Secrets written in Snow

The Foxtrot, but how do we know a red fox made these tracks? Read on and find out. . . . 

The very essence of the Yeti challenge is to record animals and plants in the flesh, so to speak, meaning dead animals, tracks and signs cannot be included. However knowing what produced which sign is an important skill for a naturalist, and one which ultimately increases the likelihood of seeing a given animal, and adding it to the year list. Have you ever wondered what animals roam the fields, woods and even gardens which surround us and what dramas unfold when the sun sets? Today I followed a fox, had lunch with a badger, jumped a fence with a deer and patrolled a territory with an otter, just not at the same time as the animals. When it snows it essentially creates a blank canvas, the mammals (and birds) which travel across it are the artists, all of which have their very own signature, this is of course their footprints.

Upon stepping out of the door today, footprints are everywhere, neighbours, cats, dogs, the postman (no really! I didn't sleep in). The first of interest today is the grey squirrel (see below) four dots which characteristically show the front feet seen here in blue placed behind the larger hind feet seen in red. Red squirrel are similar but smaller, however these do not occur in this region. The squirrel moves in such a way that its hind feet overlap its forefeet in a jumping motion as it moves, leading to the confusing looking hind feet first footprint we see in the photo below. Rabbit (see further below) is similar but the forefeet are not parallel as they move. Another feature of squirrel tracks is that they usually start and end with a tree or suddenly stop at a wall, leading to the popular misconception of ghosts squirrels. 

Grey Squirrel tracks, showing the forefeet in blue and hind feet in red.  

Once we walk into less urbanised farmland we start to see the very distinctive rabbit prints. These are slightly larger than the squirrel tracks and show offset front feet (seen in blue) behind the larger (red) hind feet in an almost "Y" formation. Again the same motion as we see in squirrels projects rabbits forwards in bounds with overlapping hind feet. Hares are similar but larger and have a larger distance between each print set.

Rabbit tracks, showing the forefeet in blue and hind feet in red and the typical Lagomorph shape.   

As we begin to approach the wooded field borders we see a set of much larger prints this time cloven, they are of course Deer in this case roe deer. Roe deer show a moderately small print in comparison to fallow and red deer (and larger than Muntjac) with narrow pointed cleaves (toes), a key feature in roe deer is that the foot pad extends across the entire base of the hoof, unlike other deer which have restricted foot pads leading to an indentation towards the front of the cleaves. In snow or very soft mud the dew claws can also be seen (small prints behind the main two cleaves), especially when the animal is jumping. Roe deer typically walk, but movement can be dictated on distance between print sets amongst other things, walking shows a distance of approximately 60-90 cm between prints. They have a habit of placing the hind foot in the print of the forefoot. They even do this when they are not moving through snow, which can obscure the prints at times.

Roe Deer print, showing the imprint of the dew claws in the soft snow, a feature usually not seen in mud and other substrata and may even give a wild boar look to the print.   

Now with the usual suspects cleared let's look at the biggest print scandal since the Leveson Enquiry. Dog or Fox?? Well it is usually quite simple really, more so than phone tapping. As seen in the photographs below foxes typically show smaller more widely placed pads than dogs. In foxes there is usually a noticeable gap between the central two pads and outer two meaning you can fit an imaginary line between the central and outer pads without it touching any pads. In dogs the larger more closely packed pads prohibit this, meaning a line cannot be drawn without touching the pads. As the foxes central two pads are further forward it leads to a bigger gap behind them, as well as a more slender overall pad. This does take a bit of practice but can soon be added to your arsenal of natural history tools.

        

Dog print

Fox print

A print found more irregularly in winter is that of the badger, whilst they do not hibernate they do become markedly more sedentary in cold weather and spend less time above ground, after their autumn feeding glut. The print of a badger is unique in Britain, unless we have a miniature species of bear living in the countryside that I don't know about. A large kidney shaped central pad with 5 (sometimes only seen as 4) toes almost parallel to it, the forefoot (red) is larger with longer more powerful claws, used for predominantly for digging. A larger forefoot is typical of all British predatory mammals as this is used in dealing with prey, fighting, mating (in some species) digging and forward propulsion when running. Badgers like many other mammals step within their own footprints when moving across snow, to reduce energy expenditure.   

Badger prints, fore foot red, hind foot blue, note the size difference between the feet. 

The last print was found besides the local drain and is a treat no matter how many times I find it, for it is that of the otter a mammal which with reduced pesticides and persecution is doing very well across the region, now. The otter shows a large print, with five well spaced toes, 3 central and 2 slightly lower outside. The central pad is large, and webbing between toes on these prints can often be seen. This pad is evidently from a rather large male, the print itself is the size of a large Labrador. In addition to otter prints you often find smooth runs through the snow, as otters like nothing more than sliding through the snow, these are especially noticeable slipping down the bank and into the water. Otters have short legs and low bodies producing these runs, the tail drag can also be quite distinctive.     

Otter, showing the typical mustelid print, with three central toes. 

Without getting away from the Yeti challenge (well we did need some mammal representation) I took some time out from invertebrates to see which birds the snow had moved onto the local patch, as it so often does. A female goosander was a pleasant local find on a largely frozen Throxenby Mere (a personal year tick), fieldfare, redwing, mistle thrush, siskin, marsh tit, willow tit and song thrush are abundant within the hedgerows and trees in the Scalby/Throxenby area at the moment, as are a small number of woodcock (year tick) in the hedge bases and woodland, with increasing predictability in some sections. Buzzards continue to creep east with two birds Mewing at Throxenby Mere, as well as a male sparrowhawk. The Seacut had its usual high numbers of bullfinch and siskin, two cormorants (not that abundant on the drain and at times a difficult patch tick), approximately 30 teal on the drain (a local patch tick for me and one which has long been predicted there) as well as the lapwing in the wider fields. The frozen ditches and fields surrounding the Seacut had quite characteristically resulted in most of the snipe funneling onto the banks of the drain. However spotting them before they flush still remains as difficult as ever.    

Distant shot of a female Goosander on Throxenby Mere. A fish feeding duck, which has small backward projecting teeth in which to hold its prey, leading to the family name of sawbills. In this habitat prey is predominantly perch, young pike and roach.  

Teal taking flight on the local drain, in the middle of a heavy snow storm. 

Winter wonderland, showing the northern entrance to Forge Valley near Hackness.