Bird Tracks & Sign Walking
Field Course

Bird Tracks & Sign Field Course

Febuary 6th & 7th 8:00 - 3:00

(two separate classes but you can take both our days are never the same)

One - Day Walking Bird Tracks & Sign Course - We will be exploring specifically-chosen bird tracks & sign in an area, we’ll continuously move across the landscape while interpreting a wide variety of bird track & sign. We are are looking to grow your overall knowledge of wildlife track & sign by adding a stronger bird track & sign repertoire.

This day-long course aims to explore the heart of holistic tracking skill, grow bird tracking knowledge, and come away with new eyes and abilities. These courses are small and 8/10 participants total.

Temperate Rainforest Ecosystem/Skagit Valley Wetlands

A biome dominated by big leafed maple and douglas fir with its understory full of sward fern, mosses and lichen. It the perfect habitat for bears elk coyotes and weseals. It is a very wet place with lots of lakes and rivers. The temperate rainforest surrounds the Salish Sea where marine mammals and salmon are abundant. We are lucky to live and track and trail animals here in the PNW and if you live in a different ecosystem you are in for a real treat this place will draw you it its beauty.

Your Instructor Mark Thompson is a lifelong hunter and student of ecology of western landscapes, from the desert southwest to the Rockies and Cascades. He began tracking animals over 20 years ago, and over the last six years has devoted himself fully to this ancient science. Understanding how wild animals interact with each other and with their landscape is what drives him, and he’s found no better practice for this than trailing them in the wild places they call home. He holds a Specialist Certificate in Track & Sign and has a Level 3 Trailing Certificate. 

Your lead co-instructor lead naturalist and birder Kevin O’Malley at South Sound Nature School has been leading & teaching beginners, intermediate & expert birders wanting to go deeper and further their knowledge about habitats and behaviors of birds. Particularly Birds of the Eastern Cascades by identification, behavior and unique Shrub-Steppe & Eastern Ponderosa Pine Forest habitats. Kevin is particularly skilled in noticing bird tracks, nest, pellets & feeding signs these clues are important part of finding your favorite bird track or sign. Kevin is Level 3 Track & Sign and has a Level 3 Trailing certificate. More importantly Kevin has spent extensive time in the field with Casey McFarland and Marcus Reynerson. He is a Kamana 4 certificate holder, an Immersion Graduate and has a degree in Cultural Anthropology.

Through this experience, you will grow a skillset in exploring the vast world of wildlife tracking. While we will certainly cover some of key fundamental themes, every tracking experience is unique, and we will go where the tracks take us. Topics that will likely be explored:

• Basic bird foot physiology and morphology
• The Natural History of Landscapes
• Clear print identification/Different types of Bird Tracks
• Concepts in behavior and bird sign interpretation
• How birds & other wildlife interacts with landscapes
• Thinking about how to age tracks and sign on the landscape Whether an experienced or beginning tracker and naturalist, participants will leave this experience looking at the ground in a completely different way with new tools to continue to develop themselves as naturalists

Whether beginner or advanced, every participant will walk away with a lot more knowledge and “search images” for the subtle patterns left behind by life on the landscape, ultimately feeling a stronger connection to the natural world.

Full Refunds minus $50 processing fee given before 30 days of program after that I will honor a credit If I can fill your spot!

Cancellation: Full Refunds minus $50 processing fee given before 30 days of program after that I will honor a credit If I can fill your spot!

Please note these are small classes so a late cancel might mean you forfeit your payment but most importantly with a late cancel someone loses an opportunity to take the trailing assessment.