How to Sense Invisible Animals
We can sense invisible animals by keeping a look out for the ‘shimmy’. The shimmy is my name for the way we can sense animals…
Tag: animal signs
What is Deer Pronking or Stotting?
Pronking (or Stotting) is a common defensive signal amongst deer and some other quadruped prey mammals. From the book, Wild Signs and Star Paths (Published…
Finding Land with Help from the Birds
“It was our first and only experience in 50 years of cruising of navigating by gannet!” My thanks to Christopher for this lovely email and…
Why Are Some Leaves Hairy?
Hairs protect a leaf from drying, cold and animals. They are common in spring. On many plants there are tiny hairs that trap a thin…
The Search for Boar Wallows
A Guest Blog by Chantal Lyons, author of Groundbreakers: The Wild Boar’s Return to Britain. It took me five months to find. The boar were…
What is a Plucking Post?
A plucking post is an elevated area used by birds of prey, and occasionally other animals, to pluck and feed on their recent prey. All…
Urban Fox Signs
My thanks to everyone who came to my talk at the Cruising Association last week. For news about upcoming talks, please subscribe to my free…
What are the vertical marks and scars on tree bark?
An explanation for some of the mysterious vertical marks and scars we find on trees.
Clues and Signs in Nature: Northern and Southern Hemisphere
I receive quite a few emails asking whether my books are relevant for readers in the Southern Hemisphere. The answer is ‘yes’, but only if…
The Meaning of Spines on Holly Leaves
Spines on holly leaves are a defensive tactic. The harder a plant is trying to defend itself, the more spines we find on its leaves.…
How to Find Your Way Using Horse Dung
For thousands of years humans have been riding horses (possibly as much as 5,500 years). This of course means that horse tracks and dung can…
Why Do Animals Stop Moving and Freeze?
This morning I was walking into wind and surprised a deer. After a couple of quick hops away it then froze and stood motionless. This…
Predicting Animal Behaviour
It is much easier to predict animal behaviour when we learn certain simple patterns. Most animals see the world in terms of basic things like:…
Fish Frenzy at Water Surface – Predator Sign
Early this morning I saw an interesting sign in the water, a clue that fish were trying to defy a predator. At about 6am, I…
Wild Signs in Taiwanese
Wild Signs & Star Paths (The Nature Instinct in the US) is now out in Taiwan.
Wind Against Tide – A Sign of Choppy Water
The yacht is on a ‘swing mooring’ and will swing with the tide. This shows us that the water is flowing from right to left.…
The Case of the Lost Flamingo
Have a good study of the picture above. Something looks out of place, but what is it? It is tempting to think that this snowy…
Animal Weather Signs in Montana
My thanks to Dean for this very interesting pair of emails from dry cow country, Montana, USA: Tristan, I’m getting to the last fifty pages…
Nature’s Clues & Signs 2 – Brockenhurst, New Forest
Recently I visited the town of Brockenhurst, in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. The New Forest is famous for its unique landscapes of ‘forest pasture’…
How to See Wildlife in Woodlands
The key to seeing wildlife anywhere isn’t magic, it’s understanding probabilities. There are so many techniques for improving your chances, many of them listed in…
Finding Direction through Bird Nests in Termite Mounds
A guest blog post from Brazil, by Pedro and Gersony C.Jovchelevich. Termites are insects belonging to the order Isoptera, also known here in Brazil as…