Advice on tracking

[Muddy Boots]

Ok so bit of a novice here but having been out last night in my local wood I was thinking about setting up a track trap. No idea what it should be called but my idea was to remove the top layer of folliage from a clearing in the wood and rake it over.

I intend to leave it for a couple of days and go back and check.

There is a two fold reason for this.

(1) Really interested to see what happens through it
(2) I have ear marked the spot for a bit of rough camping and a size 10 Converse All Star foot print would put paid to that idea.

I just wondered if there was any info available on setting one of these areas up or determining what has walked through it.

I can probably guess the species if it is covered by sneeker prints though

 

[Bushwhacker]

If there's anything about, there should already be trails to find.

 

[Muddy Boots]

If there's anything about, there should already be trails to find.

To be honest unless it walked through a patch of wet cement and got stuck before it reached the end there is a very good chance I would miss it.

I have found a few burrows and some signs of wildlife but I thought this way it would be easier and help me focus on what sort of animal I am actually looking for.

I intend to set up a few of these around the local wood as there has been rumbling about a wild big game cat that wonders the woods in the local area.

Not sure if it gossip or fact but the Mount in Henley In Arden has had this story about an escaped exotic that randomly makes an appearance.

Well as I say that's the talk in the local pub anyway.

Incidently it's not called the "Slaughtered Lamb" .

 

[preacherman]

Hi Muddy Boots,

You could dig out the area where the trail is and fill it in with sand which would have to be checked regularily to identify species especially if it is a busy trail. There are other methods but they would be very visible to humans and liable to vandalism or even god forbid being taken home mistaken for litter.

Once you get your tracks in the sand you then need to identify them. Sometimes it can be hard to diffrentiate between a large "cat" and a large dog so track identification books would be handy. Also when tracking you really need to be able to identify other signs including droppings and behaviour traits so that by piecing together several bits of information you can positively identify that animal.

Here is a link to a site with some handy information including tracks etc. Hope this helps.

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/animal-tracks

Andrew

 

[Bushwhacker]

Unless you're laying the traps on known trails, you're not going to have a very successful hit rate and it will be a lot of work for nothing. It's just the same logic as setting snares.

Tracking is far from being all about footprints, there are plenty of indicators of what creatures are about without seeing a single print.

 

[Muddy Boots]

Hi Muddy Boots,

You could dig out the area where the trail is and fill it in with sand which would have to be checked regularily to identify species especially if it is a busy trail. There are other methods but they would be very visible to humans and liable to vandalism or even god forbid being taken home mistaken for litter.

Once you get your tracks in the sand you then need to identify them. Sometimes it can be hard to diffrentiate between a large "cat" and a large dog so track identification books would be handy. Also when tracking you really need to be able to identify other signs including droppings and behaviour traits so that by piecing together several bits of information you can positively identify that animal.

Here is a link to a site with some handy information including tracks etc. Hope this helps.

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/animal-tracks

Andrew

Awesome thanks fella that is exactly what I am after.

Unless you're laying the traps on known trails, you're not going to have a very successful hit rate and it will be a lot of work for nothing. It's just the same logic as setting snares.

Tracking is far from being all about footprints, there are plenty of indicators of what creatures are about without seeing a single print.

Totally agree. The problem round by me is that the area I have in mind gets a lot of foot fall from the dog walking brigade and often has ramblers pounding down the common walk ways thus obliterating any tracks. I think alot of the widlife use the clear foot paths and then disappear into the undergrowth making tracking very difficult for a novice.

I have seen a few burrows but no idea what resides within. Hence the idea of laying down some tracking friendly medium.

I have heard that there have been deer visiting the local residents gardens and subsequently want to find the route they take.

As I said earlier I am not to concerned about making the track trap obvious to people as I want to determine how much solitude this particular area gets.

 

[BushTucker]

Muddyboots, I agree with the sand method. Are you interested in anything in particular?

 

[preacherman]

I think alot of the widlife use the clear foot paths and then disappear into the undergrowth making tracking very difficult for a novice.

I have seen a few burrows but no idea what resides within.

Tracking takes years to perfect, even more so in our conditions so imho it is always a good start to find out what exactly lives in your area. Find an animal trail that leads off the main trail and follow it as far as you can. Many animals use the same route to and from their resting places daily and this creates a very obvious trail which is easy to follow, badgers are a good example. Does a trail lead down to water, what kind of droppings are around, is there any sign of a predator having killed prey, all these things will point to what is actually in the woods. Learning all of this takes time and a good tracker will also be a good naturalist who will know their area very well and will be able to spot irregularities immediatly, new trails, broken or out of place plants etc. If you think that tracking is something you would like to do and have the time to practice then I recommend doing a course. I started with books but it was only after doing a course this year that I was able to tie alot of stuff together from the books.

Hope this helps

Andrew

 

[Muddy Boots]

Muddyboots, I agree with the sand method. Are you interested in anything in particular?

It would be interesting to see if the Large Black Cat / Panther story is true but the chances of that happening are very remote TBH. At the moment mostly trying to find the deer trail but approaching this little venture with a totally open mind. I think the pay off really is to see if the clearing gets visiters from the local yoof. I know occassionally a few of them play in the woods my me but it is very rare and this particular spot I have in mind is quite isolated and looks undistrubed.

Tracking takes years to perfect, even more so in our conditions so imho it is always a good start to find out what exactly lives in your area. Find an animal trail that leads off the main trail and follow it as far as you can. Many animals use the same route to and from their resting places daily and this creates a very obvious trail which is easy to follow, badgers are a good example. Does a trail lead down to water, what kind of droppings are around, is there any sign of a predator having killed prey, all these things will point to what is actually in the woods. Learning all of this takes time and a good tracker will also be a good naturalist who will know their area very well and will be able to spot irregularities immediatly, new trails, broken or out of place plants etc. If you think that tracking is something you would like to do and have the time to practice then I recommend doing a course. I started with books but it was only after doing a course this year that I was able to tie alot of stuff together from the books.

Hope this helps

Andrew

Absolutely it does many thanks. I think at the moment I am going to stumble around blind for a while and see how much I can learn from the good flk on this forum then if I get really into it look at getting on a course.

Bushcraft was something i toyed with many moons ago when I was in my teens and I guess this is a bit of re-living my youth. I've not long moved into the area and it struck me last night that having a local recci and see what is about would usually be one of the first things I did.

I am very much hoping that the site doesn't get visited by people as it looks like quite a nice little hidey hole. to practice some skills in.

I guess the real trick is to keep my visits to it as light footed as possible so as not to give it's location away to anyone who has better tracking skills than me.

 

[preacherman]

I guess the real trick is to keep my visits to it as light footed as possible so as not to give it's location away to anyone who has better tracking skills than me.

Not wanting to teach anyone to suck eggs here but my advice would be to vary your route to and from your "secret spot" so that you will not create an easily identifiable trail leading directly to your camp. Over time maybe you could map an area 100m in all directions from your spot which would give you a distinct advantage over anyone stumbling upon you. Knowing one area intimately is the secret to becoming a tracker.

Good luck with it.

Andrew

 

[Muddy Boots]

Not wanting to teach anyone to suck eggs here but my advice would be to vary your route to and from your "secret spot" so that you will not create an easily identifiable trail leading directly to your camp. Over time maybe you could map an area 100m in all directions from your spot which would give you a distinct advantage over anyone stumbling upon you. Knowing one area intimately is the secret to becoming a tracker.

Good luck with it.

Andrew

Good idea. I did think of that as well this afternoon as I typed my last post.

I have a pretty good view leading out from the camp but it is a little close to a house that backs onto the wood.

Subsequently I found a break out route from the back of the pitch which leads onto a field with a public right of way. The wood is on common land so no idea if or who I should approach about camping there over night. I am guessing that it is one of those situations where out of site is out of mind and as I have no intention in spending weeks there and having fires and such like or lopping down the local wood land there really shouldn't be to much of a problem.

I found this place after about an hour of scouting the local area yestarday so I have no doubt there will be other places that may be better / more private and intend to have a recci this afternoon.

 

[hammock monkey]

one way to start to get into tracking is to literally watch an animal (2 legged or 4) wander past you as you sit there on a bench maybe on a dog walking route. So your starting point and route are given, zero guess work.
Can you find the tracks?
What do you know about the animal, can you still find its tracks the following day?
How has the environment changed in that time. How has that rain/ sunshine/ wind/ temp etc affected the tracks? Take photos and study them.

Build up a little log of the things you've noticed, do it all year round and you'll get a good grounding.


Its all about logic and dirt time to me. Tracking's ace.