Wildlife Watcher Guide: Animal Tracking - Photography Skills - Fieldcraft - Safety - Footprint Indentification - Camera Traps - Making a Blind - Night-timeTracking

by Michael Leach, Meriel Lland

Overview

Comprehensive guidance for aspiring wildlife photographers.

This book provides essential advice on how to track, observe and photograph wildlife in their natural habitat. Practical chapters are interspersed with Question and Answer spreads that give a glimpse into the adventures of real-life wildlife photographers.

Wildlife Watcher Guide is organized into seven chapters, beginning with how to prepare for an expedition and an introduction to tracking, such as looking for spoor (such as footprints, broken twigs, 'scat').

The six chapters that follow cover wilderness habitats — woodland; savannah; rainforest; polar regions; underwater; and gardens, parks and cities — and describe special considerations when exploring these areas.

Professionals with decades of experience in wildlife observation give their top tips on:

• How to watch wildlife unseen
• How to track animals using footprint identification and identifying signs of recent activity
• How to prepare for dangerous expeditions
• How to track safely at night
• The essential photography skills and equipment
• Fieldcraft (camera traps, making a hide, knowing the behavior and habitat of the animal, best time of year/best time of day, telephone lenses, night-time tracking, and more).

Wildlife Watcher Guide overflows with valuable information presented in colorful illustrations and clear text. It is excellent for budding wildlife naturalists and photographers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770857421
Publisher:	Firefly Books, Limited
Publication date:	09/13/2016
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

About the Author

Michael Leach is a zoologist and full-time wildlife author and photographer. Working previously as a cameraman making wildlife films for broadcasters, he has spent the last 15 years writing about his wildlife and photography experience. He writes for children and adults, and has produced more than 1,000 illustrated features for magazines and newspapers.

Dr. Meriel Lland is a freelance wildlife photographer whose clients include The Natural History Museum, BBC Wildlife, the RSPB and ARKive.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Prepare to Explore! 6

Essential Gear 8

Dress Like a Wildlife Explorer 10

Wildlife-spotting Technology 12

Fieldcraft 14

Staying Safe 16

Nature Watch: Woodland 18

Welcome to the Woodland 20

Tracking and Spoor 22

Identifying Hair and Feathers 24

Identifying Footprints 26

Building Blinds 28

How to Stay Hidden 30

Working at Night 32

Explorer Q&A: A Life Outdoors 34

Nature Watch: Gardens, Parks and Cities 36

Wildlife on your Doorstep 38

Where to Look 40

Making a Home for Wildlife 42

Add Water and Shelter 44

Set Up a Garden Webcam 46

Explorer Q&A: Urban Exploration 48

Nature Watch: Watery Worlds 50

Wildlife to Look Out For 52

Pond-dipping 54

Using Binocs and Spotting Scopes 56

Identifying Prints 58

Tide-pooling 60

Explorer Q&A: Sticky Situations 62

Nature Watch: Mountains and High Country 64

Key Animals to Spot 66

Camouflage and Blinds 68

Essential Gear for Hill Country 70

Reading the Landscape 72

Explore Q&A: Using Technology 74

Nature Watch: Meadow, Farmland and Dry Lands 76

Farmland Wildlife 78

Cold-blooded Creatures 80

Butterflies and Caterpillars 82

Searching for Small Mammals 84

Explorer Q&A: Farmland Favorites 86

Sharing Wildlife Spotting 88

Remote Wildlife Viewing 90

Sharing Your Story 92

Glossary 94

Index 95

Acknowledgments 96

Editorial Reviews

The Wildlife Watcher Guide is written by actual wildlife photographers. Each page is filled with relevant text forms and features. Covering everything from how to watch wildlife unseen to how to use technology to spot and share wildlife, the photographs are wonderfully combined with helpful tidbits of information to not overwhelm the reader. This book would be great for the enthusiast who just needs to become adapt at using technology to the novice who is trying to explore for the first time. The technology that is mentioned ranges from old tried and true tech like thermal imaging cameras and game cams to smart phones... I would recommend it for upper elementary to middle school. It is definitely a recommended title.

Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children's and Young Adult Literature - Elizabeth Lawson

The authors, both nature photographers, give readers basic information and hints about how best to observe and photograph plants, animals, and scenery. The primer is divided into sections composed of different settings: woodland, cities and gardens, water, mountains, and meadows. The authors' enthusiasm for their subject shines through, and many of the photographs they include are outstanding. Although it's technically a paperback, the stiffer than usual cover material seems like it will hold up to rigorous use... Recommend to patrons from grade 4-7 who would enjoy learning tips for observing and photographing nature.

Youth Services Book Review - Mary Melaugh