Comments on: Poll: Wildlife you’ve seen on the trail http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/ Tom Mangan's Bay Area Hiking Blog Sat, 17 May 2008 05:59:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: gambolin man http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5770 gambolin man Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:35:21 +0000 http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5770 ODD or RARE Wild Life I have spotted on the trail: - Rubber Boa snake (North Fork American River wilds) - Horned Lark (Briones Regional Park) - Great Horned Owl (Briones Reservoir) - 3-legged coyote (Santa Cruz mountains) - 30 lb. bobcat loping lackadaisically several feet in front of me whie riding my mountain bike (Henry Coe) - Mountain Lion (Briones Regional Park) - 500 lb. bear standing and sniffing on two legs 50 ft. in front of me at a bend in the trail (Pacific Crest Trail, Trinity Alps) - Coral snake (North Fork American River wilds) - Condors OH YEAH, can't forget about: - Antelope jackrabbit (Utah) - Pronghorn antelope (Utah) ODD or RARE Wild Life I have spotted on the trail:

- Rubber Boa snake (North Fork American River wilds)
- Horned Lark (Briones Regional Park)
- Great Horned Owl (Briones Reservoir)
- 3-legged coyote (Santa Cruz mountains)
- 30 lb. bobcat loping lackadaisically several feet in front of me whie riding my mountain bike (Henry Coe)
- Mountain Lion (Briones Regional Park)
- 500 lb. bear standing and sniffing on two legs 50 ft. in front of me at a bend in the trail (Pacific Crest Trail, Trinity Alps)
- Coral snake (North Fork American River wilds)
- Condors

OH YEAH, can’t forget about:

- Antelope jackrabbit (Utah)
- Pronghorn antelope (Utah)

]]> By: gambolin man http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5768 gambolin man Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:28:46 +0000 http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5768 ODD or RARE Wild Life I have spotted on the trail: - Rubber Boa snake (North Fork American River wilds) - Horned Lark (Briones Regional Park) - Great Horned Owl (Briones Reservoir) - 3-legged coyote (Santa Cruz mountains) - 30 lb. bobcat loping lackadaisically several feet in front of me whie riding my mountain bike (Henry Coe) - Mountain Lion (Briones Regional Park) - 500 lb. bear standing and sniffing on two legs 50 ft. in front of me at a bend in the trail (Pacific Crest Trail, Trinity Alps) - Coral snake (North Fork American River wilds) - Condors ODD or RARE Wild Life I have spotted on the trail:

- Rubber Boa snake (North Fork American River wilds)
- Horned Lark (Briones Regional Park)
- Great Horned Owl (Briones Reservoir)
- 3-legged coyote (Santa Cruz mountains)
- 30 lb. bobcat loping lackadaisically several feet in front of me whie riding my mountain bike (Henry Coe)
- Mountain Lion (Briones Regional Park)
- 500 lb. bear standing and sniffing on two legs 50 ft. in front of me at a bend in the trail (Pacific Crest Trail, Trinity Alps)
- Coral snake (North Fork American River wilds)
- Condors

]]> By: cheflovesbeer http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5755 cheflovesbeer Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:09:55 +0000 http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5755 No coyotes, wolfs, or bobcats. I did have an interesting encounter with a skunk last year. I sleep under a tarp. That means things can crawl under them. I woke up to a skunk chewing on my snack bag.(no bears in the area) It is hard to decide how to scare a skunk away in such a small space. I shooed it out of one side of my tarp. Moments later, it was back in the other side. I had to pack up after it came back three times. Nobody wants to get skunked. No coyotes, wolfs, or bobcats.

I did have an interesting encounter with a skunk last year. I sleep under a tarp. That means things can crawl under them. I woke up to a skunk chewing on my snack bag.(no bears in the area) It is hard to decide how to scare a skunk away in such a small space. I shooed it out of one side of my tarp. Moments later, it was back in the other side. I had to pack up after it came back three times. Nobody wants to get skunked.

]]> By: Gambolin Man http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5750 Gambolin Man Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:41:43 +0000 http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5750 Russ, helluva heartwrenching story. Russ, helluva heartwrenching story.

]]> By: baychic http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5749 baychic Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:42:40 +0000 http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5749 The more I thought about my life, the more I realized that I have actually seen a black bear crossing the road near Huntington Lake...bald eagles, mostly near Flathead Lake, Montana-but also at Millerton Lake near Fresno, ca. Of course, condors at High Peaks at Pinnacles; coyotes crossing the road near my uncle's house, along with tarantulas in the grapevines. My favorite tarantula story was when I was about 12, in Bryce Canyon, and we got out of the car and watched it cross the road safely in the canyon. Really cool. Oh, and I saw a rattler at Almaden Quicksilver, a garden snake at Grant, and a California King Snake at Arastradero. sweet. The more I thought about my life, the more I realized that I have actually seen a black bear crossing the road near Huntington Lake…bald eagles, mostly near Flathead Lake, Montana-but also at Millerton Lake near Fresno, ca. Of course, condors at High Peaks at Pinnacles; coyotes crossing the road near my uncle’s house, along with tarantulas in the grapevines. My favorite tarantula story was when I was about 12, in Bryce Canyon, and we got out of the car and watched it cross the road safely in the canyon. Really cool.
Oh, and I saw a rattler at Almaden Quicksilver, a garden snake at Grant, and a California King Snake at Arastradero. sweet.

]]> By: Frank http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5745 Frank Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:33:20 +0000 http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5745 None of these in Australia, but in Tasmania where I backpack a lot there are some great Tiger Snakes! Also often see Wedge Tailed Eagles, Tassie Devils, Wombats and Quolls........... None of these in Australia, but in Tasmania where I backpack a lot there are some great Tiger Snakes!
Also often see Wedge Tailed Eagles, Tassie Devils, Wombats and Quolls………..

]]> By: winehiker http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5744 winehiker Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:31:43 +0000 http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5744 gambolin' man, I was 9 years old and walking one morning with my 4th-grade class on Cabrillo Avenue in Santa Clara from Bowers Elementary to a concert at Juan Cabrillo Middle School. We all heard a sound coming from a tree lining the edge of Bowers Park and looked up to see a Great Horned Owl - the first owl many of us had ever seen. Fortunately our teacher knew what it was, but in retrospect, its size - and its eyes - made it unmistakable. I later saw a Great Horned Owl get hit by a jeep on the road out of Canyonlands NP. I knew I couldn't do much about it, but I stopped anyway, put on some gloves, grabbed some newspaper, and removed it from the roadway. I saw the light fading from its luminous yellow eyes, and it died right there in my arms. I buried it that evening in camp, but I still keep one of its primaries to remind me of that morning in the Utah desert. gambolin’ man,

I was 9 years old and walking one morning with my 4th-grade class on Cabrillo Avenue in Santa Clara from Bowers Elementary to a concert at Juan Cabrillo Middle School. We all heard a sound coming from a tree lining the edge of Bowers Park and looked up to see a Great Horned Owl - the first owl many of us had ever seen. Fortunately our teacher knew what it was, but in retrospect, its size - and its eyes - made it unmistakable.

I later saw a Great Horned Owl get hit by a jeep on the road out of Canyonlands NP. I knew I couldn’t do much about it, but I stopped anyway, put on some gloves, grabbed some newspaper, and removed it from the roadway. I saw the light fading from its luminous yellow eyes, and it died right there in my arms. I buried it that evening in camp, but I still keep one of its primaries to remind me of that morning in the Utah desert.

]]> By: Danny http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5742 Danny Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:42:14 +0000 http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5742 I'd rather encounter a bear than a mountain lion ... as long as it's a black bear and not a grizzly. Once, when I was jogging on the trails at Montana de Oro State Park, a coyote started running along with me, like my dog does now. That was cool, even though it didn't stay long. It was also there that I saw grey whales. I’d rather encounter a bear than a mountain lion … as long as it’s a black bear and not a grizzly.

Once, when I was jogging on the trails at Montana de Oro State Park, a coyote started running along with me, like my dog does now. That was cool, even though it didn’t stay long. It was also there that I saw grey whales.

]]> By: gambolin man http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5741 gambolin man Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:34:01 +0000 http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5741 A few weeks ago, toward the early evening around 6 pm, I caught a prolonged first-time ever (in the Bay Area) glimpse of a Great Horned Owl flying and the settling to roost for about three minutes on a tree limb, at Briones Reservoir. Luckily, I had my binos handy, to zoom in on this wondrous animal. It was quite a sighting! Has anyone ever spotted one of these guys in Bay Area Wild before? A few weeks ago, toward the early evening around 6 pm, I caught a prolonged first-time ever (in the Bay Area) glimpse of a Great Horned Owl flying and the settling to roost for about three minutes on a tree limb, at Briones Reservoir. Luckily, I had my binos handy, to zoom in on this wondrous animal. It was quite a sighting!

Has anyone ever spotted one of these guys in Bay Area Wild before?

]]> By: Marc http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5740 Marc Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:49:19 +0000 http://www.tommangan.net/twoheeldrive/index.php/2008/04/29/poll-wildlife-youve-seen-on-the-trail/#comment-5740 Otters. Heh! I was hiking down around Monterey along the cliffs and such, and at a small lil hidden cove, I saw a grouping of sea otters floating and search for food. Heh! It was quite adorable. Pictures here: http://web.mac.com/marc.b/iWeb/Zephire%3A%20Eyes%20of%20Experience/Monterey%20weekend_files/IMG_0240.jpg http://web.mac.com/marc.b/iWeb/Zephire%3A%20Eyes%20of%20Experience/Monterey%20weekend_files/IMG_0251.jpg http://web.mac.com/marc.b/iWeb/Zephire%3A%20Eyes%20of%20Experience/Monterey%20weekend_files/IMG_0253.jpg Z. Otters. Heh! I was hiking down around Monterey along the cliffs and such, and at a small lil hidden cove, I saw a grouping of sea otters floating and search for food. Heh! It was quite adorable. Pictures here:

http://web.mac.com/marc.b/iWeb/Zephire%3A%20Eyes%20of%20Experience/Monterey%20weekend_files/IMG_0240.jpg

http://web.mac.com/marc.b/iWeb/Zephire%3A%20Eyes%20of%20Experience/Monterey%20weekend_files/IMG_0251.jpg

http://web.mac.com/marc.b/iWeb/Zephire%3A%20Eyes%20of%20Experience/Monterey%20weekend_files/IMG_0253.jpg

Z.

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