Tracking

[Bushcraftsman]

Hi there i've been thinking for a while, man it would be cool if I could track animals....so my question to you is....is there a website or books etc that teach me all the basics and set me on my way to learning it all myself? or is the only way one of those expensive courses im a complete beginner so ANY advice would be appreciated

Thanks

 

[Laughoutlouder]

Snow is perfect to learn! I started in the snow and got quite a bit better within a relatively short period of time. Spent weeks with a print book looking at tracks in the snow. Would consider myself a novice at best. Once the snow melted I found long grass usefull as you could judge what animal by its gait through the grass as well as the height of disturbance. I surprised myself, as well as some unsuspecting animals, a number of times. My books were German so cant advise on English books, would like to find some myself.

Get out into the snow! Take a camera(photos). A compass or ruler(scale).
Follow tracks, paying attention to where the animal is going and why! E.g. Food, shelter, lady animal .
You may find the tracks end. House found? You then should know the general pattern of movement, behavior and food sought by a particular animal. You would also know the habitat range and be able to pop along at your discretion with a big lens and confirm your track id!

Looking along the same routes without snow will reveal smaller, but not unimportant, signs of the animal/s. Once you know the tell tale signs for particular animals you can transfer the knowledge to different locations.

Get that far and ur well on ur way.

I think!


Anyway bushcraftsman, hope that helps, a little at least.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Get to know your animals first and the habitats you'd expect to find them. Learn how to identify them by sight and movement. It will give stand you in good stead and is a great foundation to work from.

 

[stuart f]

Hi bushcraftsman,this is a good book to get you started,http://www.amazon.co.uk/Animal-Trac...r_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263417426&sr=8-15

Hope this helps.

Cheers Stuart.

 

[Laughoutlouder]

Thats a nice book alright. Must get it!

 

[Riven]

Got a great book from Shipley Country Park, next to what was The American Adventure called, Animals:Tracks, Trails & Signs by R.W Brown and M.J Lawrence. Printed by Hamlyn.
Very detailed with descriptions of animals, their tracks, droppings etc.
Well illustrated and cost a mere 4 quid.
Take said book and wander around your nearest woods and see what you can find.
Simpless.

 

[stuart f]

Got a great book from Shipley Country Park, next to what was The American Adventure called, Animals:Tracks, Trails & Signs by R.W Brown and M.J Lawrence. Printed by Hamlyn.
Very detailed with descriptions of animals, their tracks, droppings etc.
Well illustrated and cost a mere 4 quid.
Take said book and wander around your nearest woods and see what you can find.
Simpless.

Yes i,ve got this one too,its another good book.
Heres a link

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Animals-Tra...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263471080&sr=1-1

Cheers Stuart.

 

[TallMikeM]

Get to know your animals first and the habitats you'd expect to find them. Learn how to identify them by sight and movement. It will give stand you in good stead and is a great foundation to work from.

aye, that's what I do. I know what animals I can expect to find in any given habitat. I guess that makes me more of an ambush hunter than a stalker tho.

 

[Laughoutlouder]

Getting to know your animals first is a great idea alright.
It's not often we get the opportunity to look at tracks in the snow though.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Getting to know your animals first is a great idea alright.
It's not often we get the opportunity to look at tracks in the snow though.

The tracks won't be there when the snow has gone, but it's a good measure (if you know what animal it is) of what the gait is and how they move under different circumstances.
Yesterday I watched a squirrel go about its business for a bit, then I made myself known and scared it off. The two sets of tracks, although from the same animal, were entirely different.

 

[Laughoutlouder]

The tracks won't be there when the snow has gone, but it's a good measure (if you know what animal it is) of what the gait is and how they move under different circumstances.
Yesterday I watched a squirrel go about its business for a bit, then I made myself known and scared it off. The two sets of tracks, although from the same animal, were entirely different.

Ha......! At least you got to see the critter. I found some tracks in the woods the other day and followed em back to what I assume was his/her tree-house. Squirrel that is. Waited about for hours and not a peep. Many ppl walked past without noticing me so was reasonably well invisibled!

Wrong time of day?
Was afternoon so believe they are most active in the mornings and evenings?
Do you know Bushwhacker what the stride length of reds and greys are?
Getting different figures from the internet and trying to identify the species. The area is supposedly one of the last strongholds for reds on the east coast but want to make a positive id.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Ha......! At least you got to see the critter. I found some tracks in the woods the other day and followed em back to what I assume was his/her tree-house. Squirrel that is. Waited about for hours and not a peep. Many ppl walked past without noticing me so was reasonably well invisibled!

Wrong time of day?
Was afternoon so believe they are most active in the mornings and evenings?
Do you know Bushwhacker what the stride length of reds and greys are?
Getting different figures from the internet and trying to identify the species. The area is supposedly one of the last strongholds for reds on the east coast but want to make a positive id.

I don't have any experience of reds, but greys can clear a good yard between bounds.
There's not much difference in composition/pattern, so I doubt it's very easy to distinguish between the two.

 

[Laughoutlouder]

I don't have any experience of reds, but greys can clear a good yard between bounds.
There's not much difference in composition/pattern, so I doubt it's very easy to distinguish between the two.

Thanks Bushwhacker,

fairly sure I have red tracks here now. The width of the tracks can be quite different, reds 3-4 and greys 4-6 inches. My tracks are in the 3-4 area, not terribly far apart(not a great charachter but anyway) and the footprints themselves are smaller than those of greys.

Wouldn't put a positive ID on em though with this info. Definitely a squirrel! Guess I'll have to get up there again and be patient!

 

[Chris G]

1 piece of advice; go on Wilderness121 webpage (Rob is a member) and go on their tracking course (Geoff is also a member). Can't rate it highly enough. And you get BCUK discount!

Chris

 

[Bushcraftsman]

I'm going to my Local library soon and was thinking of ordering some books to reserve, already have the one by R.W Brown....can anyone suggest anymore? The Ray Mears one previously stated isn't in stock.

Thanks

 

[Commoner]

Bang and Dahlstrom book is good introduction, best advice on here is get out and watch quietly, camera is a help.
You could also spend some time examining dog/cat prints - knowing what it isn't is half the job, I have lost count of the times people confuse dogs/cats with something wild because it was half-made or compounded with another print or a toy breed or whatever.
I try to use as many signs as I can find e.g. height of hole in hedge adjacent, fur caught on barbedwire, chewed/faecal remains, the more clues I have the more certain is my ident.