Animals
Thursday, November 14, 2019
CHP, Sheriff's Office Upping the Enforcement Ante on Driving Around Livestock
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Thu, Nov 14, 2019 at 10:04 AM
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and CHP are jointly “beefing up” (their words, not ours) enforcement around and awareness of driving on county roads with livestock crossings.
According to a release, both agencies “CHP have received numerous reports of livestock being struck by motorists” over the last year.
“As a rural county, several Humboldt County roads have easements granting the public passage through otherwise private lands; some of these lands being livestock pastures,” the release states.
“On county roads with easements, livestock have the right of way. While a fence is still needed to keep them on their property, it is not needed to keep them off the section of the road running through the property (often marked by cattle guards).
This does not apply to state highways, where a lawful fence is required, and livestock are not permitted to freely cross,” it continues.
One of the roads where this might occur is Old Briceland Road, which is receiving an upgrade to act as a detour for when the county starts repairs on Briceland Thorn Road, likely at the end of month.
As Marianne Odisio — who delivers mail in the area — says in this week’s Journal “Rough Road Ahead," Old Briceland Road runs through the working cattle ranch and this is calving season.
"For the first few days of a calf's life, they are pretty clueless about vehicles," she said, adding that she’s also worried about the safety of domestic animals and wildlife in the area. "Sometimes ... a newborn calf will be standing on its wobbly little newborn legs in the middle of the road and you will have to slow down or stop until they get safely out of your way."
The release also notes that a driver can face hit and run charges for leaving the scene after striking livestock.
Read the full HCSO and CHP release below:
According to a release, both agencies “CHP have received numerous reports of livestock being struck by motorists” over the last year.
“As a rural county, several Humboldt County roads have easements granting the public passage through otherwise private lands; some of these lands being livestock pastures,” the release states.
“On county roads with easements, livestock have the right of way. While a fence is still needed to keep them on their property, it is not needed to keep them off the section of the road running through the property (often marked by cattle guards).
This does not apply to state highways, where a lawful fence is required, and livestock are not permitted to freely cross,” it continues.
One of the roads where this might occur is Old Briceland Road, which is receiving an upgrade to act as a detour for when the county starts repairs on Briceland Thorn Road, likely at the end of month.
As Marianne Odisio — who delivers mail in the area — says in this week’s Journal “Rough Road Ahead," Old Briceland Road runs through the working cattle ranch and this is calving season.
"For the first few days of a calf's life, they are pretty clueless about vehicles," she said, adding that she’s also worried about the safety of domestic animals and wildlife in the area. "Sometimes ... a newborn calf will be standing on its wobbly little newborn legs in the middle of the road and you will have to slow down or stop until they get safely out of your way."
The release also notes that a driver can face hit and run charges for leaving the scene after striking livestock.
Read the full HCSO and CHP release below:
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Gray Whale Found Washed Up on Agate Beach
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Wed, Nov 6, 2019 at 3:20 PM
A gray whale was discovered washed up on Agate Beach yesterday amid an elevated number of strandings along the west coast of North America this year that has scientists working to uncover the reason for the anomaly.
The adult male’s beaching comes about two weeks after a humpback whale that was found entangled in fishing nets on Samoa beach, resulting in the animal being euthanized after a specialist determined the female would not be able to survive the trauma.
NOAA Fisheries recently declared what is known as an "Unusual Mortality Event," freeing up resources and triggering a multi-faceted scientific review to figure out why gray whales are dying at higher than normal rates.
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 212 stranding were been reported along the coast from Mexico to Alaska, with 121 occurring in a U.S., including 34 in California, according to NOAA’s gray whale Unusual Mortality Event” page.
Dawn Goley, a zoology professor at Humboldt State University and director of the Marine Mammal Education and Research Program and the HSU Marine Mammal Stranding Program, says the parks service reported this most recent beaching.
A team has taken blubber samples and other measurements to be sent to NOAA to help determine the cause of death, although — in this particular case — the whale was already well into the decomposition stage, making it harder to pinpoint why the animal died.
The adult male’s beaching comes about two weeks after a humpback whale that was found entangled in fishing nets on Samoa beach, resulting in the animal being euthanized after a specialist determined the female would not be able to survive the trauma.
NOAA Fisheries recently declared what is known as an "Unusual Mortality Event," freeing up resources and triggering a multi-faceted scientific review to figure out why gray whales are dying at higher than normal rates.
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 212 stranding were been reported along the coast from Mexico to Alaska, with 121 occurring in a U.S., including 34 in California, according to NOAA’s gray whale Unusual Mortality Event” page.
Dawn Goley, a zoology professor at Humboldt State University and director of the Marine Mammal Education and Research Program and the HSU Marine Mammal Stranding Program, says the parks service reported this most recent beaching.
A team has taken blubber samples and other measurements to be sent to NOAA to help determine the cause of death, although — in this particular case — the whale was already well into the decomposition stage, making it harder to pinpoint why the animal died.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Watch Out for Wandering Wildlife in the Roadways
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 10:57 AM
Wildlife is on the move this time of year, which means drivers need to be even more cautious while traveling the region’s rural roads and highways.
According to a joint release from Caltrans and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, vehicle-wildlife collisions “typically peak” this time of year, when animals are migrating to their winter haunts or preparing for hibernation.
“It is vital that drivers be especially alert now through December to avoid collisions with wild animals,” the release states. “These crashes not only harm wildlife, but they can damage vehicles and cause injury and death to drivers and passengers.”
California Highway Patrol stats show 15 people died and 810 people were injured in 4,368 collisions with animals on state, county and local roadways throughout California between 2017 and 2018.
“From September through December, wildlife often exhibit natural behaviors that can increase their movements and activity nearer to humans and roadways,” CDFW Conflict Programs coordinator Vicky Monroe said in the release. “That makes large animals such as deer, bears and mountain lions more likely to be killed or injured by wildlife-vehicle collisions.”
Read the release from Caltrans and CDFW below:
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Rollback of Endangered Species' Protections Raising Fears
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Tue, Aug 13, 2019 at 2:53 PM
The Trump administration’s move to weaken what many see as key aspects of the Endangered Species Act is garnering outrage and pushback, with critics fearing a greater deterioration of the natural world amid the planet’s growing biodiversity crisis.
Credited with saving the bald eagle — among many iconic species, including several on the North Coast — and giving others — like the condor — a fighting chance, the ESA was enacted in 1973 by then-President Richard Nixon.
That year, fewer than 500 pairs of the United States’ national symbol were left in the wild while today some 10,000 sets of the stealth raptors with a distinctive snowy white head are found just in the lower 48 states alone.
While the ESA has seen many successes over the years, the rollbacks expected to be enacted soon come on the heels of a United Nation’s report released in May that found “the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world.”
According to an Aug. 12 joint announcement from U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the ESA regulatory changes are “designed to increase transparency and effectiveness and bring the administration of the Act into the 21st century.”
“The best way to uphold the Endangered Species Act is to do everything we can to ensure it remains effective in achieving its ultimate goal —recovery of our rarest species. The Act’s effectiveness rests on clear, consistent and efficient implementation,” U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, an attorney and former oil industry lobbyist, said in the release. “An effectively administered Act ensures more resources can go where they will do the most good: on-the-ground conservation.”
Meanwhile, conservation organizations like Center Biological Diversity are sounding the alarm bells about what these changes could spell for already at-risk species like the polar bear and are mounting a campaign to reverse the alterations.
“We can stop this disaster, but it's going to require pulling out every stop,” a post on the center’s website states. “Tell your member of Congress to do everything in their power to defend wildlife and uphold the Endangered Species Act in this time of extinction crisis.
Read the USFW and NOAA release below:
Credited with saving the bald eagle — among many iconic species, including several on the North Coast — and giving others — like the condor — a fighting chance, the ESA was enacted in 1973 by then-President Richard Nixon.
That year, fewer than 500 pairs of the United States’ national symbol were left in the wild while today some 10,000 sets of the stealth raptors with a distinctive snowy white head are found just in the lower 48 states alone.
While the ESA has seen many successes over the years, the rollbacks expected to be enacted soon come on the heels of a United Nation’s report released in May that found “the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world.”
According to an Aug. 12 joint announcement from U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the ESA regulatory changes are “designed to increase transparency and effectiveness and bring the administration of the Act into the 21st century.”
“The best way to uphold the Endangered Species Act is to do everything we can to ensure it remains effective in achieving its ultimate goal —recovery of our rarest species. The Act’s effectiveness rests on clear, consistent and efficient implementation,” U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, an attorney and former oil industry lobbyist, said in the release. “An effectively administered Act ensures more resources can go where they will do the most good: on-the-ground conservation.”
Meanwhile, conservation organizations like Center Biological Diversity are sounding the alarm bells about what these changes could spell for already at-risk species like the polar bear and are mounting a campaign to reverse the alterations.
“We can stop this disaster, but it's going to require pulling out every stop,” a post on the center’s website states. “Tell your member of Congress to do everything in their power to defend wildlife and uphold the Endangered Species Act in this time of extinction crisis.
Read the USFW and NOAA release below:
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
North Coast Night Lights: Unexpected Magic: Rabbit Stargazer
Posted By David Wilson on Wed, Aug 7, 2019 at 10:46 AM
What makes a photograph special isn’t always what was planned but what happens instead. Of course, sometimes what happens instead can make a mess of things. One has no choice in the matter, but it seems to me that if I’m open to the possibility that something unexpected can make the photo better then delightful surprises will occasionally find me and enter my images.
It doesn’t always happen. Sometimes an outing ends with nothing good. And that is OK. I’ve awakened before dawn and gone out numerous times without bringing home an exciting image. But I don’t feel disappointed at those times because they are only the flip side; I feel the balance that exists and I know that the times when I bring nothing back get me that much closer to the next time that magic will enter the image and give me something special. Is it magic when it happens? Luck? Or just plain probability? I don’t know but it works for me, and I am grateful for it and like working with it.
A bit of the magic hopped into the frame one August night in 2016 while photographing the Perseid meteor shower. When I discovered it later, it instantly became the star of my evening’s photos for me. I was photographing from a friend’s house who lived far from city lights. In a darker area over a little hill away from the house lights I’d set up my camera and programmed its intervalometer to take long exposure photographs one after another.
While the camera photographed, we watched the skies from a location nearer the house and the conveniences of deck chairs and refreshments. I had no idea that a curious furry little critter had come out to watch the stars near my camera until I looked through the images the next day. If I hadn’t been away from my camera s/he wouldn’t have come.
The rabbit sat by my camera for almost six minutes while the camera took pictures. Each photograph was a 30-second exposure, and the rabbit appeared in eleven of them, mostly sitting and looking this way and that in the starry night. It sat fairly still in some of the images, but in others it moved while the shutter was open, becoming streaks or leaving ghost images of its silhouette. Was s/he watching the shooting stars, drawn out by the magic of a meteor shower as I was? I fancy s/he was sharing the wonder of the night sky so full of stars and meteors, airplanes and satellites. Or was it perhaps watching the camera, wondering what that contraption was which sat upon metal legs and clicked every 30 seconds?
The Perseid meteor shower will peak the night of Aug. 12-13, 2019, but with fewer meteors per hour than usual as a bright moon will wash out the dimmer streaks.
To keep abreast of David Wilson’s most current photography or peer into its past, visit and contact him at his website mindscapefx.com or follow him on Instagram at @david_wilson_mfx .
It doesn’t always happen. Sometimes an outing ends with nothing good. And that is OK. I’ve awakened before dawn and gone out numerous times without bringing home an exciting image. But I don’t feel disappointed at those times because they are only the flip side; I feel the balance that exists and I know that the times when I bring nothing back get me that much closer to the next time that magic will enter the image and give me something special. Is it magic when it happens? Luck? Or just plain probability? I don’t know but it works for me, and I am grateful for it and like working with it.
A bit of the magic hopped into the frame one August night in 2016 while photographing the Perseid meteor shower. When I discovered it later, it instantly became the star of my evening’s photos for me. I was photographing from a friend’s house who lived far from city lights. In a darker area over a little hill away from the house lights I’d set up my camera and programmed its intervalometer to take long exposure photographs one after another.
While the camera photographed, we watched the skies from a location nearer the house and the conveniences of deck chairs and refreshments. I had no idea that a curious furry little critter had come out to watch the stars near my camera until I looked through the images the next day. If I hadn’t been away from my camera s/he wouldn’t have come.
The rabbit sat by my camera for almost six minutes while the camera took pictures. Each photograph was a 30-second exposure, and the rabbit appeared in eleven of them, mostly sitting and looking this way and that in the starry night. It sat fairly still in some of the images, but in others it moved while the shutter was open, becoming streaks or leaving ghost images of its silhouette. Was s/he watching the shooting stars, drawn out by the magic of a meteor shower as I was? I fancy s/he was sharing the wonder of the night sky so full of stars and meteors, airplanes and satellites. Or was it perhaps watching the camera, wondering what that contraption was which sat upon metal legs and clicked every 30 seconds?
The Perseid meteor shower will peak the night of Aug. 12-13, 2019, but with fewer meteors per hour than usual as a bright moon will wash out the dimmer streaks.
To keep abreast of David Wilson’s most current photography or peer into its past, visit and contact him at his website mindscapefx.com or follow him on Instagram at @david_wilson_mfx .
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
North Coast Night Lights: A Humboldt Commute
Posted By David Wilson on Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 3:36 PM
I was where I wanted to be, out beneath the moonless night sky overlooking the Redwood Highway, watching others passing through the night on their separate journeys to their own destinations. What a wonderfully beautiful commute they had, I thought: redwood forests, clear air, the rivers, perhaps the rugged coast. Lucky we are to live here.
Sometimes you have to stop and get out of the car to see it. It was a shame the travelers couldn’t see much of this amazing night from inside their bubbles of light. The stars were crystal clear, pinprick sharp against the black backdrop of space. The giant of our solar system, Jupiter was the brightest point in the sky. Not far away rested Saturn, the second largest of our sister planets. Between them stretched the great Milky Way.
But if they couldn’t see much of the world’s beauty beyond the lights of their vehicles, the people passing in their cars were active participants in my own view of the night’s magic. Every car or truck streaking past cast its stroke of light upon the canvas before me. Now the bright beams of a truck, next a small car’s weak lights, but each filling the foreground with light and detail in different ways. They were painting my scene in with light, spreading their illumination and color upon the landscape like paint onto a canvas.
Sometimes you have to stop and get out of the car to see it. It was a shame the travelers couldn’t see much of this amazing night from inside their bubbles of light. The stars were crystal clear, pinprick sharp against the black backdrop of space. The giant of our solar system, Jupiter was the brightest point in the sky. Not far away rested Saturn, the second largest of our sister planets. Between them stretched the great Milky Way.
But if they couldn’t see much of the world’s beauty beyond the lights of their vehicles, the people passing in their cars were active participants in my own view of the night’s magic. Every car or truck streaking past cast its stroke of light upon the canvas before me. Now the bright beams of a truck, next a small car’s weak lights, but each filling the foreground with light and detail in different ways. They were painting my scene in with light, spreading their illumination and color upon the landscape like paint onto a canvas.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Barney the Old Town Horse Has Died
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Tue, Jul 30, 2019 at 10:38 AM
Blue Ox Historic Village announced on its Facebook page last night that “Barney,” the Old Town Carriage Co. draft horse, died unexpectedly over the weekend.
According to the short post, Barney had been treated for a variety of ailments of late but “it appears that there was some type of neurological issue that came on suddenly.”
A well-known sight on Old Town streets with his hoofs making a clip-clop sound as he sauntered slowly along, Barney was almost 20.
Read the Blue Ox post below:
According to the short post, Barney had been treated for a variety of ailments of late but “it appears that there was some type of neurological issue that came on suddenly.”
A well-known sight on Old Town streets with his hoofs making a clip-clop sound as he sauntered slowly along, Barney was almost 20.
Read the Blue Ox post below:
A Sad Day at Blue Ox: Barney, the Old Town Carriage Company draft horse passed away unexpectedly last Saturday. Brendon, Barney's owner, worked with Barney for some time, trying to figure out what was wrong. He was treated for an abscess in his foot, then for colic, but It appears that there was some type of neurological issue that came on suddenly. Barney was almost 20 years old ~ though he seemed much younger!
Barney was a stunningly gorgeous animal, much loved by many ~ including Nina our mare! It is a very lonely place without his huge presence.
We invite people that have pictures of Barney to forward them to us, either here on Facebook, or by email. We will be making a display to share with everyone.
Monday, July 8, 2019
Oh, Deer!
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Mon, Jul 8, 2019 at 10:20 AM
A fawn whose mother was killed by a car on State Route 36 was cared for at the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office today after a passerby brought the young deer in.
According to a post on the HCSO Facebook page, the young deer spent the morning hanging out in the sergeant’s office before being taken to a local wildlife center for evaluation.
Friday, July 5, 2019
Benbow Eaglet Faces Close Call With Fire
Posted By Kym Kemp on Fri, Jul 5, 2019 at 10:05 PM
Southern Humboldt County nature lovers were very concerned today as a wildfire burning in the Benbow area closed in on a nest holding a 12-week-old eaglet that has not yet taken to flight.
“It was really close, and the helicopter was buzzing right past the nest,” said nature photographer Talia Rose, who runs the popular nature photography Facebook page, County Line Wild. “[B]oth parents were absent from the valley … .”
Rose, who frequently photographs the eagle family, said during that the firefight, as the helicopter was buzzing nearby, the eaglet “was sitting up tall but tense and frozen in the nest … .”
Firefighters from Cal Fire, Garberville and Redway VFDs as well as an inmate crew managed to get to the difficult to access fire and stop its forward progress by about 6:30 p.m.
She said the eaglet barely moved “until about 20 minutes after the helicopter left the valley …. .” Then, she said, “it finally moved around the nest a bit. I think it will be fine and thank god this fire did not start in the middle of the night.”
Firefighters expect to be mopping up until 11 p.m.
Friday, May 31, 2019
UPDATED: Orcas Spotted in Humboldt Bay (With Video)
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Fri, May 31, 2019 at 10:00 AM
UPDATE:
Biologist Mike Kelly, who writes the column “Washed Up” for the North Coast Journal, reported via Twitter that he also caught sight of one of the orcas but apparently missed seeing the pod catch a sea lion.
“The remaining sea lions did seem nervous,” he says, showing a picture of several huddled on a buoy at the bay entrance.
All in all, it seems it was a busy day for marine mammals around the jetty.
Kelly also reports seeing harbor porpoises, a gray whale and some other sea lions that hadn’t gotten the memo on the orcas, which appeared in Humboldt Bay just one day before the beginning of Orca Month.
A rare treat greeted some lucky folks this morning, when seven orcas were spotted by the captain of the Madaket.
According to a Facebook post, the whales were seen over by the county boat ramp on the North Spit by Capt. Cody Hills, who was aboard the survey boat Eagle.
Biologist Mike Kelly, who writes the column “Washed Up” for the North Coast Journal, reported via Twitter that he also caught sight of one of the orcas but apparently missed seeing the pod catch a sea lion.
“The remaining sea lions did seem nervous,” he says, showing a picture of several huddled on a buoy at the bay entrance.
All in all, it seems it was a busy day for marine mammals around the jetty.
Kelly also reports seeing harbor porpoises, a gray whale and some other sea lions that hadn’t gotten the memo on the orcas, which appeared in Humboldt Bay just one day before the beginning of Orca Month.
PREVIOUS:Other marine mammals around the Humboldt Bay jetties after the orca action included a couple of harbor porpoises, a gray whale and these California sea lions that didn't seem clued in about the orcas... pic.twitter.com/HH6smYxwMP
— Mike Kelly (@MSidKelly) May 31, 2019
A rare treat greeted some lucky folks this morning, when seven orcas were spotted by the captain of the Madaket.
According to a Facebook post, the whales were seen over by the county boat ramp on the North Spit by Capt. Cody Hills, who was aboard the survey boat Eagle.
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