Tracking animals is one of the best parts of winter hiking (the others: no biting insects; the beauty of moonlight on snow; less sweating; crossing frozen swamps and lakes; less tripping on stones; and you get to wear snowshoes or crampons).

You may never be so lucky as to spot a bobcat, for instance, but it’s almost as exciting to see their tracks, and it’s interesting to see the traces of more common animals, which can reveal much about their habits  (For the sake of smaller creatures that burrow under the snow, however, it’s nice to stay mostly on established trails, and not follow tracks off into the wild).

If you want to learn more about the tracks you can find out in our local forests, the Nashua River Watershed has a program for you. Read on:

“Animal Tracking in Winter: Family Workshop”

Animal tracking is a detective game where a story unfolds and a window opens into the world of animals around us.  The Nashua River Watershed Association (NRWA) invites the public to join NRWA naturalists for a family workshop on “Animal Tracking in Winter” on Saturday, January 31, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, at J.Harry Rich State Forest in Groton, MA.  This will be a fun afternoon of outdoor exploration while learning the art and science of track identification.  The program is suited to families with children ages 7 and up. 

The fee for this workshop is $6/person or $18/family (of three or more) for NRWA members and $8/person or $24/family (of three or more) for non-members.  Registration is required; to register or for more information, please contact Stacey Chilcoat, NRWA River Classroom Director, at (978) 448-0299, or email StaceyC@NashuaRiverWatershed.org.  The NRWA is a non-profit environmental organization that depends on memberships for support.