Owner Bill Balkwill reported that he saw the tracks of a mink this past third week of February 2008. The tracks in the snow were large, likely indicating a male.
A pair of Coyotes are passing through the Balkwill Lands once a week as they travel west, then east towards the Miner Sanctuary. Bill feels that one of the Coyotes probably has some domestic dog in its ancestry as its paw tracks are large. There are reports of a single coyote chasing deer in the neighborhood, which would he something that domestic dogs will undertake. Coyotes normally look for prey such as small rodents i.e. voles as they forage across the landscape.
A single American Robin is still about the Balkwill residence, as reported by Jack Balkwill on February 17, 2008. A single Northern Flicker has also been seen at the feeder.
Bill reports that interesting tracks and shapes were seen recently in the snow near the northern entrance of the Old Logging Road and the Extension Lane (Lane 5) which leads into the Balkwill woodland. It appears that a Great Horned Owl knocked over a European Hare which was able to avoid the owl's talons. The signs of the struggle occurred in a snowbank just on the woodland's edge. Bill thought the weight of the hare which ranges from seven to ten pounds would be a difficult catch for a Great Horned Owl.
On February 26, 2008, Bill reported that he has observed two Red-tailed Hawks sitting together on the southern edge of the woodland to the west of his pond and prairie site. They may nest there this year.
On February 23, 2008 Bill saw where European Hares had rolled in the snow, supposedly to clean their fur. This was the first time that Bill had observed this behaviour.