Cool Nature Photos

[ArlyA]

Who's tracks are these? Found among the shove ice on a big lake. I have large hands.View attachment 786632

Here is a clue

 

[MossRoad]

Unless I witnessed it myself, (and you might have seen it yourself) I'm sticking with heron.

 

[Xfaxman]

Unless I witnessed it myself, (and you might have seen it yourself) I'm sticking with heron.

The difference is the claw tips, heron's are not as big:

 

[cqaigy2]

Hmm, ok i'll go with eagle too. Interesting looking at those tracks.

 

[goeduck]

I think Moss was on the right track . Note the "V" of the outer front toes is wider than the "V" of the inside front toes on each foot.

Animal Tracks - Great Blue Heron

Animal tracks and natural history information for great blue herons - Ardea herodias.

www.bear-tracker.com

 

[MossRoad]

The difference is the claw tips, heron's are not as big:

View attachment 786781

Note how the middle toe and rear toe (?) are in the same line but offset a bit? All the eagle track pictures I've seen those toes are not in line.

Herons have some pretty healthy claws as well.

Anyhow, it's a cool thing to find.

 

[cqaigy2]

Actually look something like the dinosaur tracks i've seen in Utah, so going with dinosaur.

 

[ArlyA]

Note how the middle toe and rear toe (?) are in the same line but offset a bit? All the eagle track pictures I've seen those toes are not in line.

Herons have some pretty healthy claws as well.

Anyhow, it's a cool thing to find.

View attachment 786818

In looking at the heron's prints, I thought they had more smooth of toes. Not sure when herons come back up but that photo was early, in March and found amoung the shovel ice and seems that eagles hang around there looking for carrion. Hence we thought that's was eagles hanging around there.

 

[MossRoad]

In looking at the heron's prints, I thought they had more smooth of toes. Not sure when herons come back up but that photo was early, in March and found amoung the shovel ice and seems that eagles hang around there looking for carrion. Hence we thought that's was eagles hanging around there.

Could be. I've never seen an eagle print in person. They're always in the air, their nests, perched in a tree, or grabbing fish that I can't seem to entice to bite my hook!

We saw two way out in a cornfield a couple years ago. Looked like they were picking on a dead deer. But we were on the move and didn't have the time to stop. It was muddy and I'm sure there would have been tracks.

 

[MossRoad]

As far as herons go and ice, they stay here all winter, as there's open water in the river. I think they only migrate as far as they need to find open water. In fact, around 20 years ago, I was ice fishing on a lake a bit north of here, and there was a heron walking around between the people fishing. If you didn't keep an eye on it, it would walk right up and take your fish off the ice!

The locals said it was customary to throw the heron the first fish you caught.