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.
My first bird at this site was a gorgeous Northern Raven that flew right overhead, circling very low above us for several seconds. Unfortunately, my camera was still in the van. 🙁 I also spotted a Wilson’s Warbler flitting around in Creosote, and a couple of Black Swallowtail butterflies led me on a merry chase, although I never was able to get a photograph of one.
The first reptile of the day was a fantastic sighting: our second Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise of the trip. This friend was hunkered down just outside a large hole that we suspect was its burrow. At this site, some of the students also found evidence of a dead tortoise – just a carapace and plastron, with scutes falling off.
I was also excited to see a Desert Tarantula, although it was having a bad day . . . when it was first spotted, it was being attacked by a Pepsis Tarantula Hawk-wasp, which was presumably laying eggs in the spider’s body. The wasp flew away, and we were able to view this gorgeous spider for several minutes before it retreated back down its nearby burrow.
To be honest though, although I loved the wildlife I saw, I was most entranced by the wildflowers, including several that were new for me.
Favorites included: Desert Larkspur, Bajada Lupine, Desert Paintbrush, Distant, Fremont’s, and Death Valley Phacelia. Some Joshua Trees had fruit, and Mojave Yucca was spectacularly in flower. I found tiny Yellow Turbans, and Desert Trumpet, and Mojave Indigobush with gorgeous purple blooms. I think my favorite, though, was Desert Saucer. The first thing that caught my eye was the red color, and then the flowers and stems were unlike anything I’d seen before. While it looks a bit similar to Miner’s Lettuce (which, funnily enough, shares its species epithet), it’s actually a Knotweed. Either way, very pretty – such delicate structures, and gorgeous color.
There was one more exciting herpetological find: a Desert Night Lizard found underneath a rock. So small and pretty, with subtle, beautiful colors. This was a species I missed out on last year, so I was especially glad to see this one. Adorable.
When we left this area, on our way to the Mid-hills Campground, I spotted a male Phainopepla along Kelbaker Road, and also saw the bright pink flowers of Beavertail Pricklypear.
Species List
Northern Raven (Corvus corax), Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla), Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes), New World Tarantula-hawk Wasps (Genus Pepsis), Desert Tarantula (Aphonopelma iodius), possible Brown Stipplescale Lichen (Clavascidium lacinulatum), Desert Grass Spider (Agelenopsis aperta), possible Blushing Scale (Psora decipiens), Pallid-winged Grasshopper (Trimerotropis pallidipennis), possible Gold Cobblestone Lichen (Pleopsidium flavum), Desert Broom (Baccharis sarothroides), Black-banded Rabbitbrush (Ericameria paniculata), Distant Phacelia (Phacelia distans), Desert Dandelion (Malacothrix glabrata), Golden Linanthus (Leptosiphon chrysanthus), Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata), Desert Larkspur (Delphinium parishii), Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia), Mojave Yucca (Yucca schidigera), Desert Chicory (Rafinesquia neomexicana), Winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata), Anderson Thornbush (Lycium andersonii), Death Valley Phacelia (Phacelia vallis-mortae), Green Ephedra (Ephedra viridis), Threadleaf Groundsel (Senecio flaccidus), Wallace’s Woollydaisy (Eriophyllum wallacei), Bajada Lupine (Lupinus concinnus), Desert Paintbrush (Castilleja chromosa), Wishbone Bush (Mirabilis laevis), Desert Pincushion (Chaenactis stevioides), Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata), Cheesebush (Ambrosia salsola), Frémont’s Phacelia (Phacelia fremontii), Silver Cholla (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa), Mojave Desertstar (Monoptilon bellioides), Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa), Desert Saucers (Oxytheca perfoliata), Mojave Woodyaster (Xylorhiza tortifolia), Red Brome (Bromus rubens), Layne Milkvetch (Astragalus layneae), Mojave Indigobush (Psorothamnus arborescens), Nevada Jointfir (Ephedra nevadensis), Devil’s Spineflower (Chorizanthe rigida), Desert Pepperweed (Lepidium fremontii), Littleleaf Rhatany (Krameria erecta), Desert Trumpet (Eriogonum inflatum), Yellow Turbans (Eriogonum pusillum), Beavertail Pricklypear (Opuntia basilaris)
Let me know what you think!