January 6 First Good Tracks

Today was an intense day of winter. Bright blue sky, trees lit up with snow, and winds that blew right through mittens. I was excited to take an early walk around the nature center, to see fresh animal tracks all over the trails. Most common were eastern cottontail rabbits' (Sylivilagus floridanus) feet, using the trails like aisles at a grocery store as they sized up prairie plants that are still holding on to a few seeds or tasty stems. "Bunnies" stay active throughout the winter, eating a lot of food at dawn and dusk, but staying still most of the time to conserve energy. I know that there are several extensive networks of groundhog tunnels at the nature center, and I bet cottontails are squatting in some of these this week to escape the wicked winds.