Wildlife Watch March

With all the wildlife we spotted in February we weren't sure what to expect in March, but we hoped to see some early risers if the weather cooperated. Note that this post is for animals only since March birds are shown in the following posts:

• Winter Bird Summary
• Migrating Bird Watch March

On the evening of March 8th we were within half a mile from home when we spotted a Moose browsing on the shrubby slough brush they love. With the fading light of an overcast day, we took a couple pics and left it munch. This was the only moose we saw in March 2018.

Moose, RM Montmartre, Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

A couple of days later I was out on the front stoop talking pics of the frosted trees when I spotted movement on the western ridge. Zooming in, I recognized the top half of a coyote heading south. He wasn't trotting as if he had someplace to go, but was walking slowly toward an area I'd seen ravens flying over the day before.

Coyote, RM Montmartre, Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

With Easter on the way, it seemed appropriate to catch a glimpse of a White-tailed Jackrabbit, still wearing his winter white coat. (Apparently Black-tailed Jackrabbits don't change their coat colour for winter.)

White-tailed Jackrabbit, Southeast Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Nelson Draper

Nelson brought back some nice shots of a Red Fox on March 17. Apparently, he was up upwind of the fox because all the pics have the fox looking forward or down, but none looking in Nelson's direction.

Red Fox, Southeastern Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Nelson Draper

I had my own Red Fox encounter, again from the front stoop of our house. I often step outside to see what's in the yard and on March 24th I was taking pics of dark snow clouds when I spotted something halfway up the western ridge. I zoomed in and saw two foxes, one larger than the other. They were walking, but then the bigger one in front looked back and suddenly the smaller one ducked down into a low spot. This image was taken at 5:16 pm.

Red Fox, RM Montmartre, Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

The weather was light blowing snow under heavy cloud cover. As I watched the foxes, they curled into sleeping position with their heads tucked in and only the tips of their ears showing. I went into the house but checked back frequently to see if they were still there. 

Red Fox, RM Montmartre, Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

At 6:50 pm I saw the foxes walking away. Their behaviour seemed strange at first, until I remembered other fox encounters where they would sit and pose, and then lie down as we took wonderful photos of them. The latest such opportunity was last month in the post, Wildlife Watch February. 

Prairie Dogs came out to play in March. My first sighting was on the 18th as I zipped down Highway 48 and spotted a little creature on a high snowbank. A snowmobile rally was going on at the time, but the snow machines had veered off and were gathered in a field a few hundred feet from the prairie dog's location. Perhaps with spring approaching their noise had awoken it from hibernation? Since I didn't want the guys to think I was taking pics of them, I carried on down the road wishing I wasn't such a chicken. Lo and behold, I spotted another prairie dog just a few miles further which is the one you see in this picture. By the way, if you recognize this guy, he's the model for my Happy Spring Instagram post. 

Prairie Dog, RM Montmartre, Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

A week later we were driving back from church when Nelson pointed out a prairie dog poking its head up from a snowbank in the roadside ditch. As I zoomed in, I was surprised to see its wet face as if he'd just tunneled through the snow - a first for me. When I submitted this prairie dog image to the iNaturalist.ca site, it was confirmed as a Richardson's Ground Squirrel, quite common on the prairies. This image made me think of the shark from the movie, Jaws, so I used it as the model for another Instagram post.

Richardson's Ground Squirrel, RM Montmartre, SK, March 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

On March 17, Nelson was seeing the pink hues of a sunrise instead of kelly-green when he spotted these White-tailed Deer with their tails waving good-bye.

White-tailed Deer, Southeast Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Nelson Draper

Three days later, Nelson caught another batch of White-tailed Deer in a scenic stubble field. White-tailed deer have a brown tail when it's down and only shows the white underside when it's running, after it's been alerted to danger.

White-tailed Deer, Southeast Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Nelson Draper

Both White-tailed Deer and Mule Deer have white rumps, however the tails of Mule deer are white with a dark tip, as if they've been dipped in paint, like this next image:

Mule Deer on Snowy Day, Southeast Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Nelson Draper

Nelson took this next photo on March 14 which clearly shows a white rump, but no white tail sticking up. That tells me they are Mule Deer.

Mule Deer at Dawn, Southeast Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Nelson Draper

Nelson knows they are Mule Deer because he looks at their huge mule-like ears. Sometimes that's a give-away for me too, like this photo Nelson took on March 31st. 

Mule Deer, Southeast Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Nelson Draper

We'll finish this post with a Common Raccoon that Nelson spotted on March 29th as the month neared its beastly end. The raccoon was moving fast and we've cropped this photo as much as we can before it loses definition, but you can still make out the ringed tail. 

Raccoon on the Run, Southeast Saskatchewan, March 2018. Credit: Nelson Draper

Nelson had another raccoon encounter in May, so we'll be posting those images soon.

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Photos: Wildlife