Pacific Newt Roadkill: 59 found dead today; 5 alive

December 1, 2018 (Saturday)
There were 59 dead newts on Alma Bridge Rd. today: 50 fresh and 9 partially decomposed.

I saw 3 live California Newts along the trails at St. Joseph's Hill OSP on Saturday (12/1/2018) and 2 in Sierra Azul OSP on Sunday (12/2/2018). (Hiked with Karen to water cistern. Found 2 live newts.)

See: https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/truthseqr/2018/12/1
See: https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/truthseqr/2018/12/2

Other Roadkill: House Finch

Coverage: (9%) Between Limekiln & Priest Rock trailheads. Although this is a small section of road, it has the highest mortality rate.

Rainfall: (MTD: 0.22; YTD: 3.7 in.) It rained on Tues, Wed, Thrs, and Sat this week. The water level in the reservoir has risen considerably and nearby streams now have running water.

Note: This journal post was updated on 02/10/2019 with the latest information. Based on the decomposition study, we now know that newts killed within the past 2-3 days still have bright orange or yellow undersides and/or bright red blood is present. I also collect data for partially decomposed bodies, but if they don’t fit the criteria for newly dead, I compare the pictures with previous days before adding to the project to ensure there aren’t duplicates and the count is accurate.

Posted on December 2, 2018 03:50 AM by truthseqr