Tuesday, 10:09-11:59 am. no live newts, 1 dead newts.
Weather: hot
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked with Keith.
We documented 1 dead newt, 2 alligator lizard, a racer, a bee and a wasp, all dead on the road. we usually see all these herps in the spring and in the fall, not in the summer.
Traffic - 37 cars, 13 trucks, 0 motorcycles, 12 bikes, 8 pedestrians, 25 parked cars (2 cars at the farther parking lot).
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=37.21819691211776&nelng=-121.96564810644972&on=2023-08-15&place_id=any&swlat=37.16459130448528&swlng=-122.01645987402784&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

Wednesday, 9:55-11:41 am. no live newts, 3 dead newts.
Weather: nice
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked alone.
I had 3 dead newts and a carpenter ant.
I saw 3 squirrels crossing the road, and later on 2 more individuals, all crossed successfully. I saw a Western Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris) at the exact spot I saw 2 individuals a few years ago, when shortly after one of them was dead on the road. I kept looking for them since and was glad to see one today.
I also documented two birds with their insect prey - a Dark-eyed Junco eating ants, and a California Towhee eating a Timema walking stick.
I didn't see the bald eagle I saw flying above highway 17 yesterday, while driving by.
Traffic - 35 cars, 17 trucks, 2 motorcycles, 5 bikes, 8 pedestrians, 15 parked cars (1 truck at the farther parking lot). It was pretty quiet. A few PG&E trucks and pickups, one Midpen pickup.
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-06-28&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

Wednesday, 9:30-11:10 am. no live newts, 2 dead newts.
Weather: nice
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked alone.
I had 2 newts and a cranefly.
I encountered deer trying to cross the road twice today, bot times cars were driving by. The first was a doe and 2 fawns, the second was a doe.
Traffic - 38 cars, 15 trucks, 0 motorcycles, 3 bikes, 6 pedestrians, 12 parked cars (2 cars at the farther parking lot).
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-05-31&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

This was the last official survey of the season! With 6,511 dead newts, this is our second-highest number so far. We are now at 30,313 dead newts on 4.2 miles of Alma Bridge Rd since 2017.
Thanks everyone for helping out this season (and past)!

I surveyed the north segment from 9:15 to 11 am. The weather was nice, in the lower 60s with light winds.

I found zero newts.

There were 33 cars, 13 trucks, 1 pedestrian, and 5 bicyclists.

Other roadkill was limited to darkling beetles.

Wednesday, 9:00-10:45 am. no live newts, 2 dead newts.
Weather: cold!
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked alone.
I had 2 newts, bees, beetles.
Traffic - 30 cars, 14 trucks, 0 motorcycles, 14 bikes, 2 pedestrians, 38 parked cars (2 cars at the farther parking lot). 20-30 bikes went on the road just before I started.
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-05-24&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

Friday, 9:00-10:45 am. no live newts, 4 dead newts.
Weather: cold in the morning, warm at the end
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked with Keith.
We had 4 newts, 1 juvenile. All very dry. Finally, this season is about to end...
Other roadkills: tree frog, bumble bee, beetles.
Traffic - 48 cars, 9 trucks (including Midpen) 0 motorcycles, 4 bikes, 4 pedestrians, 18 parked cars (2 cars at the farther parking lot).
We talked with two concerned couples about the newts.
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-05-12&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

Friday, 9:00-10:50 am. no live newts, 48 dead newts.
Weather: nice. Light rain most days this week.
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked with Keith.
We had 48 newts, 13 on the hill side, 35 on the reservoir side, including about 6 juveniles.
Other roadkills: slender salamander, bees. I saw two deer dead on 17 on the way to Lexington.
Traffic - 51 cars, 27 trucks (including Midpen, FedEx, tree removal) 0 motorcycles, 6 bikes, 11 pedestrians, 25 parked cars (0 cars at the farther parking lot).
We had a nice conversation with a few ladies traveling through the area, who were very concerned about the newts.
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=37.24705704070262&nelng=-121.91476733889431&on=2023-05-05&place_id=any&swlat=37.152984494638076&swlng=-122.03973682131618&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

I walked from 9:30 to 11:15. The weather was 74 to 84 F with light winds from the south and east.

I saw 0 live newts and only 11 dead newts: 9 on reservoir side, 2 on uphill side. All adults.

There were 64 cars, 21 trucks, 4 bicyclists, and 3 pedestrians.

Other roadkill: darkling beetles, a caterpillar, and several checkerspot butterflies.

There's still water in the Lime Kiln road seep. No eggs.

I talked with several hikers about the project.

Friday, 9:15-13:15 pm. 0 live newts, 11 dead newts.
Weather: nice, a bit cold.
Coverage: from the first stop sign to Aldercroft Heights intersection. I walked alone.
Newts: I had 11 newts, including 1 juvenile. 6 of the newts on the hill side (1 juvenile), and 5 on the reservoir side.
Other roadkills: night snake, toad, fence lizards, moths, butterflies, a scorpion.
Traffic: 46 cars, 4 trucks (USPS), 1 motorcycle, 24 bikes, 2 pedestrians, 0 parked cars (3 cars at the Miller parking lot).
I had a nice conversation with a neighbor about the newts.
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-04-28&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

I walked from 9:40 to 12:15. The weather was warm and sunny-- 61 to 72 F with light winds from the north. It was a nice day to be out.

I saw O live newts, 94 dead newts: 68 on reservoir side, 26 on uphill side. 3 were juveniles (2 on reservoir side, 1 on uphill side), the rest adults.

There were 132 cars, 24 trucks, 12 bicyclists, and 6 pedestrians.

Other roadkill: 3 male fence lizards, a treefrog.

There's still water in the Lime Kiln road seep but I didn't see the egg masses. There's lots of tree frogs there though! They chirp as they jump in the seep. And there's still a lot of pollywogs in the puddle across the road from the Lexington Reservoir Regional Park sign.