Realtor continues musing about wildlife encounters in Weston and Wellesley, MA

If you read Volume 1 and Volume 2, of my Suburban Safari blogs, you know I often encounter critters in the two towns I most frequent.  Many of these sightings occur when I am travelling between Weston and Wellesley.  A few years ago I was driving from Wellesley to Weston at about 9 PM and saw a fox kit following the yellow line down the middle of the road.  I stayed behind the baby to ensure another motorist didn’t hit him/her and my headlights seemed to make the little one move more quickly.  My concern was that the mother had been injured or killed because the baby should not be out alone, much less in the middle of a road.  Soon the little fox veered into the brush and disappeared.  I have seen both red and gray fox all over Weston and Wellesley.  They live in the woods behind my house, on the local golf courses, anywhere they can find a hidden den and enough prey to sustain them and their families. 

Foxes share their environments with coyotes.  The Northeastern coyote bears more resemblance to gray wolves than to the coyotes indigenous to the southwest, midwest or northwest.  One theory is that the northeastern coyote has cross-bred with the gray wolf of Canada.  The result is an animal that hunts in packs like wolves and is close in size to the wolf.  Coyotes from the other regions of the country are smaller, more rusty or tan in color and tend to be lone hunters. All coyotes have one tell-tale trait in common:  at the tip of the tail there is a tuft of black fur.

My daughter frequently visits from whichever city in which she resides.  Her city lifestyle suits her and she has never shared my love of the wild, nor has she found any appeal in my travels to seek out wildlife.  Therefore, one lovely fall night while she was visiting and in the guest room with the windows open, she lurched from the room in a panic upon hearing  howls from a pack of coyotes.  There were perhaps five of them in the woods behind the house announcing their whereabouts to each other.  To my daughter, the canine vocals sounded eery and dangerous.  To me it was a wonderfully melodious chorus.  Had my daughter not been there, I would have howled back at them, but she would have thought I was nuts, not to mention really un-cool.  Her exclamation was, “what the h#*# is that”?  When I explained that they were coyotes and they were not going to storm the house, she was not amused. 

Before I installed a fence around my backyard, I had several close encounters with coyotes.  They came sauntering out of the woods, looked at me and calmly turned and walked away, or moseyed casually across the open yard instead of being stealthy and travelling through the trees.  Their boldness is often at odds with their reputation for shyness.   Now that my yard is fenced, I have looked up from barbequing dinner and spotted a coyote staring at me from outside the fence.  Once discovered, the animals usually depart, albeit without particular haste.   

There are a plethora of missing cats in Weston and Wellesley and a few small dogs have also disappeared.  Obviously, it is not a good idea to let small pets roam free or unprotected from many types of wildlife trying to survive in their ever-diminishing habitat.  Coyotes get the blame most of the time, but fisher cats, hawks and large owls also prey on small domestic animals.  Speaking of owls, hawks and fisher cats, I have another story, but I’ll post it in my next volume.

Ann Burford, Accredited Buyer Representative, Pinnacle Realtor

Cell: 781.910.1419

Office: 781.237.5000

aburford@PinnacleHouses.com

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