Last weekend when I was on a sweet little date with my boy we made animal track casts. It was super fun to hunt the rivers edge for just the right tracks to cast. It was a bit more difficult than we were expecting to find just the right prints, we had seen some super cool raccoon prints down there in the past and were hoping to find some more.
Alas we finally found deer, dog and, what he believes is baby skunk scratch mark. He has seen a skunk family in that neck of the woods so even though it is a poor track I am going to go with skunk.
To find these tracks we had to go through some brush a bit off the main trail. It was obviously a spot the creatures like to frequent, maybe because it is off the beaten track.
Possibly skunk:
Deer:
Dog:
We made up the casting material by simply mixing with water in an old nut butter container we brought along.
Collars were made from sturdy cardboard and paper clips and the casting mix was gently poured into each print.
In about 30 min we took off the collar and pulled out the cast.
We waited a day for the plaster to dry and set up. Then the next day they all got a nice little wash down outside.
They turned out pretty neat.
Possibly skunk:
Deer:
Dog:
We are keen to make more casts and I am sure more track hunting is in our future. There is talk of making a casting kit for the Jeep so we have all of the supplies available when we see another cool track like the raccoon one we spotted in the past.
When we got home we did a bit of research.
Animal Tracks & Signs is another super amazing book about all things in animal tracking. From the actual tracks to scat, to nests and burrows it has any sign you might see out there in the big wild world covered.
Do you ever find animal tracks in your neck of the woods? What do you see?
Have you ever made casts?
Do you have a favorite track resource?
We would love to hear your tracking stories!
murie’s field guide to animal tracks is one of our favorites. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is so cool I have a hard time replacing it. I suppose we will get a new, more durable, one when the kids want to start taking it out in the field.
DeleteThis is right up my alley! I thought of you and your boy the other day up in the mountains when we came across the deer tracks. They were so clear and frequent you could follow them for a really long time.
ReplyDeleteI think a casting kit for you car would be wonderful!
I've never made a cast before but I have worked with plaster of paris.
Oh, it is so very much fun to follow tracks. We used to do that in the winter all the time in NS. So easy to follow in the snow.
DeleteYou should try this. It is pretty neat.
We have so much fun tracking animals, it is always a part of our nature adventures. Casting is on our list of things to do :)
ReplyDeleteYour casts turned out great!
Thanks Kim. You guys should definitely do this.
DeleteThe coordinator at the nature center suggested making them into paperweights when D showed her. I thought that was a fun gift idea.
This looks like so much fun and the casts look great! What a wonderful idea. I almost bought an animal tracks book a while back and you have me interested again!
ReplyDeleteI think the boys would dig this. You guys should do it!
Delete