Top Facts To Record In Your Nature Journal From the Start
Are you stumped about what to record in your nature journal? Does the sight of a blank page stress you out and make you doubt whether nature journaling is for you?
If you answer “yes”, fear not. Many nature journalers feel intimidated about how to start and what to include in their nature journal entries.
In this post, I share the key information to record in each nature journal entry. When you focus on capturing this information first, you guarantee both a strong start to your nature journaling hobby, and a solid foundation upon which you can build.
Start with logistical information
Most nature journalers are interested in the experience of being out in nature. Sights, sounds, animals, and the sheer abundance of nature draw our attention and become the focus of our nature journal entries.
But sometimes this sheer abundance can overwhelm us. Where do we start? What do we focus on first? I recommend starting with “logistical information”.
What do I mean by “logistical information”? Logistical information represents the objective facts about the day’s nature walk or experience. I recommend that every nature journaler add the following into every nature journal entry, at a minimum:
- Date
- Time of day
- Temperature, weather, and wind
- Location / Habitat
- Sightings
Date and time
Recording both the date and time of each nature walk is vital to your enjoyment of nature journaling as a hobby.
The natural world varies drastically on both a moment-by-moment basis and from season to season. You will see different animals in the early, pre-dawn morning than you will at high noon. Even if you see the same animals at these times, they will behave differently.
Nature journaling lends itself to the joy of discovery—of discovering the rhythms of the wildlife that surrounds each and every one of us. When you record the date and time of your experiences, you leave a trail your future self can follow to tell the story of the natural phenomenon that intrigues you.
For example, certain dragonfly species, such as the Green Darner (Anax junius), are “fliers”. This informal designation means these dragonflies hardly ever perch. They spend their days zooming through the air at high speed, which makes enjoying their vivid coloration or fine details of their bodies a real challenge. But these large dragonflies do roost at night, and only take flight in the early morning, when the temperature warms sufficiently.
If you record the date and time of the one nature walk during which you spotted a Green Darner clinging to a reed by a pond, your future self has a fighting chance of replicating that success next season.
It’s a lot of fun to turn the creatures you see by accident into old friends you can visit at will. But accomplishing this requires data about when your old friends will be “at home”.
Location / habitat
Taking a few moments to jot down notes in your journal about your physical surroundings will greatly enhance your enjoyment of your nature journal and your nature journaling hobby.
I’m not referring to letting other people know where you will be before you venture into the wild (although doing so is an absolute requirement for safety while nature journaling). Documenting where you are and the habitat surrounding you will help you understand what you see and experience.
Plants and animals vary across habitats and locations. Taking a few minutes to note the details of a given location and habitat helps you identify what you see faster and with less frustration.
For example, many species of dragonflies look alike but live in different habitats. Knowing that you were exploring a salt marsh near the beach when you spotted a particular bright orange dragonfly will help you identify it as a Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula needhami) instead of a Golden-winged Skimmer (Libellula auripennis).
Some nature journalers content themselves with only general identifications. They’re happy to note “I saw an orange dragonfly” in their journal and move on. Other nature journalers like to dig deeper and figure out exactly what animal they observed.
Either way, documenting the location and general habitat of each nature experience adds to your future enjoyment of your journal.
| Date | |
| Time | |
| Temperature | |
| Weather | |
| Wind | |
| Humidity | |
| Location / Habitat | |
| Sightings |
Follow up with weather notes
Weather determines every nature journaler’s experience in the wild. Variables like temperature, humidity, and cloud cover all factor into what you see, hear, and experience during your nature walks. Notating the weather conditions during your nature walks lets you discover natural patterns.
Here is a list of the weather conditions I’ve found most helpful to capture in each nature journal entry:
- Temperature
- Conditions (i.e. partly sunny, overcast, drizzly, broken clouds, etc.)
- Wind speed and direction
- Humidity
Animals live their lives reacting to the weather. Most species behave differently on sunny, warm days, than overcast, cool days.
For example, reptiles and insects shelter in place out of sight on cool days because their bodily functions depend on the ambient temperatures. They simply don’t function well in cool temperatures. But warm-blooded animals like birds and mammals may still be active. As the weather warms and the sun begins to shine, the cold-blooded creatures emerge.
Tracking the weather conditions in your nature journal entries helps you learn the habits and patterns of your favorite creatures. Savvy nature journalers can then use this information to heighten their chances of seeing their favorite animals by targeting their approach to the animals’ preferred weather conditions.
List of Sightings
Regardless of whatever detail you add into your nature journal entries, I recommend that you always jot a simple list of the plants, animals, and natural phenomenon you observed. Each item on your list can be short, but make a habit of including everything you saw. Write this list before you turn your attention away from nature journaling and back to other activities.
This technique “fills in the blanks” created when you don’t have time to fully document a sighting with your words or photographs in the moment. The list becomes a mnemonic device you can use to jog your memory after time has passed. It reminds you exactly what you observed, which helps when you build out the story of your experiences in nature.
Add in sensory details
Include notes in your nature journal entries about what your senses picked up during your nature walks. Most of us naturally focus on what we see because we use our vision the most of all our senses. We pay the most attention to the colors, patterns, shapes, and movement in our environment.
But don’t neglect your other senses. Make notes about what you hear and smell as well because doing so will jog your memory after your return home and bring your experiences to light.
For example, many birds stay out of sight in your presence but advertise themselves through song. You can’t see them but you know they’re there because you can hear them. If you document the actual sounds you hear, you can later figure out that a Barred Owl (Strix varia) was somewhere within earshot.
Your sense of smell provides a surprising amount of information about the natural world as well. For example, anyone who’s ever caught a whiff of a Striped Skunk in their lifetime will recognize the recent passing of this weasel species instantly.
Jotting notes about what you smell as you enjoy your nature walk also helps you bring the memory to life later. Just think of the warm, earthy smell of a freshly mown hay field, or the crisp smell of the pine forest after a rainstorm. So take some deep breaths and write a few quick words about what you smell; it will add color and texture to your memory of your experience.
An important note about using your senses while nature journaling
We humans also gather a lot of information about our environment through our senses of touch and taste. But I absolutely discourage using these senses when nature journaling for several reasons.
First, handling animals disrupts their daily lives. It scares them and forces them to use energy that they need for survival and reproduction in defense against our casual curiosity. Common courtesy as citizens of a shared natural world dictates that we humans refrain from stressing animals unnecessarily.
Second, many, many animals can injure humans when handled, as can many plants. Beyond just being respectful of our natural world, keeping our hands to ourselves protects us from getting hurt. I strongly recommend that nature journalers strive to avoid physical contact whenever possible.
Just ask anyone so foolish as to pick up a Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus) or walk through a patch of poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans).
Additionally, don’t even think of tasting anything you find in the wild. Ever. Under any circumstances.
“Foraging” for food is gaining ground as a popular hobby but I can’t discourage it strenuously enough. Every living thing found in Mother Nature evolved defenses against being eaten over many millions of years. And many species of fatally toxic plants and fungi are indistinguishable from harmless species. Tasting any wild plant or fungi is incredibly foolish.
Seriously, don’t do it.
Conclusion
Every nature journaler has to start journaling before they can experience the fun and joy of this hobby. Make capturing logistical information and sensory details in your nature journal entries a habit will set you up for success and open the door to greater creative journaling as you gain more experience.
Happy nature journaling!
