Docent Circle: Field Notes Week of 2005-04-04

The Mediterranean climate of the Central Valley and Coast Ranges pushes animals and plants into a flurry of spring activity before the crinkling heat of summer envelops the landscape. Among these is the gentle California tiger salamander. Only recently recognized as a separate species, it has generated intense controversy over the protection of its critically threatened populations. With the first soaking winter rains, adults lay their eggs in seasonally ephemeral grassland ponds. Tiger salamander larvae must metamorphose fast, before their natal pools vaporize in the summer sun. Leaving the water as two to three inch replicas of the adults, the juveniles find safety in moist rodent burrows where they slowly grow in size.

Striped Skunks get to show their sweeter sides for a few moments this month, for this is their mating season. Later in May, four to seven wrinkled, blind, furless young are born in a hollow log or underground chamber. Skunks are omnivorous, eating mice, eggs, insects, grubs, fruit, carrion, and shrews. Great horned owls are predators that commonly eat skunks. The youngsters may be spotted following their mother in single file through woodlands and fields through the summer.

A single Pacific chorus frog emits a cautious "krek eck" and soon dozens of his subordinate rivals join in for an evening of mate-attracting song. Formerly known as tree frogs, Pacific chorus frogs are California's most wide-spread amphibian, ranging from Mojave Desert oases to Sierra peaks. Anytime between January and July when local moisture and temperature are just right, chorus frogs migrate to creeks, puddles, ponda and pools to mate. Females spend only a day or two at these sites, but male frogs hang out for a couple of weeks, singing to establish their territory -- a circle no larger than a throw rug -- and to advertise for successive mates. If you live near a creek, pond, or even a vacant lot full of puddles, open your window on a moist winter evening and listen for the sometimes deafening symphonic choirs of these silver dollar-sized amphibians.

Coyote pairs breed from January to March. Before their pups are born, the pair usually prepares several den sites. They prefer south-facing slopes for dens, digging new holes into the dirt or using abandoned badger burrows. If a den is disturbed or the pair feels threatened, they move quickly to one of their reserve sites. After a gestation period of about two months, a coyote mother produces a litter of perhaps a half dozen pups, typically with only one managing to survive into adulthood. The coyote and his mate both contribute to the support of the litter, although he is not invited into the den or to the dinner table. When the puppies reach a couple of months old, the mother, probably having had enough of coyote babies, teaches her pups to hunt and prepares them for independence.
Supremely adaptable, adventurous, bold and clever, the coyote has expanded its range and increased its population across much of the North American continent. Spindly legged but swift, the coyote wears a coat that runs silvery gray to brown down the back, creamy on the belly, and rusty on its spindly legs. It sports a tail that is black-tipped, much like that of the wolf. A true scavenger and opportunist, the coyote will, "eat almost anything animal or vegetable..." It may hunt in relays with a companion coyote, with the two yipping alternately during a chase. It follows hunting routes that may range well over 10 miles. It may cache uneaten food. Listen for the haunting howl or the excited yipping of the coyote in the evening, in the Laguna.

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