Wildlife
A variety of wildlife inhabit Whitmore Lake Preserve. Please contact us and share your wildlife sightings and photographs from the preserve. We would be delighted to add them to the site!
Birds...
Great Horned Owl. A Great Horned Owl (maybe a barred owl?) was spotted twice about halfway between markers #1 and #2 in late March 2017. The first photo below is a stock photo. The second was taken in the preserve. You can see the owl's profile in the morning light. I came upon it early in the morning and it swooped silently down the trail when it heard me, sporting about a 4-5 foot wingspan.
Mammals...
White-tailed deer. White-tailed deer are regularly seen in the preserve in both the woods and the western portion of the field on Spencer. Deer tracks are seemingly everywhere in the preserve. Although the land was used for deer hunting prior to it becoming a preserve, hunting in the preserve is now strictly prohibited (stock photo).
Ring-Necked Ducks. 4-6 pairs of Ring-necked ducks are consistently seen in the pond north of marker #5 (stock photo) with a maximum of about 30 counted in the pond at one time.
Sandhill Cranes. Sandhill cranes are often seen in the field at the northern end of the preserve near Spencer Rd. (stock photo)
Wild Turkeys. A large flock of turkeys resides in the preserve and they can sometimes be spotted in the early mornings in the Spencer Road fields and in the northern sections of the preserve. Occasionally, turkey feathers can be found.
Coyote. Two local Whitmore Lake men have seen coyotes in the preserve. The first pic is a stock photo. The second is a coyote print on the trail between markers #8 and #4 (pic taken 4/16/17).
Black Squirrel. Squirrels are abundant in the preserve and can be seen in almost every visit. (stock photo).
Reptiles & Amphibians...
Frogs. These tiny frogs, a little less than an inch long, live in the many temporary pools in the woods that form in the spring (pics taken 4/16/17).
The large turkey track below was seen on the trail leading from marker #8 to the Spencer field (4/9/17). A closer look at this photo reveals three layers of tracks. First were human shoe tracks (the parallel diagonal lines in the right center) followed by the turkey, and then a third track in the upper right is from a raccoon. Many critters share the path!
Small-mouthed Salamander. Under a piece of debris this small-mouthed salamander was found (stock photo).
Butler's garter snake (stock photo). A small black, brown, or olive snake with three distinct yellow stripes down the back and a yellowish belly. Some specimens have dark spots between the stripes. The dark head is very small. Adult length: 15 to 27 inches. One was spotted in the woods of the preserve.
Bald Eagle. Although rare in the area, an adult Bald Eagle has been seen in the Preserve. Juvenile Bald Eagles have also been seen within two miles of the preserve. (Stock photo)
Pileated Wood Pecker. Woodpeckers (including Downy, Hairy, Flicker, and Red-Bellied) are fairly common in the area. Local bird watcher, Sean Bachmann, has seen a Pileated Woodpecker in the preserve. Pileated Woodpeckers have also been spotted by others within a mile of the preserve. (Stock photo)
What is this? This partial bone structure is about 5 inches across, found between markers #1 and #2. What is it?
Insects...
Polydesmida Centipede? Photo taken in preserve on February 25, 2019.
Blue bird. Bluebirds are a group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous bird in the order of Passerines in the genus Sialia of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrushs in the Americas. They have blue, or blue and rose beige, plumage. Females are less brightly colored than males, although color patterns are similar and there is no noticeable difference in size between the sexes. Siting on 5/13/17 (stock photo).
Three bluebird houses are maintained in the preserve in the oak savanna.
Red-tailed hawk. Hawks are consistently seen majestically soaring above the preserve, especially along the edges of the fields on Spencer (stock photo).
The following picture was taken on February 18, 2019 in the preserve. It is the print of a bird of prey, likely a red-tailed hawk. Note the trail of a critter coming in from the lower right of the picture. The bird pounced, and it was the end of the trail for the critter (in more ways than one). The outline of individual feathers on both wings (especially the left) and the tail can be seen. The wing span was about 32 inches.
Canadian Geese. In spring, Canadian geese frequent the field on Spencer, usually in pairs. The wide open area gives them a relatively safe place to rest in the evening. You can see between 4 and 20 geese in the field closest to Spencer in the spring (stock photo). A pair have a nest on the northern edge of the pond just north of marker #5. In the spring there is a small pond that forms in the Spencer field, a pair with two small goslings were spotted there with parents on 5/12/17.
Mallard Ducks. Mallards are frequent visitors in the spring, seen predominantly in standing water in the Spencer field and other locations throughout the preserve. (stock photo).
Turkey vulture. The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), also known in some North American regions as the turkey buzzard (or just buzzard) is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America.
The turkey vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion.It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gases produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It is not uncommon to see it soaring above the preserve (stock photo).
