At the end of April
and the first half of May we combined some nice family encounters (in SC &
CA) with new nature explorations.
As you can see in my
photos my interest in patterns & structures and our love for reptiles, dragonflies and other wildlife is never ending ;-).
Again we were very lucky
to find ourselves all alone in wild nature, which helps a lot to observe
animals in their natural habitat. We saw for example a roadrunner taking care
of its little ones by finding lizards for lunch! And what a beauty the western
zebra tailed lizard is. The skinpattern
of de Gopher snake and rock structures in the Valley of Fire are also worthwhile.
It wasn’t easy to make a selection of everything we saw and enjoyed
in this wonderful trip.
We thank U.S.
National Wildlife Refuge System, eBird.org and alltrails.com for useful
information and ideas for quiet hiking trails and a great variety of environments!
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Sandy Dunes Death Valley |
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Zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus)
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Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
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Sweetwater Vista Ranch, Bitter Creek NWR
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Blue belly lizard (Sceloporus
occidentalis)
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Prickly poppy
(Argemone munita)
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In the middle of nowhere on the way to Trona Pinnacles
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Great gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer deserticola)
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Artists Palette Death Valley
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Flame skimmer (Libellula saturata)
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Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)
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Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor)
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Banded water snake (Nerodia fasciata)
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Green darter (Pachydiplax longipennis)
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Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
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White Domes trail Valley of fire |