Hello Friends!
Today I am going to give you an insider tip for the best times of year and day to see wildlife! This information will be relevant regardless of whether you are day-tripping or going in for the long haul.
Just a reminder before we get too far into it: You are in the animal's space. When you are on the trial, at the site, or even in a local park, respect the wildlife. Leave the area as clean as you found it. Take only photos and memories. Leave only footprints.
PRE-DAWN/DAWN
Dawn is when most animals are the most active. This is the coolest part of the day when there is light and it’s quiet. Most animals will use this time to graze, get water, and move to a new space. For the best opportunities, find a body of water.
Many animals come to the water at dawn like clockwork. If you are in northern Ontario, find a marshy area, or a lake with heavy reeds and lots of water plants for some spectacular views. Places like this will be where you find moose, deer, bears, all sorts of waterfowl, and even foxes or wolves.
Moose love the water plants and you can frequently spot them standing in the lake dunking their heads underwater to pull up mouthfuls of vegetation while standing up to their shoulders in water and even catching some plants on their antlers on the way back up. If you are canoeing, I know I’ve said this before, but do not assume that because they are in the water you are safe to venture closer. Moose are excellent swimmers. If you come into a bull's (male moose) territory during the rut they will see you as a challenge and chase you. If you come between a cow (female moose) and her calf or she perceives you as a threat, she will chase you to defend her baby.
Most other wildlife will stay at the water's edge and if you are canoeing, you can observe them safely from a distance, as long as you are very quiet and keep away. I’ve seen a mama bear and her cub at the water's edge while canoeing and it was so cool to see them going about their day with no concern towards me. I was 40-60 feet away in a canoe, on a lake, and it was very foggy. She was watchful but didn’t perceive me as a threat.
If you are hiking in, find a body of water that has a lot of animal activity (I’ll get into how to spot that next). Find a comfortable place to hunker down that gives you a good view and be ready to wait.
In another area, finding a river or a lake/pond/marsh with a lot of forest cover around it will still let you see wildlife. In my hometown, we see deer, herons, and coyotes in our backyard because of the river there. The animals will never go far from a body of water. They can last a few days without food but they need water frequently which is why a lot of the predators will follow the river while hunting. They need water, but so does the prey.
SPOTTING ANIMAL ACTIVITY
Spotting animal activity is a skill you will fine-tune more and more every time you are outside.
On the trail, the easiest thing to spot is scat. Different animals make different types of scat and knowing the difference between them will let you know what frequents that area. Deer droppings look like round little balls and are normally spread out in a one or two-foot area. (Kinda looks like someone dropped chocolate corn pops on the ground.) Moose, being bigger, have much larger droppings (think tater tots) and are more oval than round but are in a similar formation on the ground. Most wolves, coyotes, and foxes will leave scat that is similar to a dog or cat but you will probably see traces of what they have been eating in it. Most of the time you can see tuffs of fur in it but they are pretty good at covering their scat as they don’t want to let their prey know they are in the area. Bears are a bit messier about their business. Most of the time it is a dark pile with seeds and things making it look more like a pile of soft serve with way too many berries and toppings added in.
On the water, the easiest thing to spot is watering hole trails. Large animals will frequent the same spots while in the area and subsequently carve a slim trail in the forest leading to the water. In most other places we call this a deer trail while hiking but you will notice if you are in a place where there is a lot of wildlife that the ‘deer trails’ are much larger. These will look like holes in the forest or little pathways with no signage leading from the water into the forest. If you are canoeing in then I recommend going out at dawn or dusk and finding an area you can sit in on the water (perhaps a pile of dead logs) and positioning your canoe so that you can’t float away. Then you can wait in an area that has some of these trails for wildlife to come down and do what they normally do.
DUSK/NIGHTTIME
Dusk is very similar to dawn in terms of animal activity. Sometimes you can even see a bit more because the nocturnal creatures are starting to get up and get moving.
At night, you will not necessarily see more wildlife, but different wildlife. You will still see moose and deer and sometimes have odd encounters with them, but you’re more likely to see wolves, coyotes, raccoons, fish, and small critters like bunnies and chipmunks. Again, all of these are still more active at dawn and dusk but predators like coyotes and wolves will track at night when it’s easier for them to go long distances without getting overheated like they would during the day. A lot of the predators also have better vision at night than their prey does. It's easier for a lynx, bobcat, cougar, wolf, and coyote to hunt their prey when they have the advantage of the prey being disoriented in the dark.
Loons and owls are also active at night. Most birds will be most active at dawn or dusk. You can hear them waking up with the sun in the morning and rushing around during the sunset to get everything they need before they go to bed. Loons however seem to think nighttime is the best time to play. If you have ever had the opportunity of camping up north in Algonquin or French river, or really anywhere in the upper parts of Ontario (even Tobermory!), you’ll have heard the beautiful, almost haunting call of the loons. The fewer people, the more they call. I’ve been in Rosebury Lake before and been kept up till god knows what time because of the loons calling to each other across the lake while they chase each other.
Owls use the night to hunt. They are predators and have excellent night vision. They use the cover of darkness to catch, mice, chipmunks, moles, and even small rabbits! If you are lucky, you can sometimes hear them calling out at night. They will be more prevalent in areas that are open, like fields where they can spread their wings and watch for any movement, but they are also in the forests.
MIDDAY
During midday you are not going to see very much wildlife. By midday, most animals are sleeping in a cool place to avoid the heat of the day. Most fish and other water creatures (such as turtles and frogs) are going to be laying low, either in the cool mud under some bushes, at the bottom of the lake, or even just in a shaded area of the river.
If your objective while camping or hiking is to see wildlife, it’s best to adopt their schedule to optimize your chances. Get up really early, get some photos and hunker down till about 9 am. Then go about your day, have a good nap and get ready to sit out again from about 8:00 pm -9:30 or even 10:30 pm in the summer (or around 6 - 10 am and 6:30-8:30 pm in the spring and fall).
Be prepared to wait for awhile while looking for wildlife. They spook easily and happening upon wildlife is getting rarer with people choosing to try camping so they can stay closer to home for vacations. Sometimes you will need to get to a spot you know there will be wildlife and wait for hours so that you can blend into your surroundings fully and not startle anything. When you do see wildlife, stay low and quiet. Just observe them. Don’t approach. Don’t call out to them to try and get the perfect head-on or face shot. Just be. Allow yourself to become part of their environment and be grateful for the opportunity presented to you. You can even take the time to reflect and practice meditation or gratitude.
Thanks for reading everyone, the next post will be up Thursday and in the meantime, stay safe, stay active, and stay healthy.
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