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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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. 🙂

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.

Dromaius novaehollandiae novaehollandiae

April 26, 2005: Scottie’s Billabong, Victoria, Australia

This was one of the birds I’d most hoped to see in Australia, but on the first half of our Murray River trip, they eluded me. The previous day, we’d found this small lake slightly offset from the river: Scottie’s Billabong. I thought that the lake might have a different variety of birds than we’d seen along the river, so we stopped for a look. Almost immediately, I found some footprints in the mud. HUGE footprints, and since dinosaurs are generally accepted as being extinct, I knew they had to belong to emus. A walk around the billabong didn’t reveal these birds, however, but we decided to spend the night here, so I could look for them again in the morning.

Psephotellus varius

April 26, 2005: Scottie’s Billabong, Victoria, Australia

This bird was a surprise . . . I thought it was a red-rumped parrot until I took a look at the photos. I wish I’d paid more attention and gotten a better photo!

Barnardius zonarius barnardi

April 24, 2005: Murray River, Paringa, South Australia

I didn’t realize at the time that these weren’t Red-rumped Parrots, until I looked at the photos and noticed that the coloring wasn’t quite right. Gorgeous birds – I think these are my favorite of the green parrots we’ve seen. They’re noisy and like to fly around, plus they’re less skittish than some of the others, so easier to get a better look.

Platycercus elegans flaveolus

April 23, 2005: Murray River, Paringa, South Australia

This was a quick sighting, but the photo I snapped was good enough for the ID. While on the boat before we left the dock, I saw this bird flying into a tree, and took a quick photo of the tree, hoping for the best. This looks like a very beautiful bird, and I saw a second one from the boat, but also a very quick glance as it flew across in front of the boat.

Psephotus haematonotus haematonotus

April 23, 2005: Murray River, Paringa, South Australia

Spotted a pair of these as we drove through Renmark – although I only had a quick glance, I was able to ID these birds based on the red rump on the male. The other bird was very dull-colored in comparison, consistent with a female, or perhaps immature. So far, the only species seen on the trip which I have not managed to photograph. Hopefully I’ll see another and remedy this. 🙂

Glossopsitta concinna

April 22, 2005: Wittunga Botanic Garden, Mitcham, South Australia

I spotted these small parrots flying around and quickly realized they weren’t Rainbow Lorikeets – too small, and too much green. Took a while to get a good look at one of them. They tended to fly very fast and then go into the foliage near the tops of the trees, rather than perching on exposed branches. I did get a couple of good looks, though. Very pretty. I love these wild parrots!

Platycercus elegans melanopterus

April 21, 2005: Kangaroo Island, South Australia

This subspecies is only present on Kangaroo Island, and is larger and darker than birds on the mainland. These photos do not do this bird justice – they are so bright and gorgeous.