Summer weather has been generally mild, so far, on Sonoma Mountain. Peak tick season is behind us.
We have featured a large feral boar several times over the past couple of
years. Assuming this is the same individual, the nickname "Tusky
Boi"
is becoming ever more apt. Here he is with his mouth open to show off the
ivory:
Deer are plentiful and healthy-looking. Many older fawns have fading spots now.
Bucks are still in velvet. I believe this buck shows scars on its
shoulders from the kind of hoof-sparring we highlighted last month.
The smaller nocturnal mammals don't get enough respect, so here is an opossum (one of several we saw this month) and a skunk (the only one this month).
No mountain lions were seen this month, but we had several bobcat sightings at the creek crossing.
Coyote activity was seen on several cameras. This is in the bay laurel grove near the mountaintop.
We haven't seen as many birds on the ground recently. But here is a redtail hawk catching a rodent in an upper mountain meadow.
The controlled grazing on the upper mountain was completed in May. We will continue to monitor impacts.
