Crotalus cerastes cerastes
May 13, 2011 Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA
The other van spotted this snake at 11.3 miles on Kelbaker Road during a night drive. Easy to see the “horns” above the eyes.
Mojave Desert Sidewinder
Mojave Day 2: Kelso and Mid-hills
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.
Continue reading “Mojave Day 2: Kelso and Mid-hills”Zebra-tailed Lizard
Callisaurus draconoides
May 13, 2011: Kelso Dunes
We managed to get a close look at several very attractive Zebra-tailed Lizards, including one large male who displayed aggressively.
Continue reading “Zebra-tailed Lizard”Tiger Whiptail
Aspidoscelis tigris
May 13, 2011: Kelso Dunes
Tiger Whiptail lizards were abundant at Kelso Dunes. On the whole, I think this was the most commonly seen lizard on this trip.
Continue reading “Tiger Whiptail”Chukar Partridge
Alectoris chukar
May 13, 2011: Desert Studies Center, San Bernardino, CA
This bird was seen on the rocks along the road between Zzyzx and I5. A large quail-like bird with distinctive facial markings, white throat and bold eyeline extending down edges of the throat.
Continue reading “Chukar Partridge”
Desert Studies Center at Zzyzx
May 12, 2011
Located off the Zzyzx exit from I-15; arrived at 16:35
88°/32° Clear, very warm
After a long drive on the first day of our Vertebrate Biology field trip, I took a short solo walk near Lake Tuendae, where I saw a family of American Coot (with four chicks!) and a Mourning Dove. I then headed out past the swimming pool, and along the Soda Lake salt flat. Here, I spotted Desert Cottontail, Say’s Phoebe, and Yellow Warbler. I also heard (but couldn’t spot) a Phainopepla. The excitement for this day was was one of the birds I’d most hoped to see on this trip: the relatively uncommon Lucy’s Warbler. Super cute! I saw the bird bopping around in some mesquite.
Continue reading “Desert Studies Center at Zzyzx”Western Banded Gecko
Coleonyx variegatus variegatus
May 12, 2011: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA
I spotted this gecko in the middle of the road during a night drive on Kelbaker Road. An usually-colored specimen: spotted with no banding. Found at 0.9 mi from Baker park sign.
Continue reading “Western Banded Gecko”Desert Cottontail
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”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”