Summertime, and the Living Isn’t Necessarily Easy Out There. Still . . .

. . . "The Watershed is full of babies at this time of year."  

So says Watershed Keeper Sarah Lenz. There are fawns, downy baby quail, bald eagle chicks, small fox cubs, and more, all venturing toward independence from their parents and life on their own—in the watershed or elsewhere. Here are a couple of images of this year’s new young residents.

The bald eaglets will be flying and hunting in and near their watershed birthplace for the next several months before they move on. They'll keep that dark brownish mottled color for the next few years before they acquire the adult’s distinctive white head. This is the sixth year in a row that the breeding adult pair has nested and reproduced on the watershed.  

Here, a  gray fox pup explores the tall grassland. These solitary nocturnal animals are the only wild canine species in the U.S. that can climb trees. During the day, they tend to keep to tree hollows or other other secretive spots. So any sighting  is lucky, especially a view of the babies.   

Thanks to Sarah for sharing her look with us. 

The Peninsula Watershed is home to more than 50 different mammals and 165 bird species as well as amphibians, reptiles, butterflies and other organisms that thrive on the 23,000 acres of long-protected and diverse native habitat.