Dark sand

 

Close-up of a layer of dark sand — a mix of quartz, garnet, and magnetite — on a beach in Chatham, MA, photographed on 27 September 2018. 

Turnstones among stones

 

A Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) among stones in Humarock, MA, on 28 September 2018.

And here's a closer view of a Ruddy Turnstone in Bodega Harbor, CA, on 7 September 2018:

 

Beach hopper blues

 

A beautiful blue-eyed beach hopper (a type of amphipod) at the entrance to its burrow on a sandy beach in Chatham, MA, on 27 September 2018.

In the puddles

 

A few days ago we were walking in the woods in New Hampshire when Eric noticed some movement in pools of water on the trail. 

We couldn't see what it was at first, but then our eyes adjusted to the dim light and we spotted these wonderful Red-spotted Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens).  

Their scientific name means "greenish with eyespots" — and you can see why, with the greenish-brown background color and the bright-orange-ringed-with-black eyespots on the body:

 

Red-spotted Newts have an interesting life history — they're aquatic as adults.  Note the flattened tail (for swimming) in the photos above.  However, the juvenile stage (called an "eft") is terrestrial, spending 1-3 or more years on land before returning to the water.  

Efts are more reddish in color, have rougher skin, and more rounded tails.  Interestingly, we found one newt that might have been a juvenile transforming into an adult.  Note the reddish-orange color, the rougher skin texture, and a tail that appears to be undergoing metamorphosis into a more fin-like shape:

 

It was fun to visit with these wonderful salamanders!

On the lake

 

Common Loon (Gavia immer) in New Hampshire on 24 September 2018

A green-eyed welcome!

What a nice welcome to Massachusetts!  This is one of my favorite groups of dragonflies.  A beautiful Clamp-tipped Emerald (Somatochlora tenebrosa):

 

I'm on way out "out-the-door," so I don't have time to figure out which species this is yet (but now updated above and below).  But here are a couple of close-ups in case someone wants to help me with the i.d.

A close-up of the eyes and the thoracic markings:

 

And the terminal appendages, which are pretty impressive!

 

(P.S. I'll have intermittent Internet access this week, but I'll post when I can!)

ADDENDUM (25 September 2018): Just back with Internet access today.  A couple of nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night with the word "tenebrosa" in my head.  I haven't had to identify emeralds since moving to California, but my brain must have retained enough to work its way (slowly) to the identification of this dragonfly.  I've updated the name at the top of this post.

M & M

Did you look up at the sky tonight (19 September 2019)?  It was amazing to see Mars so bright just below the Moon!  In the photo below, look for Mars at the bottom of the image (almost directly below the Moon.)

 

Here's a close-up of Mars — a bit fuzzy, but you can see that intriguing reddish color:

 

And one of the Moon:

 

 A beautiful night sky!

Through the fog

 

Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) spout off Bodega Head, 16 September 2018.

 

Feathers in the wind

 

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) in the wind, Bodega Bay, 16 September 2018

Color coordinated

A few quick pictures of one of my favorite local moths (photographed on 15 September 2018).  Note how the patterns on the legs match the wings!

 

We moved this Painted Tiger Moth (Arachnis picta) to a safe spot.

Although gray and black and white above, the underwings and abdomen of this species are quite colorful:

 

I've always been curious about the red coloration on its front legs.  Why so colorful there?

 

Here's an even closer view:

 

The bright red color in that position reminded me of another beautiful species that I photographed in Sebastopol several years ago.  Do you remember the Goddess of the Hearth?  Click on this link to see the Vestal Tiger Moth (Spilosoma vestalis) from 21 April 2012.

I've written about Painted Tiger Moths a few times, so if you'd like to learn more, or to enjoy some more photos, you can review these posts:

- "Gray beauty" on 8 September 2017

- "A fantabulous night" on 20 September 2016

- "Now you see me..." on 18 October 2012 

- "Painted Tiger, Hidden Dragon" on 1 October 2012

 

A little furry

 

Last month we found a very small juvenile Furry Crab (Hapalogaster cavicauda).  The width of the carapace (the back) of the crab was only ~4 mm across.  It was clinging to a patch of pink Derby Hat Bryozoan (Eurystomella bilabiata) in the low intertidal zone.  

P.S.  I've written about this species before, so if you'd like to see what this crab looks like when it's older, check out the post called "Soft belly" on 21 February 2017.

 

Rocky shore

I've been organizing some photos, so here's a nice shot of the rocky shore in July 2018:

Teamwork

When we left work tonight (11 September 2018), there was nice light on the American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) feeding at the north end of Bodega Harbor:

 

 

 

 

 

I kept scanning to try to see what the pelicans were catching.  What do you think — does this pelican have a stickleback at the tip of its bill?  [Click on the photo for a larger version.]

 

Group swim

 

Recently there have been some very large flocks of Brandt's Cormorants feeding off of Bodega Head.  This photo is from 9 September 2018.

And just for fun, here's a recent picture of three different species of cormorants:

 

Brandt's Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus) on the left, Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the center, and Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) on the right.  Photographed on 25 August 2018.

ADDENDUM (11 September 2018): Someone noticed that the cormorants didn't appear to be diving in the group photo above.  I was curious about that, too!  Eventually I did see some of the birds diving.  It was subtle and hard to capture in a photo, but here's an example with two birds diving:

 

Water views

A few photos from a quick sail in Tomales Bay on 8 September 2018:

Approaching Hog Island:

 

Enjoying White Gulch:

 

And a closer view of those smooth gray cliffs:

 

It was a beautiful morning on the water!

 

Probing for dinner

 

 

Young Sanderlings (Calidris alba) feeding on the outer beach, 6 September 2018.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

A tale of tattlers

This is one of my favorite local shorebirds.  Here's a series of Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana) images from 6 September 2018.

Four different individuals, first two active and then two resting:

 

 

One individual, alert and then asleep:

 

 

In flight (a nice view of the feathers):

 

A distant photo, but showing a tattler just after it had caught a very large isopod (most likely Pentidotea wosnesenskii):

 

Resting in the harbor

 

It's been a busy time, but here's a photo of a Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) from Bodega Harbor on 18 August 2018.  Note the rusty tones on the forehead, back, and wing feathers, indicating that this is an immature bird.

A fresh angle

 

A quick photo of a beautiful Satyr Anglewing (Polgonia satyrus) that passed through our backyard today (3 September 2018).

Feeding with their feet

I’m excited to share some photos and video of crinoids (also known as feather stars).  These intriguing animals are echinoderms (related to sea stars and sea urchins).  However, we don’t get to see crinoids often along the California coast because they are restricted to deeper water.  When Kate brought back some of her offshore oceanographic equipment from Cordell Bank, she found a few of these feather stars (Florometra serratissima) attached to her gear.   

 

All echinoderms share the unique feature of tube feet — hydraulically powered structures that are usually arranged in rows along the arms.   Most echinoderms (like sea stars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers) use their tube feet both to attach to rocky surfaces and to crawl along the bottom.  For example, here's a close-up of the tube feet of a Sunflower Star (Pycnopodia helianthoides):

 

However, it is believed that the tube feet of ancient echinoderms were not used for locomotion, but rather were used to capture suspended food from the water.  The tube feet of crinoids have retained this ancestral function of suspending feeding.   

Crinoids hold their long, feathery arms aloft in the water.  Their arms have many fine branches (called pinnules).  A groove runs down the middle of each branch, and the tube feet are arranged in sets of three along the groove.   

 

The primary tube feet are long and are used to capture food particles from the water (see next photo).  They are covered with mucus and fine projections (papillae) to help snare food.  The primary tube feet can also bend over rapidly to flick particles into the food groove.

 

The shorter (secondary and tertiary) tube feet help transfer captured particles from the primary tube feet into the food groove.  Once particles are in the food groove, they are transported by cilia down the groove to the mouth, which lies at the base of the arms.  The extended arms, branches, and tube feet of the crinoid all face upward into the water, creating a cone-like structure with a lot of surface area for capturing food.     

In the video below, you will see two feather stars perched on a rock, followed by close-ups of their tube feet.  As you watch the video of these crinoids feeding, think about how different their tube feet are from those of more familiar echinoderms like a sea star.  For example, notice how the crinoid’s primary tube feet are long, slender, and papillate, and extend up into the water.  In contrast, a sea star’s relatively smooth, muscular tube feet end in suckers and face downward for crawling on the bottom.  Crinoids are so different in their appearance and behavior that they somehow seem more like prehistoric fossils than living animals!

crinoids_sanford from Jackie Sones on Vimeo.

P.S. Many thanks to Kate for sharing these amazing animals with us.   

 

Out on the flats

Last September I posted about an interesting "sap-sucking sea slug" called Aplysiopsis enteromorphae.  The photographs accompanying that post were taken in the lab, but recently I encountered this species in the field, so here's a picture from the Bodega Harbor tidal flats:

 

This sea slug was ~20 mm long.  To learn more about this local species, check out the post called "One cell at a time" from 23 September 2017. 

P.S.  Related to last night's post, there are a couple of very small phoronids in the photo above (bottom center and top right).  I didn't notice them when I was trying to photograph Aplysiopsis traveling across the sand.  But when I was reviewing the photos, I saw these tiny phoronids emerging from the sand.  Fun!