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The Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project hosted a Practice Assessment the weekend of June 27-28, led by our local Track & Sign Professionals and Specialists. Ten people from Minnesota and Wisconsin, including four folks new to the certification process, participated in this CyberTracker style "mock evaluation" at sites around the Hwy 77 bridge and Fort Snelling State Park. Participants answered 56 questions, covering questions on 26 species: 14 species of mammals, 9 species of birds, plus an amphibian, an invertebrate, and human sign. And they did this in style, facing the inclement weather that arrived Sunday mid-morning with excellent spirits, and rolling with the evolving challenges that the wind and rain presented.
Highlights of this Practice Assessment were the young of the year, with questions featuring tracks left by otter kits, mallard ducklings, and skunk kits.
Special congratulations go to:
Leslie Mills, who scored a 96% on her first Practice Assessment! Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project members who score in the 90s on one of our Practice Assessments are invited to join our team of Tracking Club Facilitators.
Erin Anderson and Anthony Ulrich, who scored a 100%! Please join us in congratulating these two for their achievement.
Many thanks to everyone who participated in the weekend! If you want to get in on the fun, we publicize practice assessments through our monthly newsletter. Contact us if you want to receive the newsletter and hear of these opportunities.
Our intrepid crew of participants and facilitators in the bright post-storm sunshine.
A cliff swallow egg, hatched and fallen from the nests above. (Question 51)
Gorgeous impressions preserved in dried mud: tracks of a hopping frog (Q49), front track of a striped skunk (Q48), and tiny hind track of a skunk kit (Q50).
The dainty hind track of a skunk kit, with mama's track on the right. (Q50)
The mud flats did not disappoint! Mallard tracks (Q25), great blue heron (Q26), and duckling tracks (Q27 - Bonus).
Robin tracks (Q16)
The right front track of a galloping otter. (Q22-24)
Debriefing a Canada goose primary feather (Q52). Notice the shiny patch on the back that runs the length of the feather? This is tegmen, which is found along the underside of primaries of waterfowl and some gamebirds, gulls, and owls. Obvious tegmen usually indicates the feather is from a waterfowl.
https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/glossary.html
Facilitators also learn during this process, including how to score tracks and how swiftly weather can impact a station.
BEFORE: Gorgeous, clear trumpeter swan tracks.
AFTER: The swan tracks after Sunday's mid-morning storm. With the weathering from blown-in rain, these became a 3-point question! (Q47)
A perfect glazed cinnamon bun of mourning dove scat. (Q38)
Coyote tracks in a trot left in the mud of Otter Point. (Q29-30)
A perfect fresh wild turkey cecal scat. (Q5 - Bonus)
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