Off the Edge of the Map
June, 2011
This is a collection of observations made while doing field work at Boggs Lake in Lake County, California. We were focusing on the nesting behavior of Western Pond Turtles, but we also saw loads of other great wildlife at this Nature Conservancy site. Note: some of these dates might not be exact, but all wildlife was seen during the month of June.
Continue reading “Boggs Lake Ecological Preserve”
June, 2011
This campground, just a few miles away from our Boggs Lake field site, is where we camped throughout the field season. The facilities were nice – bathrooms with showers, a recreation room with wifi – and we had a permanent campground where we all set up our tents together. I usually spent about a week at a time up there, trading off as the field lead with my lab partner, Nicole. Since the turtles we were studying really only became active mid-afternoon, we spent quite a lot of time at the campground.
Continue reading “Jellystone Campground”
May 20, 2011
14:05, 70° F, sunny and clear, but windy
As part of our field trip to the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory at the Marin Headlands, we went to the top of Hawk Hill. It is not a migration time, so we didn’t see a large number of birds, but there were still a few feathery friends in the area, including California Brown Pelican diving in San Francisco Bay, Brewer’s Blackbird near Fort Cronkhite, and White-throated Swift near the top of Hawk Hill.
Continue reading “Hawk Hill (GGRO)”
May 14, 2011: Microtower Site, San Bernardino County, CA
This lizard was seen along Microtower Road. Beautifully colored, with green coloration on the chin and belly.
Continue reading “Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard”
May 14, 2011: Zzyzx Desert Studies Center, San Bernardino County, CA
An exciting catch! This snake was spotted on Zzyzx Road from one of the vans, so we stopped to try and get a better look. It went into a medium-sized Sweetbush, but after several minutes, the snake came back into view: an adult male, with an orange belly.
May 14, 2011
With another full day ahead, I started out with a short solo walk on the property before the rest of the day’s activities. I saw a good number of birds, plus a Desert Cottontail. New birds included a Green Heron flying along the salt flat, a Spotted Sandpiper tail bobbing on the fountain in Lake Tuendae, a Belted Kingfisher flying and calling at the lake, and a pair of Red-tailed Hawks on the rocks near the road between Zzyzx and Baker – the first hawks I saw on this trip.
Continue reading “Mojave Desert: Bajada and Microtower Road”
May 14, 2011: Microtower Site, San Bernardino County, CA
This snake was located near the Microtower Road. A gorgeous snake, warm-tan colored. Rattlesnakes are cool!
Continue reading “Speckled Rattlesnake”
May 13, 2011: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA
Caught by members of the other van during a Kelbaker Road night drive. A very gentle, pretty snake, with a pattern reminiscent of a faded gopher snake. At 3.9 miles from the entrance sign.
Continue reading “Mojave Glossy Snake”
May 13, 2011: Kelso Dunes, San Bernardino County, CA
Saw one of these lizards in the Dunes. On the whole, I think this was the most commonly seen lizard on this trip.
Continue reading “Tiger Whiptail”
May 13, 2011: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA
I spotted this tiny, light and black banded snake on Kelbaker Road during a night drive. 3.9 miles from the entrance sign.
Continue reading “Western Shovel-nosed Snake”
May 13, 2011: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA
Spotted this tortoise crossing Kelbaker Road. An adult, ~35 cm. While we were watching it, a park ranger drove up and carried the tortoise across the road. Super cool!
Continue reading “Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise”
May 13, 2011: Kelso Dunes, San Bernardino County, CA
Erika was the first to point out this large, spotted lizard at Kelso Dunes.
Continue reading “Long-nosed Leopard Lizard”
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.
May 13, 2011
(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”
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”
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”
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.
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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.
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