Southern California RFI
I’ll be in southern California for a week in early May. I plan to go on a whale watch out of San Diego and camp in Cuyamaca Ranch SP to try for California Chipmunk. Does anyone have any advice for Woodrats, K-rats, or bats south of I10? I’d also be interested in Western Spotted Skunk and Mountain Lion in that area, but I know those are long shots.
Thanks,
Curtis
7 Comments
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vdinets
The best places for CA chip are all north of I-10 (in Joshua Tree NP). You can contact the new San Jacinto and Sta Rosa Nat’l Monument and ask if there are still any CA chipmunks there.
Most mammal species in the area can be found in Anza-Borrego SP. For coastal ones such as Dulzura K-rat and the Pacific race of Little Pocket Mouse, try coastal chaparral west of I-5 around Encinitas. Border Field SP used to be good for pocket mice, but I haven’t been there for a very long time and have no idea what it looks like now. Canyons around Mecca are really good for bats and other mammals, but you have to spend a lot of time there since everything is at low density. The area around Lake Perris has Stephens’ K-rat, but it’s extremely difficult to find.
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John Fox
Just a note, V. In the first draft of your book you say California Chipmunk is easy to find in Cuyamaca Ranch SP. Just don’t want it to make the final edition.
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vdinets
Thanks, it’s been fixed already. The book has changed a lot since the first draft (it’s now almost three times as long, and I keep adding stuff).
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morganchurchill
Hi Curtis. California Chipmunk doesn’t occur in Rancho Cuyamacha SP as far as I know. Certainly I have only seen Merriam’s there. According to the San Diego Natural History Museum checklist of Mammals of San DIego County, California Chipmunk is only found in the Jacumba area within the county.