Context

Location: Tamworth, NH

Habitat: Recently logged mixed Pine/Hardwood forest. Hemenway State Forest.

Month: December, 2023

Substrate: Soft snow, 3-4 inches

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Questions- audio off until answer please

1. How many species are in this video

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Just 2. A Mouse bounding over the snow to a cache and in the process of returning. The second is a bird, presumed to be an Owl. You can see the outline of feathers in the snow at the end.

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2. Which species?

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The distance between bounds is variable and there are clearly some longer (12 in+ bounds). I feel pretty confident calling this little critter a Deer Mouse/White-Footed Mouse. Voles primarily tunnel in soft snow where it's deep enough and if they are above the snow they tend to trot or lope... and if they do bound, the bounds tend to be consistent in length quite small (<8 in long). The tail is quite long which also leads me to suspect Deer Mouse.

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The second species is likely an owl. It has a small looking wingspan (~30") here but I don't but it does not look like its wings are fully extended. I suspect barred owl given the forested context and I have never heard a Great Horned Owl around here.

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3. What happened here?

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I suspect that during the night, the Deer Mouse went to get food from it's food cache and was on it's way back to its nest when an Owl scooped it up for it's own food! Makes you appreciate the safety of a typical American life!