We’ve seen several amphibian species here before including California Slender Salamanders, Yellow-eyed Ensatinas, California Newts and Western Toads so I figured I had a good chance to find something interesting. Also see our post about salamanders in Tilden.

After carefully peeking under a few logs which revealed several beetles and worms but no salamanders, I gave up and decided to enjoy the scenery: the green of the grass and distant snow-covered hills made it quite a sight.

But on my way back down from the ridge line, I decided to check one more log under which I found four California Slender Salamanders and one young Arboreal Salamander – a first for me.

Two California Slender Salamanders at Pleasanton Ridge

The Arboreal Salamander was a small one and resembled a young Ensatina we had found on the ridge before, though the color is quite different. Check out our amphibians page to get some more information on the different species of bay area salamanders.

Arboreal Salamander at Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park

We started our hike from the main parking lot and staging area around 12:30 p.m., already late in the day – not ideal for wildlife watching. The sun was somewhat tempered by a cool breeze every once in a while, but the temperature remained high throughout the hike.

Morgan Territory Regional Park habitat

Passing through a shady patch, we spotted three interesting species of warblers – small, jumpy birds – flitting through the oak trees. The Black-throated Grey Warbler, Hermit Warbler, and Wilson’s Warbler captivated us for some time, but we pushed on hoping to reach a spot where Pumas had been known to be seen during the day.

Earlier in the month, at the Martinez Beaver Festival, a person we met standing at the Bay Area Ridge Trail booth recounted two daytime Puma sightings at Morgan Territory around a campsite there. Needless to say, we didn’t see any Puma. We also missed the campsite entirely as the trail signs were a bit confusing.

Instead we spent our time around two ponds in the park: one was a cattle pond on the West side of Morgan Territory Road along Clyma Trail, the other was the pond I had visited before near the parking lot. The richness of animal life in and around the ponds was, as always, amazing.

Several species of dragonflies zig-zagged across the cattle pond, including Common Green Darners, Widow Skimmers, and Flame Skimmers. Occasionally, we would spot pairs mating or laying eggs in the pond. Most exciting was seeing several dragonfly nymphs cruising around in the water like some prehistoric underwater creatures.

As I circled the edge of the pond, I noticed several California Red-legged Frog and Sierran Treefrog tadpoles in the water, clustered near the edge of the pond. Some appeared to be feeding on the algae in the water. At one point, the dragonfly nymph swam over to an area with several tadpoles lounging, but as the nymph got close to any of them, the tadpoles zipped away.

After walking a little further around the pond’s perimeter, I found a grown Red-legged Frog sitting semi-submerged and seemingly unafraid of the human observers.

Red-legged Frog at Morgan Territory

Walking back towards the staging area along the Coyote Trail was tough due to some steep uphill stretches and a relentless sun, but our spirits were buoyed by a Western Skink which slithered up the side of the trail from some leaf-litter. We saw several species of butterflies along the trails as well, including the California Sister, Western Tiger Swallowtail, Common Ringlet, and Common Buckeye.

After a few miles, we arrived at the second pond near the parking lot. A quick survey of the ponds surface revealed hundreds of amphibian heads poking up out of the water (and one unidentified cranium – perhaps a Garter Snake?). The pond was teeming with Red-legged Frogs.

As we neared the pond for closer inspection, we were surprised by another amphibian. Small Western Toads started popping up around our feet everywhere – we had to be careful not to step on them.

Western Toad at Morgan Territory

After watching the toads and several frogs in the pond for a few minutes, we walked back to the parking lot after a surprisingly good, albeit Puma-less, four hours.

Manzanita tree along the trail

Western Rattlesnake at Briones Regional Park

It exhibited some behavior I had never seen before as it slowly poked around the grass near the edge of the trail, moving away from the trail then back toward it, all the while incessantly flicking its tongue in and out. After a good 10 to 15 minutes of this behavior, it slithered away.

Cruising around a few nights earlier revealed a Grey Fox and  a Great-Horned Owl, but no snakes. We hypothesize that the reason for the reptilian absence was due to nighttime temperatures around 60F. The temperature during the drive this weekend, however, was close to a balmy 70F.

Sure enough, Mines Road (and possibly the weather) did not disappoint. About 10 minutes down the road from the Tesla Road turnoff, we found a little-over-a-foot-long Western Rattlesnake slowly crossing the road.

Western Rattlesnake on Mines Road

Further down the road, we encountered a snake we had been looking for for quite a while: a California Kingsnake, and a big one at that. This one cruised across the road fairly quickly, but we were still able to get some pictures.

California Kingsnake

Even further along the road, our tires almost screeched to a halt over a second California Kingsnake, this one much smaller and much more reluctant to leave the warm road (it eventually did with some help).

California Kingsnake

To top the night off, on the drive back, we found another Western Rattlesnake crossing the road, bringing our tally to four snakes total – two king and two rattle.

While seeing snakes on the road is exhilarating, the excitement is bittersweet. Snakes are constantly killed on roads, so if you can, please try and be careful when driving.

Our trip was, by-and-large, a success. Dragonflies were everywhere, swooping, diving and hovering both above and around the water. A particularly beautiful species was the Widow Skimmer, which we saw several times.

Widow Skimmer

Other dragonfly species included several Western Pondhawks and Common Green Darners.

In addition to the dragonfly-life, we saw several other pond-frequenting wildlife, including birds such as Black Phoebes and a couple Western Pond Turtles.

Black Phoebe, often seen around water bodies

Pied-Billed Grebe, a common bird seen in ponds (notice the bill)

These species, and great weather, made for a great trip.

Western Pond Turtle

The park’s flowers were in full bloom, splashing colors all over the landscape. We were able to identify many of them, including the bright red Indian Paintbrushes, Mariposa Lilies and the endemic Mount Diablo Fairy Lanterns – spherical flowers dressed in yellow.

Indian Paintbrushes and other flowers at Mitchell Canyon

We hiked on the Eagle Peak Loop trail which climbed up to Eagle Peak after some gnarly switchbacks and unrelenting uphill slopes. It was a great day for butterflies, birds, and reptiles – some of the most active creatures during this time of year.

We saw some classic summertime birds, such as the Black-headed Grosbeak as well as some classic chaparral-type birds such as the Blue-grey Gnatcatcher. Butterflies included several Western Tiger Swallowtails and Variable Checkerspots.

Variable Checkerspot

One of the day’s highlights was a young Western Rattlesnake lying motionless off of the side of the trail (which we then showed to a visiting cub scout pack, the members of which were pretty excited).

But the indisputable treat of the day was the completion of our quest – a beautiful Coast Horned Lizard. It scurried briefly off of the trail before returning, gobbling up some ants and slowly crawling away. To say that we were excited would be an understatement, this lizard (as shown by the pictures) is possibly one of the most unique, awe-inspiring Bay Area animals.

Coast Horned Lizard

Coast Horned Lizard back

With that, we were content with our day’s findings and made our way back.

While I thought seeing what could have been either a California Red-sided Gartersnake or a Coast Gartersnake (frustratingly hard to identify, especially if you only get a quick look) at Tilden Regional Park was fortuitous, our neighbor brought over one that he had found crossing a decently large street next to our house in Pleasanton.

California Red-sided Gartersnake found crossing a nearby street

We were able to get some pretty nice looks at it – and are somewhat hesitatingly identifying this one as a California Red-sided Gartersnake – before releasing it safely into the nearby hills.

Each November through March, South Park Drive in Tilden Regional Park is closed to automobiles due to California Newt and Rough-skinned Newt migration. The newts migrate to nearby ponds, such as the Japanese Pool at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, in order to mate and lay eggs.

We decided to take a short walk along South Park Drive to see if we could catch a newt or two crossing the road. While we were unable to spot any newts, we made two other finds off the side of the road.

Under a damp log off to the side of the road, we found a small, tightly-coiled juvenile California Slender Salamander.

California Slender Salamander Juvenile near South Park Drive

Overturning another nearby log revealed a juvenile Yellow-eyed Ensatina.

Yellow-eyed Ensatina Juvenile near South Park Drive

Both these species of salamander become more active during the wet season – the current months offer a great opportunity to spot them.

Find more information about the San Francisco Bay Area’s amphibians at sfbaywildlife.info.

For most of the time, I hiked along Volvon Trail. The trail was very easy to walk on and provided wide views of the beautiful surroundings. A couple times, the trees would open up to stunning views of Mount Diablo.

Mount Diablo from Morgan Territory

The soft, sandy earth on the trail was excellent for seeing footprints. The occasional animal footprint would be mixed in between both dog and human footprints; I identified Puma, Raccoon, and Deer prints. For the greater part of my hike, these prints were the only evidence of animal activity – everything else was very quiet. Still, the scenery and vegetation made for a wonderful morning walk.

Towards the end, however, things started picking up. As I was nearing the last quarter mile before the trail head, I heard a slow, consistent rustling in the grass off of the side of the trail. I knew this was a snake. The only other small creature which makes such a noise in the grass is a lizard, however lizards produce short bursts of rustling – not slow and constant. I peeked a little bit closer and realized it was a Western Rattlesnake. It is extremely important to be careful around rattlesnakes and give them their space so as to not disturb them. I was fairly close to this one, however it was calm and not rattling. It merely waited in the grass to the side of the trail until it determined I was not a threat. I was standing perfectly still, and so it decided to continue on its way, gracefully crossing the trail and going off on the other side.

Western Rattlesnake at Morgan Territory

Rattlesnakes are beautiful animals and aren’t dangerous if we, as humans, are smart about how we act around them. They are fairly common and widespread in these East Bay hills, so encounters are relatively frequent. Many rattlesnakes are killed. Again, smart actions on our part could avoid both rattlesnake and human misfortune.

I continued on the trail and came to a pond. As I approached the pond, I heard several loud “plops” near the water’s edge. These “plops” turned out to be California Red-legged Frogs jumping into the water from the banks.

California Red-legged Frog at Morgan Territory

As I was watching the frogs, a Coyote came out of the woods on the far side of the pond. The Coyote leisurely poked around several California Ground Squirrel holes that were on the hillside, and didn’t notice me, allowing me to take some nice pictures. It even tried digging into a hole to get at a squirrel, but failed.

Coyote at Morgan Territory

As I turned back to looking at the frogs in the pond after the Coyote, I noticed an Aquatic Garter Snake swimming in the pond. As I got nearer though, it disappeared under the water, topping off the wonderful animal sightings I had on this day. Overall, I felt quite lucky to have seen 2 species of snakes, Red-legged Frogs, and a Coyote all within the period of an hour.

The main highlight of the day was a herd of Tule Elk resting under some trees in San Antonio Valley. They were quite close to the road, and easily seen from the car.

Tule Elk in San Antonio Valley

Other mammal highlights included both Desert Cottontail and Black-tailed Jackrabbit off of Mines Road. Birdwise, I saw a Greater Roadrunner and a California Thrasher, both very interesting species that aren’t seen often. I also saw a pair of Turkey Vultures feeding off of a California Ground Squirrel carcass on the road and took this picture:

Turkey Vulture on Mines Road

While they are quite common, Turkey Vultures are still quite a sight to see close up.