John's Mammals 2014 (1 Viewer)

[Farnboro John]

I think it is a bit of a unique wildlife experience. Funny little critters. Phil

Totally agree! Definitely value!

John

 

[crazyfingers]

Got a photo of a Hare in Acadia National Park, Maine, USA

 

[Farnboro John]

Difficult, yes. But not futile. See attached. These were me alone with camera & torch.

Those are great! I'd be very interested in your flash settings for them.

John

 

[scary-canary]

Got a photo of a Hare in Acadia National Park, Maine, USA

Surely that's a rabbit.

 

[crazyfingers]

Surely that's a rabbit.

Pretty sure it's a snowshoe hare. Locals who were there confirmed too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowshoe_hare

In Maine there are cottontails (rabbits) and showshoe Hare.
http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/human/lww_information/hares_and_rabbits.html

In my post several above there are photos of cottontails. Very different looking faces. Ears are a lot shorter than a hare.

I see quite a lot of cottontails in Massachusetts and it's huge compared to the cottontail. Besides the second link notes that cottontails don't live north of Portland Maine and I was a good deal more north than Portland.

 

[scary-canary]

Pretty sure it's a snowshoe hare. Locals who were there confirmed too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowshoe_hare

In Maine there are cottontails (rabbits) and showshoe Hare.
http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/human/lww_information/hares_and_rabbits.html

In my post several above there are photos of cottontails. Very different looking faces. Ears are a lot shorter than a hare.

I see quite a lot of cottontails in Massachusetts and it's huge compared to the cottontail. Besides the second link notes that cottontails don't live north of Portland Maine and I was a good deal more north than Portland.

Yes I think you are right. Sorry! They look very different in structure to European hares
Chris

 

[Farnboro John]

I could see it was a hare but I found the chocolate colour quite remarkable. Is that usual for the species?

John

 

[crazyfingers]

I could see it was a hare but I found the chocolate colour quite remarkable. Is that usual for the species?

John

It's really quite variable. And showshoe Hares become all white in the winter! They seasonally change their color just like some birds.

 

[Farnboro John]

It's really quite variable. And showshoe Hares become all white in the winter! They seasonally change their color just like some birds.

Yep. I know about the white. Our Mountain Hares Lepus timidus do that as well. The chocolate bunny was something I'd only seen at Easter though!

John

 

[Jos Stratford]

Snowshoes in summer can be that colour.

 

[snlw]

A family party of Weasels have been seen at Rainham Marshes RSPB for a couple of days
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=585879898191639&set=gm.10152521456071206&type=1&theater

Cheers, Simon

 

[crazyfingers]

Looking through the photos I have this also. It appears to have the fur on the bottoms of the feet as it should for a showshoe hare.

 

[crazyfingers]

An interesting animal encounter this evening.

We have a cat enclosure in the back yard. It encloses much of the back yard to the side of the house. The cats have a cat-flat door under the deck. I am standing on the deck.

So the cat is in the yard and white-tail deer come along.

In the 1st photo the two animals see each other. Now the cat sees deer all the time. It has no concern and really no interest.

In the 2nd photo the deer is clearly very interested. The cat is bored.

In the 3rd photo the deer is stomping the ground with it's left front leg and then gives a big hiss. Cat is still bored.

In the 4th photo the deer is now stomping the ground with it's front right leg and hisses again. The cat is bored.

I finally walked down the steps to the yard and the deer ran off. The cat watched it go.

 

[Farnboro John]

An interesting animal encounter this evening.

We have a cat enclosure in the back yard. It encloses much of the back yard to the side of the house. The cats have a cat-flat door under the deck. I am standing on the deck.

So the cat is in the yard and white-tail deer come along.

In the 1st photo the two animals see each other. Now the cat sees deer all the time. It has no concern and really no interest.

In the 2nd photo the deer is clearly very interested. The cat is bored.

In the 3rd photo the deer is stomping the ground with it's left front leg and then gives a big hiss. Cat is still bored.

In the 4th photo the deer is now stomping the ground with it's front right leg and hisses again. The cat is bored.

I finally walked down the steps to the yard and the deer ran off. The cat watched it go.

The closest match in the deer's hard-wired predator awareness will be Bobcat, which may or may not be a threat to an adult but will surely take fawns. The deer's actions are perfectly understandable in that context.

John

 

[JWN Andrewes]

In Kenya once I witnessed a variety of game (Impala, Giraffe, and Zebra, with possibly some other bits and pieces, must have been north of 50 individuals) all utterly imobile and intently staring at a small white moggie that had emerged presumably from some nearby huts. At the end of the day, a cat's a cat; why take chances? I have a picture somewhere, I'll try and locate it.

James

 

[crazyfingers]

The closest match in the deer's hard-wired predator awareness will be Bobcat, which may or may not be a threat to an adult but will surely take fawns. The deer's actions are perfectly understandable in that context.

John

We are aware of at least one 18 pound bobcat in the woods. There are also foxes, coyote and fisher. Except for the fisher the rest are much more yellowish than our silly tabby in the yard. But your analysis is likely true.

Of course those predictors are half the reason for the cat enclosure. It doesn't just keep the cats from killing birds, it keeps the cats safe as well.

 

[Mike Richardson]

We are aware of at least one 18 pound bobcat in the woods. There are also foxes, coyote and fisher. Except for the fisher the rest are much more yellowish than our silly tabby in the yard. But your analysis is likely true.

Of course those predictors are half the reason for the cat enclosure. It doesn't just keep the cats from killing birds, it keeps the cats safe as well.

Just out of interest how often do you see the Fishers?

 

[crazyfingers]

Just out of interest how often do you see the Fishers?

I have personally only seen a dead one. It was in the woods at the far end of our property. But the local paper reports sightings and publishes photos of that type. There have been fisher reports. That's how I knew about the 18 pound bobcat. A photo taken on the opposite side of the woods that I abut was published in the paper.

I see red foxes several times a year and I hear the coyotes in the evening.

I have photos of the foxes. I've yet to get a photo of the others. They are top of my wish list.

 

[Mike Richardson]

I have personally only seen a dead one. It was in the woods at the far end of our property. But the local paper reports sightings and publishes photos of that type. There have been fisher reports. That's how I knew about the 18 pound bobcat. A photo taken on the opposite side of the woods that I abut was published in the paper.

I see red foxes several times a year and I hear the coyotes in the evening.

I have photos of the foxes. I've yet to get a photo of the others. They are top of my wish list.

I guess Fishers are one of the most difficult US mammals to see in the wild. Having said that, numbers are increasing and one has even been seen in the Bronx, NYC.

 

[MarkHows]

It has been quite on the mammal front of late but recently I have been out a bit and encountered a field vole under a reptile tin. Muntjac and brown hares here and there. But my village has been very productive recently 4 different hedgehogs of which 1 adult and 2 youngsters are coming to my garden, I saw one of my garden foxes the other night but the highlight was last Friday as the harvest began locally I put some longworths in the adjacent hedgerows and caught a wood mouse and a cracking harvest mouse.

I also visited the Chilterns to do a edible dormouse box check which is great fun and they are a real challenge to handle.


Mark