המועדפים של kcolimaa

Condor #1178

In the spring of 2022, during a biannual trapping event at Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, condor biologists were surprised to see a juvenile condor arrive at the fight pen with no tag. What was more surprising is that the juvenile, which appeared to be between one and two years old, was being attended by condor 20.

In normal circumstances, the juvenile's identity would have been easy to guess since condor 20 was known to have nested the prior year, but what was so surprising is that everyone was convinced that his nest had failed in 2021
Why did everyone think his nest had failed? During the early part of his nest, when it was still in egg stage, his mate, condor 654, tragically died. The intensive effort and amount of time required to incubate an egg and brood and raise a chick were more than what a single parent was thought to have been able to take on by himself.

During that time, condor 20's tracking devices also stopped working so there was no way to remotely track his nest in the rugged Santa Barbara backcountry. Written off as a failed nest, biologists were shocked to see condor 20 show up the following year with a juvenile at his side.

The mystery bird was finally trapped and DNA confirmed that it was indeed condor 1178 - the biological offspring of 20 and 654. With an amazing dad like 20, it's no surprise that 1178 showed the resiliency to fledge under his dedication. Hopefully 1178 will continue in his dad's "wing-prints" and be another amazing father when it's his time to have his own nest.

In 1985, a friend & I, having birded at Deep Springs College in the morning, drove to Deep Springs Lake in search of Black Toad. In those years the College permitted birders readily and the road was accessible; I expect things are quite different now. We readily found several toads, caught one for photos (it may have been on the dirt road), and released it at water's edge. The photos are digitized from slides. The location is very likely not public now.

Garter Snake, approx. 2-2.5 ft long. Alternating stripes of yellowish-green, black, and brown. Rather sluggish at 62°F. We encouraged him off the trail before the bike riders came along.

California Red-sided Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis ssp. infernalis)
Endemic in California, US: native and occurs nowhere else.
Reddish-brown patches behind eye are distinctive for this species.
Red on sides and head. Upper labials. Chin shields. Confirmed in range map:
http://californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/t.s.infernalis.html

Identifying Gartersnakes
http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/gartersnakes.id.html
"all species of garter snake are often found in and around the water, and sometimes aquatics are found a long distance from any water, so the location is not a reliable way to ID them. To properly ID a garter in this area you would need a clear shot of the head scales" per INat acastelein.

Link to my confirmed Garter Snake observations, for comparison:
Diablo Range Garter Snake (Thamnophis atratus ssp. zaxanthus) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/166000829
Coast Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans ssp. terrestris) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/110554649
California Red-sided Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis ssp. infernalis) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/99493314

Key to California Gartersnakes— A side-by-side comparison chart:
http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/gartersnakeskey.html

Garter Snakes are in Colubrid Snakes (Colubridae) family. Most colubrids are not venomous, or have venom that is not known to be harmful to humans, and are mostly harmless. Some colubrids are described as opisthoglyphous "rear-fanged," meaning they have elongated, grooved teeth located in the back of their upper jaws.
Snakes: https://californiaherps.com/snakes/snakesmaps.html

Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: https://californiaherps.com

Reptile Database (41 species of Garter Snakes worldwide as of 2/12/24)
https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/search?search=garter+snakes&submit=Search

This marten was likely up at 10,900ft/3300m to hunt pikas, but when I stumbled along it became very curious about me. I was able to snap photos for about 8 minutes, then moved on to photograph the flock of rosy finches that was half dosing off while observing the marten. I wasn't able to observe any predation, but may have heard a couple distant screams.