desertsolitude's Favorites

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.

The only other car I saw that night went right over this snake! I found it in the defensive ball position. I set it down and watched in unravel, which it did sort of in an odd manor. I felt the snake throughout its body but couldn't really feel or notice any injuries. I put it in a secluded spot off the road and checked on it periodically. The 2nd time it was in the same spot but it reacted to my touch..good sign. The 3rd visit, an hour since I found it, it was gone, so I hope that means it will be fine and have a long healthy life!

Adult male with strange body feather wear, giving the bird a very gray appearance. Flaring gorget feathers too long for Anna’s and overall gorget color intermediate between Anna’s and Costa’s. Hunched posture but seemed bigger than adult male Costa’s. Best pics I could get, the gorget looked very pink in the field.

I'm guessing that this was mountain lion predation, but I'm not certain because the carcass is so intact. It appears to be an older male. The tips of the horns are very worn down. Hard to tell how long it has been dead

Saw this strolling down the road and thought, "Oo, coyote!" Stopped, took pics. Didn't move. Got out, took pics. Didn't move. Pretty much walked right up to it, didn't move. Ultimately decided I had been hustled: it forces you to pull over, then waits to fed. Wiley.

10 Foot male White shark stranded off Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz, CA yesterday. The white shark appeared to be sick and stranded. Despite team effort to release it back into the water; it continuously showed up back at the shore break.
The shark did not recover. Arranging follow up recovery and formal lab necropsy, hopefully at local UCSC lab or CDFW or NOAA facility to determine causes. Speculations are that this shark, a sub adult male white shark has stranded due to a Carnobacteroum Infection documented to be killing related species of mako sharks, salmon sharks and thresher sharks (Lamnid/Lamniforms sharks)