May 13, 2011
Desert Studies Center
(07:30; 87° F) On our first full day in the desert, I woke up early in the morning and took a short walk on site before breakfast. I walked past the swimming pool and south along the alkali flats. I didn’t see a lot of wildlife here, although I did spot another Lucy’s Warbler, and a Mourning Dove. Near Lake Tuendae, I saw the American Coot family, and a White-throated Swift flying over the lake. During breakfast, a Killdeer flew overhead while vocalizing, which made it easy to ID.
From the car on Zzyzx Road, I saw my first ever Chukar, with its distinctive facial markings. Along this stretch of road, I also spotted a Turkey Vulture and Northern Raven.
Baker and Kelbaker Road
(09:00) On our way to Kelso Dunes, I was able to add some of the more cosmopolitan birds to my trip list: European Starling, Rock Dove, and House Sparrow, along with more Great-tailed Grackle, all seen at the gas station in Baker. We also saw some fantastic species on the stretch of Kelbaker Road between Baker and Kelso Station.
I was thrilled to see a Greater Roadrunner cross the road in front of the van around 9:30. We also saw a few Phainopepla throughout the day, along with Turkey Vulture, and a Western Swallowtail butterfly.
The star of the show this morning was a magnificent Mojave Desert Tortoise, an adult about 35 cm long. We spotted this tortoise as it was crossing Kelbaker Road. While we were watching it, a park ranger drove up and carried the tortoise across the road. Super cool!
Kelso Dunes
When we arrived at Kelso Dunes, it was already warm, and we were hopeful that we’d find some great herps. I was also looking for birds, but didn’t see any. But what we lacked in birds, the Dunes definitely made up for in lizards!
We managed to get a close look at several Zebra-tailed Lizard, including one large male who displayed aggressively. We also saw several Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard, a Long-nosed Leopard Lizard, and at least one Tiger Whiptail lizard (On the whole, I think the whiptails were the most commonly seen lizard on this trip).
Mid-Hills Campground
(13:30) The campground is located in a montane forest habitat with juniper trees, as well as other evergreens and vegetation, and it was much cooler at this elevation than down in the desert. Parts of the area experienced a fire in the past few years, and the burned areas have not yet recovered. Our primary purpose in coming here was to see the Great Basin subspecies of Western Fence Lizard, which are much larger than the fence lizards we see commonly in Sonoma County, and arboreal. We did find several of these lizards, mostly found on California Juniper trees. This population is recovering from the fire that burned this area a few years ago.
I also caught a brief glimpse of a Western Sideblotched Lizard, orange in color, and a few Western Tiger Whiptail.
One of my favorite sightings of the trip happened at this site. I was walking by myself in the montane forest area away from the campground when this large bird flew into a nearby tree. My first impression was of a kingbird, but my view was partially blocked by foliage. Fortunately the bird flew to a branch where I had an unobstructed view. Definitely a flycatcher, with a tall crest of feathers on the head. The bird was brown with red flashes on the tail (visible in flight) and very distinctly rufous primaries. I judged it as being bigger than an ash-throated – it seemed quite large for a flycatcher, period – about robin-sized (but thinner). When it flew, it called briefly – a soft, melodic, almost thrush-like song. This ultimately is what gave me the ID: Brown-crested Flycatcher. What a gorgeous, gorgeous bird!
This was a fantastic site, and I would have liked to have more time here. On our way back down the hill from the campground, we had a great view of the famous Mojave Road.
Driving back on Kelbaker Road, we saw a few Loggerhead Shrike perched in trees alongside the road.
After returning from our daytime adventures (Kelso Dunes and the Mid-Hills Campground), we had some time to spare before dinner and night driving. I spent a bit of time hanging out with classmates and playing horseshoes, and then I took a solo late-afternoon walk out along Soda Lake in search of the small spring-fed pond which is home to a native population of fish: the Tui Chub. There were several fish in the pond, ranging in size from about 1.5” to 6” in length. Difficult to see details because of reflections on the water, but they were thin, basically fusiform fish with a reddish tinge.
Much later, when we went into Baker for dinner, I saw a few Lesser Nighthawk zooming around underneath the streetlights.
Kelbaker Night Drive
(21:00) Another night drive on Kelbaker Road, although we did not go as far as we went on the previous night. I think this was my favorite activity that we did on the entire trip. There is something very satisfying for me about scanning the road for animals, and the excitement that happens when we find something. It didn’t hurt that I am an excellent spotter :D. Super fun, and a great way to see some wildlife that isn’t usually seen.
Our first find of the night was a Western Banded Gecko located 1.2 miles from the “Mohave” entrance sign. This one exhibited “classic” banded coloration. At 3.9 miles, we saw a Glossy Snake, a very gentle, pretty snake, with a pattern reminiscent of a faded gopher snake. Near this location, I spotted a tiny light- and black-banded snake: a Western Shovel-nosed Snake.
While driving, we also spotted a number of Black-tailed Jackrabbit in the road. I also spotted some birds that I didn’t recognize – a least 4 largish birds that flew back and forth in front of the vans. They were tricky for me to ID; They appeared to be smaller than the nighthawks at Zzyzx and clearly had no white band on the ventral side of the wings, which led me to believe this was a poorwill. The wing shape, however, was very pointed, more like the illustration of the nighthawk. However, at Zzyzx the next day, I had a conversation with a local naturalist about the behavior I witnessed – swooping from near the ground – and he confirmed the ID as Common Poorwill.
There was one more exciting find of the night – a Mojave Desert Sidewinder seen at 11.3 miles. It was easy to see the “horns” above the eyes, and I think this is the closest I’ve ever been to a rattlesnake.
Species List
Desert Studies Center: American Coot (F. americana), Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), Lucy Warbler (Oreothlypis luciae), Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis), Chukar (Alectoris chukar), Northern Raven (Corvus corax), Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus), Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), Tui Chub Gila bicolor mohavensis), Lesser Nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis texensis)
Baker/Kelbaker Road: European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), Rock Dove (Columba livia), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus), Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens), Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), Lesser Nighthawk, Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)
Kelso Dunes: Long-nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia wislizenii), Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides), Mohave Fringe-toed Lizard (Uma scoparia), Western Tiger Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris), Desert Dandelion? (Malacothrix glabrata), Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata)
Mid-Hills Campground: Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), Western Sideblotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana), Tiger Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris), Brown-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus tyrannulus), Common Raven (Corvus corax), Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana), Desert Globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Night Driving on Kelbaker Road: Western Banded Gecko (Coleonyx variegatus), Mojave Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans), Western Shovel-nosed Snake (Chionactis occipitalis), Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), Common Poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii), Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes)
Let me know what you think!