Fun at March Tracking Events!

The Friends sponsored two free educational and fun events celebrating nature on Friday, March 7, and Saturday, March 8. The first, at the Salt Hotel and Pub in Ilwaco, featured Kristi Freese, a Professional Level IV Tracker, who gave an engrossing presentation on the basics of the skill of tracking. Kristi has studied internationally with a variety of mentors, courses, and other resources. She shared the international standards for tracker skill evaluation and its history beginning in southern Africa. 

The next morning Kristi guided a group along the shoreline of Willapa Bay at Leadbetter Point to identify tracks of birds and mammals. She found some amazing tracks that included otters, birds, crabs, and even one of a coyote (below). She even pointed out the bear sign (below) where they had been chewing on our shorebird interpretative sign! We learned how to read tracks and even the best way to view them. Kristi demonstrated how to tell if animals are running or walking by the way their tracks are grouped. Kristi is an amazing naturalist and instructor, and we hope she will conduct another field trip during our Wings Over Willapa Festival on September 20 - 22, 2024.