May 14, 2022
13:00
Our next stop was the Mid-Hills Campground in the Mojave National Preserve, where we explored a higher-elevation pinyon pine and juniper forest.
Continue reading “Mid-Hills Campground”Mid-Hills Campground
Mojave Green Rattlesnake
Crotalus scutulatus
May 14, 2022: Night driving on Kelbaker Road, Mojave Desert
During a night drive on our last night in the desert, after about 45 minutes, no one in any of the vans had seen any reptiles, and I think people were a bit discouraged and tired, and we all decided that we’d turn around and head back to the Desert Studies Center. As we were making our way back, one of my students called out that she thought she’d seen something unusual in the road. We backed up, and sure enough, there was something “unusual” in the road: A Mojave green rattlesnake!!!! This is always one of the hoped-for species on this trip, and this snake did not disappoint. We phoned the other two vans to let them know about the snake, and they turned around to meet us.
Continue reading “Mojave Green Rattlesnake”Kelso Dunes
May 14, 2022
10:30 to 12:00
Our first stop for the day was the Kelso Dunes, where we would be looking for different species than we’d seen in the Bajada.
Continue reading “Kelso Dunes”Kit Fox
Vulpes macrotis
May 14, 2022: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA
On the way east on Kelbaker Road, we didn’t find any reptiles, although we did pick up some eyeshine with one of the flashlights out in the desert near the road. We stopped the van, and tried to figure out the identity of what appeared to be three sets of eyes, almost certainly mammalian. Some of the others in the van caught a glimpse of the animals – foxes of some sort. We wandered around near where they’d been seen, and found their den, and a couple of my students caught enough of a glimpse of the animals to identify them as Kit Foxes. KIT FOXES!!!!! Unfortunately, by the time I was able to make my way to the den, they’d taken cover and were nowhere to be seen. Still, this was their den, so we thought there was a pretty good likelihood that they’d be out again when we drove past on our way back to Zzyzx. So, we dropped a pin on the map, to locate the den again, and kept on with the night driving. Later, we returned to the location where we’d dropped the pin, and easily identified the area where we’d found the den. We pulled off to the opposite side of the road and turned off the car, hoping not to stress them out or startle them too much. Then, we spotlit the area with our flashlights. Sure enough, more eyeshine, and then, in the light of the flashlights, we saw the foxes themselves. Juveniles – at least three (possibly four) – and I was absolutely thrilled to see them for the first time in the wild. Then, as we watched, they decided that they weren’t bothered by our lights, and went back to the business of being young foxes, which mostly included pouncing on one another in mock battles, running back and forth through the brush, and even trying to climb up into a small tree near the den. It was one of the most wonderful and adorable things I’d ever seen. They were so beautiful and precious, and watching the just playing with one another as if we weren’t there is literally one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my entire life. We watched them for a while – probably about half an hour – and then decided that it was getting late, and we had a long drive ahead of us in the morning. So, feeling a bit sad to leave the foxes behind, we headed back to the Desert Studies Center.
Continue reading “Kit Fox”Night Driving Kelbaker Road
May 14, 2022
21:00 – 23:00
It was our last night in the desert, so of course, there would be night driving as soon as the sun went down. We’d hoped for a bit more action than the previous night, since the temperature had been much warmer today than yesterday. This didn’t really pan out, but in spite of not finding a huge array of wildlife, what we saw was utterly amazing.
Continue reading “Night Driving Kelbaker Road”Desert Striped Whipsnake
Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus
May 14: Midhills Campground, San Bernardino County
During a Vertebrate Biology trip to the Mojave Desert, we visited this higher elevation montane forest. After we’d been there for about half an hour, one of my students spotted something amazing: this snake that had just caught a pocket mouse and was in the process of swallowing it. Seeing this behavior in the wild is so unusual, especially for a snake that isn’t all that common in this area, which is at the very edge of its range. Super interesting, and such a pretty snake. I suspect that we are among a very small number of people who have ever witnessed this species having a meal.
Continue reading “Desert Striped Whipsnake”Desert Iguana
Dipsosaurus dorsalis
May 14, 2022: Kelso Dunes, San Bernardino County, California
This amazing lizard was found during a Vertebrate Biology field trip to the Mojave Desert, at Kelso Dunes. While I was walking not far from the parking area, someone called out “DESERT IGUANA” so I started to head in that direction, all the while yelling back to try and figure out exactly where they’d found the lizard. I caught up with them near the bottom of a rise.
Continue reading “Desert Iguana”Long-tailed Brush Lizard
Urosaurus graciosus
May 14, 2022: Kelso Dunes, San Bernardino County, CA
Back at the cars, I found a Long-tailed Brush Lizard up in the tree that was shading our van.
Continue reading “Long-tailed Brush Lizard”Mojave Desert: Day 2
May 13, 2022
07:30 to 23:30
On our first full day in the desert, after breakfast I had some time while everyone else was getting ready to head out to the bajada site, so I took a 45-minute walk through an area I’d enjoyed on my first visit here: south past the pool, out through the mesquite trees and along the edge of the alkali flat/dry lake bed. I’d explored this area on my previous visit with good results (Lucy’s warbler!), and was excited to visit it again. No Lucy’s today, but I did see a wide diversity of birds, including at least one I’d not seen before.
Continue reading “Mojave Desert: Day 2”Driving to the Desert Studies Center
May 12, 2022
7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Distance traveled: 861 km
The culminating experience for this year’s Vertebrate Biology class was a multi-day trip down to the Mojave Desert, to stay at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx, California. Anticipated throughout the semester, the trip did not disappoint. On this first day, most of our wildlife sightings were incidental, seen from the van while driving down I-5. After a long day on the road, we arrived at the Desert Studies Center, where everything looked pretty much the same as I remembered it from 2011, when I took this trip as a student. Immediately upon arrival, I remember just what a good place this is. After we’d arrived, I did see a few animals on site, and we made some fantastic finds along Zzyzx Road after having dinner in Baker.
Continue reading “Driving to the Desert Studies Center”Desert Nightsnake
Hypsiglena chlorophaea
May 12, 2022: Zzyzx Road after dark
On our way back to Zzyzx after having dinner in Baker, we drove slowly along along Zzyzx Road, hoping to locate some Baja California Treefrogs. When we came to a place where we could hear the frogs vocalizing, we pulled off to the side of the road. We never did see the frogs, but while I was taking some photos of a Vachon’s scorpion, one of my companions turned over a rock a few meters from the road to reveal a Desert Nightsnake!
Continue reading “Desert Nightsnake”Morgan Trail, Point Reyes
May 6, 2022
11:30 to 13:30
Distance traveled: 2 km
After we were finished at the Palomarin Field Station, while most of the Vertebrate Biology class headed home, a small group of us decided to make a stop at a different part of the Point Reyes National Seashore to forage for mushrooms. We parked at the Bear Valley Visitor Center and took a hike along the Morgan Trail, a detour that only took us about 10 minutes off of the route we were taking home This turned out to be an excellent decision. We didn’t see as many different types of mushrooms as my companions had hoped, but we saw LOADS of other wonderful things: birds galore, some lovely native plants, and a few mammals, as well. I made good use of the Merlin app on my phone to help me sort out the multitude of birds who were singing in the woods (all identifications were verified by me once I returned home).
Continue reading “Morgan Trail, Point Reyes”Bird Banding at Point Reyes
May 6, 2022
8:30 to 11:00
After an hour and a half drive to Bolinas, at the southern end of the Point Reyes National Seashore, my Vertebrate Biology students and I arrived at the Palomarin Field Station at 8:30 a.m., where folks from Point Blue Conservation Science had graciously agreed to show us the ropes of mist netting and bird banding. Up on the mountain, it was foggy and just a little bit drizzly, but not too cold – not great weather for seeing birds (or for catching birds in the mist nets).
Continue reading “Bird Banding at Point Reyes”Salmonid Sites in Marin
May 2, 2022
10:00 to 13:00
My Restoration Ecology class visited various sites in Marin County today on a field trip where Sarah Phillips introduced us to some of her salmonid restoration sites. Sarah is an alumna of SSU, and now works with the Marin Resource Conservation District.
Continue reading “Salmonid Sites in Marin”Copeland Creek at Sonoma State
April 25, 2022
10:00 to 11:15
While my Restoration Ecology students were doing vegetation monitoring along the creek, I was able to make some wildlife observations. Many of the birds were initially identified by their songs, with the help of the Merlin app.
Continue reading “Copeland Creek at Sonoma State”Laguna de Santa Rosa
April 18, 2022
9:30 to 13:30
Today, I took Restoration Ecology students out to the Laguna de Santa Rosa, for a tour hosted by Brent Reed. We started at the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation headquarters, and later walked on the Laguna de Santa Rosa trail.
Continue reading “Laguna de Santa Rosa”Safari West, Vertebrate Biology
April 15, 2022
9:30 to 13:30
Today, I took Vertebrate Biology on our annual visit to Safari West, and it was fantastic as usual! In addition to the collection animals, I saw a respectable amount of native wildlife, as well. In this post, I’ll focus first on the wildlife, and at the end I’ll share some of my favorite photos of captive animals.
Continue reading “Safari West, Vertebrate Biology”Fairfield Osborn Preserve, Vertebrate Biology
4/1/2022
10:00 – 13:00
Distance traveled: 1.5 km
Today, I took my Vertebrate Biology students up to the university’s Fairfield Osborn Preserve to survey part of the preserve’s network of coverboards, and to explore the creek with SSU alumna Julie Wittmann, who is now the Community Naturalist Program Coordinator for the preserve. The coverboards weren’t particularly productive, but by the end of our visit, I don’t think anyone left disappointed.
Continue reading “Fairfield Osborn Preserve, Vertebrate Biology”Sears Point Trail, Restoration Ecology
March 28, 2022
09:30 to 11:30
Today, the Sonoma Land Trust hosted my Restoration Ecology class in a field trip to view the various phases of salt marsh restoration at Sears Point. It was a gorgeous day, and we learned a lot about the history and ecology of this place as we walked to the end of the levee and back. I another little surprise: one of our trip leaders, Neal Ramus, was an undergrad at SSU at same time I was, and it was good to reconnect.
Continue reading “Sears Point Trail, Restoration Ecology”Laguna de Santa Rosa, Cotati
March 26, 2022
17:00 – 17:45
This afternoon, my new Canon Rebel arrived, so I took a short afternoon walk to give it a test drive.” I went through Draper Park, and then headed east on the bike path. I only walked a few blocked before I turned around, but it did give me the chance to see and hear a few birds. In addition to the birds, I saw a couple of friendly neighborhood cats.
Continue reading “Laguna de Santa Rosa, Cotati”Sonoma State University with Vertebrate Biology
March 11, 2022
9:00 to 10:30
Vertebrate Biology “field trip” on campus, to practice our birding skills. We had a surprisingly successful day, seeing and hearing lots of birds, and also finding a turtle shell (a slider, I think), by one of the lakes.
Continue reading “Sonoma State University with Vertebrate Biology”Ellis Creek with Vertebrate Biology
March 4, 2022
09:30 to 11:30
This Vertebrate Biology field trip was designed to expose students to some of the basics of birding, and get experience identifying some common local bird species. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. to find the weather overcast (but not quite raining),and some landscapers using noisy equipment near the ponds. We spent about two hours walking the paths around some of the ponds, a total distance of 1.5 km.
Continue reading “Ellis Creek with Vertebrate Biology”
Banded Snail
Procreate. Drawn as an example for a Lophotrochozoan sketch assignment in “Biological Diversity and Ecology.”
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Procreate
Brushes: 4H Pencil, Rough Graphite Shader, and Kneaded Eraser
10 hours, and 20,015 total strokes
Orcinus orca
Shaded in Adobe Photoshop for “Introduction to the Art of Science: Scientific Illustration” in Barcelona, Spain.