Jeff Dreier

That's the first impression I got too, a flea.

Nice photo. I think it might be a woodland skipper based on my field guide.

Probably a juvenile Fowler's or American toad

Possibly a juvenile mirror carp, which is a genetic mutation of the common carp. I could not find a reference documenting the presence of this form in California.

Impressive sighting. I have only seen a couple of road kills and encountered tracks on track plates. I used to conduct a lot of nocturnal surveys for other species in occupied habitat and never came across this species.

Possibly a fox sparrow due to the absence of markings on the back. Did it have a heavily-streaked breast?

I should have checked eBird; I use it enough myself to know its value. One of my field guides also shows that range expansion.

According to Eschmeyer et al. (1983), there are about 50 species of snailfish along the Pacific Coast. Of these, only about 13 occur in nearshore waters (less than 600 fet deep). Most species vary in color, and with or without patterns. They are best identified by various technical features.

A few years ago during a survey for another species, I found a very similar gartersnake in a drainage pond created by a landslide just east of your sighting (and northeast of the quarry). At the time, I concluded it was an intergrade aquatic gartersnake. I will try to find the photo and post it.

Probably double-crested cormorant; although neotropic cormorant can also occur in Texas, the map at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Neotr... suggests that neotropics are rarer as one gets away from the coast..