Mission Trails Tracking Walk
Join experienced San Diego Tracking Team members for a wildlife tracking walk. Learn the art of discovering signs left behind by resident creatures during two hours of “dirt time.” Suitable for the whole family. Don’t forget to wear long pants, for kneeling down on your knees to get a closer look, and shoes suitable for trails. Meet in front of the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center. Rain Cancels.
Mission Trails Tracking Walk
Join experienced San Diego Tracking Team members for a wildlife tracking walk. Learn the art of discovering signs left behind by resident creatures during two hours of “dirt time.” Suitable for the whole family. Don’t forget to wear long pants, for kneeling down on your knees to get a closer look, and shoes suitable for trails. Meet in front of the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center. Rain Cancels.
Beginner Tracker/Naturalist - Online Class
Beginning Tracker/Naturalist Class:
This class is structured to give the prospective tracker a solid base of tracking skills and strategies for discerning detail. We introduce basic mammal track and sign identification to determine who made the track. We discuss track patterns and gaits as a means to interpret how an animal moves. And we recommend sketching and field journaling to reinforce learning objectives.
At the end of this class you will
Understand how awareness and naturalist skills are integrated with tracking.
Be able to identify tracks, track patterns, and other sign of the mammals most common to San Diego County.
Understand why journaling and field sketching are effective aids to recall the details of your observations.
Gain a basic knowledge of gaits and track patterns.
Have opportunities to further develop your tracking and naturalist capabilities in two ways, by participating in our wildlife surveys and by attending field ("dirt-time") practice and more advanced classes.
Beginning Tracker/Naturalist classes are scheduled for Wednesday Sep. 10th @7pm & Saturday Sep. 13th @8am
Beginner Tracker/Naturalist - Field Day
Beginning Tracker/Naturalist Class:
This class is structured to give the prospective tracker a solid base of tracking skills and strategies for discerning detail. We introduce basic mammal track and sign identification to determine who made the track. We discuss track patterns and gaits as a means to interpret how an animal moves. And we recommend sketching and field journaling to reinforce learning objectives.
At the end of this class you will
Understand how awareness and naturalist skills are integrated with tracking.
Be able to identify tracks, track patterns, and other sign of the mammals most common to San Diego County.
Understand why journaling and field sketching are effective aids to recall the details of your observations.
Gain a basic knowledge of gaits and track patterns.
Have opportunities to further develop your tracking and naturalist capabilities in two ways, by participating in our wildlife surveys and by attending field ("dirt-time") practice and more advanced classes.
Beginning Tracker/Naturalist classes are scheduled for Wednesday Sep. 10th @7pm & Saturday Sep. 13th @8am
Mission Trails Tracking Walk
Join experienced San Diego Tracking Team members for a wildlife tracking walk. Learn the art of discovering signs left behind by resident creatures during two hours of “dirt time.” Suitable for the whole family. Don’t forget to wear long pants, for kneeling down on your knees to get a closer look, and shoes suitable for trails. Meet in front of the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center. Rain Cancels.
Wildlife Track and Sign Survey Training
Following the Wildlife Track & Sign Survey Training, you will be eligible to join trackers of the San Diego Tracking Team as we conduct Wildlife Surveys four times a year at 18 locations across San Diego County, from the coast to the desert. That’s more than 70 surveys annually!
Intermediate Tracker/Naturalist - Online Class
Intermediate Tracker/Naturalist Class:
The second course in our Tracker Naturalist series will expand your ability to identify a wider range of wildlife tracks over a variety of substrates. You will compare and contrast tracks that often confuse beginning trackers and may even challenge advanced trackers. You will be exposed to skull and denture identification, scat features, and additional track patterns and gaits.
At the end of this class you will be able to
Identify a wider range of tracks, track patterns and other sign of San Diego County mammals and birds and better differentiate among tracks of animals in the same family.
Approximate the speed at which an animal was moving from track patterns.
Interpret a variety of tracks and track patterns and better understand how they relate to the movement, intent, and behavior of the animal.
Identify local animals by their skulls, dental patterns and jaw structures.
Perform basic track aging, to estimate how weather and substrate affect the rate at which scat and other sign deteriorate.
Intermediate Tracker/Naturalist classes are scheduled for Wednesday Oct. 15th @7pm & Saturday Oct. 18th @8am
Intermediate Tracker/Naturalist - Field Day
Intermediate Tracker/Naturalist Class:
The second course in our Tracker Naturalist series will expand your ability to identify a wider range of wildlife tracks over a variety of substrates. You will compare and contrast tracks that often confuse beginning trackers and may even challenge advanced trackers. You will be exposed to skull and denture identification, scat features, and additional track patterns and gaits.
At the end of this class you will be able to
Identify a wider range of tracks, track patterns and other sign of San Diego County mammals and birds and better differentiate among tracks of animals in the same family.
Approximate the speed at which an animal was moving from track patterns.
Interpret a variety of tracks and track patterns and better understand how they relate to the movement, intent, and behavior of the animal.
Identify local animals by their skulls, dental patterns and jaw structures.
Perform basic track aging, to estimate how weather and substrate affect the rate at which scat and other sign deteriorate.
Intermediate Tracker/Naturalist classes are scheduled for Wednesday Oct. 15th @7pm & Saturday Oct. 18th @8am
Mission Trails Tracking Walk
Join experienced San Diego Tracking Team members for a wildlife tracking walk. Learn the art of discovering signs left behind by resident creatures during two hours of “dirt time.” Suitable for the whole family. Don’t forget to wear long pants, for kneeling down on your knees to get a closer look, and shoes suitable for trails. Meet in front of the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center. Rain Cancels.
Mission Trails Tracking Walk
Join experienced San Diego Tracking Team members for a wildlife tracking walk. Learn the art of discovering signs left behind by resident creatures during two hours of “dirt time.” Suitable for the whole family. Don’t forget to wear long pants, for kneeling down on your knees to get a closer look, and shoes suitable for trails. Meet in front of the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center. Rain Cancels.
Advanced Tracker/Naturalist - Online Class
Advanced Tracker/Naturalist Class:
The third and final class in the Tracker Naturalist series concentrates on fine detail and continued development of your proficiency as a tracker. We provide substantial dirt time for you to practice and verify track identification, to interpret observations, and to "age" tracks and signs accurately so that you can discover areas of weakness and strength. We also give you a taste of a tracker evaluation should you wish to pursue Cybertracking certification in the future. A detailed discussion of track patterns and gaits will be presented.
At the end of this class you should
Be able to identify a large number of tracks of mammals, birds and insects in San Diego County.
Be able to identify a variety of animal tracks and interpret associated gaits.
Have a solid foundation upon which to further build your tracking and naturalist abilities.
Advanced Tracker/Naturalist classes are scheduled for Wednesday Dec. 10th @7pm & Saturday Dec. 13th @8am
Advanced Tracker/Naturalist - Field Day
Advanced Tracker/Naturalist Class:
The third and final class in the Tracker Naturalist series concentrates on fine detail and continued development of your proficiency as a tracker. We provide substantial dirt time for you to practice and verify track identification, to interpret observations, and to "age" tracks and signs accurately so that you can discover areas of weakness and strength. We also give you a taste of a tracker evaluation should you wish to pursue Cybertracking certification in the future. A detailed discussion of track patterns and gaits will be presented.
At the end of this class you should
Be able to identify a large number of tracks of mammals, birds and insects in San Diego County.
Be able to identify a variety of animal tracks and interpret associated gaits.
Have a solid foundation upon which to further build your tracking and naturalist abilities.
Advanced Tracker/Naturalist classes are scheduled for Wednesday Dec. 10th @7pm & Saturday Dec. 13th @8am
Wildlife Track and Sign Survey Training
Following the Wildlife Track & Sign Survey Training, you will be eligible to join trackers of the San Diego Tracking Team as we conduct Wildlife Surveys four times a year at 18 locations across San Diego County, from the coast to the desert. That’s more than 70 surveys annually!
Mission Trails Tracking Walk
Join experienced San Diego Tracking Team members for a wildlife tracking walk. Learn the art of discovering signs left behind by resident creatures during two hours of “dirt time.” Suitable for the whole family. Don’t forget to wear long pants, for kneeling down on your knees to get a closer look, and shoes suitable for trails. Meet in front of the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center. Rain Cancels.