Raccoon In A Tree - Dover, MA

Raccoon In A Tree - Dover MA

  Still on my search for new eagle nests, I decided to check out a sighting from back in 2021. A photo showed a pair of adult bald eagles in a nest, taken in Peter's Reservation, Dover, MA. The photo was taken near the Charles River. I had never been to Peter's Reservation before, so I had no idea what to expect. I parked in Chase Woodland, and hiked into the reservation, in the rain.

...I found some common witch-hazel in full bloom:

...Witch's Butter:

...And an old well.

 It was the perfect habitat for an eagles nest: Old white pine growing everywhere, along a stretch of river. I couldn't find it. I eventually gave up after walking off trails multiple times, and circling the entire park. I started looking for the exit.

I thought I had seen a cat run out into the path at first, about 20 feet ahead of me. It took me a second to realize I was looking at a wet raccoon. It looked small, so I'm assuming it was born this year. It stared at me for a few seconds, probably confused with the camera's loud shutter noise...

And then it walked towards me for a few seconds, which made me a little concerned about rabies... 

...but as soon as a twig crunched under my foot, it ran back to its original distance, hiding behind a tree.

                          It waited a bit, and then took off walking down the trail, away from me...

It walked off the path, and I lost track of it, so i walked over to where it had left the path. I didn't see anything, so I walked further away from the trail, in hopes to run into it again. I walked over a ridge, and realized I was only about 6 feet away from it. The raccoon panicked, and scrambled up a tree. the same exact thing that happened with the fisher in THIS post. When it got around 10 feet up the trunk, it took a peek at me...

I took another video. Sorry for the shakiness...

And then I began hearing an agitated hissing sound coming from the tree. The raccoon was clearly not happy about being trapped up there...

...So I backed away, up to the path, out of respect. The raccoon instantly took advantage of that, and after climbing down the tree, waddled off.

I definately had a good walk, despite the rain, and found out about a great new hiking spot. I hope to find that eagle nest next time I go.