Blog by Erin Hauge
The Preserve was covered in an early morning sea of mist and we watched as the sun rose and illuminated the tiny water droplets swirling around us. Ground mist even swirled out along the roadway as we passed ducks and coots quietly moving through the ponds on either side of the road.
Highway to the sun! Seas of mist swirled across the land and across the road as the sun came up over the Sierra. Erin Hauge
We knew this might be an abbreviated camera check day due to last week’s heavy, steady rains and we weren’t disappointed about that! And actually, we were able to drive out pretty close to our first camera destination but we did walk in the last bit as the road was just too muddy. The sun was highlighting the rising ground mist as we walked beside a big oak forest and we stopped to appreciate the beauty of the scene. Even the cattails stood at attention as the sun warmed the ground around us!
Near one of the trail cameras in the early morning. Erin Hauge
Cattails and frost! Erin Hauge
In the Field
Our crews were ready to go today, and all smiles! A clear, beautiful morning in the Preserve's misty fields and forests – what more could we want? Rubber boots, of course, so we beclad our feet in rubber and were instantly ready to wade!
Crew members Duane and Chris, starting out on the walk to our first camera. Erin Hauge
Crew member Elizabeth scouting the terrain! Courtesy of Maria Culhane
Crew member Mary on a flooded road and looking up! Courtesy of Maria Culhane
The water had come down a bit on the Preserve but it was still high and blocked our access to some of the cameras but that didn’t stop us from trying! Both teams got ‘into the water’ in order to get cameras – both teams found that the water just got too deep for knee boots and we had to turn back for this week.
Crew members Duane and Chris wading across a flooded area that got too deep for us to reach the camera on the other side of the slough. Erin Hauge
Crew members Elizabeth and Mary proving that they attempted to reach the cameras but the water just got too deep! Courtesy of Maria Culhane
And it looks like one of our cameras may have been submerged over the last few days, as it was on a T-post at about 3.5 feet high, next to a field below the roadway. We could see the water level wet marks on surrounding trees, indicating the water would have been high enough to cover the camera for a brief time. Maybe briefly, but enough to destroy the camera most likely. These cameras are water resistant, but not water proof. We’ll try drying the camera out when we can get to it and see if it’s salvageable.
One of our cameras that likely got submerged in the last few days as it was in a low spot and mounted on a T-post lower than five feet. Erin Hauge
At one of our camera stops there’s a wide savannah grassland area next to an oak forest that’s frequented by coyotes hunting mice and also deer and other wildlife. Well, this was underwater today and we didn’t get anywhere close to the cameras down the road here, as the road was underwater! As the ground becomes saturated, run-off and flooding increase in these areas that are usually dry. The flooding tends to recede pretty quickly but we could be seeing higher water levels again this week with the rainfall that's projected.
Normally a dry, grassy savannah this area was stomping grounds for ducks today! Erin Hauge
At another camera we were able to reach, just around the bend in the road there was water racing across the track and into a forest of young oak trees. It was amazing to stand there and see this natural flooding that is good for young oak trees. The intense water saturation will draw their roots deep into the ground towards accessible groundwater that can then sustain the trees as they mature during long, dry summers and in times of drought.
A forest of young oak trees getting some much needed deep watering from this last week's rain and flood event. Note the wet marks on the tree trunks show the highest water level. Erin Hauge
As we were taking in the water levels in the fields, crew member Duane spotted a bald eagle flying in a direct and purposeful way across the savannah area and we noticed he or she was carrying something. Upon closer inspection through a photo, we saw there were branches in the eagle’s talons! This bird was taking nest material back to a nest site! This means there’s a mating pair of bald eagles living on the Preserve! Bald eagles mate for life and both the male and female will help build the nest and this can take a few months. Incubation period for bald eagle eggs is about 35 days and both the male and female will spend time brooding on the eggs.
If you’re lucky enough to see a bald eagle pair in a cartwheel, or ‘death spiral’ courtship display, you’ll never forget it. Both the male and female will fly up to a high altitude, lock talons and tumble towards the earth, breaking apart at the last moment to avoid impact. As you might guess, this breathtaking and dangerous display is all about determining the fitness of a potential mate. Resource: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/lifehistory
A bald eagle taking some nesting material back to a nest site - this means there's a breeding pair of bald eagles on the Preserve! Erin Hauge
We also saw our old friend Coyote out in a field, moving between the hedgerows. As we drove near, she moved away but stopped to look back repeatedly as coyotes will do. She watched crew member Chris moving along the roadway to get a better view of her, and she had her eyes on the car as well, parked farther back on the road. She stopped and watched us all for several minutes before turning and disappearing behind a hedgerow.
Our old friend Coyote stops to check out the primates as we check her out and try to get good photos! Erin Hauge
We were treated to the agitated attention of a marsh wren as we walked along a roadway between two fields. He sat in the cattails at the side of the road and was quite vocal in a mesmerizing series of bubbling, trilling and ratchety type calls. We marveled at the variety of his vocalizations as he moved up and down the cattail stalks, observing us and vocalizing. It’s interesting to see how marsh wrens grasp the cattails to stabilize themselves by putting one leg on one stalk and spred-eagling the other leg over to another stalk!
A very vocal marsh wren watches us as he continued to pipe up! Note the spread eagle position of his legs as he grasps the cattail stems for a better look at us. Erin Hauge
We saw some great tracks out there including deer, otter, raccoon, coyote and bobcat. Bobcats are ambush predators and tend to walk heavier in the back of their tracks whereas coyotes are coursing predators and can tend to weigh forward into the toes of their tracks as they propel forward quickly. The baseline gait of a coyote is usually a trot. In perfect substrate, you’ll get nice clear tracks that register all toes and the heel pad nicely. In more compact or harder substrate, you may get only partial registers and it’s interesting to notice the differences.
Bobcat track. The large heel pad means this is probably a front paw. Also deer tracks in the upper left by the ruler. Erin Hauge
Coyote track. Note the deep toe prints in relation to the heel pad. Erin Hauge
And here’s a fun track that gave us a double take. At first glance it looks like two toes and two big pads. Can you guess who made this track and which directions they’re traveling?
At first glance we weren't sure what was going on here! On closer inspection, we saw that the heel pad is on the bottom and the two middle toes have registered close together, making a solid, heel-pad like shadow. You can see nail imprints at the top of the photo. This coyote was stepping along towards the top of the photo. Erin Hauge
Fun Photo!
What is this we’ve captured on camera?
What the heck...? We've got our mountain lion, by Jove! Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management
Well, we just had to do it! Crew member Chris wore her cool lion hat so we could finally get a ‘lion’ on camera! That's who is in the photo above!
Since the Cosumnes River Preserve’s mountain lion camera project is coming to an end at the end of March 2018 we thought it would be fitting to get at least one large feline caught…..on camera!
Behind the scenes -
How we did it. Crew member Chris carefully approaches a trail camera and gets her 'lion' on! Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management
What's this? Another mountain lion in the bushes, quietly observing us! We won't know if it's the same one we caught on camera until we compare the DNA! Erin Hauge
We ended the day with grins - a happy crew and a bunch of lions.
Mountain lion camera crew members Erin, Duane, Elizabeth, Chris and Richard. Courtesy of Kyle Bowlin
Four mountain lions and a concerned deer. Can you find the worried deer here? Courtesy of Kyle Bowlin
Critter Camera Captures
Bobcat. This could be a juvenile, perhaps one of the kittens we caught on camera in November. Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management
Two Wood ducks floating by the camera. This is the same camera that took the bobcat picture above, just 3 days earlier. Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management
A mallard pair checking out the new waterworks in front of one of our cameras. Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management
Coyote moseying by the camera earlier this year. The same camera that shows the mallard pair above paddling by just last week! Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management
A final view of the mysterious lion caught on our cameras this week! Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management
Erin Hauge has been a volunteer naturalist at the Cosumnes River Preserve since 2014. She enjoys staffing the Visitor Center and interacting with the many visitors who stop at the Preserve to learn about the area and take in its quiet waterways, scenic landscapes and accessible hiking trails. She joined the Mountain Lion Camera Project in 2014, then under the direction of the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Fish and Wildlife. In 2015, the project went to all volunteer capacity. Erin became the team leader, and currently directs a committed and exceptional crew on the continuing mission to capture a mountain lion on a Preserve trail camera with valuable oversight and support from the Bureau of Land Management. Erin is a Certified California Naturalist and is currently earning certification as a Field Ecologist.