Since the bobcat and fox are almost nightly visitors, we named them respectively Babushka and Vlad (a vampire that only comes out at night). The bobcat is on video eating grass which I guess they do sometimes. I originally was thinking this was a red fox, but changed my mind and now think it is a grey fox. The fox seems to move faster than anything else. New visitors to the watering hole include a doe and a skunk. No hawks or vultures this time, but a lot of new birds including a rarely seen California thrasher, mountain quail, and some kind of doves.
You guys got 'em: 3 California scrub-jays (formerly Western Scrub-jays), 3 black-headed grosbeaks, 2 mourning doves, mountain quail, Western bluebird, 2 California thrashers. Thanks, tekewin!
Mike P wrote:
You guys got 'em: 3 California scrub-jays (formerly Western Scrub-jays), 3 black-headed grosbeaks, 2 mourning doves, mountain quail, Western bluebird, 2 California thrashers. Thanks, tekewin!
Hey Mike! Can you confirm that is a grey fox and not a red fox? I really puzzled over that one and eventually went with grey fox.
Mike P wrote:
You guys got 'em: 3 California scrub-jays (formerly Western Scrub-jays), 3 black-headed grosbeaks, 2 mourning doves, mountain quail, Western bluebird, 2 California thrashers. Thanks, tekewin!
Hey Mike! Can you confirm that is a grey fox and not a red fox? I really puzzled over that one and eventually went with grey fox.
Yo tekewin! You betcha! Gray fox (aka grey fox) it is. The gray fox is the only native fox in our area. Their populations are bouncing back as they took a beating with canine distemper in the mid-90s. (Another reason to leave your dogs at home when we hike...) Edit: The island gray fox on the Channel Islands is the other gray fox species in CA - just not on the mainland.
The only red fox in CA is the Sierra Nevada red fox, once thought to be extirpated, but is now showing up on camera traps. If you see a red fox in SoCal it's probably an escapee from organized fox hunts.