Wildlife Watcher Guide: Animal Tracking - Photography Skills - Fieldcraft - Safety - Footprint Identification - Camera Traps - Making a Blind - Night-time Tracking

Comprehensive guidance for aspiring wildlife photographers.

This book provides essential advice on how to track, observe and photograph wildlife in their natural habitat. Practical chapters are interspersed with Question and Answer spreads that give a glimpse into the adventures of real-life wildlife photographers.

Wildlife Watcher Guide is organized into seven chapters, beginning with how to prepare for an expedition and an introduction to tracking, such as looking for spoor (such as footprints, broken twigs, 'scat').

The six chapters that follow cover wilderness habitats -- woodland; savannah; rainforest; polar regions; underwater; and gardens, parks and cities -- and describe special considerations when exploring these areas.

Professionals with decades of experience in wildlife observation give their top tips on:

• How to watch wildlife unseen
• How to track animals using footprint identification and identifying signs of recent activity
• How to prepare for dangerous expeditions
• How to track safely at night
• The essential photography skills and equipment
• Fieldcraft (camera traps, making a hide, knowing the behavior and habitat of the animal, best time of year/best time of day, telephone lenses, night-time tracking, and more).

Wildlife Watcher Guide overflows with valuable information presented in colorful illustrations and clear text. It is excellent for budding wildlife naturalists and photographers.

Michael Leach is a zoologist and full-time wildlife author and photographer. Working previously as a cameraman making wildlife films for broadcasters, he has spent the last 15 years writing about his wildlife and photography experience. He writes for children and adults, and has produced more than 1,000 illustrated features for magazines and newspapers.

Dr. Meriel Lland is a freelance wildlife photographer whose clients include The Natural History Museum, BBC Wildlife, the RSPB and ARKive.