A Cast of Critters

I did not get very many good pictures on my last set of 2011, but I am going to post a few anyways. We cannot just have a bunch of link dumps and no original content.

So I present some birds of YLR. All images have been cropped.

The Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
Pale eye-ring, pale chest spots on throat and smudged spots on breast

Good look at the eye-ring and pinkish legs

Brown head and back with "distinctly warm, reddish tail"

American Robin, Turdus migratorius

Another American Robin

California Quail Callipepla californica

Unidentified flying critter

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Cornell Ornithology Lab Links:

Hermit Thrush 
American Robin
California Quail

The Great Highway

We return to Younger Lagoon for the last set before our current short break to dry cams and plan the next step.

For this last set, we leave behind the High Plateau and the marsh for a new location. Near one of the first set locations is a fence that encloses the reserve on the south and stretches to farmland that surrounds Younger to the east and north. This is also where we came upon a coyote late last year.

I call this location The Great Highway for during the 54 days in operation it featured 7 indentifiable species in transit and 1.7 positive camera trap triggers per day. Not amazing stats, but one must take into consideration the deluge of rain that pounded the Northern and Central California Coasts throughout the months of February and March.

The most common visitor was the Brush Rabbit, with 14 unique visits.


California Quail were also frequent travelers, often in a flock of at least 16 individuals.


Black-tailed Deer and Striped Skunk made several appearances, but the stars of this set were the Younger Lagoon resident family of bobcats.

'sup