American bald eagle in Fitchburg 2/13

I'm not imagining things. I know my birds of prey. There was an American bald eagle soaring over the Nashua River between Fifth Street and Bemis Road mid-morning on Sunday the 13th.

Years ago when mountain biking at the Quabbin Reservoir with my brother, we were picking up speed on a downhill near a swamp when a gigantic bird slowly, and with great effort of his wings, rose to the sky, soon soaring hundreds of feet over us. That bird had about a 6 foot wingspan, and was a Golden Eagle.

Last summer I fished the Quabbin with my friend John, and we were lucky enough to be accompanied much of the day by an American Bald Eagle who sat in an evergreen tree 200 meters away.

Keep your eyes open at Flat Rock. You never know what you will see. Over the years I've seen a number of very large owls there, especially near sunset. While I've never seen hawks or eagles near Flat Rock, there's always a first time.

Tracking bobcat

I've tracked animals off and on in Flat Rock over the past few years, often with my friend Ron. Snowshoe hare, deer, dog, coyote, mouse, and various bird tracks are common. I know Ron has seen moose tracks, and we've seen bear scat one time. I've studied up on bobcat tracks so I'd know when I found one....and a few weeks ago I did. I was ill-prepared that day, trudging through snow in boots when snowshoes might have helped a little, and I had no camera, so I had to resort to my phone's rudimentary camera. Regardless, I've run this photo by a few knowledgeable outdoorsmen, and can tell you, with 95% certainty, that this is a bobcat track. I'll save the 5% for a particularly large and lucky housecat that has strayed far from home and avoided becoming a coyote's meal.

I returned a couple of weeks later, and followed fox prints for a while, then moved on to some deer tracks that led to some deer beds. Mixed in among the deer tracks were (I think) some more bobcat tracks. I can't say for sure, because as I moved in my snowshoes to kneel down to look up close, I managed to kick snow onto the tracks.

Finally--the map

I could make a bunch of excuses, but regardless, I've finalized the current version of our Flat Rock trail map, and it's available for download. Just go here http://www.scribd.com/full/49412057?access_key=key-1jtz3t006eyf5nzgm2lz