Oxbow NWR (2/10)

On Saturday I headed out to Oxbow NWR for a hike. It was cool but relatively sunny which made for perfect walking conditions. I ended up hiking the two mile loop around the main body of water. There were a few pockets of birds here and there (Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Downy Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmice) but it was relatively quiet.

But, just because I couldn't find aanything doesn't mean that the forest is barren because there was a wealth of tracks in the light snow. Along the main road I found lots of Coyote tracks. At the park bench near the first body of water I found a set of Bobcat tracks and followed them over the ice. That led me to a set of tracks that I'm pretty sure were made by a Fisher. They show the weasel family gait and I got a good look at the individual prints when the animal ran over some hardened snow.

Further up the road I came across tracks from a flock of Turkeys. The tracks were a bit strange. Instead of having distinct print they had what looked like toe drags in the snow which connected each print. I even found the imprint of a wing in the snow.

There was also a lot of Deer tracks. Lots of them led over the frozen pond and appeared to show the animals browsing on the vegetation. Also, on the ice I found a path that I'm guessing was made by a Muskrat. The path went between a burrow opening in the ice and a small wooden bridge. I'm guessing that the animals were eating the grasses under the bridge since they were protected from the snow and ice.