End o' Year Lodge Wildlife Report

When you have a place on the edge of a rural community, such as our family lodge near Mariposa, camera traps are not only fascinating & amusing, they're also quite practical. They tell you what's around, and how often it visits, and that info can be very handy when thinking about building garden fences, putting out trash cans, latching outdoor closet doors, screening roof vents, and letting pets roam. And if you have livestock, such as chickens, well...

So, without further ado, here's my scattered observations, approximate head counts, and estimated regularity of the local Sierra Nevada beasties around the lodge, as derived from my year of trapping with 2 trail cameras, and scouting for signs and scat and beds and kills and such. Oh, with a heaping dash of research on animal behavior and territory sizes mixed in too.

24 species were caught on camera in 2009 in ~ 20 different camera sets/locations that ranged from 1-35 nights, with most being in place 20-30 nights.

Black Bears: there still seems to be just 2 bears that come around - a cinnamon female that forages through every few weeks for berries & acorns, and a bigger, darker (probably near black) male that comes infrequently, and maybe from the direction of the road (The Mariposa Bear?).

Mountain Lions: 0, nada, zilch, none. There hasn't been cougar sign all year - no scat, no kills, no pics, no nothing. Not a bad thing, but the deer could pile up.

Coyotes: 2-3 - a pair and a loner I think. They don't come often, and seem to be quite skittish.

Bobcats: at least 2, but not many more than that. They're around often, if not nightly.

Gray Foxes: at least 2, but not many more than that. They're around often, if not nightly.

Domestic Cats: 3 - an orange tabby, a gray tabby, and a black feral (I think) w/ white chest.

Striped Skunks: at least one around, but not more than 2. They patrol nightly.

Opossums: at least 2 around, but probably not many more than that. They patrol nightly.

Raccoons: a mom with 3-4 younglets. They patrol nightly.

Black-tailed Jackrabbits: lots.

Western Gray Squirrels: lots.

Chipmunks (Merriam's, I think): at least 2! A new move-in this year!

Dusky-footed / Big-eared Woodrats: lots.

Mule Deer: 15-20ish. I've seen about 5 different bucks, 4 fawns and 6-7 does this year.

Wild Turkeys: I've counted over 45 when the smaller groups cluster together in winter. They seem to merge right around Thanksgiving.

California Quail: lots.

The also caughts: an Angus bull, mice, scrub & steller's jays, a northern flicker, some vultures, and a few wood & mallard ducks.

Of course, this isn't all the animals around. There's also hawks and owls and the occasional great blue heron. And a ground squirrel. But I didn't catch them on digifilm this year.

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The Cast of Characters - Larger Carnies & Omnivores:


Big black bear coming through the fence gap


Same bear a few nights earlier


Cinnamon black bear on the trail


Cinnamon black bear butt


Cinnamon black bear on rock - note light color in infrared

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Coyote on flat rock


Coyote on the run through fence gap

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Bobcat strolling on hot day


Bobcat on an early morning prowl

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Gray fox sneaking up on the camera


Gray fox sniffing

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The Herbies:


Cute fawn going by


Mom and young fawn in garden


Angus bull butt


Mule deer mixer


Buck with dangling horn

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The Smaller Critters:


Skunk foraging


Pepe on patrol

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Curious raccoons


Night bandits

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Jack trotting on by


Two jacks on a rock


Jackrabbit sniffing lilies

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Possum poking about


Big opossum in the garden

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Curious squirrel in the snow

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Chipmunk!

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Many wild turkeys

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Quail crossing

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References:

• The Nature of a Man (this blog) - Homes, Homes On Their Range (territory sizes)

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