Young naturalists and old, be careful where you tread! Studies on animal populations can be aided significantly by a deeper awareness of evidence of presence, even large mammals can be pretty hard to spot, so you’ll need to keep an eye out for other clues too. Tracks etc. can often provide the descriptive narrative that permits a greater understanding of an animal and its ways. A rainy period can make it a less desireable time to get out into the country, on the other hand it provides the right sort of muddy land for paw prints and the like. So, after a recent downpour of biblical proportions -very festive!-we’ve been out and collected a few examples for our website. We’ll be posting more on this subject with pointers on how to improve your way of seeing and enjoying the countryside.