Gorgeous large lyre snake found active on a large rock outcrop at night. Temperature aproximately 85 degrees. time about 9pm. Snake was very calm for a lyre snake and had the lightest pattern of any I've seen. Snake was 40-44 inches.

Photo 1:
More Faces Than I Expected
Yesterday morning I stepped outside before sunrise and saw movement. Turned on a porch light & saw this. I'd been wanting to see this for years. She had 2 babies on her back with a 3rd climbing on. The mama froze as I ran back inside and scrambled to get my camera assembled. I was very lucky, she was still standing frozen when I got back. So dark I had to use flash. I was about 10 feet from her.
Photo 2:
There Is Always One
After my first shot, I stood still & mama finally relaxed and turned sideways. That is when I saw there were 4 babies, not 3. Number 4 was struggling to find a handhold on the other side from it's siblings. Every big family has that one kid that marches to a different drummer.
Photo 3:
Mom Checks Me Out Again
When my flash went off for my 2nd shot, it got mom's attention again. With 3 little sets of eyes also looking my way. Number 4 was still trying to hang on and facing the wrong direction.
Photo 4:
Mom Decides I'm No Threat
Mama ignored me and the camera flashes and wandered around the deck sniffing and exploring for a minute or so. Baby # 4 finally seemed secure. Babies stay in mom's pouch until they are about 2 1/2 months old when they emerge and climb on her back. They stay with her until they are about 4 to 5 months old.

This is one of two remaining young ground squirrels from the litter posted here earlier this year. Of four pups, these two are lingering on in the old burrow site. The mother squirrel only makes occasional appearances in the area now.

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.

The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, on the Indian subcontinent, in the Middle East, and in southern Europe. The greater flamingo is the largest living species of flamingo.The coloration comes from the carotenoid pigments in the organisms that live in their feeding grounds

Made with Sony A99m2 and Sony 70-200mm f/2.8G with SAL 20TC
(source: Wikipedia)

hunting from nearby tree, about 10:30am, looking intently down at snow, then landed and mantled for a couple of minutes, burying its head into the snow several times before flying off in the opposite direction

The provenance of this Great White Pelican has not been satisfied. Its is an Old World species, having never been recorded in the U.S. before. This female Great White Pelican spent three days in February 2016 at Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island, Florida, creating quite a stir. When it flew off in the company of American White Pelicans, its never reported again. Until it returned the following February for just a day. So were did it come from and were did go.
https://www.hngn.com/articles/184259/20160302/rare-great-white-pelican-appears-at-florida-refuge-4-000-miles-from-home.htm
http://blog.aba.org/2016/03/abarare-great-white-pelican-florida.html

just for fun; part of one of 12 quagga breeding programs aimed at bring back the quagga from extinction - not sure how many generations these guys are - prob 5th or 6th and looking pretty good, some have the orange tinge, lack of stripes on lower half, etc