Category Archives: Massachusetts Mammals

Fisher Bounding though the Snow

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Lightening in a Bottle x 2 – A second unforeseen and wildly magical encounter with a Fisher!

On a recent evening at dusk, I was walking back to my parked car when a swiftly moving dark shape crossed my path. We had an eye to eye moment before he went bounding off across the snowy landscape.

Note how the Fisher leaps with great power, yet appears to stay on top of the snowpack. Fishers have highly specialized feet that are well adapted to snow. Their five-toed feet are large, distributing the weight evenly, and the soles of the feet are covered in fur; both adaptions creating a “snowshoe effect.”  Anther very cool fact about Fishers is that their ankle joints can rotate nearly 180 degrees, which allows them to descend trees head first, a very rare trait among mammals.

I believe he is a male because he was so large and his fur appears somewhat coarse. The females are smaller, with glossier fur.

Here is another video of a Fisher that I filmed several years ago, where you can see him descending the trees head first:

LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE – AN UP CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH A FISHER!

 

 

Looking to 2026

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Dear Friends,

I hope you are finding renewed hope in the new year.  As we turn the page away from 2025, one thought burns so brightly in my mind and that is to Power On. We’re all in this together and as we become united, we will be empowered to right the wrongs.

This last photo of 2025​, from the 31st, is​ of a Wild Turkey taken in the Wolf Moon a few days before it was completely full. Charlotte and I watched in wonderment as the turkeys took flight at twilight. It takes a good amount of energy for their ungainly bodies to become aloft and ​turkey flying comes with much noisy whooshing and vigorous wing flapping. They sleep in trees for protection from mammalian predators and even young poults learn to fly and roost on low branches, at the ​very tender age of only a week or two.

I have been meaning to share this video of Gray Seals singing. For about ten years or so I have been watching the growing population of seals at Brace Cove, which isn’t really very long in the grand scheme of things. When I first began to notice the congregation there, it seemed as though it was all Harbor Seals. More and more Gray Seals seem to be coming each year. One day in November I counted 14 Gray Seals hanging out together in the water, not on the rocks. Another day, there were 34 all told, both Harbor and Gray, in the water and on the rocks. There possibly may have been many more as they move around the cove and are often emerging from underwater.

The first clips are of a chorus of Gray Seal bull songsters; the last two clips happened several days later when two were behaving very affectionately towards one another. Notice how the more active the males became, the more anxious the small seal in the center of it all became before giving up its spot on the rock. Turn up the volume to hear the full chorus! Gray Seal mating season is happening now and the singing can be either amorous or territorial. Mating takes place underwater but I wonder if the clips where they are behaving affectionately is a form of courtship. Everything I have read states mating is violent but watching the seals playfully rub each other and dive together for fifteen plus minutes makes me think perhaps there is another side to Gray Seal breeding.

Power On Friends,

xxKim

 

Spellbinding Woods Walk with a Young Buck

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Walking through a semi-wooded area I came upon a buck that seemed wholly unbothered by my presence. So much so, that he stopped at various points to snuffle through the fallen leaves, reach for branches, and relieve himself. As I crossed the road, so did he, and when I paused to film, he wasn’t spooked. We came to a clearing where another person was approaching. All too soon the enchanted spell was broken and he picked up his gait. I didn’t hurry after him as I didn’t want to break his trust and just watched in wonderment as he loped away.

 

I wonder if he’s the same buck that I filmed in early spring and then again in summer? Here he is with new antler nublets, and later with velvety fuzzy antlers growing in.  I read no two deer antlers are alike, similar to human fingerprints. In the photo below, the buck’s first set of tines are similar to the buck’s tines in the film; the right tine is straighter than the left tine.

Composition by Reynaldo Hahn • “Danse pour une déesse, pour flûte et piano.” Recorded by Jean-Pierre Rampal and Francoise Bonnet form the Internet Archive of Royalty Free Music.

Horsehead Bro Time!

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Gray Seals, also known as Horsehead Seals, are considered largely solitary creatures however they become social during breeding season. When in the water off our local Cape Ann beaches, typically we see  one or two at a time, possibly three of four, with some distance between each other. What fun to see a dozen Gray Seals bobbing alongside one another, sleeping and sunning in these last days of summer. It’s not yet mating season and the females are pregnant at this time of year. This little aggregate looks like congenial bro time although that will all change when mating season begins.

Gray Seals are found on both shores of the Atlantic, and at the Baltic Sea. The map below shows the distribution of the western Atlantic coast population.

Happy Summer Solstice

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Not the post I planned for this longest of days but it was just so beautiful watching three bucks foraging in the marsh this morning I had to share. Don’t you love their big brown soulful eyes and fuzzy antlers? Happy Solstice <3

Here is an image of one of them, no idea which, from the spring. Note the antler buds beginning to grow in.

Are Beavers Tool Users?

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In thinking about the happy outcome for Nibi the orphaned Beaver, Massachusetts newest wildlife ambassador, I was reminded of some footage I took of a Beaver over the summer (for the full story about Nibi, visit the Newhouse Wildlife Rescue Facebook page here).

The Beaver dove down to retrieve some kind of vegetative tuber or rhizome, a behavior I have seen countless times. He/she resurfaced, ate half, and then proceeded to use the half eaten rhizome to scrub his face. Okay that’s interesting but perhaps just a fluke. A few minutes later, the Beaver dove again and returned with a fresh rhizome, this time with his left side facing the camera. After munching away for a few moments, he then groomed the left side of his face with the rhizome in his left paw. Wow, so thorough to scrub both sides, and with a “tool!”

The video footage is longer than the usual post but he’s so cute at the end I had to include that, too. You can see his long orange tooth at about 1 minute 20 seconds in.

I wondered, are Beavers considered “tool users?” They build their lodges by cutting down and arranging trees, packing all with mud and that may or may not be called tool use, but to use vegetable matter to groom his face? That certainly seems as though it would qualify as tool use.

 

Good Harbor Beach Gray Seal Update

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The young Gray Seal pup at Good Harbor Beach has returned safely to the sea. He spent the day at the beach under supervision while most people and dog owners kept themselves and their dogs a safe distance from the resting seal.

This is the time of year when seals are becoming weaned from their Moms. They are found on shore for a variety of reasons, often simply to rest. Not always though. Sometimes they may be injured, starving, trying to escape danger, or ill.

Please keep at least 150 feet away from a resting seal and call the Seacoast Science hotline (603-997-9448) to let the staff there know of the stranding.

Long Beach Seal

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Thank you to all who took the time to report the Harbor Seal struggling at Long Beach over the weekend. I am so sorry to share that the seal did not survive.

There were a number of people, and their dogs, touching and sniffing the seal when it was still alive. Please don’t, as much as to prevent terrifying the pup, as to prevent you or your pooch from being bitten.

I have had the greatest success with stranded or injured seals by contacting the Seacoast Science Center in New Hampshire. The SSC team is outstanding! Here is the number where you can report an injured seal: 603-997-9448

The following is advice from the Seacoast Science Center –

What should you do if you spot a live or dead seal or other marine mammal on a beach?

Marine Mammal Response Hotline: 603-997-9448

  • Watch quietly from at least 150 feet away
  • Keep dogs away from the animal
  • Do not pour water on the animal
  • Do not offer the animal food or water
  • Do not cover the animal with a towel or blanket
  • Do not try to move the animal
  • Call 603-997-9448 and report the animal’s location, size, coloring, and behavior.

The Gray Seal pup in the video below was rescued last year from Eastern Point by the Seacoast Science Center.

Gray Seal Adults

FATAL ATTRACTION – ROBIN TRAPPED IN BIRD NETTING

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Over the weekend I came upon a sweet American Robin trapped in green bird netting and fighting for it’s life. I waited several moments before approaching, hoping it would set itself free but the more the Robin struggled, the more tightly he became enmeshed. I approached cautiously so as not to stress the bird any more than it already was and was able to very carefully untwist the netting and release.

I was grateful for this easy extraction. Once before Charlotte and I had found a Robin wrapped tightly in bird netting. It took the farmer and I half an hour to carefully cut away the netting digging into the birds flesh and choking the life out of him.

Bats, birds, turtles, frogs, and small mammals all too often become entangled in the green netting draped over trees and shrubs. I could write more about the fatal attraction in planting an ornamental shrub with brilliant red bird-attracting berries, and then covering it with deadly dangerous netting, but what is the point of that?

Instead, the following are just only a few suggestions to help prevent deer browsing:

Wrap in burlap.

For new plantings, consider using individual cages. Paint white as wildlife can see that best at night. Please inspect exclosures regularly to ensure no little wild friends are trapped within.

Hang bars of the strongest smelling deodorant soap you can find, Irish Spring comes to mind.

On a positive note, the ‘winter’ Robins are here, dining on every berry in the neighborhood they can locate. One of the most joyful sights in winter is the criss crossing of Robins through our landscapes as they devour the fruits. For over a month, I have been filming them eating the following:  winterberry, which must be the tastiest as it was the first to go, sumac, crabapples, privet, rose hips, euonymus, and cedar berries.

Many, many thanks to the home owners of the hollies with the green mesh. I knocked on their door to let them know what had happened. Shortly after that, they cut away the green netting. Thank You!

 

Beautiful Young Buck

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Beautiful young buck (and doe) frolicking in the great marsh at sunrise this morning. Listen to the sounds of the marsh too – the male Red-winged Blackbirds and a male Cardinal are also wooing – spring is in the air!

NEW SHORT FILM AND OUTSTANDING EASTERN POINT GREY SEAL PUP RESCUE UPDATE!

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A very young Grey Seal pup was stranded for several days at Eastern Point Lighthouse. We nicknamed him EP and have been eagerly awaiting an update You can read the full story here.

Ashley Stokes from the Seacoast Science Center Marine Mammal Rescue program shares the following –

Update on the Gloucester, MA gray seal
Since being transferred to our colleagues at Mystic Aquarium on February 17th, the gray seal pup from Eastern Point continues to make progress in rehabilitation. He has begun eating fish on his own, is starting to gain weight, and is getting more and more access to pool time to help regain strength and muscle tone. He continues to be monitored closely, as he continues to have an elevated white blood cell count, but is on antibiotics to battle any infection. We remain hopeful for this little gray seal to continue making strides in rehabilitation, with the goal of his release in the not too distant future! Follow SSCMarine mammal on facebook here

Many, many thanks to Ashley, SSC Marine Mammal Rescuers, and Mystic Aquarium. If you would like to donate to the SSC, please go here

You can see in the footage EP was not interested at all in returning to the water. At each high tide, he scooched to get away from the water, not toward, coming closer and closer to the road.

EP at the aquarium photo credits Mystic Aquarium

 

THE GREAT BABY GREY SEAL RESCUE BY SEACOAST SCIENCE CENTER!!

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A very young Grey Seal pup was stranded for several days at Eastern Point Lighthouse. During his time at the beach, the weanling was closely monitored by Cape Ann resident Alexa Mulroy, who is a volunteer for the Seacoast Science Center, along with Gloucester’s ACOfficers Teagan Dolan and Jamie Eastman.

The little guy was only about 24 inches long and was quickly losing his stored baby fat (because he was not eating while stranded on the beach). For the most part, he remained quiet, although he was feisty enough– growling, barring his teeth, stretching, itching and occasionally moving his flippers. He had a number of small cuts on his flippers and his mouth was bleeding. We nicknamed him EP and everyone hoped he would swim off with the next high tide.

The protocol for seal strandings, if they are not obviously sick or seriously injured, is to wait a day or two before locating a place for them to recover. December through February is Grey Seal pupping season and it’s not uncommon to see these very young seal babies on the beach. SSC volunteer Alexa Mulroy placed symbolic roping and several signs around the seal to let people know of his presence. For the most part, people were respectful, and allowed EP to rest peacefully.

Seacoast Science Center, based out of Rye New Hampshire, is the region’s go-to organization for marine mammal rescue. Although they are not permitted to rescue animals on Cape Ann they can, with special permission from NOAA. EP’s rescue was coordinated by Ashley Stokes, SSC Director of Marine Mammal Rescue and assisted by Brian Yurasits, SSC Marine Mammal Rescue Community Outreach Manager and Rebecca Visnick, Gloucester’s Deputy Shellfish Constable.

With each high tide, EP moved away from the water, not towards, and it became clear that he was not yet ready to return to the sea. Constable Rebecca thought EP was a little over a month old and only recently weaned from his mom.

The challenge became to find a place to take EP. The New England Aquarium, National Marine Life Center (NLMC), or Marine Mammals of Maine (MMoME)  had any openings. Ashley was persistent and fortunately for EP, there was “room at the inn” at Connecticut’s Mystic Aquarium.

Mid-morning on Friday, Ashley, Rebecca, and Brian arrived at the EPLighthouse beach with truck, a dog crate, and equipment needed to give EP a health assessment before transport. Ashley and Rebecca sort of “swaddled” him prior to administering much needed fluids, he was then placed into the carrier and loaded onto the truck. Brian was in charge of transporting EP to Mystic. We hope we’ll have a positive update in the near future!

Ashley, Rebecca, and Brian

Once again I am struck by how we are all connected by these beautiful wild creatures that travel our shores. Just as was Peregrine Falcon 07/CB that hatched in Newburyport, who was treated for injury at Wild Care in Eastham and at Tufts in Medford, and is now hunting along the shores of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, Grey Seal pup EP was stranded in Massachusetts, rescued by New Hampshire’s Seacoast Science Center, and will undergo rehab at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.

Donations to Seacoast Science Center are very much appreciated. We residents of Cape Ann are so grateful and appreciate so much their kind assistance. If not for the SSC Marine Mammal Rescue program, Cape Ann would be largely without a resource for organized marine mammal rescues.

If you would like to donate to this very worthwhile science center and marine mammal rescue organization, please go here: DONATE

MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE HOTLINE: 603-997-9488

Not every seal you see on the beach is in need of rescue, in fact, most are not. Seals are semi-aquatic and most haul out to sleep, nurse, soak up the sun, or escape predators (sharks!).

Guidelines provided by SSC on what you should do if you spot a live or dead seal or other marine mammal on a beach.

  • Watch quietly from at least 150 feet away
  • Keep dogs away from the animal
  • Do not pour water on the animal
  • Do not offer the animal food or water
  • Do not cover the animal with a towel or blanket
  • Do not try to move the animal
  • Call 603-997-9448 and report the animal’s location, size, coloring, and behavior.

Seacoast Science Center Mission – Our mission is to spark curiosity, enhance understanding, and inspire the conservation of our Blue Planet.

Ashley from SSCMarine Mammal Rescue program shares the following on March 5th –

Update on the Gloucester, MA gray seal
Since being transferred to our colleagues at Mystic Aquarium on February 17th, the gray seal pup from Eastern Point continues to make progress in rehabilitation. He has begun eating fish on his own, is starting to gain weight, and is getting more and more access to pool time to help regain strength and muscle tone. He continues to be monitored closely, as he continues to have an elevated white blood cell count, but is on antibiotics to battle any infection. We remain hopeful for this little gray seal to continue making strides in rehabilitation, with the goal of his release in the not too distant future! Follow SSCMarine mammal on facebook here

WHITE-TAILED DOES OF THE WOODLAND EDGE

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Sweet encounter with the local deer –

We see this pair of does frequently. Much of the time they dash away into the woody thicket at the hint of human activity. Not this time. I was quietly filming the larger of the two while speaking ever so gently, in what I hoped would sound to a deer like a soothing voice. I crept to a distance of about twelve feet away, right out in the open, and murmuring all the while. It worked! She gently folded her front leg knees and lay down. I stayed and filmed for some time more and then left her still laying down as it was too dark to capture any more footage.

How I wish I had an apple in my pocket! Next time 🙂

SHORT VIDEO – THE MAJESTIC BUCK AND BEAUTIFUL DOE COURTSHIP FROLIC

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November through December is White-tailed Deer mating season in New England. At dusk in late November we watched a magnificent buck chase a doe across the marshy field back and forth a number of times, before they both disappeared behind a clump of phragmites.

PHOTOS FROM THE GLOUCESTER LOBSTER BOAT PROTEST PARADE

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Cape Ann lobstermen and fishermen held a protest boat parade Wednesday afternoon. The parade was organized to show support for local lobstermen in light of the recent temporary closure of lobstering grounds and new requirements to purchase special gear. The grounds are closed until May 1st, possibly until May 15th, to prevent gear entanglements during the endangered Right Whale migration through Massachusetts waters.

Under overcast skies, the lobster boats gathered at Ten Pound Island and headed in the direction of the State Fish Pier. The parade circled the inner harbor several times to the cheering and honking of supporters lining the shore. After a good showing of lobster boats, fishing boats, and supporters, the parade ended under clearing skies.

Beautiful Fleet

 

Read More here at the Massachusetts Lobstermen Association website.

DO YOU THINK WE WILL HAVE MORE SNOW THIS SEASON?

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I wonder if any spring snowstorm surprises are in store for us? Panorama from only weeks ago.

HELLO MOM AND DAD COYOTE! -COYOTE MATING SEASON

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The Eastern Coyote breeding season runs from December through March although typically, the end of February is peak mating season. Pairs are generally monogamous and may maintain a bond for several years. In April or May, anywhere from four to eight pups are born and both the male and female will raise the litter.

This pair was photographed from quite a distance, in the low light of daybreak, and is heavily cropped however, I feel fortunate to have seen a mated pair together. 

The Coyote (scientific name Canis latrans or “barking dog”) is one of the world’s most adaptable mammals. It can now be found throughout North and Central America. Eastern Coyote DNA reveals that as it was expanding its territory northward and eastward, coyotes occasionally interbred with wolves encountered in southern Canada. Eastern Coyotes are typically larger than their western counterparts because of the wolf genes they picked up during their expansion. The wolf gene gives them the strength and ability to hunt deer. Because there are no wolves in our area they are not actively cross-breeding and are not “coywolves.”  Many species in the Canid Family (dog family) often hybridize so our Eastern Coyote has a nearly equal percentage of both dog and wolf DNA, and an even higher percentage of dog DNA in southern states, Mexico, and Central America. Coyotes that I filmed in Mexico looked much more dog-like than our heavily bodied local Eastern Coyotes.

HOW DO RED FOX SURVIVE WINTER?

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Good morning Little Red!

This young Red Fox was spotted early one recent morning, hungrily scraping the ground for food. Perhaps he was hunting a small rodent or digging for grubs. How have the Red Foxes that were born in our neighborhoods last spring adapted to survive winter’s harsh temperature and snowy scapes?

Red Fox have evolved with a number of strategies and physiological adaptations. Their fur coats grow  thick and long, up to their footpads, which aid in heat insulation. Adult Fox begin to moult, or shed, their winter coat typically in April. Young Red Fox do not moult at all the first year but continue to grow fur until their second spring.

Red Fox tails are extra thick and when not cozily curled up in a snow bank, they will lay on the ground with their tail wrapped around for extra warmth.

Red Fox have relatively small body parts including their legs, ears, and neck, which means less body surface is exposed to frigid temperatures allowing them to conserve body heat. During the winter, Red Fox are less active than during the summer months. Decreased activity also helps to conserve body heat.

The Red Fox’s diet varies according to seasonal abundance. In the summer their diet is supplemented with berries, apples, pears, cherries, grapes, grasses, and acorns. All year round they feed on grubs and insects as well as small mammals such as rabbits, rodents, and squirrels. Red Fox have extraordinarily sharp hearing largely because their ears face outward. They can detect a mouse a football field away, under cover of  snow!

RED FOX SLEEPING IN THE MORNING SUN

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Little Red Fox found a sunny, albeit super windy, spot to soak in some morning rays. Fox use their tails to snuggle in for warmth.

A LOLLYGAGGING SEAL GOOD MORNING TO YOU!

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Good Morning!

MAGICAL MOMENTS WITH A DEER FAMILY

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A Happy Thanksgiving story for you –

While recently filming wildflowers at a field, as the sun was beginning to dip behind the woodland edge, and as I was about ready to call it a day, in the distance an exquisite White-tailed Deer appeared. I stood very, very still as more and more joined the the beautiful doe–a small herd–eight in all!

Occasionally they would glance up, then resume foraging. At one point the herd ran to the wooded edge and I thought that was the end of that beauty moment, but the group moved back toward the grassy field to continue foraging.One curiously brave doe came closer and closer, and as she was advancing, repeatedly pawed the ground with her left foot as if to say this is my family and I am not afraid of you. When nearly nightfall and imagining I wouldn’t be able to find the path home I left the field with the family still happily foraging in the near dark.

The curious and brave doe

Happy Thanksgiving dear Friends. I am thankful for all of you, for my loving family, and for magical moments with beautiful creatures. Stay safe and be well.

Station break from election coverage, brought to you by this morning’s visiting Red Fox youngster!

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Back again – we think he is sleeping in our backyard! I’m in love with this adorable face!Red Fox 

If see see this little guy around the neighborhood, please don’t be alarmed

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Recently a young Red Fox has been spotted by our neighbors and by my family members in our East Gloucester neighborhood. Because a friend expressed fear, I just want to assure everyone that these young foxes are not rabid. They are perfectly healthy and simply exploring and looking for food to eat. At this time of year, many first year foxes are dispersing from their family unit. They are hungry and foraging for fruit and berries, hunting grubs and other insects, along with small mammals such as squirrels, rabbits, mice, and rabbits.

Young foxes have been seen in Rockport neighborhoods, Lanesville, Rocky Neck, Good Harbor Beach, and Bass Rocks. It is thought that because of pressure from the Eastern Coyotes, Red Fox are denning closer and closer to humans and taking advantage of human structures. Coyotes and Red Fox compete for habitat and wildlife biologist think the Red Fox sense that Coyotes are a greater threat to their young than are humans. The youngsters are seen more often during daylight hours and it’s our job to keep an eye out for these little guys. One was in our yard the other morning and he/she was as curious about us as we were about him. The following morning, he was scouting from atop a neighbor’s roof!

VOTE FOR RIVER OTTERS!

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All living creatures need clean water, clean air, and safe habitat. The North American River Otter has made a remarkable comeback as a direct result of bipartisan clean water acts first written in 1948, and then rewritten in 1972. Stop the republicans from their continuous environmental rollbacks that will have a tremendously harmful impact on our water quality.

Vote the Blue Wave!

What is happening in this clip? Mom River Otter caught a frog. Rather than eating it herself, she set it on the log between her feet for her kit to find and eat.

Read More – The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters.

Under the CWA, EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. EPA has also developed national water quality criteria recommendations for pollutants in surface waters.

The CWA made it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained.

In June 2020, EPA director Andrew Wheeler eliminated states’ and tribes’ rights to halt projects that risk hurting their water quality by rolling back a section of the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Jon Devine, director of federal water policy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, counters:

Enforcing state and federal laws is essential to protecting critical lakes, streams, and wetlands from harmful pollutants and other threats. But the Trump administration’s rule guts states’ and tribes’ authority to safeguard their waters, allowing it to ram through pipelines and other projects that can decimate vital water resources.

This is a dangerous mistake. It makes a mockery of this EPA’s claimed respect for ‘cooperative federalism.’

This action undermines how our foundational environmental laws work. The federal government should be setting baseline standards, while states apply and enhance them to the benefit of their unique natural resources and residents.