birdwatching

. . . a hobby the whole family can enjoy.

larger tracks

Okay, deer.  These are familiar.
Our yard is like a little deer highway.





















But what are these??  Three big holes dug down to the grass.  The snow was maybe a foot deep here, maybe more.  Big enough to stand inside.

Could it be deer?  They're the most likely to come so close to us.  These holes are out in the open, only 10 or 15 feet from our back deck.  But the snow isn't very deep and I can't imagine what an herbivore would be trying to accomplish.  Maybe the brown winter grass is actually more edible than it looks to me. 

Still, the tracks don't look like deer. My first thought was that someone had been chasing voles or something else tiny underneath the snow.  The holes were clearly wider at the surface of the snow and I imagine someone skimming the top layer of snow away while circling in toward its prey.  What mid-size predator would do this and also leave an asymmetrical track?  Raccoon?  Fox?

Here's the trail leading away from the holes.  They are repeating sets of 4 foot(paw)prints asymmetrically arranged with a gap in between.  I wish I'd measured the gait. The tracks also seemed to list to one side, making me think of the way a galloping dog leans in as it rounds a curve.