Favorite Pictures of Animals--Reptiles and Birds

One amazing thing about the desert is the amount of wildlife. Most people think of the desert as a dry and lifeless, sandy and remote area of land but it is really an incredible wellspring of life. There were very few days that I did not encounter some type of animal and often the creatures I did come across were the highlight of my adventure. Here are a few of the birds and reptiles I saw on my outings.

I saw a lot of hawks this past year but couldn't get any real good pictures of them. They fly high and fast and I wasn't able to get the camera on them but they are a pleasure to watch.

Roadrunners are a different matter. I could probably take a hundred pictures of them. In fact, I have a pair that live on my street that I see almost every day. They are fun to watch and when you see one you know you're in the desert.

Hummingbirds are another desert bird that are difficult to photograph for an amateur like me although they are plentiful. These guys move FAST and when you think you've got a good picture they're gone. I was lucky to find this one actually perched for a second while I got my camera ready.

Hummingbirds are usually seen around flowers as this one hovers near this Palo Verde.

One of the best bird sightings of this year for me was this juvenile Great Horned Owl that Carl Garczynski and I saw on a hike in Joshua Tree National Park. He showed very little fear of us and Carl suggested that we were probably the only humans that he had ever seen and didn't know what to make of us.

Here he is just a bit closer.

Probably my favorite bird sighting this year was this Falcon that I saw near the start of the Art Smith Trail. He had a freshly killed Chuckwalla in his talon and had must have had a nest nearby because he hung around for a while even after leaving this spot.

Lizards were the most frequently spotted animal during my year of hiking. I probably spotted lizards on at least 75% of my outings. Most of the time I just let them be but Nikolas wanted to catch one so I let him. He also wanted to take him home but I insisted we let him go.

This Desert Iguana was lucky to get away from being caught. He was spotted on a hike when I had three boys along but he managed to escape.

Banded lizards, like this one, were the most plentiful and easily recognized.

Other than running under rocks the most frequent thing I saw lizards do were push-ups.

I saw a couple of Horned Toads (or Horny Toads as we called them when we were kids) and of the lizards I spotted, I most wanted to take on of these home.

I know frogs aren't really Reptiles but I didn't have enough amphibians to up them in their own category so this one goes here.

One of the most frequent questions I got about hiking every day was, "Have you seen any rattlesnakes?". Hiking hundreds of miles over three hundred and sixty-five days I saw one. Amazingly, I saw it on an evening in August when I thought it would be WAY too hot for a rattler. It was way too hot for me and I had Gatorade.

The Privilege of Membership

DAY NINETY SEVEN

I decided to have a little wilderness experience before work today, Living Desert style. Being a member, I get to go in as early as 7 a.m. which is great since I had to work at 10.

They've got this snazzy new sign at the entrance to the hiking area. I am very disappointed, however, that the area will be closed all summer. I guess I just have to go hiking in the mountains and at the beach instead.

There aren't a lot of flowers still blooming but I do get this Desert Chia, salvia columbariae on its last legs.

Rather than head all the way up the trail, I decide to follow the footprints up this wash.

I find some locoweed or Datura growing in the wash. Indians used this stuff to induce hallucinations but it is highly toxic. More than a few people have died trying to use it so I don't even touch it. Some would say I'm loco enough already.

I walk past a couple of signs that say No Trespassing but they are facing away from the Living Desert. I guess they don't want people coming in from this direction.

As I hike up a nearby hill, it is easy to see why. The Vintage Club is right next door and no one wants those deadbeats trying to come in without paying.

As I get to the top of the hill, I find this old lookout area. There is a newer, similar lookout area back off of the main trail. It is obvious that this one has not been used in quite a while. They probably changed the location because the Vintage residents didn't want anyone looking down on them.

I hike down the trail that led to the lookout area. It also hasn't been used in quite a while and is quite eroded. It doesn't help that it was built in the natural waterway instead of up the ridge.

I've seen a few animals on my little excursion, some quails, a Jackrabbit and a falcon. Unfortunately, they were all just a bit too quick for me to get a good picture of them. This roadrunner was nice enough to pose for me.

On my hike back, I find several golf balls that had been launched into the wilderness from those derelicts at the Vintage. From their location, it was obvious that they were purposefully hit into this area. Is it any wonder the Living Desert wants to keep them out?

Disgusted with the disrespect some people have for wild places, even if they're not that wild, I pick up a couple handfuls of leftover trash and deposit them on my way out.

As I head for the exit, I see the teeming masses of non-members getting ready for their time and I'm glad I was able to enjoy the solitude that only membership provides.