February 16, 2021- south side
22 dead newts (2 of which were juveniles), 0 live newts.
February 16th, 2021 (Tuesday), 2:30-4:00pm
Weather: Partly clear, 54F.
Other roadkill: 1 large millipede
Rainfall: MTD 0.75in, YTD 9.72in (per http://www.weathercat.net/wxraindetail.php?year=2021)
Traffic: 32 moving vehicles, 11 parked, 4 bicycles, 2 joggers
Midpen study: Pit traps were emptied before I arrived and there were no roadkill newts in their road sections.
Surprisingly few newts despite the little showers we've had, but as Anne points out below it's been pretty chilly overnight.
My newt observations for today: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2021-02-16&place_id=any&taxon_id=27816&user_id=sea-kangaroo&verifiable=any
Newt map:
Kommentit
how interesting - such a low number...
@sea-kangaroo, @merav, the overnight temperature was 41 F. I read somewhere that the newts don't come out when the temp drops to a certain level. I remember 42 F as the cutoff, but I can't find the paper to reference it.
Makes sense, it has been very chilly when I wake up and I don't want to come out of bed either!
There's a Black Phoebe that's taken up residence under the eaves of my house, and 40ish seems to be a behavior trigger for it as well, to puff up into a perfect sphere when it sleeps.
Thanks for the info, Anne. I wonder if we'll see the regular high numbers from now on, temperatures permitting.
Oh, how cute - a Black Phoebe residing at your house!
Lisää kommentti