Tracking Survey, Valley Parkway Tunnels

Today, I took part in my first tracking survey with members of the San Diego Tracking Team.  We spent a total of about four hours going over the dirt in and around three runoff tunnels under the fast and busy Valley Parkway outside of Escondido.  I had the orientation class a few weeks ago, and went on an informal survey a couple weeks ago.

 We spent about an hour on our first tunnel, examining scat, tracks, and other signs of life.  There were tracks from at least two deer, raccoons, coyotes, spotted skunks, mice, and ground squirrels. There were also a lot of bats up in the crevices.

Those cement blocks are anchoring pipes that help provide safe passage for snakes and lizards - nice touch Dept. of Fish and Wildlife!

 There was a lot of scat just outside the tunnel as well as deer bones strewn around.

 There were six of us including Denise, the SDTT president at top.  She was quite the teacher, as all of us others were fairly new at this.
 

 One young woman is getting her PhD from Colorado State.  She is doing her doctorate on the impacts of people on wildlife in various park systems.  There was also a high school student, and a recent biology grad from Humboldt State.

 The most exciting find in this tunnel was this bobcat track.

 Coyote tracks.

 Denise teaching us some fine points.

 Ground squirrel track.

Spotted skunk tracks.