Because we live on the very edge of the forest, our family has had the privilege of becoming acquainted with a wide variety of wildlife. We’ve seen bears (very, very close up),white tailed deer, raccoons, fishers, bobcats, and plenty of squirrels and song birds. Coyote and fox tracks often appear in the mud along the lane. Hawks and vultures soar over head. Owls serenade us on summer nights. This spring, however, something new has moved into the neighborhood.
At first we thought the large, dark shape, that appeared in a treetop seventy feet above the forest floor, was a nest of some sort, but after taking photos from every angle and enlarging them on the computer, we realized that our nest was changing positions and had claws.
In the first series of photos we shot it looked like a bear cub, and at that distance, my Nikon was straining to pick up details. (Especially when the photographer holding the camera couldn’t keep her hands still. I have got start using the tripod.) After a couple of sessions, we realized that the animal’s nose was all wrong, and our baby bear had quills!
I would like to introduce you to one very, very large porcupine. She has been in the same tree for a couple of weeks now, and has been working diligently at removing all of the bark from a very large branch. The few photos we have gotten of our porcupine’s belly show that she is either extremely well fed, or that we can expect to see tiny porcupines in the near future.
thesquirrelseye 