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.

Just A Little Rattled

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY ONE

I had planned to go and hike in Palm Desert after work. That way I could get some shade and I'd hike a little loop I haven't done in a couple of months. Two things conspired against me, though. First, I forgot my camera at home when I left for work and I wanted to go home and get it. Then, when I left work I saw the clouds and the position of the sun, I thought this is going to be a nice sunset and I won't be able to see it from Palm Desert. So after getting my camera I decided to head over to the Indio Hills and see if I could get some pictures near Biskra Palms.

I get to Biskra Palms and the sun is getting real low on the horizon and I have to run to get to a viewpoint where I can get some pictures.

I'm hoping to get up this hill before the sun totally disappears.

Before I get to the hill I turn and get a shot of the sun as it disappears.

I get to the base of the hill and take this shot before I start climbing.

As I climb I continually turn around and take pictures along the way.

The footing is precarious with loose rocks and dirt. It is not fun stuff to climb but the view is worth the effort.

There is very little vegetation on these hills other than a few creosote bushes.

I figure I can hike up this trail a way and come down a different direction closer to the palms. I brought a flashlight in case it gets to dark to see and the hike is going pretty well although the trail is a bit eroded in a few places.

I get to a section where the trail is a bit washed out and I have to jump down a couple of feet to get to a stable section. As soon as my feet hit the ground I hear the unmistakable buzz of a rattlesnake. I look to see where he is and he's about four feet from me and headed in my direction. The reason he's coming toward me is so he can escape below the big rock. That's where he is right now. Trust me.

I wait from a safe location to see if he'll make an appearance and, sure enough, he does. He moves very quickly and while I try to get a close up picture it comes out blurry so this is as good as it gets.

He moves pretty fast along the rocks right where I was standing. I figure he's probably about two and a half feet long.

He heads down into this hole where he'll be safe and so will I. I decide that maybe I don't want to hike the rest of this trail and hike back through the palm oasis in the dark. I don't want to stumble into one of this guy's relatives.

The hill that leads back is like walking down an ice slope covered with ball bearings. But I take it slow and keep my eyes peeled for snakes. One thing about seeing a snake on a hike is that it makes you just a bit paranoid for the rest of the day.

I get back to the Jeep before I really need the flashlight. I check under my door to make sure there are no snakes and climb in. I really thought it would have been too hot today to have a rattler out and about but I guess they can venture out in the shade of the afternoon just like I can. I guess I'll have to start remembering to bring my snake stick along from now on.