California pocket mouse, Chaetodipus californicus
Three species of rodents came to the cave, but none was a frequent visitor.
The pocket mouse, photographed on three different nights seems to have done a little digging and dust bathing.
Digging and dust bathing in the fine sand.
There is also a series of pictures where the sand magically forms a crater, and our best guess is that a dust bathing pocket mouse was out-of-site doing the work.
The short-tail of this pocket mouse is an aberration due to the angle.
Two long-tailed species of deer mice have been recorded in the area: the Pinyon mouse (P. truei) and the Brush mouse (P. boylei).
The Pinyon mouse also has big ears and a dorsal tail stripe that is less than 1/3rd the circumference of the tail.
This looks like a Pinyon mouse -- and a handsome mouse it is.
Pinyon mouse (Peromyscus truei), a species of foothill woodland and juniper woodland.
Our old freind the dusky-footed wood rat appeared only once.
Dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes)
They are cute little guys! :-) I enjoy your blog and visit it every day.
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