May 15, 2022
12:30 to 2:00 p.m.

On the way home from Zzyzx, the folks in my van decided to make a stop part of the way home, to see if we could find some desert tortoises at the sanctuary in California City. It was a bit of a drive off the highway that took us away from anything resembling civilization. When we arrived at the preserve, the facilities consisted of two trailers (one for the naturalist, and the other was the giftshop). The naturalist was super friendly, and eager to give us some tips about where we might be able to find tortoises (although she hadn’t seen one in the recent past). It was quite warm – probably around 100° F – so we covered up and stocked up on water, and headed out into the desert landscape.

I decided not to hike too terribly far due to the heat, and my students wandered a bit farther afield. We weren’t able to find a desert tortoise, but we did see some great birds and one spectacularly cool lizard.

My favorite find of the day was this adorable Desert Horned Lizard.

It was so warm, I decided to go sit in the shade under the little interpretive pavilion, while everyone else hiked a bit longer. They found a Long-nosed Leopard Lizard (which I did not see), but I did find a few more critters before we left, including another Western Tanager. All in all, this was a bit of a drive from the freeway, but it’s a lovely preserve, and well worth the time and effort. I just wish it hadn’t been quite so hot, and we could have stayed a bit longer.

Once we’d made it further north (right around dusk), we saw a road killed badger on the median of the highway near Firebaugh. I came close to breaking into tears. Such a magnificent animal dead on the side of the road, and the first one I’d ever seen in the wild. I wouldn’t have chosen for my first badger to be dead, but it just gives me more incentive to go out and find some living ones in the near future. No photo, but this is the location.

Back in Rohnert Park, we realized that a lunar eclipse was happening. I always love seeing an eclipse.

Species List

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Wildlife Seen: Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos), Pallid-winged Grasshopper (Trimerotropis pallidipennis), Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana), Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), American Badger (Taxidea taxus)

Notable Plants and Fungi: Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata), Tehachapi Woolystar (Eriastrum pluriflorum ssp. albifaux), Yellow Cobblestone Lichen (Acarospora socialis)

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