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Animal Signs guide belongs to: Field Guide

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signs checklist Bounders Signs of Feeding  Have long narrow bodies and short ___ carcasses ___ lodge  Move like “accordions” ___ chewed ___ nest ∗ first crouch and jump off from hind feet ___ drilling dust ___ dens in ground ∗ when in air bodies are fully stretched ___ feathers (a lot - plucked) ___ holes in banks ∗ when landing, one front foot arrives before the other ___ and ___ holes in trees then both front feet lift up allowing back feet to land ___ hidden store of nuts, ___ matted down vegetation  seeds, cones ___ house All are members of family – , shorttail ___ holes in trees ___ nest weasel, longtail weasel, , martin, , ___ nipped twigs ___ opened nut Tracks & Trails ___ pine cone scales ___ trails ___ stripped logs ___ slides ___ runways ___ tunnels in How do you know an animal has been in an Markings Sounds ___ antler rubs ___ bird calls area? By looking at the signs or clues it leaves ___ claw marks on trees ___ calls behind! Some signs may include: tracks, scat, ___ digging in dirt ___ homes, sounds, and signs of feeding. ___ dust baths ___ ___ wallows and scrapes Oftentimes these signs will tell a story about on ground Other that animal. Use this “field guide” to discover ______your own animal stories. Body Waste & Castoffs ___ bones ______

___ clumps of fur When looking at animal tracks, there are four different ___ feathers ______movement patterns: ___ pellets of undigested ∗ bounders bones and hair ______∗ hoppers ___ scat ∗ waddlers ___ skin ______∗ walkers & trotters ___ urine (spray or smell) ___ whitewash ______

Hoppers weasel track pattern  Have large hind feet which are longer than front feet  Jump & leave sets of four tracks with hind feet ahead of front feet ∗ first push off with hind feet ∗ land on front feet ∗ swing back legs to front  – mice, , grey squirrel ( & alter patterns more than others) & lagomorphs – and cottontail

weasel track Waddlers  Have heavy bodies and short legs  Waddle slowly on flat feet – smaller front feet ∗ move both feet on one side of body ∗ move feet one at a ∗ shift weight to move each foot on other side ∗ hind often oversteps front foot  , , , , and woodchucks

*note: actual track will be smaller

squirrel track notes & observation page

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hind foot ______

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Walkers & Trotters squirrel track pattern  Body length from shoulder to rump is about length of legs  Walk smoothly on their – track pattern smooth line ∗ move front foot on one side of body ∗ then move back foot on other side ∗ repeat starting with front foot on opposite  Trotting gait ( & ) ∗ Right front & left rear feet move at same time ∗ Switches to left front & right rear  Cats, dogs, hoofed

*note: front feet land almost side by side

track scat

*note: coyote track is bigger than track *note: will contain berries, seeds, corn, maybe parts raccoon track pattern coyote scat

*note: similar to fox, but larger rabbit scat deer track

notes & observation page raccoon track

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deer track pattern rabbit track pattern

hind foot

*note: front feet land diagonal – usually they are one in front of the other rabbit track deer scat

hind foot

*note: generally will be found in a pile, usually uniform in consistency pattern coyote & fox track pattern fox track opossum scat

*note: uneven and varies in size, may contain berries, seeds, or hair fox scat opossum track

hind foot

*note: tapered ends and will contain fur and bones (possibly seeds, feathers, berries as well)