It’s quite a feeling to be out walking on a wild stretch of beach and realize a whole array of wildlife was walking in the same place just before you came along. People tend to be so bumbling and noisy, we may never see the other creatures occupying the same space, but if you look closely you can find signs of who was there. Beaches and sand dunes are excellent places for animal tracking because the prints are so easy to see and follow. Bring an animal tracks guide along with you, and you’re ready to go! Our favorite is Animal Tracks of Washington and Oregon by Ian Sheldon, but there are many others specific to various regions.
Here are a few distinct tracks we found this past weekend on the beaches and sand dunes of the Oregon Coast. Most of these are common animals whose tracks you can find in both urban and wild areas, and maybe even right in your backyard!
We came across a lot of raccoon trails by the ocean shore. The long “fingers” reminiscent of tiny human handprints are a good way to recognize these tracks.
Often you will find a walking pattern of a foreprint next to a hindprint with a heel mark.
The long heel and long toes are pretty distinct.
Here the coyote tracks stopped right by a pile of scat! Sorry to post poop pictures on the Internet here, but it’s helpful to note all the hair in the droppings, which makes it look quite different from doggie doo.
These tracks were much larger, and came from a low dune by the beach, where they went along the shoreline for a while and then back up to the dunes. I think they were bear tracks because of the size, and the presence of claws (a cougar had retractable claws which wouldn’t show in prints.)
See how the back heel pad shows here? I am definitely thinking bear.
When we saw these little tracks on the sand dunes, our first thought was that a bobcat made these. Then we thought about cats and retractable claws, and decided these were made by a small fox.
They went all the way to the top of the dune we were climbing, as though the critter had been there just ahead of us, and out-foxed us by hiding! (No pun intended.)
These tiny prints came from some little critter, probably a mouse or chipmunk.
It looks as though this bird left behind instructions for some sort of dance.
I wonder what the animals make of these tracks when they come across them?
It is fun to wonder what animals think of us when they see our sign. Sadly most folks leave way too much sign and I'm sure it sickens the animals! I love the picture of your footprints and your hand next to the bear track.
Absolutely. It is so important to tread lightly. I sincerely wish more folks in rural Oregon would tread lightly out there in the woods and utilize their garbage cans.