Common Raccoon

I was at Duke Farms about a month ago when I saw something up in the still-thin foliage. I expected it to be a vulture or maybe a Great Horned Owl, but a closer look showed it to be a Common Raccoon spending the day up a tree. Once the tree leafs out, the little fella will probably be almost impossible to see up there.

Since raccoons mostly lay low during the day and do their serious food foraging at night, I don't see these guys very often, and I'm always happy to encounter one. Besides being up a tree, a part of Wood Duck Lake separated us; I saw no evidence that my presence bothered this guy.

May 4, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 128324421, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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