fence lizard ~ 06/08/11 ~ Pinnacles

coast range fence lizard

Sceloporus occidentalis bocourtii

Don't know why, but I always love seeing lizards. There's a plethora of them at Pinnacles.

CA quail ~ 06/08/11 ~ Pinnacles

California quail
Callipepla californica

While I regularly see CA quail during hikes, I have only a handful of crappy pics. It helped for the photo above that this male quail is probably accustomed to lots of human traffic and was standing watch over its family in a prominent spot. Judging by the amount of poo dripped down the sign, this male quail uses this dump station perch regularly.

jimson weed ~ 06/08/11 ~ Pinnacles

western jimson weed / sacred datura
Datura wrightii
Solanaceae

At last, I found a native jimson weed. Perhaps the reason why I haven't noticed this before is because it blooms in the evening through to the next morning. Unless I'm camping, I usually don't hike in the evenings. Descriptions of its scent range from "sweetly fragrant" flowers to "rank smelling" foliage. Like it's non-native cousin D. stramonium that I've seen at Fort Ord, extracts are narcotic. Native Americans used preparations in ceremonies.