Pacific Newt Roadkill: 192 found dead today; no live ones seen

December 23, 2018 (Sunday)
Today I drove around Lexington Reservoir and stopped at all pull-outs on Alma Bridge Rd. to take a count of dead newts on the road. I also hiked the Limekiln / Priest Rock loop. I didn’t see a single live newt during this 6 hr. trek.

This is the first time I’ve taken a count south of Soda Spring Canyon. There were a lot of dead newts there (176). In places I’ve already visited this month, I only counted the newly deceased newts.

See: https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/truthseqr/2018/12/23
(photos of dead newts were originally submitted in groups of 10 per observation, but later decoupled)

Coverage: (86%) Aldercroft Heights Rd. to Limekiln Trailhead (reverse direction)

Rainfall: (MTD: 2.27 in; YTD: 5.75 in) We're expecting more rain in the next couple of days.

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 24, 2018 01:49 AM by truthseqr