Sylvilagus audubonii
May 12, 2011: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA
Seen on Kelbaker Road during night drive – at least 6 individuals, at different places along the road.
Continue reading “Desert Cottontail”Desert Cottontail
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus
May 12, 2011: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA
I spotted this small (~60 cm) snake as it was crossing Kelbaker Road during a night drive. Found at 2.9 mi. Distinctive triangular patch on face.
Continue reading “Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake”Desert Horned Lizard
Phrynosoma platyrhinos
September 10, 2010: Kelso Dunes, San Bernardino County, CA
We found an adorable little Desert Horned Lizard near where we’d parked the vans – a first for me, although I wasn’t pleased with the way our professor handled it. I would have much preferred for us to just view this little friend from a distance.
Continue reading “Desert Horned Lizard”Lucy’s Warbler
Leiothlypis luciae
May 12, 2011: Zzyzx Desert Studies Center, San Bernardino County, CA
First spotted these birds in some trees on the path past the swimming pool at Zzyzx. A tiny bird: medium grey above and lighter below, with a chestnut marking on the head. My first thought was a bushtit with some regional variation. I then saw others foraging in the mesquite and realized they were some kind of warbler. My best guess was Lucy’s, but the Mojave Bird Checklist lists them as uncommon. I had the opportunity later to speak with a local naturalist, who confirmed that Zzyzx is one of the few sites where Lucy’s breed, so I was able to make the positive ID on these adorable little birds.
Continue reading “Lucy’s Warbler”Palomarin Bird Banding Station
May 6, 2011
07:30, 59° F, light breeze
Vertebrate Biology field trip to the Palomarin Field Station, part of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, to see the techniques they use for mist-netting and banding. We walked the net route twice, but did not see any birds caught in the net. We were able to view at close range three birds that had been netted earlier, however, so we got to see the banding and data collection process. The PRBO staff were very helpful, and were happy to help me ID some of the bird calls we heard while walking the site, particularly Wrentit, whose call was familiar to me, but I’d never been able to identify it before.
Continue reading “Palomarin Bird Banding Station”Safari West
April 15, 2011
11:30, 73° F, overcast
This was another Vertebrate Biology field trip. Safari West is located at 3115 Porter Creek Road in Santa Rosa, about 7 miles east of Hwy 101. We took a driving tour of the large animal enclosures, as well as a visit to the walk-in-aviary. This journal entry records only the native and non-captive wildlife I saw during my visit to the park, most of which were seen on the jeep tour.
Continue reading “Safari West”Red-bellied Newt
Taricha rivularis
April 8, 2011: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA
Early in the day, we viewed a specimen captured by Emily Harvey. Later, we found these newts in abundance at the Waterfall site, along the sides of the stream and in small pools. We saw dozens of individuals and they were easy to catch and examine in hand. Clearly different coloration from T. granulosa: T. rivularis has a distinctly red belly. Adorable.
Continue reading “Red-bellied Newt”Black Salamander
Aneides flavipunctatus
April 8, 2011: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA
Found 2 specimens at the 1st Sheep Barn at Galbreath Preserve. One under a piece of a fallen tree (I found this one), and one under a wooden plank near the barn. Decided that both were “black” (rather than “arboreal”) based on the relative size of the head to the body. Captured a third specimen at the 2nd Sheep Barn site.
Continue reading “Black Salamander”Foothill Yellow-legged Frog
Rana boylii
April 8, 2011: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA
We were able to see a specimen that Emily Harvey had captured before we arrived.
Continue reading “Foothill Yellow-legged Frog”Galbreath Wildlands Preserve
April 8, 2011
Arrived 10:30, 68° F, sunny and clear w/light breeze
I visited this SSU property on a field trip with Vertebrate Biology. We stopped at several locations in the preserve, looking for specific target species at each location.
Continue reading “Galbreath Wildlands Preserve”Laguna de Santa Rosa
March 21 and 24, 2011
For the Vertebrate Biology class I am taking this semester, we’re required to keep a detailed field journal of all our wildlife observations. I took two walks along the main channel of the Laguna de Santa Rosa for making observations that I could include in my journal.
Continue reading “Laguna de Santa Rosa”Common Chuckwalla
Sauromalus ater
September 11, 2010: Emigrant Pass, Mojave Desert
After lunch, while a few of us were exploring near camp, I had my absolute favorite moment of the entire trip: this magnificent Chuckwalla. I wasn’t even particularly looking for wildlife, I’d just wandered off from the rest of the group and was in a little rocky area when I noticed the lizard. It was just the two of us for several minutes. I didn’t approach too closely, and the chuckwalla seemed happy enough to cautiously hang around, before it eventually ran to hide in the rocks. What a gorgeous, lizard! And I was grateful for the little bit of privacy, so I could take my time just watching . . . if anyone else had been there, they’d have tried to grab it up, and I wouldn’t have had this leisurely viewing, plus the lizard would have had a much more stressful encounter. Chuckwallas are amazing.
Paleontology: Emigrant Pass
September 11, 2010
Today, we spent the morning mapping the Carrera Formation, looked for a few more fossils in the trilobite bed near camp, and then headed into the town of Shoshone for some afternoon and evening fun.
Continue reading “Paleontology: Emigrant Pass”Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard
Uma scoparia
September 10, 2010: Kelso Dunes, San Bernardino County, CA
We spotted a Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard near the parking area. I especially love these photos as they show the lizard and some of the tracks it left behind. This lizard isn’t strictly endemic to Kelso Dunes, but is only rarely seen outside of this area.
Continue reading “Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard”Paleontology: Kelso Dunes and Emigrant Pass
September 10, 2010
The next morning, we packed up our camp (we’d be staying the remaining nights at another site), and headed to Kelso Dunes, an active – and impressive – sand dune habitat, the largest field of aeolian deposits in the Mojave Desert. According to the National Park Service website, about 25,000 years ago, nearby Lake Manix catastrophically drained. As the land dried out, sediment was exposed, and as those sediments are picked up by the wind, they are consistently deposited onto the dunes due to the eddies and crosswinds formed by nearby landforms (the Granite and Providence mountain ranges). Most of our group went up to the top of the dunes, but a couple of us didn’t feel up to quite such a strenuous hike, and wandered around at the lower elevation.
Continue reading “Paleontology: Kelso Dunes and Emigrant Pass”Paleontology: Marble Mountains
September 9, 2010
This multi-day trip took us to the Mojave Desert and Nopah Range in San Bernardino and Inyo Counties, with the Paleontology class taught by Matt James. It was a fantastic trip where we looked for fossils and assessed rock formations, as well as taking in some of the local sights. This post covers our first full day in the desert.
Continue reading “Paleontology: Marble Mountains”2010 Field Journal
Journal Entries (Work in Progress)
- Detailed Species Accounts can be found at the links below:
- Birds
- Non-Avian Organisms
Continue reading “2010 Field Journal”
Brant Goose
Branta bernicla
February 28, 2009: Bodega Bay harbor, Sonoma County, CA
Spotted several of these birds on the water or on mudflats while we were leaving the harbor on our whale watch boat. I didn’t even realize they were a life species for me until looking at the photos more than a YEAR later.
Continue reading “Brant Goose”Mountain Quail
Oreortyx pictus
May 4, 2007: Groveland area, Tuolumne, CA, United States
We spotted this pair of birds as we were driving back down the mountain out of Yosemite National Park. We were no longer in the park boundary at the time. They were preparing to cross the road, and as we were driving at the time, I only had a quick glimpse, but it was enough to see that the feather ornament on top of their heads was straight, not curved like that of the California Quail. YAY! My first life bird of this trip!
Continue reading “Mountain Quail”Red-crowned Amazon
Amazona viridigenalis
August 8, 2006: Santa Ana College, Orange County, CA
We saw these naturalized (and countable!) parrots on the college campus when coming to see my sister perform in Our Town. There were a lot of these birds noisily flying overhead or perched on telephone wires. It was definitely an interesting moment when I heard noises that I didn’t expect to hear in southern California, only to look up to find that the pigeons were really psitticines. 🙂
Australian Hobby
Falco longipennis longipennis
May 1, 2005: Belair National Park, South Australia
Was able to watch this bird soar overhead for a few minutes. Unfortunately, it didn’t come down close enough for good photos, but it was still a nice sighting.
Continue reading “Australian Hobby”Cleland Wildlife Park
May 2, 2005
Early on Monday, Vicky and I took the kids to Cleland Wildlife Park. It was FANTASTIC! We saw loads of great animals, and were able to hold a Koala, although in this entry I’ve journaled almost exclusively wild birds and animals that we saw in the park. New species for me included White-throated Treecreeper.
Continue reading “Cleland Wildlife Park”Belair National Park
May 1, 2005
Afternoon
On Kevin’s last day in Australia, we visited a local recreation area, Belair National Park. It’s a lovely park with all sorts of things to do and different habitats. We spent most of our time at the children’s play area (which Eclipse loved), but Mark, Vicky, Arran and I also went for a nice walk along one of the trails into the heart of the park. We saw loads of birds and several Koala. New species included Common Brown butterfly and Red-browed Finch.
Continue reading “Belair National Park”Flagstaff Hill
May 1, 2005
8:30 to 10:00 a.m.
Birds seen on a morning walk in Mark and Vicky’s neighborhood. One new species today: Yellow-faced Honeyeater.
Continue reading “Flagstaff Hill”Banrock Station
April 30, 2005
Warm and dry (90° F)
On the way home from Renmark, we stopped to visit a Ramsar wetland complex called Banrock Station. I’d been looking forward to this hike throughout our the whole trip. It’s a beautiful location, but the weather was a bit too warm for my comfort during our long walk around the lake nearest to the café.
Continue reading “Banrock Station”