My biological consulting work often takes me to the south San Joaquin valley, and when I return home via westbound Highway 166, I often decide to take a longer route through the heart of the Carrizo Plain National Monument. On the date of this post I decided to travel north on Elkhorn Road, with its southern terminus on Highway 166 just southwest of the community of Maricopa. This road is often impassible due to deep tire ruts and steep, narrow grades. But in early June the road was completely dry and passable with a good high clearance all-wheel or 4-wheel drive vehicle. Perfect conditions for a slow journey to see what wildlife was active out on the plain this time of year.
I left early from Taft, a little after 6 AM, and was up and over the mountains in no time. I had some great views of several young San Joaquin antelope squirrels (Ammospermophilus nelson) along the way. Often, I would just see a flash of movement as they ran across the road. Two of the young animals were quite curious and paused to look at me long enough where I could snap a few pictures from my car. For the rest of my journey, I saw many more adults and young, an anecdotal observation that this species is doing quite well in the Carrizo.
Once I dropped down into the flats of the Elkhorn Plain, I started to focus my search image on lizards. I was not disappointed. Over approximately two hours, driving at approximately 10 MPH and stopping often, I saw four species of lizard: Western side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana elegans), Blainville’s horned lizard (Phrynosoma blainvillii), Western whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris), and blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila). The leopard lizards were amazing to watch and were quite active along the margins of the road. I was able to get some nice photos of a female with splashes of reddish orange along the sides and under the tail near the vent. This coloration is present during the breeding season, that generally extends from May to June. Females are smaller than males and typically have more limited color with the bright orange extending under the base of the tail. This lizard seemed curious and watched me for a long time, and eventually went about its business chasing insects.
At one point along my route, I saw a flash of movement as a lizard ran from the margin of the road into the center line where it froze near sparse vegetation that persisted between tire tracks. I stopped my car and slowly exited after confirming there was no other traffic around, and then slowly approached the lizard. These images document how well the leopard spotted pattern of leopard lizards breaks up their outline and enables them to blend in so well with their surroundings. As long as they don’t move, it can be very difficult to spot them on the landscape. This is a good reminder of why it’s important to drive with caution in areas where there are lizards and squirrels and other wildlife scampering about.
