California’s round-tailed ground squirrel reports center on the low, hot southeast, where open desert flats and sandy washes allow burrowing. The Salton Sea area fits that setting; the Klamath Basin and San Francisco Bay entries are much less representative of the species’ California footprint.
Records build quickly from February and peak in June before falling through late summer. November and December are almost empty, matching months when above-ground activity is harder to detect. The spring pattern also reflects when desert visitors and survey crews are looking, so it can’t measure squirrel numbers.
Full species profile
