Winter wonderland, RSPB Nagshead (Photo: Lewis Thomson)
During the recent week of snow, it was brilliant to get up to Nagshead and walk the paths looking for animal tracks. I managed to find signs of Fox, Wild Boar, Fallow Deer, Grey Squirrel and a couple of rodent tracks on a stroll around the Long Trail. Fallow Deer prints consist of two simple narrow slots and are fairly easy to identify here as Fallow are the only large deer species present.
Fallow Deer print (Photo: Lewis Thomson)
Wild Boar prints are usually large and wide with two dew claws at the rear.
Wild Boar print (Photo: Lewis Thomson)
Boar can be a real help to woodland birds during these tough conditions. Boar effectively clear the snow from the woodland floor when foraging for food, exposing the leaf litter underneath. This gives birds access to the invertebrates and seeds which they rely on for food.
Evidence of Wild Boar foraging (Photo: Lewis Thomson)
Recent prints are usually clean and crisply formed and can mean the animals that left them are still in the area.
Wild Boar, Sus scrofa (Photo: Lewis Thomson)
Tracks can also be found fairly easily in the mud along the edges of paths, so even though the snow has gone, why not have a look which species' prints you can identify.