Pacific Newt Roadkill: 50 found dead today; 7 alive

February 16, 2019 (Saturday) 7:48am – 11:38 am
I found 52 newt carcasses on Alma Bridge Rd. this morning. Since it was raining heavily, many of the bodies were just smears of skin and guts on the road.

I saw several California newts swimming in a pool. There was a branch with egg masses in the water.

See: https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/truthseqr/2019/2/16

Someone removed the nice “Newt Crossing” sign that was posted just before Limekiln Canyon.

Coverage: (~80%) St. Joseph's Hill to Priest Rock Trailhead & part of trail; skipped the section Merav did 2 days ago; Stop Sign to Aldercroft Heights Rd.
Rainfall: (MTD: 7 in; YTD: 18.47 in) It rained heavily last night and off-and-on this morning while I did the survey. Lexington Reservoir is very full now.

Traffic: Again there was a steady stream of cars coming and going from the Los Gatos Rowing Club. People drive fast on this road - I’m guessing an average of 40 mph on this 25 mph road (15 mph posted for curves). Traffic south of the Rowing Club was very light – less than a dozen vehicles. There were a few runners and a few bicyclists.

Posted on February 17, 2019 10:59 PM by truthseqr