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

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.