May 25, 2023
9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; hazy and cool

I had helped to organize a Steelhead release on campus, as part of a program where elementary school students released trout that they had raised in the classroom. I was able to release a few of the fish, as well, which was fun. And during down time between groups of children, of course I took the opportunity to listen for birds, and do some plant photography.

April 7 through May 2, 2023

May 19, 2023
9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Today, I hosted the annual BioBlitz for my Vertebrate Biology students. We only blitzed for one hour this year, but still had a pretty good day. Collectively, we ended up seeing 142 species in total: 49 Vertebrates, 16 Invertebrates, 1 Fungus, and 76 Plants. The complete list is just below the cut. (My own personal list is at the very bottom of this post, under “Species List).” I didn’t bring my DSLR, so all photos were taken on my iPhone. Not great for wildlife (especially since many of the birds I identified were heard only), but good for plants.

May 12, 2023
Early afternoon, sunny, slight breeze

After our visit to Palomarin, I wanted to take advantage of the fact that we were at Point Reyes, but instead of walking some of the trails, I had a tip from one of the grad students that a Gray Whale had beached or washed up onshore. This was an opportunity to see something unusual (and definitely related to the field of Vertebrate Biology), so, we made the short drive down to Agate Beach to have a look at the remains of this whale.

May 12, 2023
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Once again this year, my Vertebrate Biology students had the opportunity get a glimpse into the amazing work being done by Point Blue Conservation at their Palomarin Field Station when we were given a demonstration of the mist-netting and bird banding they do at the station, to collect valuable information about songbird populations. We all met at the Field Station first thing in the morning, and after an introduction to the work, we set off down the trail to check the system of mist-nets, to see if any birds had been caught. I decided to hang back, rather than hiking the entire route, and I busied myself trying to get some nice photos of birds. There is always such a wonderful diversity of birds here . . . BUT it’s definitely easier to hear them, than to spot them.

May 7, 2023
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

It was time to head home from our trip to the desert, although we did still have one more adventure ahead of us (in addition to a loooooong day of driving). After packing up the vans, and taking the traditional Zzyzx “swings” photo (although the swings are apparently long gone), we headed north to California City, to the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area. A few of us had stopped here last year, and had some fantastic sightings, although the weather was oppressively hot. The weather was much more comfortable this year, and we had even more amazing sightings that on our previous visit! 

May 6, 2023
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Our first stop today was an area of Bajada up a dirt road off of Kelbaker Road. We were able to explore the alluvial fan area, as well as some rocky hills. Wildflowers were abundant (and gorgeous!), and we saw a nice variety of wildlife.

May 6, 2023
8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

On our final night in the Mojave Desert, of course we took one last night drive. Tonight, since several of the folks on the trip opted to not come along, we were able to get into just one van, and headed off down Kelbaker Road. 

May 6, 2023
Late afternoon

Back at the Desert Studies Center, I had some time to spend before dinner and night driving, so I wandered past Lake Tuendae, and then through my favorite part of the site: past the old wading pool, through the strip of vegetation with the rocky hill on one side and Soda Lake on the other. I was pleased with the variety of birds and plants that I saw.

May 6, 2023
1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Back in 2011, this was one of my favorite locations, where I saw a lovely Brown-crested Flycatcher. So, I’d given my students a head’s up that, as soon as we arrived, I was going to wander off on my own to look for birds, and that they should PLEASE not start calling my name unless I’d been gone more than half an hour.

May 5, 2023
3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Because we’d arrived so late at Kelso Dunes, rather than going up to Mid-hills today, I thought we’d be better off trying to find a lava flow area to look for Chuckwalla nearer to Kelbaker Road. Turns out there is a fantastic place literally right next to the road – a spot where some rocky cliffs meet the desert and where, in 2011, we did a night-time walk to look for scorpions and herps. Today, we parked at that spot, and then crossed the road to explore some dark-colored volcanic rock formations. 

May 5, 2023
12 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., 73°F

We arrived at Kelso Dunes later than intended, but for the best of reasons: because of all the great wildlife we’d stopped for on the drive here. We stopped first at the main trailhead to use the facilities, and right away, we spotted a Western Tiger Whiptail crossing the desert between a couple of Creosote bushes. We also saw a pretty little California Patch butterfly.

May 5, 2023

Before breakfast, I wandered around the south end of the property, mostly to take some photographs of the abandoned resort buildings. I was feeling an apocalyptic Camp Crystal Lake vibe, and wanted to be able to put together some sort of photo essay once I returned home. I saw a few smallish birds that I wasn’t able to identify (probable Yellow-rumped Warbler and Lesser Goldfinch, plus one of the Empidonax flycatchers). In this area, Honey Mesquite, Alkali Weed, Athel Tamarisk, and Mesquite Mistletoe are growing, along with ornamental Date Palm and Mexican Fan Palm. 

May 4, 2023

It’s that time again: the Vertebrate Biology field trip to the Mojave Desert! We spent the day driving down to the Desert Studies Center, with no stops other than lunch and bathroom breaks. I didn’t spend much time trying to make observations while driving, but I did see a few birds, including a Black-necked Stilt, several Northern Raven all along the route, and a probable Eurasian Collared Dove. 

We arrived at Zzyzx around 7:00, and while we were having our orientation tour, a female Calypte hummingbird (either Anna’s or Costa’s) flew quite close to us on the patio. Such a great close look, but not long enough for me to get the species ID). It was still great for me (and my students) to see this adorable bird so close up.

April 28th, 2023
12:00 to 2:00

My Vertebrate Biology students were invited to visit the field site of grad student Jess Schmieg, to learn about their research study on the interaction between California Tiger Salamander and predaceous diving beetles. We met out at the vernal pool site, and were able to see the experimental design and data collection techniques.

April 19, 2023
Sunny, light breeze

Today, one of my colleagues and I investigated the Native Plant Garden on campus. This garden (or perhaps it’s more accurate to call it a series of gardens) was established in the mid-1970s, along with trailer markers and a lovely trail guide and map that described the plants found in the garden. We wanted to see whether or not the map and guide were still accurate after nearly 50 years of plant growth. (Spoiler alert: they aren’t, but that is something we can fix).

April 14, 2023
Sunny and beautiful, light wind

Today, the Vertebrate Biology class visited Safari West, where Erika and Bella generously gave of their time to give us an awesome tour.

March 25, 2023
Sunny and cool

I was asked to lead an activity at the Preserve: “The Secrets of Pond Life – Aqua Bugs, Amphibians, and More.” This community event included a presentation with information about the sorts of things we might see, and then most of our time was spent hiking down to Turtle Pond to see what critters we could find. At the pond, we collected some invertebrates and brought them back to the nature center to look at them under dissecting scopes.

March 3, 2023
14:15 to 16:15
Cool but sunny until later in the day, when it turned overcast (but no precipitation)

This Vertebrate Biology trip gave students the opportunity to learn about coverboard surveys with SSU alumna Julie Wittmann.

February 24, 2023
10:00 – 12:30 
40° F, foggy, overcast, and snow on the ground (later, rain)

My Vertebrate Biology students and I had a wonderful tour of the Warm Spring Fish Hatchery, led by Bryan Freele. We were able to see the operations inside and out, from when a fish enters the hatchery, through the process of fertilization and raising the fry, until they’re just about ready to be released. 

February 17, 2023
9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Our first off-campus trip of the semester was a visit to the Ellis Creek Water Treatment Facility in Petaluma. My students (I think 18 of them were in attendance) met me in the parking lot at 9:30 a.m., and spent about 2.5 hours walking the trails around the finishing ponds (total distance traveled: 2.6 km). The weather was clear and cool (but not cold). By the time we’d done about half of our hike, it was too warm for the fleece jacket I’d put on earlier in the day.

We had an amazing day, with a total of 47 species across all observers (although I didn’t personally see all of them; I saw or heard 43 species). Below are my own observations for the day.

February 10, 2023
11:30 to 12:45, sunny and cool

I took my Vertebrate Biology students on a brief (45-minute) campus walk before lunch, to practice our spotting and identification skills. We left out of the western end of Darwin Hall, and walked north, past Carson Hall to Copeland Creek. Along the way, lots of birds were seen and heard, including Northern Raven, Anna’s Hummingbird, American Robin and California Towhee. At least one Western Gray Squirrel was hanging around the lawn and trees south of the Art Building.