jay tracks
Sighted in Borrego Palm Canyon, First Grove (aka Palm Oasis) during monthly servicing of my bat acoustic detector in place since April 2019. This is the first snake of any kind encountered at this site in 50 visits. I have occasionally seen C. mitchellii lower in the canyon and up canyon in Fourth Grove. This Red Diamond did not rattle. I heard it scramble to avoid me as I approached from the creek bed and came within a meter or so of stepping on it.
After a quiet photo session, I continued up to my recorder and it moved a few meters to a less exposed location at the base of a palm. It was still at that location when I departed.
skull and mandible
tracks
Male on my DSLR camera trap
No idea really, best guess is porcupine. Appeared to be going to or coming from a dense riparian vegetation area including arrow weed, many mesquite and palo verde trees. The tracks were through open loose sand with scattered palo verde and within range of a giant tamarisk grove.
Fresh tracks observed after a recent rain.
House sparrow dropped this on my bike computer while I was at a post-ride coffee stop with my club. I took the photo many hours later after returning home.
Location is aproximate. One of my biggest naturalist goals was to observe this species. So stoked.