As I was taking a picture of this female Common Merganser (Gänsesäger) in the channel at the entry of Nymphenburg Palace, she suddenly raced away with her bill and eyes under water. I first thought she was chasing Black-headed Gulls, but she surfaced with a Chub that was so large and heavy that she lost her grip on it. She must have stunned the fish, because she pulled it out again after searching for it under water. This time, she didn’t only struggle with the weight of the fish, she was also surrounded by excited Gulls who wanted to get a bite. The Merganser tried in vein to get airborne with the heavy load, and eventually had to drop her prey… She seemed pumped up and excited after this catch and shook her feathers and flapped her wings for a bit. And then she continued her search.
For the Chub: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/34861851

Trying to ID the dragonfly, not the Monarch. The monarch is in a separate post. Can anyone explain this behavior? After approaching and staying near these insects for awhile, they flew off and seemed completely fine. I’m not sure if I witnessed mating or what...

Mating in same pedestrian tunnel (Tunnel No 1) in which 40 specimens overwintered. All are gone except these two and one other. None present in Tunnel #2 that I documented all winter (where 15 were present).

I have a 100 gallon tub of water near my house so wildlife can drink. Just as it was getting dark a short while ago something caught my eye and this small White-tailed buck came to drink. Somehow this fella got a plastic jug caught up in his velvet antlers...I hope he can get it off. I had to chuckle at this sight, however, something I had certainly never seen before. Anyway, he drank some water then trotted away. Hope he will be OK!

These crows were eating something off the street. I've been wondering if crows eat the newt roadkill. I've seen this phenomenon several times now, but I haven't been able to get a closeup to see if they're actually eating newts. There were a lot of decomposed newts in this location, though. I wonder if the poison in the newts' skin deteriorates over time so that it's safe for the birds to eat?

Pacific Newt (roadkill)

Found dead on Alma Bridge Rd. near Priest Rock Trailhead.

***Decomposition Rate Study***
These observations show the decomposition of a newt over time. This will give us a sense of how fast the bodies decompose so that duplicate entries aren't added to the main project and the total count is more accurate.

Ref: Decomp03
After 4 days and 1.5" rain:

Picture #1: 12/19/2018 (Wed)
Picture #2: 12/23/2018 (Sun)

Pacific Newt (roadkill)

Found dead on Alma Bridge Rd. near the Los Gatos Rowing Club entrance.

***Decomposition Rate Study***
These observations show the decomposition of a newt over time. This will give us a sense of how fast the bodies decompose so that duplicate entries aren't added to the main project and the count is more accurate.

Ref: Decomp04

After 6 days with no rain:

Picture #1: 12/25/2018 (Tues)
Picture #2: 12/31/2018 (Mon)

Rough-Skinned Newt (roadkill)

It just made me sick this morning to see 42 (yes, forty-two!!) dead newts on Alma Bridge Road. Many were bloody with guts spewed out (recently dead). Others were smashed flat so that the orange belly could not be seen.

See the following journal posting for more info: https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/truthseqr/13713-roadkill

I wish the highway dept. would put up barriers to keep the newts off the road and stop the carnage.

Description:
* Warty, slate-gray skin on its back and bright orange-yellow skin underneath.
* The eyes have patches of yellow
* When seen from above, the eyes of T. granulosa do not extend past the margin of the head.
* The lower eyelids of T. granulosa are dark in color.

(Alma Bridge Road)

A few female Pronghorn from the "Lost Herd".
These Pronghorn are descendants of a herd that were apparently part of a reintroduction plan in the late 70's/early 80's. The plan was abandoned by the state but the Pronghorn remain. They roam the I5 corridor between Sacramento and Redding. People often report sightings of weird looking deer along the interstate. I have found no information about the size of the herd and the California DFW gave me zero information when I inquired.

Mating attempt between S. sanguineum and S. vulgatum.
Male: S. sanguineum with black legs.
Female: S. vulgatum. The legs are black and have a yellow colour on the upper side. See https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/16135005 for more fotos.

Observation and photo by Rhiannon Mulligan, sent via instagram

"So, according to the inter webs these lizards are exhibiting mating behavior. The male grabs onto the head of the female until she is ready.
Matt pulled them apart because he thought they were killing each other. 😆Oops, now there will be no more baby alligator lizards."