Strong scent may mean that a particular animal is close by or has passed through the area recently. I'm learning that in the dark, the best indicator that an animal is close, is seeing their eye-shines. As we walk, we slowly move our heads from side to side and up and down, scanning the forest as far as our headlamps project light. When we see one or two small yellow circles of light glowing through the trees, sometimes seeming to stare back at us, we know we may have spotted an animal. We investigate further by using our binoculars and the spot light.
Some animals have much brighter eye-shines than others.
Sometimes we are fooled into thinking we have found a mammal only to discover the sparkle of light in the distance is reflection from a spider, waiting patiently for a potential meal to pass its way. Although only the mammals we see will be recorded for the census, other creatures certainly catch our eye, stop us in our tracks, and deserve mention. Here is our list, not necessarily in the order we discover them. Out on the water, we saw large bats swooping down to the surface. There are fish-eating bats with claws capable of catching minnows.