I took Kimber The Wonder Dog for a walk along the Shenandoah yesterday looking for tracks. We followed some medium-sized canine tracks for about a half mile. Eventually, they turned towards the riverbank where we couldn't follow, so we doubled back the way we came from, but closer to the river. Soon we found some more foxy- looking tracks and then they got mixed on with some turkey tracks. At first there were just a few, but then more and more, and soon we found where they'd done some serious scratching around in the snow. I kept glassing ahead, hoping to catch a glimpse of them, but didn't see a thing.

For some reason, I decided to look across the river, and there they were, at least twenty birds, including some nice gobblers. Apparently, after feeding downstream on my side, they had flown across and started feeding back upstream. I watched them as long as I could, but the dog got bored or cold and started whining, so we moved on. After about 50 yards, the tracks I had followed turned towards the river and then disappeared.

In two miles of walking, we saw not one rabbit track, a couple of squirrel tracks, and maybe 3 sets of deer tracks. This area, just about a square mile in size, looks like rabbit heaven, but it's been years since I've seen one there.

Time to thin the predators.

I'm not sure that's the problem. Years ago, there seemed to be more foxes than there are now. I saw one during doe season, but couldn't get a shot. A fellow I ran into a couple of years ago said his friend had trapped dozens from this WMA. Redtails are no more common than they are elsewhere on the area. Certainly, there are bobcats in the area, as well as the occasional mountain lion, but I've never even seen a track.

The most likely candidate is coyotes. The medium-sized canine track I was following in my first post looked larger than any fox track, and seemed to follow a more direct, purposeful route than the foxes I've tracked in the past. I've never seen one on this property, but have seen a few in the general area. The Eastern coyote has a reputation of being both larger and smarter than the typical western dog and certainly they are tougher to hunt than red foxes, which in my experience, can be one of the dumbest critters in the woods.

I've made a few brief attempts at calling in the past week or so, but nothing has come in. We're due for some more snow soon, so I'll be able to check for fresh tracks. I'm thinking of hunkering down near the river and waiting for something to wander by.

Maybe most likely candidate is winter/spring weather or disease (mange, ticks, nematodes, and bacterial). Why do you think predators can be the only answer?

Didn't say it's the only answer. I live 5 miles away and it's like a rabbit rodeo over here in my subdivision. Not unusual to see 3 or 4 at a time in my backyard. I had to fence off my garden. I walk my dog at a 150 acre ballpark a couple miles away, which is about 1/3 good rabbit cover, and it's swarming with 'em. Same weather.