Sunday, August 24, 2014

A Ringtail Seen on Boulder Creek Road

A quick notation of an observation made this past week:

On August 20, 2014 (Wednesday night), I saw a Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) around 11 pm a few miles outside of Cuyamaca Woods, south of the Boulder Creek Fire Station.

This was the best view of this species that I have ever had, as after I first spotted it in the road in front of my car, it meandered fairly casually in front of me (as I slowed the car down and crept after it). After about a minute of clear viewing, it moved off the road and started to climb a large tree. I lost sight of it after that.

There are a fair number of large trees in this area, a small riparian area that parallels the road and boulders here and there.


2 comments:

  1. Oh man, this is just like a Yahoo News item. Great potential and excitement buildup in the title, but disappointing in the photography department

    I also saw them in Anza when I went to work down in Imperial Valley when I'd leave between 4:00-5:00 am in the morning. At the Anza historical museum, there are very early photographs of trappers displaying their catches of animals which you never see there anymore. One of these was Ringtail. I also use to see badger waddling across Hwy 79 at night around the grassy plains and rolling hills south of Warner Springs and east of Lake Henshaw at around 1:00 am when I would pick up Dudley's Bakery goods for distribution twice a week.

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    1. : )

      I think I might have my camera on and ready to go on these night drives home. Would love to have captured some images...believe me! I actually thought briefly about a dash-cam, too, but that's probably a bit of a fantasy a the moment.

      I know there are badgers here and there in the county, as I've seen dead ones on a few occasions over the years. One of my neighbors here on North peak says he saw one here, and he lives very close to me. We also have had extensive digging in the meadow below our house, with a hole diameter of around 7-8 inches. Have yet to see a live one though.

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