Alamo • Danville • Blackhawk • Diablo • San Ramon
VALLEY
Find out what’s new in the Valley at
THE
SENTINEL always for the community VOl 22 nO 3
www.valleysentinel.com
Arts • Activities • Auto • Business • Gardening • Seniors and more...
March 2017
www.valleysentinel.com
SPOTLIGHT
St. Marys CYO Boys National 8th Grade Basketball Team Champions, West Diablo League
ECRWSS
Postal Customer
PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID DANVILLE, CA PERMIT NO. 70
After several years of playing together, the St. Mary’s Boys 8th Grade team won the league championship played at Tice Valley, on Feb 25-26. They finished the regular season 9 and 1. Pictured left to right front row: Chad Butler, Jalen Terry, Josh Liu, Jack Millette, Kirk Wilson, Troy DelaVega, Luke Wood, Ethan Clymer, and Head Coach Alan Summers. Back row left to right: Grant Summers, Myles Pappas, Ryan Kenny, Assistant Coach Joe Millette, Assistant Coach Ellen Liu. The boys will be moving on to The Tournament of Champions. Well done boys!
Sentinel Newspapers, Inc. 390 Diablo Road, Ste. 145 Danville, CA 94526 925-820-6047
With our exceptionally wet winter this year we can expect to see breathtaking displays of Spring wildflowers out in our parks and open spaces in the coming weeks. This photo was taken last March in Skunk Hollow on Mt. Diablo. The photographer might be recognizable by the dramatic cloud displays on the Mountain, as none other than Stephen Joseph. You can visit his gallery Sundays 12-4pm at Summit Ranch, 100 Summit Ranch Rd. in Alamo. Visit www.stephenjosephphoto.gallery for more information.
Here comes Audobon’s Cottontail By James Hale Audubon’s Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), also known as the Desert Cottontail, is found at lower elevations throughout the western United States from Montana down through California into central Mexico. It is closely related to Nuttall’s Cottontail or the Mountain Cottontail, and the Brush Rabbit. Audubon’s Cottontail is particularly associated with the desert-like grasslands of the American southwest, occurring up to 6,600 feet in elevation, although they can be found in less arid habitats such as brushlands, orchards, oak woodlands, pine forests, and mixed evergreen forests. They are found widespread and common in Contra Costa County. The tribute to John James Audubon in its common name is appropriate. Audubon, who was best known as an expert on birds, contributed detailed, descriptive accounts on American mammals as well.
Audubon’s Cottontail is a light grayish-brown above, sometimes with a yellowish wash on the sides, and a white belly and underside. Rusty highlights accent the throat and upper forelegs. The white cottontail is dark above. Audubon’s Cottontail has sparsely furred ears which are longer, up to four inches in length, than Nuttall’s Cottontail. They may reach 18 inches in length and up to 3.5 pounds in weight. Females tend to be larger than the males. During the
winter, Audubon’s Cottontails are most active during the day. During summer, they are most active between sunset and sunrise. Foraging in low light conditions is an adaptive strategy which offers some measure of protection against predators. When pursued by predators, they dodge and zig-zag at high speeds, up to 20 m.p.h., until they reach protective cover. Audubon’s Cottontail uses abandoned burrows of ground squirrels and other fossorial
This month’s Special Sections: Kids’ Camps page 7 Spring Home & Garden pages 8-9
or burrowing mammals during the day to rest or avoid inclement weather. Males have larger home ranges than females, averaging 15 acres compared to 1 acre. Audubon’s Cottontail feeds on the succulent tips of grasses, forbs, sagebrush, cultivated plants, fruit, as well as the tender branches of shrubs, which are consumed more frequently during winter. They rarely need to drink, getting most of their water metabolically from the plants they eat, or dew. Their kidneys are designed to retain more water and concentrate salts to reduce water loss in the urine, an adaptation for life in arid environments. Like most lagomorphs (rabbits and hares), Audubon’s Cottontails are coprophagic, re-ingesting See COTTONTAIL page 8