These bats are rare, small, and nocturnal so they're hard to spot. But you can recognize one by its long ears, almost as long as the rest of its body. Many residents of the Sierra are also eating madly, including the marmot and the golden mantled ground squirrel. The furry summer antlers of the mule deer are beginning to harden and soon the ruminants will rub off the velvety, outer layer. In the months to come, bucks will use their antlers to fight over females.
Woodpeckers live in colonies, which use the same storage trees year after year.
Many passerines , or perching birds, are passing through northern California on their way to Central and South America for the winter. September Spot impressive flocks of white pelicans this month at Grizzly Island Wildlife Area on Suisun Marsh. This expansive and important estuarine marsh supports California's largest population of river otters . Point Reyes Bird Observatory near Bolinas is one of the few full-time ornithological research stations in the United States. At PRBO, ornithologists and volunteers study migration patterns and population fluctuations.