One of the aspects of my home is location…on what is called the “wild land/urban interface”, or WUI. The western side of Fairfax is surrounded by open space, as the town is at the head of the Ross Valley, surrounded by hills on three sides. This means I get to co-exist with a lot of critters.
Most are delightful, like this fox who explored my deck this morning. A gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus, known for its ability to climb trees. I’ve seen fox a handful of times up on the hill behind my house, but never this close.
What I mostly see are coyote and deer, with the occasional bobcat, raccoon or rabbit. There is a pack of coyote in the area, and I’ve heard them howling at night less than a hundred yards from the house. Sometimes I don’t hear them for months. Other times it’s a nightly serenade.
I’ve written about an annual spring parade of turkeys. And also about cougar in the hills. I’m sure the cougar, bobcats and coyote keep the turkey population under control.
And then there is the rattlesnake population. This 30″ northern pacific rattlesnake has been hanging around my house for years, probably in the drain system (which is a blessing, as it ensures the wood rat population is under control). The second one is smaller, perhaps 20″. I’ve seen both of them this year, crossing the street to hang out in the creek bed, entertaining/terrifying passing cyclists and dog walkers. They may also tuck themselves into the large rocks in the front yard landscaping, I’ve spotted them there too. I’ve considered posting a “rattlesnake crossing” sign.
Wood rats are a problem, as the creek bed is their ideal environment. In 2022, we found two the size of small cats had built a nest in a corner of a garage, churning out little rats that became a nuisance. A live trap solved that problem, as I was able to catch them on subsequent days and release them several miles away near San Geronimo creek, over the hills to the west. Strangely, there was a story a few weeks later from someone in Woodacre reporting that two huge rats had taken up residence in their garage. Coincidence? In any case, that solved the rat problem for a while.
Then I found our pet rattlesnake in the corner of the same garage digesting a big meal last summer. And we found and cleaned out another rat nest with dead offspring, yuck. Shooing the snake out of the garage, I installed a better sweep on the bottom of the garage door, and we seem to have eliminated the wildlife in the house. At least for now.
Every June, the Ross Valley school district imports a herd of goats to clear excess vegetation for fire safety. Not exactly wildlife, but a very entertaining presence for three weeks. Not only does this become a huge petting zoo attraction, but the two dogs that accompany the herds make their presence known all night. Of course the goats attract coyotes, so June is a particularly musical month, sometimes annoyingly so.
(I appreciate the fire suppression! One of the risks of being in the WUI is that a wildfire in west Marin could get blown over the ridges into Fairfax, and we are on the front lines of fire defense. In 2022, the fire department did amazing work up behind my house to eliminate down wood, and we all weed-whack our properties every summer to reduce the hazard.)
The most visible and frequent wild neighbors are the crows and redtail hawks and turkey vultures. Fairfax has a murder of about 60 crows (yes, that’s what a bunch of crows are called) that daily visit the trees and field across the street. Plus I can see a turkey vulture or two cruising somewhere in the valley most of the time, if I look.

Two redtails moved in last winter, building a nest in a big oak above my house. Two months later, there was a third young redtail learning to fly and catch rats in the creek bed. I actually saw it stoop and nail a rat one morning. I wish I had pictures, but they are hard to photograph without a telephoto lens. I will say that I appreciate them most of all as neighbors, even though they announce their presence with authority every morning just before sunrise. They keep an eye on things in a magical way.
Time to publish this, as the crows have arrived.