Jamies Pond wildlife management area

Tracker's guide

The Jamies Pond wildlife management area is a state reserve located in a nearby town. It has several well maintained hiking trails and it is embarrassing that this is our first visit since moving to Maine. It is another landmark on my way to work (but this first photo is from the pond-side parking spot); the road is in the distance on the opposite side of the pond.

The bulletin board at the trail head is covered with information and maps; the most interesting is the guide to animal tracks. If you look carefully (click on it for a larger image) you will find excessive detail such as tracks for red and gray squirrels – a distinction which remains oblivious to me and leaves me scratching my head as to its usefulness. I wonder if the blogdog could smell the difference?

The tracks shown for the pheasant (lower right) look like the tracks I have always associated with turkeys; this is another oddity: turkeys are so common right now, drivers are forever weaving around them on the roadways this fall. The guide, however, doesn’t have any examples of turkey tracks.