Build your own Tracking Station

​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.

1. Get your Track Plate

Skunk tracks collected on a track plate while helping out with a field research project in Arizona. These are likely hognose or striped skunk - we have many striped skunks in the Pacific Northwest, too!

​A track plate is any large, flat piece of metal, plastic, or other material, covered with fine powder. When an animal walks on it, their feet remove the powder and their tracks can be seen.  

For the plate, the easiest and cheapest things I’ve found to use are:

• plastic wall paneling (called FRP panels) available at any construction store, or
• thin sheet metal, available from most hardware stores as well.

The size of the plate depends on the size of the animals you wish to see, but in general, 2ft x 3ft is a good compromise between being large enough to pick up tracks and small enough to easily find a spot for it and carry it there.

2. Grab a Powder

For the powder, I use fine charcoal powder. I got mine from a filtration supply company. Other sources include: health foods stores, who sell it as activated charcoal powder; aquarium stores, who sell it for use in water filters; or even the toner from an old printer cartridge. I’ve heard that chalk dust will also work as well. Soot from an acetylene torch has also been used a lot, but to me this seems a lot more difficult and dangerous.

3. Select your Location

When considering a location for your track plate, the ground has to be as level as possible, otherwise the plate will flex, make noise, and scare animals away. This is especially true when using metal sheets.

4. Set up your Station!

Now that you have all your materials and location ready, you can set up your tracking station.

Apply the powder to your track plate: To apply the dust, I use a slurry of charcoal powder in water. The consistency is thinner than “paste” but thicker than “watery.” I use a paintbrush to paint it onto the plate. When I’m done, you can still see the paintbrush lines; the charcoal is not a smooth, even layer, but it is still spread evenly enough that the tracks show up well.

After mixing the charcoal powder with some water, I use a paintbrush to apply it to the track plate.

This is an example of a wood "cubby" used as a track plate cover with a bit of bait at the back of the tunnel, a method often used in wildlife research. However, a cover as simple as a tarp will work. From Track Plates, William Zielinski, USDA Forest Service (click photo or see below for link).

Cover the track plate: the charcoal powder is easily washed off easily in rain or even dew, so in this area, covering it during winter is a must. Any sort of covering will work. If you have a covered patio, that works great. I usually tie a tarp or sheet of plastic over it, making sure it is large enough that rain doesn’t blow in from the sides, at high enough that it doesn’t scare anything from entering underneath. In wildlife research projects, the cover is often made in the form of a cubby, a long, narrow box that is closed at one end. Bait is placed at the back to entice the animals to enter, and in order to get to the bait, the animal is forced to walk the length of the box, where it is sure to leave its footprints.

Set out bait (optional): Having a bait to entice animals to walk on your track plate can help it be more effective. Bait can take the form of a very small amount of food or just a smell that animals are attracted to. But bait also has drawbacks. It can be inappropriate to use in areas where you don’t want to encourage certain animals to be, since, especially if used repeatedly over time, it does have the potential to affect an animal’s movement patterns and nutritional levels.

Last weekend, I captured the trail of a small animal. I'm not sure if this was a slug, worm, grub, caterpillar, or something else. You won't always capture the most exciting wildlife, but you will definitely get to see the trails of animals that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.

5. Share your Photos!

We'd love to see your own tracking station setups and what visitors you find!
Don't forget to check out our current Tracking Challenge for some inspiration! (see the post menu on the upper right of this page)

List of Materials

Track Plate:

• plastic wall paneling, sheet metal, or similar non-absorbent material, ~2ft x 3ft
  ​* can be found at hardware and construction stores

Powder: 

• charcoal powder or similar fine powder
  * charcoal powder can be found at health food stores, aquarium stores, in ink cartridges
• water for mixing with the powder
• paint brush for applying the powder to the plate

​Cover (necessary in winter):

• tarp, plastic sheet, covered patio, or similar

Bait (optional):

• a small amount of food or enticing scent
  *do not use bait where you do not want to attract pests or create food dependencies

Location: 

• an area that is as level as possible and will fit the track plate

Further Reading

There are many sources of information on track plates. Here are just a few.

For a scientific account, check out:

• Track Plates. This is chapter 4 of book entitled American marten, fisher, lynx, and wolverine: survey methods for their detection, by William Zielinski. This is one of the earliest and still most referred to books on non-invasive carnivore monitoring. 
  
  

For other great ideas, see: 

• Real Track Impressions from Sooted Bait Stations. This page has images of tracks found at tracking stations set up by Kim A. Cabrera over the years, along with links to more resources.
  ​

For a simpler approach to a tracking station setup, read:

• How to Setup a Tracking Station from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.