Do you have an outdoors photo or video to share? Send it to [email protected] and tell us, “I consent to the BDN using my photo/video.”
One thing that must be said of Bangor Daily News Outdoors readers: You have a good sense of humor. In this case, you probably needed one.
We shared this trail camera photo with you in the hope folks might be able to make sense of the blurry night time image. At first glance, given that only two legs appear visible, many of you identified the mystery creature as a bird. Guesses ranged from owl, to turkey, to pheasant, to even a hawk or partridge.
But the above facts didn’t stop others from seeing what they believe is a four-legged animal, one likely on the move. Those guesses included fox, fisher and weasel.
There was the usual assortment of joke answers provided.
Owl was the most frequent response among commenters who saw Wendy Closson’s photo, which was taken in the western Maine town of Andover.
That seems to stem from the fact the critter is out and about late at night, which would be typical owl behavior, and from the appearance of the legs.
One person suggested that we’re seeing the bird from behind, possibly pouncing on prey in the snow. Rather than a tail, the long part visible on the right-hand side actually would be the right wing.
If you take another look at the photo from that perspective, you might reevaluate your initial guess. That’s exactly what happened for me.
Our best guess is that Wendy’s photo shows an owl out hunting for small rodents in the snow.
Many thanks to Wendy Closson for sharing the photo and to our readers for playing along.
