Went to Fort Ord with Joe
Followed a barn owl into a green looking clearing that ended up looking like a mystic, magical wonderland out of the Lord of the Rings.
Continued following the owl out to a clearing and a basin in the brush, where we found two coyote dens surrounded by tracks. In one of the dens there was an oil beetle / blister beetle bumbling around clumsily in the soft sand. I picked a twig off of a bush and held it down so that the beetle would climb onto it. We brought it out and watched it lay on its side playing dead. I had never seen an actual oil beetle before, although I've seen several other blister beetles in Arizona.
We found several different types of scat, including what we think was bobcat. We also saw deer tracks, dog tracks, and what looked like skunk tracks.
We decided that we'd like to go back at night and we knew that there would be a full moon on Thursday night. We went out late and headed towards the same basin where we had been during the daytime.
Saw Great Horned Owl by the side of the street. Saw the profile on the building before it flew off. We then heard a male and female pair of great horned owls hooting in the overwhelming silence. We also heard a Saw-Whet owl screeching in the middle of the night.
Followed a barn owl into a green looking clearing that ended up looking like a mystic, magical wonderland out of the Lord of the Rings.
Continued following the owl out to a clearing and a basin in the brush, where we found two coyote dens surrounded by tracks. In one of the dens there was an oil beetle / blister beetle bumbling around clumsily in the soft sand. I picked a twig off of a bush and held it down so that the beetle would climb onto it. We brought it out and watched it lay on its side playing dead. I had never seen an actual oil beetle before, although I've seen several other blister beetles in Arizona.
We found several different types of scat, including what we think was bobcat. We also saw deer tracks, dog tracks, and what looked like skunk tracks.
We decided that we'd like to go back at night and we knew that there would be a full moon on Thursday night. We went out late and headed towards the same basin where we had been during the daytime.
Saw Great Horned Owl by the side of the street. Saw the profile on the building before it flew off. We then heard a male and female pair of great horned owls hooting in the overwhelming silence. We also heard a Saw-Whet owl screeching in the middle of the night.
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