Scat

When we walk in the woods behind our house, we have named certain trails. For example, the trail we most often see barred owls is 'Owl Alley' and the trail over the rock wall is called the 'Silly Clock Way' because there is an old clock sitting on the wall. It has always been there; I have no idea why! Today we found that a fox had left it's scat on the clock...what this tells us animals think of time, who knows. Interpret away!

Mink

This morning, out by the woodpile there was an animal that looked like a chocolate brown ferret. It was a mink!

Some facts about mink:

• Family: Mustelidae, Weasels
• Description: Sleek-bodied, with lustrous chocolate- brown to black fur. Tail long, somewhat bushy and up to 50% of body length.
• Habitat: Swamps, marshes & bogs, Lakes, ponds, rivers & streams, Forests & woodlands
• The American mink is a carnivorous animal, which feeds on rodents, fish, crustaceans, amphibians and birds. It kills vertebrate prey by biting the back of the head or neck, leaving canine puncture marks 9-11 mm apart. It is a formidable predator of muskrats, which are chased underwater and killed in their own burrows
• Mink tracks: