המועדפים של ki6h

Afternoon on the Loop Trail I spotted something in the distance; in binoculars, it was revealed to be a dead California Ground Squirrel. On May 5th, in almost exactly the same location, I observed a conflict between a San Diego Gopher Snake and a California Ground Squirrel, documented here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/213886336

Because of that earlier observation, I approached slowly and noticed there were snake tracks in the dirt to the left and to the right of the ground squirrel. I waited. After about a minute movement in the weeds along the northern edge of the trail, which soon revealed itself as a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake. The snake sampled the air with its tongue and made its way back to the California Ground Squirrel.

Initially it tried to get its head around the squirrel; after re-adjusting a couple of times, it chose to drag the squirrel into the weeds on the north side of the trail.

BUTTERFLY RESCUE AND REHABILITATION.
While birding the Old Zoo, I was staking out a large puddle on an old cement zoo foundation. When the birds were chased off, I approached to see if I could determine the source of the water. No luck. However, I noticed a tiny rippling on the surface, which turned out to be a floating butterfly, one of the blues. Completely waterlogged, trying to flap. Took this photo, then wondered if I could save this tiny bug. I slid a nearby leaf beneath it and it was able to hold on, so I dragged it to dry land. It now seemed stuck to the surface of the leaf, so I propped it on a rock and gently blew on the wings to evaporate the water. Amazingly, it seemed to work, as the fragile flutterer was able to pull one wing loose. I propped up the leaf to expose the wings to more air and soon it was free. It immediately fluttered up to a nearby bush to dry out. Not certain about the ID.

Started with the large yellow male on top with the female on her back. The pale gray male forced his way in after several minutes and knocked the yellow male off. We then attempted to walk by and the dark gray male ran out of the scrub and charged me. Then he got in on the fight. They finally all broke up and the female ran back into the scrub and the dark gray male followed her and resumed attempting to mate. The yellow one and the light gray one then fought amongst themselves a few feet away.