Grouse Kill

Skiing along a trail this morning I came across a kill scene. The small patch of blood and the feathers scattered about gave it away. It was recent as I'd passed this spot yesterday afternoon with no signs of struggle.

I believe a fox killed a ruffled grouse in this spot. The predator tracks follow fox stride pattern as opposed to fisher bounding pattern. These are the two main predators in Deerwood right now. So, That's my guess.

Here's a series of photos taken at the site...

The main scene. Notice the larger prints along the
left hand side.


Closer...


Closer still.


Further down the trail, the fox prints shown in the snow
powder beside the trail.

Ruffled grouse will often rest under the snow powder which acts as an insulator and visual cover. A few days ago a grouse emerged from beneath the snow a few feet from the snowmobile and gave me a bit of a start.

I've seen fox tracks on the trails for a few weeks now. As the trails become packed down, it enables the fox to cover ground very swiftly. I suspect I'll see a lot more kill scenes along the trail in future as forest animals often use the trails because it's easier than plodding through the deep snow.