Here are some of the wildlife in Idyllwild caught on the motion sensitive cameras set up in peoples’ back yards. To get a larger of each, just click on the photo your interested in.
Of the large mammals, deer were the most common. However, most of these photos were taken in one area.
Other large to medium mammals captured by the cameras include a mountain lion, bobcats, coyotes, gray foxes, raccoons and rabbits. Many these species are primarily nocturnal so many of the photos are from the night time. However, occasionally they do wander about in early morning or evenings for us to get colored photos of them.
The Most common small mammal was the gray squirrel, showing up many times on all the cameras we set out. Occasionally their ground dwelling California ground squirrel would also be captured. Missing so far from the squirrel family is the California chipmunk. It is just a matter of time before we capture this species on film and will post its photo when we do! The nocturnal San Bernardino Flying squirrel historically was found in the San Jacintos and there is hope that it still does. However, recent records are rare and so if you should hear small animals scurrying across your roof at night, please let us know (Contact Us) as it could be this species.
Of course a variety of birds were also captured by the cameras. Many of them are familiar backyard neighbors that add sound and color to our lives here in Idyllwild. Some are not as common, such as the California quail and mountain quail, both showing up in the same yard! Many species of birds are not represented in these photos for a variety of reasons but still what we have photographed is a presents a nice cross section of the types of birds found in the area.
