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stnoonan
Junior Member - More than 100 posts
USA
150 Posts
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 Posted - 01/25/2010 : 10:11:38 AM
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| Any naturalists out here ever spot a Fisher in Easton? I think we had a sighting yesterday about 100-125 yards into the Black Brook (Metacomet side). I haven't seen one out there before, but given its' distinctive appearance and gait, I'm fairly sure that is what we saw. Before I add it to my "yard list" I would feel better if other sightings in town have been made. |
Sean T Noonan |
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CP
New Member - More than 50 posts
81 Posts
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Posted - 01/25/2010 : 10:53:22 AM
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I spotted one passing through our property a year or so ago. 'Got a good look at it. The land manager at Borderland State park has been trying to track Fishers, and likes to get reports of sitings when possible.
some pics (from the web) here:
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Edited by - CP on 01/25/2010 10:55:22 AM |
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Dude
Advanced Member - More than 1000 posts
1391 Posts
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Posted - 01/25/2010 : 11:17:50 AM
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You I have seen a few around the Fly Away pond area. Every one that I have seen were on the dark side; not so much brown looking.
But I'm not sure if they are fisher cats or pine martens. They are related to the fisher cats but a bit smaller and have been traditionally from MASS.
This is a picture of a pine marten.
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Dude
Advanced Member - More than 1000 posts
1391 Posts
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stnoonan
Junior Member - More than 100 posts
USA
150 Posts
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Posted - 01/25/2010 : 12:03:01 PM
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| Thanks for your info. This animal was very dark, mostly black. Looking at the PM video you posted, it definitely did not move like that. Maybe my eyes weren't deceiving me! |
Sean T Noonan |
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Dude
Advanced Member - More than 1000 posts
1391 Posts
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Posted - 01/25/2010 : 12:12:59 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by stnoonan
Thanks for your info. This animal was very dark, mostly black. Looking at the PM video you posted, it definitely did not move like that. Maybe my eyes weren't deceiving me!
That one is jumping around like it's on something. Normally they don't move like that but like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOxI23abUqs&feature=related
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parker
Advanced Member - More than 1000 posts
USA
1182 Posts
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Posted - 01/26/2010 : 07:08:44 AM
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| No doubt they are in Easton and housecats are one of their favorite meals (along with porcupines and squirrels). |
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swamp yankee
Starting Member - Less than 50 posts
USA
15 Posts
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Posted - 01/26/2010 : 09:14:49 AM
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| Fishers are now common,though elusive,in Easton.They favor old stands of white pine. Their favorite snack is gray squirrel. Don't feed them,they can be nasty little critters. |
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Jmurphy
Senior Member -- More than 400 posts
536 Posts
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Posted - 01/28/2010 : 11:05:18 AM
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| The animal control officer said they have seen them in the woods behind Target. They informed my wife of their sittings. My wife saw something chase after our neighbors cat (since has become an indoor cat) and thought it may be a fisher. |
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SSMinow
Starting Member - Less than 50 posts
23 Posts
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Posted - 07/10/2010 : 9:30:37 PM
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| A fisher was hit on Route 106 west of Target last week. I've also noticed that the coyotes are back in full force around the Wheaton Farm area. |
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Colleen
New Member - More than 50 posts
USA
62 Posts
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Posted - 07/11/2010 : 07:32:08 AM
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| Coyotes and foxes seem to be out in full force. We have seen several in our neighborhood over the last couple of weeks. Our cats like to go out early, but we are keeping them in during early morning hours just in case. |
Colleen Less |
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Dude
Advanced Member - More than 1000 posts
1391 Posts
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Posted - 08/04/2010 : 10:47:40 AM
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House cats, be warned: Fishers are back on prowl
By James O’Brien, Globe Correspondent | August 4, 2010
Keep the family cat indoors: that is the message from MassWildlife to residents in cities and towns around Boston after a recent spike in reports of fisher sightings.
A relative of the weasel, the fisher — some call it a fisher cat — can grow to 3 feet tip to tail and weigh 8 to 16 pounds. With an array of sharp, retractable claws and a pointed head with round ears tucked tight against its skull, the fisher has squat legs and fur that runs from rich brown to black along its slender body. Its lips part to reveal four pronounced incisors.
It preys on rodents and small game, but if it comes across a house cat, the fisher would prey on it, as well.
“When cats are left outside, they are vulnerable to fishers,’’ said Laura Hajduk, a biologist with the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, or MassWildlife.
Fishers tend to shy away from humans, according to MassWildlife, but the state Division of Animal Health cautions that they can carry rabies, and several in the Commonwealth have tested positive in recent years.
The agency issued the warning as residents in suburbs have reported seeing more fishers.
In Quincy, Kathleen Roach believes she encountered one in her backyard, which abuts a wooded bog on Sherman Street. The animal was making for her trash about three weeks ago, she says.
“He just came through like a bull in a china shop,’’ she said. “I could see its distinct tail; he had the short legs, the hump on his back. To me, it was like a good healthy raccoon, times three.’’
Linda Ribeiro, of Dover, said she watched a fisher creep along Glen Street in Natick last month, around the corner from her house on Wildwood Road. A day later, her cat was missing.
“This huge thing, the size of my coffee table,’’ is how she describes the animal that she saw. “It was just sort of weirdly walking across the road.’’
And Debi Whitcomb, a professional dog walker and owner of Wholesome Hounds in Natick, said her clients have reported seeing fishers, and some think they are responsible for missing cats in Dover, Natick, and Needham.
No numbers of reported sightings were available from the state, but “anecdotally, we can say we have seen a recent increase, as an agency,’’ said Hajduk. She said there can be a long lag between report collection and database entry.
“Last year we had our first two reports in Boston,’’ she said. “In 2006, we received our first confirmation of fishers on Cape Cod.’’
While MassWildlife does not verify each report, Marion Larson, information and education biologist, says the agency is confident about the veracity of the Boston area sightings based on the information given to biologists.
Dover police say they have had reports of several fisher sightings, and the department released a written alert Friday.
“Dover, like many neighboring communities has more open space than developed land . . . a natural habitat for fishers’’ and other predators, Elaine Yoke, a Dover animal control officer, said in the statement.
In Needham, Danielle Landry, an animal control officer, said she had an unusual cluster of reports of fishers, about 10, this spring.
Communities that have had reports of fishers spotted in recent years include Billerica, Chelmsford, Lexington, and Wilmington.
While Hajduk said MassWildlife has had no reports of fisher attacks on dogs, they can also be prey for fishers. In March 2008, a Lexington resident said her Yorkshire terrier was dragged off and killed by a fisher.
Fishers were rendered nearly extinct in Massachusetts in the 1800s due to heavy logging, according to the Massachusetts Audubon Society. By the 1980s, however, MassWildlife began to see the animals bounce back.
“This is not necessarily a new thing, but sometimes it’s a surprise to people, if they’ve never seen them in their backyard,’’ Hajduk said.
MassWildlife advises keeping pets, especially cats, indoors, tightly securing trash cans, and avoiding putting out bird feeder suet, which attracts fishers.
As for Ribeiro, she is waiting for trapping season, starting in November, to perhaps diminish the fisher population in the woods near her Dover home.
“I’m an animal lover,’’ she said, “but these weaselly things really give me the creeps.’’
James O’Brien can be reached at james@jamesobrien.cc.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2010/08/04/house_cats_be_warned_fishers_are_back_on_prowl/?p1=News_links
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eastonmom2girls
Advanced Member - More than 1000 posts
USA
1525 Posts
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Posted - 08/04/2010 : 11:24:15 AM
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| I hope they eat rabbits. I have never seen so many rabbits in all the years I have lived here. They keep eating everyones flowers. I have tried everything believe me. |
~~Eastonmom2girls~~~~~ |
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Dude
Advanced Member - More than 1000 posts
1391 Posts
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Posted - 08/04/2010 : 11:32:15 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by eastonmom2girls
I hope they eat rabbits. I have never seen so many rabbits in all the years I have lived here. They keep eating everyones flowers. I have tried everything believe me.
I bet you've twied evewything?
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eastonmom2girls
Advanced Member - More than 1000 posts
USA
1525 Posts
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Posted - 08/04/2010 : 3:23:16 PM
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| Cute! That is what happens! They are so smart and sneaky. I have photos to prove it! It is a joke in my family now. I have trained my dog to chase them, she loves it! That helps a little for the day but can not cover the night. |
~~Eastonmom2girls~~~~~ |
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SSMinow
Starting Member - Less than 50 posts
23 Posts
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Posted - 08/05/2010 : 5:48:28 PM
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I use balloons and draw eyes on them. Keeps them out of the garden. Even when the balloons are gone they just feel that it is not a safe place to go. Also sometimes basil and marigolds work to keep them away.quote:
Originally posted by eastonmom2girls
Cute! That is what happens! They are so smart and sneaky. I have photos to prove it! It is a joke in my family now. I have trained my dog to chase them, she loves it! That helps a little for the day but can not cover the night.
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SSMinow
Starting Member - Less than 50 posts
23 Posts
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Posted - 08/05/2010 : 5:57:00 PM
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| We build and build and build, taking away the woods and fields for the wildlife and then ask why we are seeing these animals and such. I could not believe when a local resident called the police to report "a large amount of deer in her back yard". We should be happy that Easton does such a great job of securing open space for conservation. Imagine living in a community with guns and drugs being the problem and having to sleep with your windows closed. Think of that the next time the big bad fisher of ever worse the big bad deer walk in your yard (don't trust the rabbits either) |
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gearloose
Junior Member - More than 100 posts
USA
299 Posts
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Posted - 08/06/2010 : 09:42:53 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by SSMinow
Think of that the next time the big bad fisher of ever worse the big bad deer walk in your yard (don't trust the rabbits either)
Years ago, we were thrilled to see a herd of deer in our back yard.
Then came the downsides. Deer getting hit by vehicles in front of the house. The end of the landscaping plants. The end of the vegetable garden.
They no longer have fear of people, and you can often walk right up to them in the yard.
I used to love to grow vegetables. So it's not "Bambi" any more.
It's more like a hundred-pound SLUG.
They cannot be hunted of course...there are just too many houses, too close together.
Easton is a Nature Lovers' paradise. Eastern Ringneck snakes, as well as the more common visitors. Here's my cat Iggy's little friend who visits once in a while:
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Edited by - gearloose on 08/06/2010 09:55:59 AM |
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Mr. Mom
Senior Member -- More than 400 posts
816 Posts
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Posted - 08/06/2010 : 10:15:39 AM
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| Great photo! |
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MeredithCo
Senior Member -- More than 400 posts
477 Posts
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Posted - 08/06/2010 : 10:19:11 AM
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| What a great photo. How does the cat react when Mr. Raccoon peers through the glass door? |
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gearloose
Junior Member - More than 100 posts
USA
299 Posts
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Posted - 08/06/2010 : 11:54:55 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by MeredithCo
What a great photo. How does the cat react when Mr. Raccoon peers through the glass door?
They tried to rub noses through the screen but I cannot allow that because of the rabies risk.
Now they do it through the glass.
They are fascinated with each other, and try to play..
If the raccoon was an adult, it would probably regard him as a food candidate, though. |
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Fishers in Easton?
