I'm not a cold weather person. Give me the heat of the kalahari any day; but when it comes to learning about tracks and gait patterns, if you haven't got sand, snow is the next best thing!!
It came late last night here in the East of England and by morning we had about 7 inches of the stuff.
Mrs P accompanied me because I had a dodgy back and soon she was identifying the tracks like a pro.
This rabbit dropped his specs. Look at the lovely rear foot compression shape.
This pheasant was having a good look around. I’m sure you can work out the left foot from the right foot. If you’ve never tracked before – this is a great time to start. Get out there and give it a go!!
Ageing tracks in the snow isn't easy when you get melt and re-icing - but this one's quite easy. You can see the gait pattern as well. It's a typical canine rotary gallop made by a fox.
Front paws are generally bigger than rear paws in most mammals and we can quickly deduce the even-pace of the fox here. This one's side- trotting and we followed him for several hundred yards along a track and a hedgerow.
Even around the badger sett, there was no sign of any badger activity at all. This isn't unusual. At this time of year, there is very little activity and badgers sometimes don't even emerge from their setts for a couple of days.
If you are a starter tracker – make the most of the white stuff. I know I will be.
Thanks for the visit.
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