Friday, 8:33-10:55 am. Summer survey. no newts, no other roadkill.
Coverage: Jones trailhead to the second stop sign. I walked with @anudibranchmom.
Traffic - 30 cars, 16 trucks, 1 motorcycle, 8 bikes, 4 pedestrians, 22 parked cars.
It was a nice a walk for Gall Week, documenting plenty of galls on the way.
Before we got back we noticed dozens of winged ant queens (alates) on the road. They were alive, but all were missing their abdomens. Then we noticed a few species of large dragonflies dropping them off on the road in mid-air. They were probably hunting these flying queens, and didn't even bother eating the parts they didn't like...
My observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=37.33396479613034&nelng=-121.71807222918218&on=2024-09-13&swlat=37.05610479266603&swlng=-122.11358004168218&user_id=merav