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west of I-580 where both California ground squirrels and cottontail rabbits were occasionally seen. An overview of the,; large almond orchard area east of I-580 was also obtained with , j binoculars from the hillside adjacent to Bird Road across the highway from this area. Inspection of the area under the tree canopy was made by driving different routes through the orchard rows when going to and from track board sites. During the transect walks in search of potential SJKF dens all ground , squirrel burrows were inspected for the presence of small raptor , castings and uric acid deposits, both of which are characteristic of a burrowing owl nest site. Because the burrowing owl is ; active both during the day and at night, the spotlight searched for the SJKF also served as a survey method for this species. It should be noted that the first of these surveys in August was well before the fall southern migration of the Swainson's hawk ; and also at theeriod of the e year when avian populations are . usually at their highest during the recent fledging of the young. This was also within the period of bat presence and activity in . . the Central Valley and well before the migratory and/or hibernation period for these mammals. Bats were searched for at dusk after several afternoon track board checks and during the ° night searchlight surveys. Crevices in the concrete supports of ' the two interstate bridges over Hospital Creek were also inspected for roosting bats along with smaller sites such as the abandon vehicles in the dump area. Structures on the quarry site were not searched, however, because the almost continuous noise, and human disturbance there would appear to preclude bat use. rf- SMcial Status AWatic Vertebrates The large irrigation pond on the eastern edge of the project site t was visually surveyed on five sunny mid-morning visits during I. August,. 1994 , by walking around the entire shoreline and ; * inspecting the area ahead with binoculars for the presence of basking frogs and turtles. The inshore pond area was also ' .. sampled at various sites with a one eight inch mesh dip net in order to determine if red-legged frog larva or newly metamorphosed adults were present. A similar method was used at the stock pond site during visits when cattle were absent. Dip net sampling of this latter pond was also conducted in early January, 1995, after several weeks of rain to see whether any specimens of the California tiger salamander were present. At that time the pond had a water surface area only about one forth that which was present in late August when the Figure 8 photograph was taken, and thus the long handled net sampled well out near the existing pond center. This condition changed dramatically during the last week in January when Hospital Creek overflowed its channel and filled the pond to capacity. Vernal Pool Crustaceans ,-4 As a result of the overflow of Hospital Creek on the segment of the project site west of I-580, several small temporary pools filled within 50 to 100 feet of the upper creek bank. It was interesting to note that none of these filled as a direct result d of rainfall which was exceptionally heavy during the early part . 7- i� b