If you enjoy watching animals and wildlife and would like to start keeping a journal to record your observations, here are some inspirational tips and helpful hints to get you started.
Why Keep a Wildlife Journal?
The wildlife journal is an wonderful way to capture your outdoor experiences and is a convenient place to jot down your observations of the animal world. It takes a great deal of time and information to understand animals and their environment. By keeping careful records of your observations, you can later draw information together and make conclusions about what you saw. Sometimes, the things you make note of may seem insignificant. But natural processes take place on many time scales: minutes, days, months, years; and complex patterns may emerge that you otherwise might overlook. By keeping a consistent journal, you can capture more information than you could by simply relying on your memory.
Reading Works by Other Naturalists
Reading the books and essays of other naturalists helps to enrich your skills as a wildlife writer. Discover detailed accounts of explorations and painstaking descriptions of the animals and wildlife of far-away places. Try one of the following books: John James Audubon's Writings and Drawings,The Diversity of Life by Edward O. Wilson, Muir Among the Animals by John Muir, Galapagos: World's End by William Beebe, The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, Curious Naturalists by Niko Tinbergen.
Selecting a Journal
Your journal should be large enough so that it is comfortable for you to write in, while small enough to fit easily into a daypack or shoulder bag. Select a journal with high quality binding and a durable cover so it can better handle the wear and tear of your outdoor adventures. I recommend any of the leather bonded journals produced by Cavallini & Co. These journals are available at numerous large bookstores chains (Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Rand McNally), art stores, and museum gift shops throughout the country.
Organizing Your Journal
I keep a chronological journal, dating each entry and numbering the pages as I go. You can also divide your journal into sections, perhaps one section for each of the sites you regularly visit to make your observations. If you want to create a table of contents, reserve several blank pages at the beginning of your journal. You can later use these pages as a place to list the subject headings and pages to which you frequently refer. I like to use the last few pages of my journal to note projects and future plans. That way, I have a clear idea of how I'll proceed with my studies in my next volume.
Collecting Information
The types of information you collect depend primarily on what you hope to learn about the animals and wildlife you observe. For example, if you are interested in animal behavior, you'll probably collect information about foraging methods, social behavior, and courtship habits. But don't limit yourself to only what interests you. Take note of temperature, time of day, and location. Draw sketches of animals and their markings, illustrate cross-sections of landscapes and habitats, describe calls and communication behavior. When you later review the information you have collected, you may be surprised to find unexpected patterns emerging.
