{"id":46331,"date":"2026-06-22T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=46331"},"modified":"2026-06-19T08:38:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:38:40","slug":"tracking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/tracking\/","title":{"rendered":"Tracking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Mammal-Tracks-Bird-Tracks.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Mammal-Tracks-Bird-Tracks.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46332\" width=\"342\" height=\"517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Mammal-Tracks-Bird-Tracks.jpg 402w, https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Mammal-Tracks-Bird-Tracks-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 342px) 100vw, 342px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>How to see the unseen<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/41d5dd88-3a13-4f5a-a279-f092ab3c176b?j=eyJ1IjoiMXhmZzB6In0.4ieSFe4rvvESx3-YSOApdZUV-VKuM1Arc6QBuHWifaY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mammal Tracks &amp; Bird Tracks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark Elbroch is a young tracker quickly gaining a reputation for his obsessive devotion to craft and comprehensive style of seeing. He once spent a whole New England winter tracking a single red fox \u2014 which wound up tracking him! More than stories, Elbroch offers an astounding encyclopedia of observed animal signs and visualizations that are the most helpful I\u2019ve ever seen. Pages and pages of life size paw prints, a whole long chapter of diverse specialized burrows, dens, nests, and cavities \u2014 many in life size \u2014 and all photographed. Elbroch is not only an ace naturalist, but a fabulous communicator. He must sleep with his camera because he captures every nuanced disturbance on film. There\u2019s distinguishing scat, urine and other secretions, by species. And most wonderful of all, several hundred pages on feeding patterns left by each mammal on vegetation and prey. This immense guide (almost 800 pages of full color illustrations and images) is by far the most ecological of any tracking guide ever written. It shows you how to see animals through their effects upon the other living organisms around them. The amount of knowledge, respect, and insight packed into this brick of a book is stunning. I\u2019m sure it will become a classic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Equally astounding is a companion book on bird signs. Imagine going birdwatching without looking at birds. All you inspect are the ripples each bird makes as it disturbs the environment in its daily routine. At first the ripples are faint, but soon with practice they swell in size and plenty until they seem a wave that all but shouts out the bird\u2019s identification. That\u2019s the Elbroch way of seeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These fat books, lovingly published by Stackpole Books, will change the way you walk in the woods. \u2014&nbsp;<em>KK<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Finding a hair. This is an exercise I have practiced over the years to help myself look deeper. Whenever I sit down in the woods, I won\u2019t allow myself to stand until I\u2019ve found a hair within approximately an 8-inch-square patch of earth. When I\u2019m relaxed, it\u2019s a short exercise, but when I\u2019m tense, it may last 30 minutes. When I\u2019m struggling, it\u2019s usually just after I\u2019ve proclaimed that I\u2019ve finally found the first piece of earth devoid of animal hair that I find the first one. The second one is easy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Tracking-the-Art-of-Seeing.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46333\" width=\"343\" height=\"497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Tracking-the-Art-of-Seeing.jpg 524w, https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Tracking-the-Art-of-Seeing-207x300.jpg 207w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 343px) 100vw, 343px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>How to see<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/f08e46d5-a754-46d2-9de2-460767270fcf?j=eyJ1IjoiMXhmZzB6In0.4ieSFe4rvvESx3-YSOApdZUV-VKuM1Arc6QBuHWifaY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tracking &amp; the Art of Seeing<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve had meager success in tracking animals using other guide books. This one employs color photography which matches what I see on the trail much closer that black and white sketches. Also it emphasizes animal scat and browsing patterns. It includes primarily North American mammals. \u2014&nbsp;<em>KK<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since white-tailed deer have only bottom incisors, they leave rough, torn, or squared-off cuts when browsing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Tracking-the-Art-of-Seeing-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46334\" width=\"415\" height=\"346\" \/><figcaption>White-tailed deer beds may show a lot of detail. In this one, the impression of the deer\u2019s rump is to the lower left, the hind leg is to the lower right, and the two folded front legs are to the upper right. You can determine the size of the deer by measuring the bed from the center of the lower folded front leg diagonally across to the rump. A large deer\u2019s bed measures 41\u2033, a small deer\u2019s 25\u2033.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Tracking-the-Art-of-Seeing-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46335\" width=\"437\" height=\"447\" \/><figcaption>Red squirrels opened these hickory nuts, leaving large, jagged holes. When gray squirrels open hickory nuts, they chip away at them, creating a ragged appearance, and often break them into small fragments. Red squirrels and flying squirrels leave the shells more intact.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Tracking-the-Art-of-Seeing-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46336\" width=\"460\" height=\"306\" \/><figcaption>A comparison of cat and dog tracks highlights the asymmetrical shape of the cat\u2019s track. The toes point in a different direction from the heel pad, and the two inner (front) toes have one slightly ahead of the other, as with the two outer toes. In contrast, the dog track is more symmetrical.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/06\/Tracking-the-Art-of-Seeing-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46337\" width=\"573\" height=\"371\" \/><figcaption>The scat of snowshoe hares (left) and cottontails (right) is not always this dissimilar. Notice that one of the cottontail pellets looks exactly like those of the snowshoe hare. You cannot rely on scat to differentiate between most of the rabbit family members.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>Once a week we\u2019ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because\u00a0the possibilities they inspire are new.\u00a0<em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/toolsforpossibilities.substack.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 195<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47588,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2387],"tags":[2388],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46331"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46331"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46339,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46331\/revisions\/46339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}