Paying attention to the calls of chickadees, nuthatches and juncos can sometimes point to where elk are in the forest. When elk move in response to your presence these birds will respond with excited vocalizations. Many times chickadees have told me what direction elk are moving in the dense dark forest where it's otherwise difficult to detect them.

Pine squirrels will do this too but not as reliably for elk because squirrels are noisy much of the time in interactions with other squirrels.