Spring tracking

Last week we were out to "do the pathfinder" ... we were walking on a forest ride and made a small detour, say 25 km, with the car. Raili took along her camera, albeit slightly tired one, and shot some frames. There was happening this and that during the three hours and we have proof. We reckon the afternoon was really awesome.
 

The Lynx likes to cilmb up onto heaps and stacks. 

It has been here about 4-5 days ago

 

Spraying mark, left at about the same time

We didn't see any Black Grouse, but a beautiful pair of the White-taled Eagles astounded us - they were sitting about 150 metres away in a hayfield... Adults - while starting away they showed clearly white quills on their tails. Sorry for  unconvenience, but the camera did not allow to get better results :)

 

Two Hazel Grouse were flying across the road. It was exactly the same place where we saw one sitting on a tree couple of months ago. 

But nothing compared to Elk footprints - there were so many of them, just to your heart's content. The young ones together with adults. It looks like there are really many elks in the neighbourhood. Soon the sap is flowing and the young shoots must be really sweet. Recent clearcuts are for sure the best places for a quick snack. Up to a dozen animals at a time can be a common sight here.

Some turmoil as been here ... the glade and the forest 

are covered with footprints and droppings

Someone has been mad on the juniper bush here - 

maybe the antlers were iching?

A little bit later we saw the youngster itself. A tad too far, but recognizable on the picture. It didn't dare to come closer and we were impatient too.

For a while a fox was nurturing our eye, but it was too far away. We were watching with binoculars how it was digging in the snow to find mice. Every now and then we could see only its bottom and the tip of the tail :)

Beautiful birch grove in the dim evening light

Here you can see, if you strain your eyes, another elk pretty close in the shrub - it was dusky already. Both met elks were juveniles.

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Last Sunday Raili was taking pictures in the same locations.

Very fresh footprints of a Lynx

Elks right at the roadside

These two elks have captured somewhere else. One birder had seen couple of weeks ago even 18 elks at a time on these clear-cuts!!!

Yesterday when feeding the birds I heard famiiar drumming. I brought quickly my binoculars and there it was - the White-Backed Woodpecker was eating again in the corner of my garden! In the birdfeeder there was usual hubhub - Redpolls, Bullfinches, Greenfinches, Jays, House Sparrows, Bluetits, Great Tits, Marsh Tits, Nuthatches, for a while also Bramblings. These days I do not see much of Great Spotted Woodpecker any more. Starlings haven't been here yet, but the spring is almost here.