San Diego CA Specialist Certification 3/31/2019

Jill Cooper hosted a Track and Sign Specialist Certification in San Diego County on March 30-31, 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.

It was a great weekend full of tracks, good people, and a surprising encounter with quicksand that almost swallowed one of the participants! We had some very challenging tracks including mistletoe seeds in bird scat, acorns opened by birds, woodrat trails, and a beautiful set of mountain lion tracks in deep mud. All told, we saw the tracks of 29 species, including 14 mammals, 10 birds, 2 helps, 1 invertebrate, and 2 signs made by humans. See the photos below.

Huge congratulations are in order for Jill Cooper and Kim Cabrera for earning their Track and Sign Specialist Certification. This is the culmination of many years of dedication and hard work. They should both be extremely proud.

Big thanks to Jerry Maserjian and Connor O’Malley for assisting.