Winter may not seem like the ideal time for a Nature Walk, but don’t let the cold snowy weather prevent you from enjoying the great outdoors.  I guarantee you’ll make a few discoveries that will outweigh the effort required to execute a Winter Nature Walk.

For more tips and inspiration, check out: Exploring Nature with Kids: Winter Nature Walk {Getting Started}.

Recently, the boys and I enjoyed a sunny Winter Nature Walk on our neighbors’ trails.  We were delighted to discover multiple sets of animal tracks and had fun trying to determine each track’s owner.

This is what we came up with…if you can help with more specific identifications, we’d love to know!

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Our Animal Track Identifications

1–Rabbit
2, 6–Turkey
3, 8–Deer
4–Bird (Robin?)
5–Fox or Coyote
7–Mouse or Small Rodent (Chipmunk?)

My favorites were the rabbit tracks–I love the sets of four prints close together, and how the large print in front is actually from the hind feet because of the way rabbits jump.  We were excited to see many sets of rabbit tracks throughout our walk.

As you can see, we snapped a bunch of pictures of the tracks with my phone, and then looked up more specific identifications after returning to the house.

Animal Tracks for Kids: Books & Guides

Each of these resources has been helpful to us in learning about animal tracks.

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1.  How to Be a Nature Detective

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2.  Tracks, Scats and Signs (Take Along Guides)

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3.  Crinkleroot’s Guide to Animal Tracking

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4.  Peterson Field Guide to Animal Tracks: Third Edition (Peterson Field Guides)

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5.  Animal Tracks: A Folding Pocket Guide to the Tracks & Signs of Familiar North American Species (Pocket Naturalist Guide Series)

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BONUS
We haven’t used this guide, but I’ve heard good things about it:
Mammal Tracker Quick Reference ID Card

Animal Tracks for Kids: Online Resources & Printables

• Minnesota Animal Tracks–If you happen to live in Minnesota, this should be perfect. Otherwise, this list of ten tracks should include at least several animals common to snowy areas.
• Identifying Tracks (USGS Kids)–Scroll down the page to see a nice selection of tracks.
• Animal Prints–Two printables: Hunt for animal tracks and Match the prints.
• Animal Tracks ID Sheets–From Hiking Michigan: Streamside and Forest
• Match the Animal Tracks–Printable from Exploring Nature
• Animal Tracks Unit Study–Lots of great ideas and resources in this Squidoo lens!

Animal Tracks on Pinterest

If you’d love more suggestions for exploring nature with kids, be sure to follow Yankee Homestead on Pinterest!  Check out my Nature for Kids board for more great ideas, including animal tracks resources.

Have you spotted any tracks in your neck of the woods?

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