20 May 2015

brief report Pt. Reyes CA and Martinez CA

Very brief report:

I was at Pt. Reyes Saturday night for a wedding, and did very brief spotlight loop around main Visitor Center and out to Limontour Road, both at 2300 hours. Too much traffic, at least for a May Saturday—coming back out from end of Limontour, I had four cars on my tail, all I think surf fishermen (?) (perhaps together?) who left beach at same time. I had reliable reports of Spotted Skunk on that road but presumably if they are around, better to try mid-week or later at night. Nothing small on road but there was one Gray Fox there, another one at Visitor Center, 10+ Mule Deer scattered around, and one Raccoon.

Sunday night at Martinez site for Beaver was better, or at least, half an hour before sunset one showed well, which locals said is the expected time. As prior reports state, go to the parking lot for the Amtrak station (in theory, permit required), and walk across the obvious pedestrian bridge that crosses the creek on parking lot’s west side. The day I was there, local gents were feeding the beaver apple slices. Water level in creek is low but (so far) adequate to support the (one) (more) beaver(s). If drought reduces flow further, not sure — I guess it could go downstream into the main river channel, and in which case, it would not be observable. There also were tracks and gnawed saplings upstream (various vantage points from cross streets) but the main lodge seems to be by the Amtrak bridge.

Charles Hood, Palmdale CA

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6 Comments

  • 20 May 2015
    vdinets

    The beavers are supposed to have babies swimming around this time of year, but with the drought they might have skipped a year.

  • 20 May 2015
    vnsankar123

    Some delta/pt reyes/bay area info:

    For what it’s worth, anyone looking for Long-tailed Weasel and Mink in the bay area should try Santa Fe Grade in Merced Co. between Gustine and Dos Palos – birders see these frequently there (as well as Common Nighthawk). This is a good one to pair with Caswell or San Joaquin River NWR (Ripiarian Brush Rabbit and the latter is also good for Golden Beaver and LT Weasel). I’m doomed to fail at weasel every time I try in Pt Reyes…

    Regarding Pt Reyes, I’ve got a spot for Mountain Beaver that I can PM people who are interested; it’s off of Sir Francis Drake blvd (meadows further down the road are great for Badger and Coyote). Also, I saw what I’m pretty sure was a Pacific Jumping Mouse in a meadow at Wildcat Camp 2 years ago in June. Interesting that Limantour has Spotted Skunks – I’ve got to take a look some time; the only things I remember seeing out there are Bobcat at Sky Camp and Coyote lower down on the road itself.

    I remember seeing what I’m pretty sure was a Spotted Skunk off of Kincaid Rd NW of Mt Hamilton dashing out of a road culvert near Isabel Creek late on a June night a couple of years back; not sure how reliable a spot it is, but the habitat looked good. Mt Hamilton is certainly a place more people should explore, especially Kincaid and the San Antonio Valley further E.

    On a different note, apparently the Hastings Reserve off of Carmel Valley Rd sometimes has Spotted Skunks in road culverts in summer and Ringtails in moist oak woodland canyons (you can probably look for them from the entrance rd) – both are tricky to see though. There’s also Dipodomys venustus and Big-eared Woodrat in chaparral out there. I don’t do nearly enough wildlife viewing in the Santa Lucias as I should; how will it be this year (my go-to spots in San Benito have turned to desert)?

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