snake print

This is a snake print I found in some soft dirt.  He looks to have been pretty healthy.  It's snake season, for sure.

King of the road

A small California King Snake flatened on the pavement

Lampropeltis getula californiae

AKA:   The California King Snake

It was really hard getting the snake to pose for this picture, but I finally convinced him!   I caught him crossing the road while on my walk this afternoon.  He paused for a second when he saw me and then he quickly slithered off the road.  I figured he was some kind of garter or king snake - I had to view a lot of pictures on the internet before I found a picture that looked just like him.  I read up on the California King Snake and this is what I found:

 

California Kingsnakes eat almost any vertebrate they can overpower such as rodents, other reptiles, birds, and ampohibians. All kingsnakes are non-venomous but are powerful constrictors and generally kill their prey through suffocation. The "king" in their name refers to their propensity to hunt and consume other snakes, including venomous rattlesnakes. California Kingsnakes are naturally impervious to the  venom of rattlesnakes but are not totally immune. They feed on rattlesnakes when the opportunity arises and a rattlesnake will make an easy meal for a hungry kingsnake, but they don't seek out rattlesnakes specifically nor consume them on a regular basis. Rattlesnakes and California Kingsnakes are not enemies and may be found sharing the same piece of cover (i.e. plywood, tin, rocks, crevice, etc.) in the wild while completely ignoring the presence of the other.

When disturbed, California Kingsnakes will often coil their bodies to hide their heads, hiss, and rattle their tails, which, if done in dry vegetation, can produce a sound somewhat resembling that of a rattlesnake's rattle. They are considered harmless to humans, but if handled it is common for this species to bite as well as excrete musk and fecal contents from their cloaca.  Kingsnakes shed four to six times per year at which point they go "opaque", meaning the snake's skin becomes dull and its eyes will turn a milky color. Like all snakes, they usually shed in one long piece, which includes their eye scales. Juvenile snakes will shed more frequently, up to once a month, than adult snakes because of their faster rate of growth. The California Kingsnake lays eggs as opposed to giving live birth like some other snakes.

pepper tree blossoms

Flower blossoms that become the clusters of red peppers on a pepper tree.

Tis the season...

of blooming Golden Yarrow.

hummingbird babies all grown up

These are the same two babies I had shown on the April 22nd post.  Apparently they have no trouble flying because they took off like rockets.  Here is their empty nest.

These are few of my favorite things

When the dog bites, when the bee stings...when I'm feeling sad.....
I simply watch my favorite things…and then I don’t feel so bad.

Red tail hawk baby chick update

One baby chick has disappeared from the nest.  It could have been pushed out by it's sibling because of competition for food, or just may have died due to a health problem or other reasons.  Regardless, we're now down to one chick.  The remaining chick has trippled in size since birth 3 weeks ago but still has it's all white fluffy downy feathers.  It's now feeding itself on what Mama and Papa hawk bring to the nest and even spends time grooming it's feathers.  It's about half way through it's "childhood" so to speak.  Prediction:  I'm expecting it to take flight from the nest on or about May 17th.  

***UPDATE 5/19/12:  The chick was there on May 17th...but gone on May 19th....pat,pat,pat...I'm patting myself on the back for the accuracy of my prediction.

Ever heard of the pecking order?

It really exists.  Take a guess where "Pearl" falls in this group.

Baby hummingbirds

My husband took this photo of two baby hummingbirds in our yard a few minutes ago.  The opening where the two babies are lying is about the size of a quarter.  These two napped peacefully in the sun.  Do you see their black beaks?  Check out how their feathers are starting to sprout.