g_heaton's Favorites

Gravid female basking. Observed during a brutal bushwack to near the top of Iron Mountain. Note the flattop buckwheat vegetation. I don't normally assign imprecise coordinates but this cismontane population appears to be sufficiently valuable to warrant it.

Shell about 10 mm long. Found two on sand under a low intertidal boulder. Very extensible, active, blade-shaped foot and tentaculate mantle covering most of the shell. I don't recall ever seeing this species before, and with that active, white-striped foot, it was eye-catching. The last image shows one of the specimens as found, at the entrance to a burrow of unknown origin, but possibly constructed by Neotrypaea biffari, which are frequent in the boulder field at Naples Point.

The long foot, long tentacles, and mantle covering most of the shell place this little cutie in the Galeommatoidea.

Robin Agarwal (@anudibranchmom) was with me in the field when I spotted these and got a great video clip of one using its foot to move step-wise: https://www.flickr.com/photos/30314434@N06/31128212317

12 were seen tonight, 1 hatchling and 11 adults and subadults. One of the subadults was flipped under a log, but the rest were found inside or at the entrances of rock crevices. One of the adults had a fresh gash on its head from a recent fight (not shown) and two individuals were seen fighting in a crevice (poorly photographed in photo 4), with the individual that had a fresh gash on its tail trying to bite a nearby individual. It rained recently, the ground was moist, and there was partial cloud cover overhead.

Multiple heard, one seen.

On Los Coyotes tribal land - $10 fee to hike. I heard a few individuals about 3.5mi up the trail, above 6000ft in elevation, in at least two different spots. There were 3 calling where I photographed this individual. I believe I also heard one further down the trail, a little above the intersection between Sukat and Hot Springs Mountain Rd, still above 6000ft. All seemed to be calling from the pine needle/leaf litter on the ground.
Mixed coniferous forest with incense-cedar and Coulter's, Jeffrey's, and Sugar Pine based on nearby iNat observations.

Sunny, high 40s/low 50s, windy.

Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) (in foreground of 2nd photo). 1 Common Greenshank (with the greenish legs) and 6 Greater Yellowlegs were foraging together in Twin Ponds (a vernal pool) at corner of Border Rd. and Addington Rd. in Fort Ord National Monument (no car access). Link to Greater Yellowlegs observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/188944663

Irene's Ebird Checklist # S153118843 that includes this Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) : https://ebird.org/checklist/S153118843

Write-up about this Common Greenshank sighting in Don Roberson's quarterly Monterey County Highlights: 2023 (Rare Bird Sightings in Monterey County) Fall-Winter (October-December) newletter, 2023: (link pending)

Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) is large shorebird that is "common in Europe and Asia. There, it seems to fill the same niche as the Greater Yellowlegs in the U.S.; it is not too different in appearance, and it even sounds similar. Common Greenshanks show up in small numbers on the Alaskan islands, mostly during spring migration. It is a fairly large sandpiper, 30.5 cm (12 inches) long, similar to Greater Yellowlegs in size and shape, but tends to be grayer and less sharply marked, with green legs. In flight, it shows white triangle extending up back. "

Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/common-greenshank

Common Greenshank is a "large wader with a slightly upturned bill. Note overall grayish plumage with white belly and greenish legs. In flight, appears dark above with a broad white stripe up the middle of the back. Slightly larger and lankier than Common Redshank. Usually seen as singles or small groups. Listen for mellow “tewtewtew.” Feeds mainly by striding in water, picking and sweeping with its bill. Breeds across northern Europe and Asia; migrants and wintering birds in Africa, southern Asia and Australia occur in varied wetland habitats."

Ebird with species description, range map and sound recordings: https://ebird.org/species/comgre/

Xeno-canto Bird songs, sound recordings, and species range map: https://xeno-canto.org/species/Tringa-nebularia

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 7th ed., 2017 (species not listed)

Monterey Birds, Don Roberson, 2nd ed. 2002, sponsored by Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society (species not listed)

Merlin Bird ID (great app available for Iphones) by The Cornell Lab (Bird ID help for 8,500+ species) https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

Comprehensive Feather I.D. tools and more: https://foundfeathers.org/resources/

Found Feathers (Worldwide): https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php

The Cornell Lab (Birds in U.S. and Canada) https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ (enter common name)(this species not listed)

Was resting on the shoulder of the road amongst some weedy vegetation. Had just emerged from the holes under the rocky boulders of the canyon wall just off to the side of the road. I only saw it because of the shine in the headlights and the head which was lifted up. Didn't bite until near the end of my time photographing it. Three nights in the Chiricahuas, with the first being too wet and the third being not humid enough. The second day, the day I found this snake, was warm and humid with dry ground, the perfect Green Rat weather. I was really hoping to get lucky enough to see one of these beautiful and elusive snakes and was super excited when it actually happened. This is by far one of the coolest creatures I have ever seen in the wild and I am so fortunate to have seen this species in the wild on my second attempt!

My first desert tortoise and something that I was not expecting at all! It was a younger individual, only about 7-8 inches in length. There was a monsoon storm raging several miles away and it had rained in the area just a few days prior.

Found by another group of field herpers who were kind enough to let me photograph it. It was originally seen crossing the road from a rocky hillside about 2-3 minutes before the time stamp shown. It was huge, both in length and width, and was probably a gravid female. The cloud remnants of tropical storm Eugene were overhead during the observation.