My last post about Birding's Biggest Day was almost entirely focused on birds. But do you really think birds were all we saw in over 24 hours of exploring? Nope. We had some excellent mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates to go along with our bird list. And those creatures are what this sequel is all about.
So, do you remember how Caleb and I scouted the arboretum before the official count? That was a very active time for the lizards. Somewhere around 4:30 pm, we reached Ayer Lake and enjoyed seeing several Red-eared Sliders that were basking out in the sun.
My first reptilian lifer of the trip was the Greater Earless Lizard. These were possibly the most abundant lizard at the arboretum except for maybe the Desert Spiny Lizards.
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| A drab Greater Earless Lizard |
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| This one knows it has a fiesta on its back! |
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| The only Common Side-blotched Lizard I recall seeing |
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| My lifer Ornate Tree Lizard...on a rock?! |
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| Ornate Tree Lizard or Long-tailed Brush Lizard? I don't know yet... |
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| A nice Camel Cricket (Ceuthophilus sp.) |
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| A massive wolf spider (likely Hogna carolinensis) |
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| Our sole amphibian species of the trip - a Lowlands Leopard Frog at Ayer Lake |
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| A large and solitary carpenter ant that wandered about |
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| A Selenops Spider on the high trail |
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| A fine specimen of an Arizona Fishhook Cactus. |
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| A female Greater Earless Lizard |
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| A large adult Desert Spiny Lizard. Note its bluish green tail! |
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| Can you guess what it is??? |
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| ...A venomous Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake |
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| A young Desert Spiny Lizard |
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| Remember the Sonoran Whipsnake from my previous post? |
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| It sure had beautiful orange eyes. |
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| And a striking double stripe running along its side |
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| Another Desert Spiny Lizard |
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| An Arizona Powdered Skipper |
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| An Arizona Giant Centipede we found under a rock |
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| An interesting stretch of the Queen Creek |
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| A mantis that we observed hunting while looking for Elf Owls |
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| A scorpion I am still trying to ID |
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| A Bloodsucking Conenose (Kissing Bug) |
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| These ants were carrying purple flower petals back to their hill! |
Congratulations on getting past my extensive gallery of photos! I hope you enjoyed them. Since I have shown you all of the herps and invertebrates of the expedition, I wanted to share the mammals of the trip as well. Because I was unable to photograph most of the mammals I encountered, I will simply tell some stories of my observations starting at the beginning of the trip...
Upon embarking on our scouting trek on Friday afternoon, we encountered some Harris's Antelope Squirrels and Rock Squirrels. A few Desert Cottontails also crossed paths with us.
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| A Harris's Antelope Squirrel |
While birding Ayer Lake, I noticed something in the reeds below. When I investigated, it turned out to be an Arizona Cotton Rat - a species that relies upon dense cover near water to survive. Moving on from the lake, we found a single Cliff Chipmunk in a rocky area. By the time we arrived at the Queen Creek riparian area, the sun was quickly setting and we had a full night of owling to look forward to. Caleb noticed some very small bats which fluttered like a moth in flight. Western Pipistrelles. He picked up a small pebble a threw up into the air and the bats dove at it thinking it was a tasty moth. It is absolutely incredible that the bats' echolocation was so acute as to detect the pebble Caleb threw! I also heard some bats chirping at different points during the night. I have no clue as to what they were.
Past midnight, we hiked along the steep and rocky High Trail and found two very cool lifer mammals! The first was a Brush Mouse which quickly darted back into a mess of branches and other debris. True to name! Maybe 20 minutes later, Caleb and I saw a Rock Pocket Mouse which frantically entered its burrow when we shined the light on it.
Back down into more typical desert habitat, a Bailey's Pocket Mouse scurried off the trail and out of view. Another mammalian lifer came in the form of a Western White-throated Woodrat which was trying to slink off into a bush incognito. After peering into the bush awhile with my flashlight, I relocated the woodrat - though obstructed by many branches. It didn't stay put long enough for any photos.
That day brought us many more Harris's Antelope Squirrels, Rock Squirrels, Cliff Chipmunks, and Desert Cottontails than yesterday had. Around 10 pm, we switched from owling to searching for birds on their night roosts. It was kind of unnerving to find several Western White-throated Woodrats climbing on the branches of the trees that the birds were sleeping in. They must have been hunting those birds.
I hope all of this info will help out any herp-lovers or mammal watchers that plan on visiting the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in the future! I will leave you all with my non-bird totals from both Friday and Saturday:
1 Amphibian:
2 Lowlands Leopard Frog
8 Reptiles:
7+ Desert Spiny Lizard
3 Ornate Tree Lizard
1 Unidentified Urosaurus sp.
4 + Greater Earless Lizard
1 Common Side-blotched Lizard
10+ Sonoran Tiger Whiptail
3+ Red-eared Slider
1 Sonoran Whipsnake
1 Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake
10 Mammals:
1 Bailey's Pocket Mouse
1 Rock Pocket Mouse
7+ Harris's Antelope Squirrel
6+ Rock Squirrel
6 Cliff Chipmunk
4 Western White-throated Woodrat
1 Brush Mouse
1 Arizona Cotton Rat
7+ Desert Cottontail
3+ Western Pipistrelle
8 Notable Invertebrates:
1 Arizona Giant Centipede
1 Carolina Wolf Spider
1 Selenops Spider
1 Desert Hairy/Stripe-tailed Scorpion
1 Bloodsucking Conenose
1 Unidentified Mantid
2 Camel Cricket
1 Arizona Powdered Skipper
Godspeed and good birding, herping, and mammalwatching,
- Joshua
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