Pacific Newt Roadkill: 114 found dead today; 5 Alive; 2 Injured

December 25, 2018 (Tuesday)
I added 98 newly dead (bright orange/yellow belly). There were also 29 partially decomposed carcasses, so I had to compare those to previous observations to make sure they weren’t duplicates. This was a tedious and time-consuming procedure involving hundreds of visual comparisons, but I figured it was worth the time spent in order to have accurate roadkill numbers. (I ended up adding 16 of the 29 to the project.)

See: https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/truthseqr/2018/12/25
(photos of dead newts were originally submitted in groups of 10 per observation, but later decoupled)

It rained yesterday (Dec 24), so I was expecting to see more than 5 live newts. I figured there would be more roadkill, but I was astounded at the carnage - 114 new carcasses since Dec 23 (two days ago). There were 2 injured newts that probably won’t make it.

Other Roadkill: Columbian Black-tailed Deer

Coverage: (52%) Today I surveyed Alma Bridge Rd. between St. Joseph's Hill OSP and Soda Springs Rd.

Rainfall: (MTD: 2.73 in; YTD: 6.21 in)

Note: This journal post was updated on 02/10/2019 with the latest information: fresh vs. decomposed carcasses, % Coverage, Rainfall, and link to observations.

Posted on December 26, 2018 03:54 AM by truthseqr