a river otter on the ice at the cottage near Tobermory a couple of winters back.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Looking at your snowy photos I had to go turn our thermostat up and put on an extra pair of wooly socks.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love it! IT could be a muskrat, couldn't it? It's fun sussing out the mysteries in the snow.

    ReplyDelete