Tilden Nature Area Nature Walk Guide - Wildcat Gorge
A guide for the commonly encountered animals, plants, and fungi of Wildcat Canyon.
Northern Alligator Lizard
The Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea) is a medium-sized lizard that occurs on the North American west coast.
Western Fence Lizard
The western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) is a common lizard of California and the surrounding area. Because the ventral abdomen of an adult is characteristically blue, it is also known as the blue-belly.
Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
The western terrestrial garter snake (Thamnophis elegans) is a western North American species of colubrid snake. Seven subspecies are currently recognized.
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies, and is one of the most common buteos in North America. ...more ↓
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
The Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens, formerly Parus rufescens) is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae.
Dark-eyed Junco
The Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) is the best-known species of the juncos, a genus of small grayish American sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. It is a very variable species, much like the related Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca), and its systematics is still not completely untangled.
Coyote
The coyote (US /kaɪˈoʊtiː/ or /ˈkaɪ.oʊt/, UK /kɔɪˈjoʊteɪ/, or /kɔɪˈjoʊt/;Canis latrans), also known as the American jackal, brush wolf, or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States, and Canada. It occurs as far north as Alaska and all but the ...more ↓
Fox Squirrel
The fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), also known as the eastern fox squirrel or Bryant's fox squirrel, is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America. Despite the differences in size and coloration, they are sometimes mistaken for American Red Squirrels or Eastern Gray Squirrels in areas where both species co-exist.
Dusky-footed Woodrat
The dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes) is a species of nocturnal rodent in the family Cricetidae. They are commonly called "packrats" or "trade rats" and build large, domed dens that can reach several feet in height. Coyotes and other predators will attempt to prey on these rodents by laying waste to the dens, but the sheer volume of material is usually dissuasive. ...more ↓
Common Buckeye
The common buckeye or simply, buckeye, (Junonia coenia) is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia and all parts of the United States except the northwest, and is especially common in the south, the California coast, and throughout Central America and Colombia. The sub-species Junonia coenia bergi is ...more ↓
Spotted Cucumber Beetle
The spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) is a major agricultural pest insect of North America (see also cucumber beetle). In the adult form, it eats and damages leaves of many crops, including cucumbers, soybeans, cotton, beans, and many others. In the larval form, which is known as the southern corn rootworm, it tunnels through the roots of young ...more ↓
Asian Lady Beetle
Harmonia axyridis is a large coccinellid beetle. Its colour ranges from yellow-orange to black, and the number of spots between none and 22. It is native to eastern Asia, but has been introduced to North America and Europe to control aphids and scale insects. It is now common, well known, and spreading in those regions, and has also established in South Africa and widely across ...more ↓
Spittle Bugs
Cercopidae are the largest family of Cercopoidea, a xylem-feeding insect group, commonly called froghoppers . They belong to the hemipteran suborder Auchenorrhyncha.
Common Water Strider
Aquarius remigis, known as the common water strider, is a species of aquatic bug. It was formerly known as Gerris remigis, but the subgenus Aquarius was elevated to generic rank in 1990 on the basis of phylogenetic analysis.Aquarius remigis is found throughout North America, but is most prevalent in the mid-west of the United States.
Subterranean Termite
Reticulitermes flavipes, the eastern subterranean termite is the most common termite found in North America. These termites are the most economically important wood destroying insects in the United States and are classified as pests. They feed on cellulose material such as the structural wood in buildings, wooden fixtures, paper, books and cotton. A mature colony can ...more ↓
