I know there is wildlife in the Black forest – but I never seem to see any. That may be because there are always people on the trails.

When walking in Ottawa’s urban forest it is not unusual to see many different animals. Small ones like squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits and raccoons are common. There are places with flocks of turkeys. If you see a skunk you tend to steer clear.

There are larger animals too. I’ve frequently seen deer (and hit one with my van a couple of blocks from home one morning) and one time saw a coyote. Foxes and geese are fairly common. Small birds, robins, sparrows, blue jays and the like, abound.

Here, in a much larger forest, I can hear birds but never seem to see any other wildlife. I know there is some; there are hunters’ blinds scattered all over. I’m told they are primarily for deer and wild boar. I did see a deer once, but it was wandering through the vineyard at the edge of the forest.

That doesn’t mean we didn’t see lots of animals as we walked in the woods above St. Ulrich. None of them though were what I would consider “wild.” I took pictures anyway. I leave it to you to separate the sheep from the goats.