If you’re serious about wildlife photography, then it’s helpful to learn a little about animal tracking. Knowing where an animal typically hangs out or walks around can significantly increase your chances of being in the right place at the right time.
Learning how to accurately track animals can be a long process, but here are a few simple ways to get started:
#1 – Start with some intro books
Books are always a great starting point for learning something new, since you can learn at your own pace. If you’re in North America, I can personally recommend two great intro books:
- Tracking and the Art of Seeing by Paul Rezendes
- A Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America by James Halfpenny.
Another book that looks good is Mammal Tracks & Sign: A Guide to North American Species by Mark Elbroch (I haven’t read this one yet, but it seems to be recommended by a lot of experts).
Once you’ve finished reading one of these more general books, then you can move on to books or research papers written about specific animals you’re interested in photographing. Anything you learn about an animal’s habits or behavior can ultimately help you track that animal.
#2 – Use smartphone apps for reference
If you have a smartphone, then you probably already know there’s an app for just about everything. And, luckily that includes animal tracking 
For iPhone, I can personally recommend MyNature Animal Tracks. It’s well organized and includes a ton of different animals.
#3 – Look for workshops in your area
Another great way to get started with animal tracking is to learn from an expert.
Do some Google searches to see if there’s anyone in your area that offers workshops, and if possible do some background research on the person to make sure they’re really an expert.
Sometimes you can also find animal tracking workshops offered at a local nature center.
What did I miss?
If you know of another great way to get started with animal tracking, then please share it with us by leaving a comment below. Thanks!
If you enjoyed this article, and would like to read more, please signup for free updates by email or RSS.
About the Author: Steve Berardi is a naturalist, photographer, computer scientist, and founder of PhotoNaturalist. You can usually find him hiking in the beautiful mountains and deserts of Southern California.
For some reason, tracking organizations are referred to as “teams.” If you are looking for a class in your area, Google tracking teams by city, or by parks, or reserves in your area. For instance, if you live in San Diego, there is a “San Diego Tracking Team”, but there are also sub-teams associated with some of the wildlife reserves. They all offer a variety, usually a series, of courses leading to a certification.
Great topic for a post. I took my first tracking workshop last winter. It was only a 1 day class, but the information was invaluable. They also recommended the Halfpenny book that you listed. Once you start getting into this, you will find that you really slow down and pay closer attention to the ground when out in the field.
I followed up my tracking workshop with a wolf ecology workshop last winter as well. Combining all of that info together really helps you put a lot of pieces together while out in the filed. Just last week I sent in my registration for 6 more workshops that include porcupine ecology, owl banding, turtle tagging and crane watching. The more information I know about the critters I want to photograph, the better my chances will be of creating great images.
Share observations and photographs with like-minded friends via social networking sites and blogs. Only this morning I received a message from a ‘commuter’ that 13 Roosevelt Elk bulls, and about 100 cows (and presumably calfs) were up on Williams Ridge. We also learned when two Grey whales entered the Klamath River and where there was a new litter of foxes emerging from their nursery den.
We have a small handful of enthusiasts who communicate this way, and we’ve all been able to capture some wonderful images (and are mindful that these are wild animals so we use telephoto lenses to take care we don’t disturb them unnecessarily, nor expose ourselves to danger – especially when photographing bears and elk)