AS a kid growing up seeing a lot of wildlife was somewhat a rare occurrence.   I can never recall seeing any wild turkeys or foxes or coyotes and not that many deer either.  I lived basically out in the middle of nowhere so seeing wild critters should have been common place.

I have noticed especially over the past 10 years how much that has changed.  I see wild turkeys on a regular basis, herds of deer in the fields during the day, turtles crossing the road and in the wild and even foxes from time to time.

A couple of years ago I had an encounter with a coyote on the Charlie Major Nature Trail in Mottville, NY.  I came upon it while walking the trail.  It darted back up the hill into the trees.  I ran down the trail for 100 yards and spotted it up on the hill watching me. 

We stood there for 30 seconds or more. It would seem that it was not afraid of me.  I was unsure what it was as I had never seen a coyote in the wild so off to the Internet I went for verification.  That was a Kodak moment for sure but unfortunately, no camera on hand.

Last week I spotted a snapping turtle laying eggs on a nature trail over by Marcellus.  This morning I stopped to make sure a snapping turtle got across the road OK.  Why people think it is OK to run over turtles in the road I will never understand.  Just be careful as snapping turtles can be nasty and will bite.  That’s a great way to lose a finger.

Of particular interest is the tale from a co-worker about the mama fox and her kits that were spotted AND photographed out behind their home in the Town of Owasco. It almost looks like mama fox knew she was being photographed and decided to pose.  National Geographic here we come!