The tracking team of Blue Sky Canyon Ecological Reserve

Friends Of Blue Sky Canyon
P.O. BOX 733
Poway, CA 92074

The Blue Sky Tracking Team

Formed in the spring of 2006 with more than a dozen members, the Blue Sky Tracking Team is sponsored by Friends of Blue Sky Canyon. The primary focus of the BSTT is to monitor local wildlife, thereby promoting the preservation of wildlife habitat in Blue Sky and the surrounding areas. In conjunction with the San Diego Tracking Team, quarterly wildlife surveys are conducted along designated transects to monitor the presence or absence of key wildlife species. (photo: some of our members)

Membership in the BSTT is open to anyone with an interest and desire to help preserve and protect the flora and fauna of Blue Sky and the surrounding area. There is no charge to become a member, and tracker/naturalist training (a requirement for performing wildlife surveys) is available for free and/or a low cost through the San Diego Tracking Team.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Blue Sky Tracking Team, please contact the team leader, Anna Gateley-Stanton, at ags@san.rr.com.

Notes re: Findings During Transect Surveys

7-23-06
Our first survey was held on a day when the temperature was well over 100 degrees, but four dedicated trackers pushed on and completed the survey. We found very few tracks because most of the substrate consisted of decomposed granite, but lots of scat and browse was located. Altogether, we documented coyote, mule deer, bobcat, gray fox, and raccoon, and noted the presence of skunks, cottontails, grounds squirrels, and small rodents. (photo: kangaroo rat tracks)

11-4-06
Seven trackers performed our survey. We had an exciting day (it was Ginni's first transect ever...good job Ginni) as we found a coast horned lizard (which is not something we survey for, but was exciting nonetheless) a couple of woodrat nests (which we hadn't noticed before...I guess it helps to have lots of extra pairs of eyes after all), and mountain lion scat and what we were fairly sure were tracks (we could not find any clear prints...just large disturbances on the ground before the scat and after, which happened to be spaced just the right distance apart). (photo: mountain lion scat)

2-17-07
The latest Blue Sky transect survey was held Feb. 17 and we had 5 people. We documented the expected species, and this time we found two coast horned lizards (one was an adult and the other was a smaller youngster). We found a few more woodrat nests and a rather large snake skin that had been shed. We also found what I was pretty sure was a mountain lion track a little ways west from where we found the mountain lion scat on the previous transect. Unfortunately, the track was in DG and not perfectly clear. The photos did not turn out well as there was next to no contrast.

(photo: stotting deer stride tracks)

photo: deer tracks