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.

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.

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.

As the evening light faded, we first spotted a Tarantula as it was crossing the road. As we were attempting to get him out of harms way in a timely manner, it managed to crawl into the wheel on our car. After several minutes of banging a stick on the tire, it finally decided to come out and wandered off to safety.

Tarantula on Tesla Road

As we drove along, we also saw a Gopher Snake cross the road. When threatened, Gopher Snakes tend to sharpen their heads so that they resemble something like triangles, something we had noticed before while driving along Mines Road which is also in Livermore. This one was no exception.

Driving a little further east on Tesla Road yielded two Western Rattlesnakes. We managed to snag a picture of the second one, its eyes gleaming in the headlights. Note the defensive position.

Western Rattlesnake off Tesla Road

The fact that we saw three snakes as well as a tarantula crossing the road combined with a decent level of traffic shows how easily animals can become roadkill. Drivers must be careful always.

On the way back, we saw a Barn Owl fly along the road for a bit and then veer off. And then a Desert Cottontail by the side of the road. No Kit Foxes but plenty of wildlife.