I headed out to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve for a walk around 6:00 am.  It was supposed to be cooler outside today, but it was actually warmer at the preserve today than it was on Tuesday.  About 65° when I got there… and it felt humid again.  So, I only walked for about 3 hours before calling it quits.

On my walk I saw a few deer, including the 3-pointer buck with the really tall antlers (which are still in their velvet). I passed by a male photographer who said he’d gotten pictures of a doe and a fawn earlier in the morning, but I didn’t see them.

I could hear the Red-Tailed Hawks talking to each other from different trees throughout the place, and got a glimpse of one of the juveniles, and some good shots of an adult who landed in a tree right next to the trail.

I watched a small flock of male Rio Grande Wild Turkeys jumping up and down under a wild plum tree.  One of them was able to get enough oomph to actually reach the low-hanging fruit and pull it off the tree.  Greedy-greedy. Hah!

And it was a good day for squirrel photos.  I came across several different California Ground Squirrels, including a mama Ground Squirrel who was giving out an alarm call.  She was half-standing on a log with her paws resting on some of the broken branches and twigs coming off of it.  It seemed like such a “human” pose… it made me smile.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

Species List:

1. Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus
2. Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna
3. Black Walnut, Juglans nigra
4. Black-Tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus
5. Blue Elderberry, Sambucus cerulea
6. Box Elder Tree, Acer negundo
7. California Goldenrod, Solidago californica
8. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
9. California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana
10. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
11. California Wild Grape, Vitis californica
12. Cicada (exoskeleton), possibly Clidophleps distanti
13. Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
14. Coyote (scat), Canis latrans
15. Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger
16. House Wren, Troglodytes aedon
17. Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni
18. Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria
19. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
20. Pumpkin Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus minusculus
21. Red Swamp Crayfish, Crawfish, Crawdad, Procambarus clarkii
22. Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus
23. Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
24. Rust gall on Live Oak, Unspecified
25. Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa
26. Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus
27. Sycamore Lace Bug, Corythucha ciliata
28. Trashline Orb-Weaver Spider, Cyclosa conica
29. Two-Horned Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus dubiosus
30. Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
31. Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis
32. Western Gray Squirrel, Sciurus griseus