Sauble Beach, June 15 - Day 2
On the second morning we packed up camp and
headed back to the Sauble Beach area. The
morning was sunny and already much warmer than the day before. We started our
day on a couple of sand trails bisecting a secondary highway, quickly spotting
a canine track coming out of the trees by our parked cars. The tight toes, good
musculature and direct trail made for a likely coyote. We followed the tracks
across the road and discovered a change of gait. Heading through a more open
area of sand, the animal switched to a side trot, characteristic of coyotes and
foxes moving through an area without cover.
Beside the coyote tracks we spotted some
fresh-looking snowshoe hare tracks heading in the opposite direction, with the
characteristic J-shape in the back track.
More hare tracks showed a sudden change of direction, with shifted sand
creating a “plate” behind the track. We
again discussed pressure releases and how to read direction of travel and speed
of movement through the shifts in substrate around a set of tracks. In the same
area we found clear turkey tracks, chipmunk tracks, and a five-toed animal,
smaller than a raccoon, travelling in a lope.
Alexis pointed out some details of the tracks that established them as
classic skunk tracks: slightly circular
front tracks, boxy back tracks and a slight break in the back heel pad.
The area on either side of our trail was
covered in poison ivy in all directions, effectively keeping us on the trail,
and giving us a chance to examine the hazardous plant and get a good visual
grasp of what distinguished it from the more benign plants which it
occasionally seemed to mimic (Manitoba maple or sarsaparilla, for example). We
headed back across the road, briefly took a break out of the blazing sun, ate a
quick lunch by our cars, pulled on bug jackets, and plunged onto the sand trail
behind us.
Not far into the woods, an exciting discovery: clear bear tracks directly on the trail, a rear registering on top of a front. The sand tail was again bordered on either side by poison ivy, as well as maples, ferns, wild grape, and other plants. Further along the trail, the bear seemed to have crossed again, with a couple more tracks registering. Off to the right of the trail, we spotted a beautiful painted turtle, which we briefly examined. Was it a female on her way to lay eggs?
We made our way into a more open area, and
some of our group explored further while others dropped down onto some shaded
grass to rest and rehydrate. Sitting by the field we noticed more plants to add
to our list and watched and listened to eastern towhees and other birds around
us. The exploring group came back with a couple of mystery clumps of fur. The
first: found near a coyote scat with pieces of the same fur in the scat;
smooth, shiny and dark brown with soft underfur and long, smooth guard hairs. Beaver! The second: short, alternating black and brown
in very short sections. Hmm. Some of us guessed raccoon, but no: snowshoe
hair.
It was mid-afternoon and we decided on a
final quick drive to the area by the lake that we had explored the previous
day. Checking on the tracks from the previous day gave us an opportunity to
talk about aging. We then headed out in a different direction from the day
before, walking across a stream and into a grove of trees. The group drifted apart to explore the area, until
sudden harsh bird calls drew our attention: a large bird of prey, with short head and
impressive wingspan, being mobbed by smaller black birds, all heading away from
us across a field into another grove of trees.
Was it a barred owl? A great horned owl?
Mobbed by grackles? Across the
field, the owl tried to take shelter. We
heard crows joining in with the smaller birds, the owl gradually being pushed
further and further away from us, the cacophony of crows remaining constant for
a long time. We tried to follow, a
couple of us even taking off our shoes to attempt to cross the water that was
in our way, but the jagged stone bottom, along with the late hour, made us turn
back.
We called a closing circle for a last
chance to reflect on the weekend’s adventures, and gave some final words of
gratitude to the animals, plants and people, to the beautiful land and to the
majestic lake, before heading back to our cars to find our roads back home.
Written by Malgosia Halliop
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