Cascadia Wild - Tracking Challenge!

Tracking Challenge 3 Winners

4/28/2021

The results of our Carnivore Tracking Challenge are in!
We asked for you to look for the most unusual sign, the clearest tracks, and the most unusual tracks of carnivores. You all did not disappoint!

Read on for tracks and sign left by owl, bobcat, and WOLVERINE!

The Winners
Carnivore Tracking Challenge

Category 1: The Most unusual sign

The winner of this category is Kimber Nelson, one of the Tracking Leaders with Cascadia Wild. While the animal who left this particular sign does not belong to the order of Carnivora, a taxonomical family of mammalian carnivores, they do eat a carnivorous diet. You may be able to tell instantly who left this by showing you their telltale sign:

Owl pellets!

Owls swallow their meals whole, and the pellet is a mass of all the indigestible contents of an owl's meal, such as fur and bones, that has been regurgitated from the gullet in a compressed ball. These particular pellets were left by a great horned owl. Great horned owls are excellent eaters and can eat a wide variety of rodents, birds, lizards, toads, and even rabbits - animals much larger than themselves!

What was so interesting about this sign was not the pellet itself but what was found in it...

Great horned owl, courtesy Wikipedia.

Tracking Challenge 3: Carnivores

3/23/2021

Authors: Teri Lysak, Tracking Leader with the Wolverine Tracking Project
and Käthe Steck, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator

TRACKING CHALLENGE 2:
Carnivores!
Send us your photos of carnivore tracks and sign!
Winners will be chosen for:
- the clearest carnivore tracks,
-the most unusual carnivore tracks, and
- the most unusual sign!
Challenge Ends: April 19
Send photos to: wildlifesurveys@cascadiawild.org
Or, tag us on social media! #CaWTracks
Send us all your tracking questions and stories, too!

A coyote pauses, captured by a Wolverine Tracking Project wildlife camera on Mt. Hood.

The Pacific Northwest is home to hundreds of species of mammals, just as many birds and amphibians, and even more insects. Getting to know our wild neighbors is as interesting as it is rewarding - however, getting to know each one well can take a lot of time! One thing that wildlife biologists, trackers, and backyard or aspiring naturalists (like you!) can do, is to study groups of similar animals. One of the most important groups of animals that can tell us about the overall health of an ecosystem is carnivores.

Click Read More below to learn about the importance of carnivores to an ecosystem, and how to learn about their presence through tracks and sign they leave behind...

Tracking Challenge 2 Winners!

3/23/2021

For our second Tracking Challenge, we asked you to send us your photos of squirrel tracks and sign. We had some excellent submissions!

The Winners
Tracking Challenge 2:
Squirreling Around!

Category 1: the Clearest Squirrel Tracks

The winner for the clearest tracks goes to Graham Hulbert for these tracks found near Mt Hood.

It is not often we get to see the toes show up in squirrel tracks!

Squirrels are small, lightweight animals. In order for the details of their feet to be seen, snow conditions have to be almost perfect. The snow has to be soft and fluffy so that each toe will sink in individually, it can't be too deep, and the snow also has to stop falling at some point, since new snow will obscure the details. Here in the Pacific NW, where most of our snow is wet and heavy, and days without precipitation can be few and far between, tracks like these are not common.

Graham is a Tracking Leader with the Wolverine Tracking Project and found the tracks while carrying out a tracking survey near Little John SnoPark. What a great find!

Click Read More below to see the rest of the winners: Most Unusual Squirrel Tracks and Squirrel Sign!

Tracking Challenge 2: Squirreling Around

2/22/2021

Author: Teri Lysak, Tracking Leader with the Wolverine Tracking Project

TRACKING CHALLENGE 2:
Squirreling Around!
Send us your photos of squirrel tracks and sign!
Winners will be chosen for:
- the clearest squirrel tracks,
-the most unusual squirrel tracks, and
- the most unusual sign!
Challenge Ends: March 15
Send photos to: wildlifesurveys@cascadiawild.org
Or, tag us on social media! #CaWTracks
Send us all your tracking questions and stories, too!

A Douglas squirrel says hello to one of our Wolverine Tracking Project wildlife cameras on Mt. Hood.

Did you all get to enjoy the snow we received over Valentine's Day Weekend? I have never seen so much snow in Portland before! The snow was deeper than the tops of my boots as I walked along the sidewalk, and more was still coming down. There weren’t many tracks to be seen, apparently not many animals were venturing out in those conditions. The only tracks I saw were people and dogs - and one squirrel!

Squirrels are a great place to begin if you want to study the ecology of your backyard. Although they are very common, studying squirrels can take you on some quite unexpected journeys.

Tracking Challenge #1 Winners!

2/19/2021

For our first Tracking Challenge, we asked for your most clear and your most unusual photos of tracks left by any animal, even if you didn't know who left them. We asked, and you delivered! You've submitted some excellent photos. Without much further adieu, we announce:

THE Winners
Tracking challenge 1:
Distinct and unique

category 1: Distinct Tracks

The Clear Winner

The winner for the most clear tracks goes to Instagram user @buttsuponatime who captured this amazing series of tracks outside their back door after the last snowstorm:

Any guesses on who these tracks belong to?

Click "Read More" below to find out and to see the rest of the winners!

Build your own Tracking Station

2/3/2021

Author: Teri Lysak, Tracking Leader with the Wolverine Tracking Project

We recently shared some tips for where to look for tracks in your neighborhood. However, you don't need to wait for snow or seek out mud - you can easily build a tracking station for your yard, porch, or patio!

A tracking station is simple, and consists of a track plate, fine powder like charcoal to put on the track plate, a cover to protect the plate from the elements, and (optional) bait to entice animals to visit.

Click "Read More" below to see how you can build one!

A tracking station I set up under some cedars in my backyard last weekend, complete with a track plate, powder, and a cover.

Mini Track Challenge!

1/27/2021

When we first announced the Tracking Challenge, we shared this photo:

Any guesses on who left these tracks?

If you're feeling stumped, count the number of toes, estimate the size of the tracks, consider the habitat... A lot of tracking is looking for clues - both in the tracks themselves and where they are found.

If you think you've got it, or if you just want to know who it is, click "Read More" below!

Tracking Challenge #1: Distinct and unique

1/23/2021

Author: Teri Lysak, Tracking Leader with the Wolverine Tracking Project

TRACKING CHALLENGE 1
Send us your photos of:
- clear, distinct tracks, and/or
- the most unusual tracks!
Challenge Ends: February 15
Send photos to: wildlifesurveys@cascadiawild.org
Or, tag us on social media! #CaWTracks
Send us all your tracking questions and stories, too!

We finally have the possibility of some snow in the foothills this weekend and next week!
I am excited for the snow! Some of you may be looking at me askance, but when there is snow, suddenly I can see the tracks of all the animals that live here. What a wealth of information!

The last time it snowed in Portland, I learned a lot of things about my neighborhood. The first tracks I saw when I walked out the front door were these:

Cat. We don't have a cat, but there were the tracks, walking right down our driveway, through the yard, and on. I followed them down the sidewalk, into the neighbor’s yard, out of their yard, and down the road some more. I don’t know where it came from or how far it traveled the night before, but it seemed familiar with the area, walking at a steady, even pace as if making its usual nightly rounds.

Next I wandered to the backyard. A bit of snow had blown into the covered patio on the far side of the yard, and there I saw these tracks:

Where to look for tracks

1/22/2021

Snow is some of the best substrate for looking for tracks!
A good, fresh snowfall turns the whole landscape into a tracking canvas. This makes winter one of the most exciting times for tracking.

Anywhere there is snow, you should be able to see some wildlife traffic!

A full set of squirrel tracks in snow

A coyote track in mud

Look for mud and soft, wet soil
When there is no snow, tracks can be more difficult to find. However, one thing we are also blessed with in the Pacific Northwest is rain - and dirt!

Muddy areas can be great for discovering who's been in an area. And, mud can be found anywhere! The best spots are along trails and the edges of small ponds just as the water is receding.

Hit the beach!
Sandy areas can also be good places to find tracks.

Sandy beaches can be found along the major rivers in our area. Some of the best places are:

Tracks left behind by a toad in sand

Make your own backyard track station
Create a canvas for wildlife in your backyard - no need for snow, mud, or sand.

You can easily create a simple tracking station out of plastic or vinyl paneling, or another nonabsorbent material. Set your track plate out, cover it with a thin layer of charcoal dust, chalk, or other similar material, and wait for animals to come! If there is wind and/or rain, you will also want to create a shelter for the track plate, so that the tracks don't wash or blow away.

Here are some more more tips from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County:
How to Set Up a Track Station

See our first Tracking Challenge for more info on where and how to look for tracks!

Track Challenge 1

Tracking GUIDEBOOKS

1/22/2021

Tracking is a skill that anyone can learn! Not only is it easy to pick up, but it is a skill that you can enjoy and develop throughout your whole life. Once you start to see the small signs of life around you, you realize how much a river bank, a section of path, even a tree branch and so on can tell you about the comings and goings and the interconnectedness of life on the landscape.

A guide can be incredibly helpful to carry while you're in the field, whether you're a new or well-seasoned tracker. These are some of our favorite guides, both general and for our area. Check your local bookstore or library!

One of the best guidebooks for our area: Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest, by David Moskowitz, 2010. From Timber Press.

Animal Tracks of Washington and Oregon. Ian Sheldon. 2017. Partners Publishing, USA.

Behavior of North American Mammals. Kurt Rinehart and Mark Elbroch. 2011. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, USA.

Land Mammals of Oregon. B.J. Verts and Leslie Carraway. 1998. University of California Press, USA.

Mammal Tracks & Sign: A Guide to North American Species. Mark Elbroch. 2019. Second Edition. Stackpole Books, USA.

Mammals of the Pacific Northwest: From the Coast to the High Cascades. Chris Maser. 1998. Oregon State University Press, USA.

Tracking Canids: Track and Trail Synopsis. James Halfpenny et al. 1998. A Naturalist's World, USA.

Scats and Tracks of the Pacific Coast. James Halfpenny. 2015. Falcon Guides, USA.

Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest: Tracking and Identifying Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Invertebrates. David Moskowitz. 2010. Timber Press, USA.

Have a favorite guide you would like to recommend - let us know!
We'll continue adding to this post as recommendations come in.

And, as always, send us your questions and photos! We love to see what you find out there!

Contact: Feel free to comment here, fill out a contact form, or email wildlifesurveys@cascadiawild.org