EISPIRATEN

Finally got one of the cameras in a better position. Here are some stills from the videos, which are on my blog post if you are interested:
https://ironhiker.blogspot.com/2018/06/ ... gs-v7.html

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.

Mourning Doves.

Also Western Scrub-jays, Bluebird (western), Black-headed Grosbeak I think. @Mike P

HikeUp wrote: Mourning Doves.

Also Western Scrub-jays, Bluebird (western), Black-headed Grosbeak I think. @Mike P

Thanks for the ID on the doves and other birds. I tried but couldn't figure it out.

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.

tekewin wrote:

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.

Sweet! Thanks, again.

If you see a red fox in SoCal it's probably an escapee from organized fox hunts.

Fox hunting is still an actual thing? Who knew.

Uncle Rico wrote:

If you see a red fox in SoCal it's probably an escapee from organized fox hunts.

Fox hunting is still an actual thing? Who knew.

Yup, foxes were actually brought in for the "hunts". Most fox hunts in our area have disappeared for lack of space.

Foxes also escaped from folks that raised them for their fur when that was a thing.

I've seen Thrashers wandering around the Eaton Canyon Visitor's Center.

My cat eats grass too. It makes her vomit.