Bird Life

Plant Life

River Life

Wildlife Tracks & Signs

Where to Look for Tracks
Track Patterns
Scat
Other Signs

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Science: Wildlife Tracks and Signs - When and Where to Look for Tracks

Winter is easily the best time of year to explore the Greenway if you are looking for the tracks and signs of wildlife.  Fresh snow often provides a perfect substrate to observe the size, shape, and track patterns of animals.  Mud and sand alongside the trail and down along the river are great places to look for tracks, too.  

Most animals are very wary of human activity and are considered elusive, so looking for their tracks and signs is often the only way to know they are living here.  Also, many animals are nocturnal, which means they come out at night when we won’t see them, while we are sleeping.  (Humans are diurnal.)  The best time of day to look for tracks is usually in the early morning before the snow melts, or wind develops, or sun dries out the ground

After rain, Tracks may appear in the mud and sand and may hold their form until more rain or winds or drying effects of the sun deteriorate their detail.