Photos / Sounds
What
Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Disoriented little gopher wandered onto my shoe after mowers destroyed his/her home. Missing fur and had trouble balancing so I brought it to the SPCA wildlife rehab center.
Photos / Sounds
What
Odorous House Ant (Tapinoma sessile)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Small ants, roughly 5 MM long, winged, present in a colony of both winged and wingless ants. Currently nesting in one of my house plant pots unfortunately.
Photos / Sounds
What
Orange Bush Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus)Observer
cmeffordDescription
See my other observation for explanation of these brightly colored wild sticky monkey plants. Very interesting situation.
Photos / Sounds
What
Orange Bush Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Interesting find here, there’s a landscaped park (Doe Super Park) that has a handful of sticky monkey cultivars planted adjacent to a wild field, including the “Jelly Bean Fiesta Marigold” D. aurantiacus cultivar. It looks like those planted cultivars hybridized with the local wild D. aurantiacus and have produced dozens of brightly colored monkey flower shrubs. There’s at least 30 very large and mature sticky monkey plants growing wild throughout this field that are all sporting various shades between bright red and light orange toned flowers, showing the full spectrum of hybrids. Too many plants to put observations down for each one, but there’s a large population of these hybrids growing and spreading into the adjacent fields.
Photos / Sounds
What
Fiddlenecks (Genus Amsinckia)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Much more orange than the Amsinckia I’m used to seeing in Marina.
Photos / Sounds
What
Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Extremely widespread along this road. Dense stands for at least a few miles.
Photos / Sounds
What
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Poor photo quality but you can distinguish the white head and tail from the brown wings.
Photos / Sounds
What
Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Both Bluegill and Sacramento Perch are present in this lake, however I’m assuming this is a bluegill due to the vertical bars along its body.
Photos / Sounds
What
Fathead Minnow (Pimephales promelas)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Hundreds of these little minnows shoaling in a shallow, lower flow area of this creek. Many had accidentally “beached” themselves in an attempt to avoid the fast flow. See last photo to observe this odd phenomenon.
Photos / Sounds
What
Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Handful of Threespine Stickleback found in the creek. Assuming these came up from the Old Salinas River through Tembladero Slough to Natividad Creek. Long journey for such small fish. I would guess these sticklebacks are established throughout the Gabilan, Natividad, and Alisal creeks since all of these creeks connect to the Tembladero slough, as well as Carr Lake.
Photos / Sounds
What
Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Dip netted and released
Photos / Sounds
What
Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Tons of dead seabirds on the beach. Counted at least 20 Murres in about a 50 yard stretch. Lots of corms as well.
Photos / Sounds
What
Rustic Jumping Worm (Amynthas agrestis)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Moved like a snake. Slithered quickly rather than the usual slow tug of a typical earthworm.
Photos / Sounds
What
Threeband Slugs (Genus Ambigolimax)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Found a handful of these slugs in my gecko enclosure with live plants.
Photos / Sounds
What
Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)Observer
cmeffordDescription
Gambusia fry huddled behind some submerged logs and pine cones.
