November 11, 2023

November 10, 2023 - south segment

I walked the south segment from 9:00 to 11:30. The weather was cool but sunny-- 59 to 63 F with light winds from the northeast.

I saw 0 live newts, 5 dead newts: 3 on reservoir side, 2 on the uphill side. All adults.

There were 10 cars, 9 trucks, 9 bicyclists, and 1 pedestrian.

Other roadkill: several Jerusalem crickets, an earthworm.

Posted on November 11, 2023 06:07 PM by molly2 molly2 | 0 comments | Leave a comment

October 18, 2023

North section - 10/18/2023

Wednesday, 10:04-11:50 am. no newts, dead or alive.
Weather: nice, then got hot.
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked alone.
I documented a Jerusalem cricket and a cranefly dead on the road, and a grasshopper and 3 deer live on the road (a doe and 2 fawns).
I heard many birds and chipmunks along the road, and recorded and photographed some of them.
Traffic - very quiet, probably because it was supposed to get very hot today. 31 cars (including 1 police car), 20 trucks (including PG&E), 0 motorcycles, 6 bikes, 3 pedestrians, 14 parked cars (1 car at the farther parking lot, with a very interesting antenna on their roof - tracking mountain lions?).
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-10-18&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

Posted on October 18, 2023 08:51 PM by merav merav | 0 comments | Leave a comment

August 16, 2023

North section - 8/15/2023

Tuesday, 10:09-11:59 am. no live newts, 1 dead newts.
Weather: hot
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked with Keith.
We documented 1 dead newt, 2 alligator lizard, a racer, a bee and a wasp, all dead on the road. we usually see all these herps in the spring and in the fall, not in the summer.
Traffic - 37 cars, 13 trucks, 0 motorcycles, 12 bikes, 8 pedestrians, 25 parked cars (2 cars at the farther parking lot).
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=37.21819691211776&nelng=-121.96564810644972&on=2023-08-15&place_id=any&swlat=37.16459130448528&swlng=-122.01645987402784&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

Posted on August 16, 2023 05:20 AM by merav merav | 0 comments | Leave a comment

June 28, 2023

North section - 6/28/2023

Wednesday, 9:55-11:41 am. no live newts, 3 dead newts.
Weather: nice
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked alone.
I had 3 dead newts and a carpenter ant.
I saw 3 squirrels crossing the road, and later on 2 more individuals, all crossed successfully. I saw a Western Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris) at the exact spot I saw 2 individuals a few years ago, when shortly after one of them was dead on the road. I kept looking for them since and was glad to see one today.
I also documented two birds with their insect prey - a Dark-eyed Junco eating ants, and a California Towhee eating a Timema walking stick.
I didn't see the bald eagle I saw flying above highway 17 yesterday, while driving by.
Traffic - 35 cars, 17 trucks, 2 motorcycles, 5 bikes, 8 pedestrians, 15 parked cars (1 truck at the farther parking lot). It was pretty quiet. A few PG&E trucks and pickups, one Midpen pickup.
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-06-28&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

Posted on June 28, 2023 10:28 PM by merav merav | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 31, 2023

North section - 5/31/2023

Wednesday, 9:30-11:10 am. no live newts, 2 dead newts.
Weather: nice
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked alone.
I had 2 newts and a cranefly.
I encountered deer trying to cross the road twice today, bot times cars were driving by. The first was a doe and 2 fawns, the second was a doe.
Traffic - 38 cars, 15 trucks, 0 motorcycles, 3 bikes, 6 pedestrians, 12 parked cars (2 cars at the farther parking lot).
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-05-31&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

This was the last official survey of the season! With 6,511 dead newts, this is our second-highest number so far. We are now at 30,313 dead newts on 4.2 miles of Alma Bridge Rd since 2017.
Thanks everyone for helping out this season (and past)!

Posted on May 31, 2023 08:19 PM by merav merav | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 29, 2023

North Segment - May 19, 2023

I surveyed the north segment from 9:15 to 11 am. The weather was nice, in the lower 60s with light winds.

I found zero newts.

There were 33 cars, 13 trucks, 1 pedestrian, and 5 bicyclists.

Other roadkill was limited to darkling beetles.

Posted on May 29, 2023 05:14 PM by molly2 molly2 | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 24, 2023

North section - 5/24/2023

Wednesday, 9:00-10:45 am. no live newts, 2 dead newts.
Weather: cold!
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked alone.
I had 2 newts, bees, beetles.
Traffic - 30 cars, 14 trucks, 0 motorcycles, 14 bikes, 2 pedestrians, 38 parked cars (2 cars at the farther parking lot). 20-30 bikes went on the road just before I started.
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-05-24&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

Posted on May 24, 2023 08:36 PM by merav merav | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 13, 2023

North section - 5/12/2023

Friday, 9:00-10:45 am. no live newts, 4 dead newts.
Weather: cold in the morning, warm at the end
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked with Keith.
We had 4 newts, 1 juvenile. All very dry. Finally, this season is about to end...
Other roadkills: tree frog, bumble bee, beetles.
Traffic - 48 cars, 9 trucks (including Midpen) 0 motorcycles, 4 bikes, 4 pedestrians, 18 parked cars (2 cars at the farther parking lot).
We talked with two concerned couples about the newts.
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-05-12&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

Posted on May 13, 2023 12:20 AM by merav merav | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 6, 2023

North section - 5/5/2023

Friday, 9:00-10:50 am. no live newts, 48 dead newts.
Weather: nice. Light rain most days this week.
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked with Keith.
We had 48 newts, 13 on the hill side, 35 on the reservoir side, including about 6 juveniles.
Other roadkills: slender salamander, bees. I saw two deer dead on 17 on the way to Lexington.
Traffic - 51 cars, 27 trucks (including Midpen, FedEx, tree removal) 0 motorcycles, 6 bikes, 11 pedestrians, 25 parked cars (0 cars at the farther parking lot).
We had a nice conversation with a few ladies traveling through the area, who were very concerned about the newts.
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=37.24705704070262&nelng=-121.91476733889431&on=2023-05-05&place_id=any&swlat=37.152984494638076&swlng=-122.03973682131618&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

Posted on May 6, 2023 12:39 AM by merav merav | 0 comments | Leave a comment

April 30, 2023

North Section - April 28

I walked from 9:30 to 11:15. The weather was 74 to 84 F with light winds from the south and east.

I saw 0 live newts and only 11 dead newts: 9 on reservoir side, 2 on uphill side. All adults.

There were 64 cars, 21 trucks, 4 bicyclists, and 3 pedestrians.

Other roadkill: darkling beetles, a caterpillar, and several checkerspot butterflies.

There's still water in the Lime Kiln road seep. No eggs.

I talked with several hikers about the project.

Posted on April 30, 2023 01:21 AM by molly2 molly2 | 0 comments | Leave a comment