Field Preparation

If faced with a choice on identification, select the species most abundant in your area. However, if you see a species that "shouldn't be here", but you are sure of it's identity-- record it. Wildlife responds to habitat modifications and climatic changes. One observation may not be significant, but 10 or 20 will be.

1. Identification of a species is more important than an accurate count of the number of animals.

   Find pictures of the wildlife. Teachers assign library projects to learn more about the animals that students may encounter in their study sites (i.e., Steller jays live in fir forests and around homes with a lot of mature fir trees.) Obtain field guides and mark sections of the guides where you think you will need to reference the most. Students and beginning birders will not have enough time to thumb through the entire guide to identify a bird flying away from them. Students should use field notebooks to draw and document what they see.

   Many animals use different types of habitats at different times of the year. They may also use different habitats depending on their age and sex. For example, tadpoles are confined to water, while adult frogs may spend most of their time on land. Female ducks may use shrubs to hide their young, while males may not use shrubs at all.

2. Observers must be able to relate to the size of the animals!

   Field guides list the body length of birds, which may be misleading, because the tail is included.

   Identifying marks may also be misleading when two species are similarly marked. For example, the "horns" of the Great horned owl are also found on the Western screech owl. The difference between the birds is size; a Great horned owl is about the length of an adult's arm from the elbow to the fingertip, while the Western screech owl is about the length of an adult's hand from wrist to fingertip. (Baby raptors, such as hawks, owls, and eagles, are just as large as their parents when they leave the nest.)

Migratory Animals

Many animals migrate within a state, as well as to and from a state. Over 50% of the bird species we see in Washington are migratory. One hundred and twenty-one species are considered neotropical migrants. These birds migrate to Mexico and South America. While swallows, warblers, and osprey are summer visitors, others like the snow geese and many birds of prey spend the winter here. April through May and September through October are the months that many birds are only seen on their way to their breeding or wintering grounds. These are also the months that many native species migrate from one elevation to another (i.e. up and down mountains).

The Best Time of Day for Viewing Animals

Many insects need a certain amount of warmth before they become active. So, on rainy or chilly days, you might see the same amount of bird activity late morning or early afternoon, as you would see at sunrise on a warm day.

Don't forget that a lot of animals are active from dusk to dawn. Make a list of animals active during this time.

Hint: rodents, frogs, bats, owls, common nighthawk and poorwill. Even ducks will catch insects at night if there is enough moon or city light available.

Reptiles and Amphibians = Herps

Most herps can be found from spring through fall. Field guides are very helpful to distinguish markings and colors.

Our goal is to have participants associate species to habitats. Therefore, specimens should be left where they are found. Recent studies have noted that one of the primary causes of the reduction of frogs in a popular wilderness area was due to families collecting tadpoles and taking them home.

However, it is safe to say that children will find snakes. If a student has captured, for example, a garter snake, efforts should be made to identify the species, since there are 3 species of garter snakes in Washington State. The number of scales along the upper lip (labials) and the belly plates differentiate the species.

The colors and markings of frogs and other amphibians should be described in detail in the field notes or on the NatureMapping data collection form, if there is a question on identification.

Students should learn to mark locations on the 7.5 minute quad map, where they know herps exist. Using student input, field trips can be conducted at the areas of the highest herp density.

Additional field trips might also be planned in an area unfamiliar to the students, but with habitats similar to the ones studied by the class. This procedure will help reinforce the importance of habitat association.

If herps are found in one wetland or stream and not in another similar habitat, then data needs to be gathered to assess the quality of the habitat. For example, is there a temperature difference, pollution, water draw-down?

Mammals

To record a mammal sighting during a field trip should be considered a bonus more than an expected occurrence.

Mammals are the most difficult group of animals to study because there are many species that we commonly call by one name. For example, there are 4 species of mice and 4 species of chipmunks. While mice are almost impossible to identify without handling them (and we don't expect you to do so), each species of chipmunk has unique markings and is located in specific areas of the state. Field guides and GAP range maps will provide the habitat requirements, locations and information to identify the different chipmunks, as well as, other mammals.

Many of the large mammals are difficult to find. However, there are 15 species of bats in Washington. (There are more species of bats in Washington than any other mammal.) Bats are usually seen at dusk, flying over water, open fields, and high in the canopy of forests. Many people see bats, but mistake them for starlings or swallows.

Special codes such as, MY99 for bats, should be used when a bat is observed, but the exact species cannot be identified. We know very little about bats, and knowing their general locations would be very helpful.

A procedure to identify small mammals is used at the Golden Gate State Park. Volunteers create soot trays by burning cloth diapers with kerosene to produce a fine layer of soot on aluminum trays. The trays are set out under brush with cans of cat food located at the edge. The footprints are lifted from the soot using wide, clear packing tape, and pressed onto white sheets of paper. The volunteers take the paper to the museums for proper identification. The soot tray instructions are available to interested NatureMappers.