went over the hill to Mendocino for some R&R.
CeCe reluctantly accepting the resting head of her new brother for the long drive over.
We made it to Santa Rosa by lunchtime and stopped at Betty's Fish & Chips for lunch.
So, one of my favorite things about the North Coast, is the abundance of salamanders in this
area. Now I have seen my fair share of slender salamanders and Ensatina, so my goal was
to find another Coastal Giant. These guys are much bigger and much more impressive than
the aforementioned species, however they have been difficult to find for me, with only
one to my credit before. This time however, luck would deliver my second find right away.
By the time we got to the rental house, it was already dark. It had been raining most of the day
but it was now just wet, cool, and drippy outside. I knew there would be a chance I could
find a salamander or two out and about, as these conditions were perfect. So, we started
walking the dogs down the short road that lead us to the house. All I had was a small headlamp
to illuminate our way. As you may or may not know, this part of California is extremely unique.
Several hundred types of mushroom grow here abundantly, and they are also of great
interest to me. Anyway, to make a long story short, I stopped to look at a particularly
impressive mushroom growing out of the ditch on the side of the road. I must have stared
at the mushroom with my headlamp for several minutes before I even noticed who was
sitting right next to the big shroom. Yup, you guessed it, my second Coastal Giant was
right there, camouflaged perfectly behind some leaf litter. Had I not stared for so long, I might
not have even noticed it. So I ran back to the house, grapped the camera and flash and ran
back out to get some pics. Believe it or not, it took a few minutes for me to locate the critter
again, despite only ten or so minutes passing.
Here the salamader is, on top of the giant mushroom I stopped to look at. Amazing.
After finding this one, I knew I should look for more. Easily, I found an Oregon Ensatina. They
seem to be extremely abundant.
Along the way, I grabbed a few night shots of some of the shrooms. If I lived in this
area of California, I would really have to get learned on mushrooms and which ones
we could safely eat.
Withing a few minutes, I spotted this fellow in the dull light of my headlamp. At first, I thought it was
another Coastal Giant, because this salamander was also quite large. But after a closer look, I knew
I found something else! A Northwestern Salamander! That was three species in a very short period
of time, in a very small area, and this last one I have never found before! Bonus!
Groovy Costal Grooves.
XD
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