Fwd: New California Roadkill Observation System!

I previously noted to good work of the CROS.  Although somewhat morbid, roadkill is certainly a definite way to identify wildlife. Identifying is the first step to managing (perhaps with a view to alleviate roadkill?).  Tagged this with the camera trap tag while tongue firmly in cheek.

Some time ago I received this nice update on the new Roadkill Observation System from Fraser Shilling:


Dear CROS Team,
We are happy to announce a new version of CROS!
New CROS offers the following:


* Support for smartphones and tablets (mobile devices). You can now enter data with your smart phone more easily.
* Single photo upload to create observation. If you setup your phone to allow location to be shared (called geotagging), uploading only the photo will create the whole record. This saves lots of time, and you can optionally enter more details, like the species, at a later time.
* More streamlined user interface for entering data.
* You can still view all of your data on a map, or download it to a CSV file.

If you have entered at least one observation into CROS, we transferred your account to new CROS, and all you need to do is setup a new password. Here are the steps.
1. Go to this page:
https://www.wildlifecrossing.net/california/user/password/
2. Enter your email address and click submit. Then check your email and click on the link that will help you reset your password.
3. Enter your new password and you should be all set to use it next time you want to login.
If you have any problems, just email Fraser & Dave (fmshilling@ucdavis.edu; dwaetjen@ucdavis.edu) and we can help you.

If you signed up for CROS but never entered an observation, you will need to create a new account (or enter observations anonymously). Follow this link to create an account:
https://www.wildlifecrossing.net/california/user/register/
Thanks for your interest and contributions,
Sincerely,
The CROS Team at the Road Ecology Center

Isn't it cute?

I think this is a juvenile Western Fence Lizard.

Squatter and friend

Tangerine thief

You keep a knocking but you can't come in.

My brother was watching the house while I was away and caught these photos of a skunk or skunks trying to get back under the house after we sealed up their point of entry.

His triumphant email read: 

Try as they might, they can't get back in. Brent and I
put the lockdown on Pepe Le Pew's house of fun. Too bad
for them. :P 

Skunks and possums, still trying to cohabitate

I re-stacked the bricks. Silly me. I thought that they had to be moved to allow ingress and egress.Time stamps are accurate in these photos.

Nope.  At least the possums can come and go as they want.

Skunks and possums, living together!

And under my house, too.

The current plan is to wake up at 3AM (there's a +1:12 error in the time stamp on the photos), block the opening with a screen, and then monitor through the screen with the camera trap to see if I've trapped any inside.  If so, let them out the following night.  A one-way door would work better if I can make or buy one.

There's a crawl space vent that is broken and I've blocked it with bricks.  Little good that does.

Someone's been eating my Cercis

I was admiring the fog on my Cercis occidentalis



When I noticed some leaf damage and a critter.


Who's been eating my Cercis?



Have some more there's plenty to go around.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Possum, raccoon, skunk, house cat

I suspect that the raccoons are to blame for the immense piles of scat that have accumulated on top of my patch of Erigeron glaucus (Seaside daisy).  I set the trap in a likely area (not the toilet area, that seemed indelicate) to see who was visiting my yard.

Squirrel deterrent

But they will hop right over the screen....Oh.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wildlife warning

Cool and science pioneerish, again!

.

 
On the LLP web site there there are 59 H. glacialis (Glacial Lady Beetle) reported but only a few with the extensa epithet, so I suspect they are somewhat rare.  Nonetheless, I found one the other day.  Googling around, I thought it was interesting that someone named Mulsant named this subspecies in 1850. 

LAX dune cleanup

We spent the morning working this beautiful area with degraded habitat near Los Angeles International Airport. I found some cool Great Horned Lizards - three or four depending upon whether I was double counting one of them or not.

I felt all cool and science pioneerish

Arriving by email:

Dear Brent,
 
 Thank you, again, for your contribution

 to the Lost Ladybug Project. Your submission 

 can now be viewed in the Contributors section 

 of the Lost Ladybug Project website, here: 

http://lostladybug.org/contributors-images.php?id=2180
 
 This Coccinella alta is fantastic! 

 The first for the LLP!
 
 Sincerely,
 The Lost Ladybug Project
 www.lostladybug.org

The Lost Ladybug Project says, "28577 ladybugs contributed as of December 5, 2014"

Anise swallowtail instar

Found near the San Pedro annex right off the sidewalk.

Snails acting strangely

Has anyone ever seen this before?

Grasshopper on Arctostaphylos refugioensis

This grasshopper looks like he's sleeping on a young Arctostaphylos refugioensis (Refugio Manzanita).

Fox and coyote?

While camping with the Scouts I camera trapped these two critters.  I thought they were the same animal, but one of my leaders pointed out the time difference in the photos and suggested one was a coyote and the other a fox.  The motion in the second photo makes it so blurry that it's hard to tell.  I'm leaning towards thinking it's the same animal both times.

Fox: (?)

 Coyote: (?)

A skunk, a raccoon, and about 60 cats

I set up my new game camera in the side yard and I was gratified to find that it works! I had about 100 photos over the course of more than a month, but only 1 skunk and 1 raccoon in that time.

Here's the skunk's tail

A good shot of Ricky Raccoon (aren't they all named Ricky?)

Just one representative cat photo (of the tens in the camera):

Backwards Beekeepers will relocate hives in Los Angeles

Backwards Bee Keepers might remove your hive themselves (if a member needs a brood) or, if not, then they have a list of companies that do live removal for a fee. I've always liked the idea of a back yard beehive. I recommend exploring their web site for more information. Nice.
(moments later) Oh wait. It looks like they are defunct. Still, there seems to be some useful links and contacts there. For example, http://honeylove.org/rescuebees/