Monahans TX Specialist Certification 2/10/2019

Dave Scott with the Earth Native Wilderness School hosted a Track and Sign Specialist Certification at Monahans Sand Hills State Park in Texas on February 9-10, 2019. Specialist Certifications are arduous. Participants have to answer 57 very difficult questions over 2 days. Two evaluators (1 local and 1 external) are present at Specialist Certifications to ensure reliability and consistency. Casey McFarland served as external evaluator.

Monahans is an amazing location filled with sand dunes and shinnery oaks with a diverse array of wildlife. Despite the brutal cold and wind in the dunes, we managed to find some great tracks. Probably the favorite find of the weekend was a tree with several Jerusalem cricket heads skewered on sharp twigs by a loggerhead shrike – one of the most brutal of Texas’ birds. All told, we saw the tracks of 24 species, including 13 mammals, 8 birds, and 3 invertebrates. See the photos below.

While none of the participants earned their specialist certification this time, congratulations are due to Anne Hunkins and Nick Czaplewski who both missed it by a single question.