September 24, 2011
Nick, Nicole and I took the Field Herpetology class on a field trip to Boggs Lake for a tour of our field site and an overview of the research that we’ve been doing on the nesting behavior and sex determination of Western Pond Turtles.
We began the day with a training session on the use of radio telemetry equipment, and gave students the opportunity to give it a try (all that is missing are the tinfoil hats).
We also excavated a known turtle nest and collected hatchlings which were taken back to the Geist Lab to be measured, marked and included in the zoo head start program.
Finally, we did a walk through of both forest and tule edge habitats looking for other reptile and amphibian species. We found Sierran Tree Frog, Gartersnake (we identified it as Terrestrial in the field, but unfortunately I didn’t get any photographs), Western Fence Lizard, Yellow-bellied Racer, and Western Skink. We also found a very bluish Western Forest Scorpion (and no, we weren’t viewing it under a black light).
On the way home, we stopped at our favorite place in Calistoga to get handmade milkshakes (I think the establishment closed several years ago; it’s called Local Q 707 now). I was amused to see this cool poster about my hometown (I didn’t know there used to be a Cotati Speedway).
Species List
Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata), Yellow-bellied Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris), Terrestrial Gartersnake (Thamnophis elegans), Sierran Tree Frog (Pseudacris sierra), Western Skink (Plestiodon skiltonianus), Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), Western Forest Scorpion (Uroctonus mordax), California Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata), Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), Sierran Treefrog (Pseudacris sierra), California King Snake (Lampropeltis californiae)
Let me know what you think!