We discuss tracking and birding on some episodes of the CCERP Podcast.
Tracking
Please be sure to follow ethics, ecology, and the law in your local area, when finding and studying bones, feathers, animals, etc.
1. Visit the Beartracker’s Animal Tracks Den site for lots of great info. A great site for mammal tracks, bird tracks, amphibian tracks, reptile tracks, and invertebrate tracks. A valuable site I use a lot and share a lot. Be sure to visit the associated Animals Don’t Cover Their Tracks Facebook page! A great group and a great resource.
2. Visit the Nature Tracking site and click here to read Jonah Evans’ bio. A good site for mammal tracks, bird tracks, herp tracks, and invertebrate tracks. Another good site I love.
3. As they say “CyberTracker is being used worldwide by indigenous communities, in protected areas, scientific research, tracking science, citizen science, environmental education, forestry, farming, social surveys and crime prevention.” It is the premier tracking certification agency in the world. Visit. Learn. Support. Recommended.
4. A great resource for tracks is also the North American Animal Tracks Database on iNaturalist. Post observations. Get feedback from experts. Peruse to study and learn.
A source for IDing skulls is the Idaho Virtual Museum‘s Osteology page.
Birding
Please be sure to follow ethics, ecology, and the law in your local area, when finding and studying bones, feathers, nests, dead animals, etc. By the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is against federal law to collect feathers, bird nests, bird bones, etc. of many species of birds, unless you have a license to do so. I myself prefer to bury feathers, after I take pictures, so that I keep the nutrients in the local environment. The plants and animals need them.
1. The Feather Atlas is a great source to look up feathers of birds to see their size, shape, pattern, and coloration, to match up with ones we might find. They have primary wing, secondary wing, tail, and sometimes more, feathers of many species of bird such as the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, the Great Horned Owl, the Killdeer, the Broad-winged Hawk, the Northern Flicker (both red-shafted and yellow-shafted), and more.
2. The Featherbase is another great source to look up feathers of birds to see their size, shape, pattern, and coloration, to match up with ones we might find. They have primary wing, secondary wing, tail, and sometimes more, feathers of many species of bird such as the Red-shouldered Hawk, the Egyptian Goose, the Common Nightjar, the Common Nighthawk, the House Sparrow, the Cedar Waxwing, and more.
3. On the Wildlife Science Center’s Meet the Animals page, you can click on a picture to learn about an animal species. In info about some bird species, they have tail feathers of the birds they picture, like the Great Horned Owl, the Red-tailed Hawk, and more. Nice.
4. You can learn a lot about the habitat, appearance, size, sounds, comparison with other birds, and more on All About Birds. A great source I use a lot.
5. You can learn a lot about the habitat, appearance, size, sounds, comparison with other birds, and more on Audubon’s Guide to North American Birds. A great source I use a lot.
6. And a great resource for bird tracks, sign, and feather ID is the Bird Tracks and Signs Database on iNaturalist. Post observations. Get feedback from experts. Peruse to study and learn.
7. A bird app — one that also IDs by sound! — is the Merlin Bird ID app.
