Alamo • Danville • Blackhawk • Diablo • San Ramon
VALLEY
Inside this month...
THE
SENTINEL always for the community VOl 20, nO 8
Look inside
for this Activity Guide
East Bay Regional Park District Regional in Nature Activity Guide
Protecting Wildcat Creek Return of the Monarch Butterflies Winter Wonderland at the Tilden Carousel
October 2015
www.valleysentinel.com
Free Outdoor Movie Plus:
SPOTLIGHT
Kayaking, Pole Walking, Bird Watching, Veterans Day Open House at Crab Cove Visitor Center
Moving presentation at 2015 9-11 remembrance
... and many more activities in Your Regional Parks!
By Denise Rousset In soaring heat on the evening of September 11, The Exchange Club of San Ramon Valley along with local veterans’ organizations hosted their annual 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony at the site of the All Wars Memorial in Oak Hill Park on Stone Valley Road in Danville. Hundreds of residents, Veterans, Police, Firefighters, and representatives from patriotic groups came to participate in this important remembrance event. Present among others were Mayors Mike Doyle, Danville, and Bill Clarkson of San Ramon. Danville Town Councilmembers present included
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The Danville Fall Crafts Festival on October 24 and 25 is an opportunity to celebrate the changing seasons with live music, the Toddler Costume Parade and free trick or treating with Hartz Avenue merchants. Hundreds of artists, the fabulous Glass Pumpkin Patch, great food and craft brew are some of the fun features. Presented by the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce, you can get a complete list of activities at www. danvillefallcraftsfestival.com.
Meet The Gray Fox–Tree Climber, Rodent Catcher By James Hale
The Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) is an important wildlife species throughout the United States, and beneficial due to the number of harmful rodents they destroy each year, particularly in agricultural regions. Habitat destruction and human activities have allowed the Red Fox to displace the Gray Fox and become more dominant in some areas. The Gray Fox is an old lineage that first appeared during the mid Pliocene epoch 3.6 million years ago. Two other ancient lineages cluster genetically with the Gray Fox, the east Asian Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and the African Bat-eared Fox (Otocyon megalotis). The grizzled, silvery pelage, accented with red, white and black, distinguish this canid from
others. Its specific epithet cinereoargenteus means ”ashen silver”. The crest of the tail is lined with black and the tip is black. A distinct black spot is on either side of the muzzle. Gray Foxes typically weigh 7 to 16 pounds with the slightly larger male occasionally reaching 20 pounds. Their distinctive ascending cough-like bark is diagnostic. The monogamous Gray Fox mates in late winter or early spring and dens in a variety of places. The den is most commonly in a hollow log or crevice, on a ridge, cliff, or rocky slope, or under cover of brush in woodland. It may be underground in an abandoned burrow of another animal or one that they have excavated. There
are records of Gray Foxes denning in natural tree cavities more than 20 feet high. Three to five young are born usually in April or May, following a gestation period that lasts approximately 53 days. By three months of age the kits begin to hunt with their parents. At four months of age, with permanent dentition, the kits are able to forage on their own. By autumn, after learning from their parents, the kits which have become sexually mature, begin to disperse. The Gray Fox has an acute sense of hearing and keen sense of smell that help them to locate the small rodents that make up much of their diet. They are more omnivorous than other foxes and consume a variety of small animals
including rabbits, birds, lizards, snakes, insects and other invertebrates. In summer, grasshoppers, crickets, and agricultural pests make up much of their diet. Locally, the Darkling Beetle (Eleodes armata) and the Jerusalem Cricket or Potato
This month’s Special Sections:
See FOX page 5
Mind & Body Awareness page 7 Fall Home and Garden pages 8-9