Pearl Reads Animal Tracks in the Snow

In the height of winter in Vermont, Pearl is finding herself a bit bored. The fun and magic of winter is starting to wear off and she is looking forward to warmer days. Unfortunately, having lived through several Vermont winters, Pearl knows this is still a few months away.

To try and avoid the winter blues, she decided to start a new hobby. This led Pearl down the path of winter tracking. Learn all about it and more in this blog post!

Winter wildlife tracking uses snow to identify animal activity. This provides a clear and detailed substrate for prints, revealing hidden travel patterns. Spring, summer, and fall offer diverse, active behavior and easier movement. Winter's lack of foliage and deep snow makes animal movement, trails, and behavior much more visible.

There are many different methods and practices used to track wildlife in the winter and everyone does it slightly differently. Many people rely on the three p's to tell a story, Print, Pattern, and Place. Print tells us the shape and size of the print. Analyze each individual footprint, including toe count, claw marks and shape. Pattern gives insight into the gate and sequence. Examine the sequence of tracks to determine movement, this can include walking, running, or hopping. Place gives us the habitat and context of the print. Take note of the location and surroundings. Tracks that are near streams may indicate beaver or muskrat activity, however, fox tracks typically appear in direct lines along field edges.

The best conditions for winter wildlife tracking are when there is freshly fallen snow that is soft and around one to three inches deep. Ideally, on the morning after a storm. Moist, "packing" snow provides the highest detail for prints. Temperatures that are slightly below freezing prevent immediate melting or excessive icing. The early morning is best for locating those clear and fresh trails.

Common animal tracks that can be found across Vermont include deer, fox, rabbit, squirrel, coyote, moose, raccoon, and many more. Each animal's print is a different size and shape. The shapes vary from the upside down heart of the white tailed deer to the small, oval shapes of fox and coyote to cat like tracks of the skunk. Each animal also has it's own way of walking. Categories include walkers like deer, moose, fox, coyote, and bobcats. Walkers leave alternating, often overlapping prints. Bounders such as weasels that  place hind feet in front of front feet. Hoppers are rabbits, chipmunk, and mouse that hop with pairs of feet. Lastly waddlers can be skunks, bears, and racoons and shift side to side.

Image courtesy of Shelburne Farms

Wildlife tracking is a great, easy way to connect with nature and the outdoors. Getting started requires no experience or equipment. Although there is no real way to "fail" at winter tracking, here are a few tips for success. Heading out in the optimal conditions mentioned earlier will yield the best results. Once you are out in those ideal conditions, Focus on edges of forests, frozen streams, lakeshores, and sheltered areas. Look for scat or urine, fur stuck on branches, diggings in the snow, or marks on trees. Once you see tracks, notice how the animal moves and the distance between the tracks. Be sure to dress in warm layers and keep a safe distance from wildlife, avoiding disturbing dens or nests.

If you are interested in trying out winter tracking like Pearl, after finishing this blog post, head outside and see what you can find!  Go out solo or bring a friend or two. Plus, you may even be able to find a tracking workshop in your area. Happy tracking!