Pacific Newt Roadkill: 5 found dead today; 1 alive

February 18, 2019 (Monday) 8 am – 10 am
I found 5 fresh newt carcasses on Alma Bridge Rd. this morning plus 16 decomposed ones. There were relatively few old carcasses on the road – they must’ve been washed away by the heavy rains. There was frost on the ground at Lexington and lots of snow on the Diablo Range, but I didn’t see any snow in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The overnight low temperature was 35.4 degrees.

I saw one California newt swimming in a pool.

The “Newt Crossing” sign was returned, but not posted in its original spot on the telephone pole. It was face down in the grass at the base of the pole.

See: https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/truthseqr/2019/2/18

Coverage: (~27%) Vulcan Materials quarry to Stop Sign & Soda Springs Rd. intersection.

Rainfall: (MTD: 7.18 in; YTD: 18.47 in) It was sunny but cold this morning (frost on the ground).

Traffic: There were long boats on the reservoir early this morning and the associated traffic on the road. Other than that, only a few cars south of the rowing club and a few trucks entering the quarry.

Posted on February 19, 2019 02:02 AM by truthseqr