Stow Outdoors

Eastern Screech Owl?

Dan — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:20:27 +0000

RJ writes:

I photographed this owl at 11pm tonight (Wed. Feb. 17) in my backyard near Lake Boon. Luckily he managed to sit still for a 6 second exposure.

From what I can gather, it’s an Eastern Screech Owl, Gray or Brown morph? (I’m no Ornithologist)

Come “Hunt” for Deer on Stow Conservation Trust’s Fieldstone Loop Trail

Dan — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:54:30 +0000

The rut is on, and SCT’s Fieldstone property is a great place to look for deer. Hiking at dusk, we’ll maximize our chances of encountering wildlife as we walk the one mile loop trail. Families welcome, but no dogs this time. Meet at the trailhead at the end of Fieldstone Dr at 3:45PM on Sunday, Dec 4. We will enter the woods promptly at 4PM. Bring a flashlight for the walk out, and plan to do a thorough tick check when you get home. Email Dan Foster at svt@easygps.com to register so you don’t get left behind.

This video shows some of the deer activity taking place at Fieldstone in November, 2011. Watch a mature buck leave his scent at a scrape, and see does and a lesser buck pass by and investigate. As usual, a fisher stops by to check out the camera as well.

I saw one deer the day I placed the camera at Fieldstone, and four deer and a red fox on the day I retrieved it.

http://stowconservationtrust.org/walks.php

Coyotes Scavenge a Deer Carcass at SVT’s Herene Reservation

Dan — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:13:55 +0000

Sudbury Valley Trustees has a small parcel of land between Elizabeth Brook and Rt. 117, across from Bose. Earlier this year, a deer was killed there (possibly hit by a car, or brought down by coyotes). This was a wet, humid location, and maggots stripped away the hide and remaining flesh within a week, finishing the job that coyotes had started. This video, taken over the following weeks, shows coyotes, raccoons, and a fisher visiting the bone pile left after the carcass had mostly been consumed.

Delaney Bucks

Dan — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:36:07 +0000

These two white-tailed deer hide out deep in the dense woods at the Delaney Project in north-west Stow.

As the rut approaches, this bachelor group will disband, and it will be “every buck for himself”.

Help pull water chestnut from the Assabet River in Stow

Dan — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:04:15 +0000

OARS is looking for volunteers to help pull invasive water chestnut from the Assabet River in Stow this Saturday morning, July 30th, and again on Tuesday evening. If you’d like to volunteer or can supply a canoe for the volunteers, visit:

http://www.oars3rivers.org/take-action/volunteer/plant-control

Video of fisher investigating a deer carcass at SVT’s Herene Reservation in Stow

Dan — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:09:06 +0000

After getting tipped off about a road-killed deer at Sudbury Valley Trustees’ Herene Reservation in Stow, I placed a motion-sensing video camera near the carcass to see what animals came to investigate. This small fisher sniffed around at the bones before bounding up onto a log and out of sight.

Coyote, Otters, and Tailless Raccoons!

Dan — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:18:17 +0000

For the past few weeks I’ve had a motion-sensing camera monitoring a muskrat carcass I found along a game trail at the Delaney Project. All sorts of animals stopped by to investigate the remains. In the video clip you’ll see a coyote, a family of four river otters, and raccoons with and without tails.

If you find a raccoon tail, please let me know so I can return it to its rightful owner.

Four River Otters at Delaney

Dan — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:20:18 +0000

These four river otters were filmed by a motion-sensing camera as they bounded along a game trail near the water’s edge at the Delaney Project in Stow.

Northern Flicker taking a dust bath!

Dan — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:36:16 +0000

This northern flicker discovered a pile of silt and fine sand in my back yard, and turned it into a dust bath. Several times a day the flicker would fly down from the nearby woods and scratch around in the sand while fluffing his feathers.

2011 Stow Run for the Woods – Early Registration ends April 30th

Dan — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:55:04 +0000

Early registration ends Saturday, April 30th for the 2011 Run for the Woods. Act now and save $10 over waiting until race day entry.
This year’s Run for the Woods is Sunday, May 22, and is the marquee happening of the second day of Stow’s annual Springfest weekend. We have four events in one, a 1-mile fun for kids 12 and under, a 5K running road race, a 5K race walk, and a 5K recreational walk. All 5K finishers receive a handsome cast medal and the kids earn an athlete’s ribbon. Last year’s race attracted 484 runners and walkers from Stow and surrounding towns. And, besides being a great time, proceeds benefit the Stow Conservation Trust’s land conservation and stewardship programs. The kids’ race is a 9AM, the walkers start at 9:50 and the runners go at 10AM.
New this year we are offering no-fee online registration through Wufoo.com. And, you have the option of paying with a credit card, PayPal balance, or by mailing us a check. http://stowrunforthewoods.wufoo.com/forms/2011-stow-run-for-the-woods/

or if you prefer you may still register online at Active.com (however there’s a small service fee). http://active.com/running/stow-ma/stow-run-for-the-woods-2011

or if you like you may print out and mail-in an entry form-
http://stowconservationtrust.org/images/2011Mail-InEntryForm.pdf

We’re looking forward to seeing you on May 22nd!

Any questions, please see http://StowConservationTrust.Org/ and if the answer isn’t there please email Aims Coney at StowRunForTheWoods@GMail.com.

More information is available at the SCT Web site:
http://www.stowconservationtrust.org/RFTW.php