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.
After getting settled into our accommodations, we headed into Baker for dinner. Made a quick geocaching stop at the World’s Tallest Thermometer, and while looking for the cache, we found some Cockroaches (maybe American), and a lovely Western Black Widow spider.
On the way back from Baker, we stopped along Zzyzx Road to make observations. We heard Baja California Tree Frog We found a couple of interesting spiders, one in the genus Syspira, and a large Brush-legged Wolf Spider under a rock. She was tucked into a burrow, and had several little babies on her back. SO COOL! Under another rock, a Common Desert Centipede was found, and a scorpion was sighted, but I didn’t get a good enough look to try and identify it (although I suspect it was Vachon’s Rock Scorpion). I also photographed a few plants, including Creosote, Yerba Mansa, Acton’s Brittlebrush, Cottontop Cactus, and a graminoid that might be Spiny Rush.
Little did we know, as we passed through the gated entrance to Zzyzx, that the best sighting of the night had yet to happen. As we pulled onto the dirt driveway to the parking area, one of my students on the other side of the van shouted, “SNAKE!” In a rush, we got out of the van to take a look at a gorgeous, HUGE Great Basin Gophersnake. A new subspecies for all of us!
Finally tucked into bed, my hip was aching, making it hard to get into a comfortable position, but the wind howling outside helped lull me to sleep. (Even if it did create a bit of a horror movie vibe).
Species List
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus), Northern Raven (Corvus corax), Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto), Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus), Baja California Tree Frog (Pseudacris hypochondriaca), Prowling Spider (Syspira sp), Brush-legged Wolf Spider (Schizocosa mccooki), Click Beetle (Paradonus sp), Common Desert Centipede (Scolopendra polymorpha), possible Vachon’s Rock Scorpion (Smeringurus vachonii), Great Basin Gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer deserticola), Creosote (Larrea tridentata), Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica), Acton’s Brittlebrush (Encelia actoni), Cottontop Cactus (Homalocephala polycephala), possible Spiny Rush (Juncus acutus), Anna’s or Costa’s Hummingbird (Calypte sp.)
Let me know what you think!