Category: Mammal

Observer: Kurt Buermann Observation Date: 6/16/20 Observation Time: 8:20 p.m. Observation Location: Furnace Street Common Name: Raccoon and Gray Fox Scientific Name: Procyon lotor and Urocyon cinereoargenteus Comments: This raccoon and gray fox – both of which are predators – were feeding peacefully together on the porch. More Information: Wikipedia and Nature Works Here’s a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX-v4iZD_j4

Observer: Eric Zaniewski Observation Date: 6/4/20 Observation Time: 3:00 p.m. Observation Location: Old Post Road Common Name: Fisher Scientific Name: Martes pennanti Comments: Eric Zaniewski spotted this fisher while bicycling along Old Post Road, and managed to get this remarkable photo. Fishers are sometimes referred to as fisher cats, but they do not fish and they are not cats. They are members of the weasel family. […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/31/20 Observation Time: 5:00 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR) Common Name: Eastern cottontail rabbit Scientific Name: Sylvilagus floridanus Comments: The Eastern cottontail is an introduced species that is now common in Sharon. Much rarer is the native New England Cottontail, which is smaller and has shorter ears and a black spot on its forehead. If is very hard to tell these […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/29/20 Observation Time: 7:55 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR) Common Name: White-tailed Deer Scientific Name: Odocoileus virginianus Comments: White-tailed deer are common in Sharon due to the absence of top predators such as wolves and cougars. If the deer population becomes too high, they will starve. This individual was still gaunt from the privations of winter. More Information: Wikipedia

Observer: Megan Baker Observation Date: 4/15/20 Observation Time: 3:45 p.m. Observation Location: 15 Briggs Pond Way Common Name: Gray Fox Scientific Name: Urocyon cinereoargenteus Comments: Spotted trotting across the back yard. The gray fox has rounded ears, a dark-tipped tail and hooked claws. Unlike a red fox, the gray fox can climb, and will occasionally forage for food or rest in a tree. The gray fox’s ability […]

Observer: John Davis Observation Date: 10/17/19 Observation Time: 3:00 p.m. Observation Location: 76 Edge Hill Rd. Common Name: Eastern Coyote Scientific Name: Canis latrans Comments: The eastern coyote is part coyote, part wolf, and part domestic dog. They howl like wolves and yip like coyotes and can hunt in both open field areas and forests. This healthy-looking coyote posed in the back yard for a minute, […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/8/19 Observation Time: 8:50 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Eastern Chipmunk Scientific Name: Tamias striatus Comments: This chipmunk was using gaps in a stone wall to hide from predators such as hawks. It would not come out until I moved away. More Information: Wikipedia

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/8/19 Observation Time: 7:50 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Red Squirrel Scientific Name: Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Comments: Red squirrels can be easily distinguished from other North American tree squirrels by their smaller size, territorial behavior, and reddish fur with a white underbelly). Red squirrels are somewhat larger than chipmunks. More Information: Wikipedia

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/7/19 Observation Time: 7:55 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: White-tailed Deer Scientific Name: Odocoileus virginianus Comments: White-tailed deer are common in Sharon due to the absence of top predators such as wolves and cougars. If the deer population becomes too high, they will starve. Exclosures have been erected in the woods at the Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife […]

Observer: Deb Radovsky Observation Date: 5/2/18 Observation Time: 6:20 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon, Billings Loop Common Name: White-tailed Deer Scientific Name: Odocoileus virginianus Comments: Adult white-tails have reddish-brown coats in summer which fade to a duller grayish-brown in winter. Male deer, called bucks, are easily recognizable in the summer and fall by their prominent set of antlers, which are grown annually and fall off in the […]

Observer: Faith Berkland Observation Date: 4/14/18 Observation time: not reported Observation Location: 302 Mansfield Street, Sharon, MA Common Name: Red fox Scientific Name: Vulpes vulpes More information: National Wildlife Foundation

Observer: Faith Berkland Observation Date: 3/16/18 Observation Time: 8:00 a.m. Observation Location: 302 Mansfield Street Common Name: Fisher Scientific Name: Martes pennanti Comments: Heading south across my front yard. About 4′ long including the tail. Rich brown color, tail darker toward the end. Sorry, no photo. More Information: Mass Audubon

Observer: Sean Kent Observation Date: Week of 2/2/18 to 2/9/18 Observation Location: Trowelshop Pond in Sharon Common Name: River Otter Scientific Name: Lontra canadensis Comments: At the beginning of February, three otters have been quite visible during the day at Trowel Shop Pond in Sharon. More Information: The Otters of Trowelshop Pond

Observer: Richard Mandell Observation Date: 8/20/2016 Observation Time: 2:00 p.m. Observation Location: Mountain Street Common Name: Raccoon Scientific Name: Procyon lotor Comments: Unusual to see out during the day, as raccoons are mainly nocturnal. Probably looking for the bird feeders, which I now take in at night since raccoons plundered them at night. Check out the nighttime photo I took of a raccoon trying to get sugar […]

Observer: Richard Mandell Observation Date: 6/23/16 Observation Time: 2:04 a.m. Observation Location: 580 Mountain Street (Back Deck) Common Name: Raccoon Scientific Name: Procyon lotor Comments: This explains why the hummingbirds seemed so thirsty that the feeder was emptying every night. More Information: Living with Wildlife

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/14/16 Observation Time: 8:45 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Eastern chipmunk Scientific Name: Tamias striatus Comments: The common name originally may have been spelled “chitmunk,” from the native Odawa (Ottawa) word jidmoonh, meaning “red squirrel” (cf. Ojibwe, ajidamoo). The earliest form cited in the Oxford English Dictionary (from 1842) is “chipmonk,” however, “chipmunk” appears in several […]

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 1/24/2016 Observation Time: 4:30 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Parkway Common Name: Eastern Coyote Scientific Name: Canis latrans Comments: The eastern coyote is part coyote, part wolf, and part domestic dog. They howl like wolves and yip like coyotes and can hunt in both open field areas and forests. More Information: Wikipedia

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 5/8/04 Observation Time: 8:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Parkway Common Name: White Squirrel (leucistic variation of the Eastern Gray Squirrel) Scientific Name: Sciurus carolinensis Comments: There are several different reasons why Eastern Gray Squirrels sometimes are sometimes white. Check out this video: http://www.untamedscience.com/biodiversity/white-squirrel/ More Information: White Squirrel Research Institute and Jamaica Pond’s Albino Gray Squirrel

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/12/14 Observation Time: 2:00 p.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road (back yard) Common Name: White-footed mouse Scientific Name: Peromyscus leucopus Comments: This juvenile mouse was in our garden. More Information: Wikipedia

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 6/13/13 Observation Time: 9:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: Eastern Gray Squirrel (black melanistic) Scientific Name: Sciurus carolinensis Comments: A member of the black melanistic sub-group of the eastern gray squirrel. More Information: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/30/12 Observation Time: 6:05 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Northern Short-tailed Shrew Scientific Name: Blarina brevicauda Comments: This venomous mammal is a highly active insectivore that consumes up to three times its weight daily. I don’t know why this specimen died. More Information: Wikipedia

Observer: Joe Macri Observation Date: 3/3/14 Observation Time: 5:30 p.m. Observation Location: High Plain St. approx. 200 yards from intersection with Norwood St. Common Name: River Otter Scientific Name: Lontra canadensis Comments: Just at sunset, I observed a large, sinuous animal crossing the road. I only saw it briefly and in silhouette, but was surprised by the size of it. When looking online I narrowed it down to River […]

Observer: Sue Price Observation Date: 2/15/13 Observation Time: 7:30 a.m. Observation Location: Bay Road near Wilshire (going from Sharon to Stoughton) Common Name: River Otter Scientific Name: Lontra canadensis Comments: I think it was a river otter. It was very dark with a long fat tail and moved very quickly – don’t think it was a beaver as it had a long thin body. More Information: Massachusetts Division […]

Observer: Pat Gardner Observation Date: 11/11/12 Observation Time: 6:15 a.m. Observation Location: Shepard’s Pond, Canton Common Name: River Otter Scientific Name: Lontra canadensis Comments: This morning there was only one, but over the past 2 months there’ve been 2. Shepard’s Pond is on the Canton-Sharon border. More Information: Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife