Pop! Goes the...

  

We went for a holiday hike at Tomales Point today (29 March 2019).  We felt lucky to encounter an active Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata).

 

A view from the side in the coastal prairie: 

 

Looking forward, showing the beautiful tawny color below, and the black-tipped tail trailing behind: 

 

Periscope up!  We were impressed with how tall the weasel was when standing on its hind legs showing its full height:

 

Running between burrow entrances, including a great look at the tail:

 

Watching this weasel was definitely one of the highlights of the day.

Stormwatcher

At around 10:30 a.m. this morning (28 March 2019), we could see some serious dark clouds to the northwest:

 

Later, I checked the radar and this is what the NWS Bay Area radar showed at ~10:50 a.m.:

 

What did that look like on the ground?

I had walked out to take a photo of some of the weather instruments with the squall in the background.  This photo is from ~10:53 a.m.:

 

And here's a close-up of those dramatic clouds soon after:

 

There were a few lightning strikes in the distance and some thunder.  I didn't get a great photo, but since lightning is rare in Bodega Bay, here's one still shot pulled from a video clip:

 

I didn't know it at the time, but Alex took a picture of me taking a picture of the approaching storm.  Fun!

 

It started raining soon after this.  We received ~0.8 inches of rain during the day, bringing the rainfall year total in Bodega Bay to ~40 inches (103 cm).

Spring track

Do these tracks look familiar?  (The animal responsible is revealed below the photo.)

 

Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) tracks, 27 March 2019

Quiet moments

 

We felt lucky to spend a few quiet moments watching this Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) this evening (26 March 2019).

She was resting, but also listening and looking for prey:

 

 

And preening, too:

 

Unfurling

 

 

Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum), 19 March 2019

New Bohemian?

Ready for a mystery close-up?

Can you tell what type of organism this is?

[You can click on the image for a larger version.]
 

 

I'll show the entire organism below, so if you're not ready, don't scroll down quite yet.

Or, if you're ready for the answer, see below!

 

The first photo was an antenna of this moth, Neoterpes edwardsata.  (Photographed on Bodega Head on 23 March 2019.)  I haven't seen a common name for this species, but here's a fun proposal.  "Neo" means "new" and as far as I can tell "terpes" might translate as "delight."  The species name "edwardsata" is after Henry Edwards.  So perhaps the moth could be known as Edwards' New Delight?

I hadn't known much about Henry Edwards before researching this moth.  He was an English actor, writer, and entomologist with an interesting history.  And there's a local connection, as he was one of the founding members of the Bohemian Club in the 1870s and active at the California Academy of Sciences.  You can read more about him in this Wikipedia entry.

Another fun fact: The larval foodplant of Neoterpes edwardsata is California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica).

 

It's been a while

 

It's been a while, but tonight (23 March 2019) we noticed our first By-the-wind Sailors (Velella velella) of 2019 washed up on the beach.  Most were no longer alive and colorless (like the one shown above), but one was still blue.  They were all ~3 cm (~1 inch) long.

Far horizon

 

18 March 2019

 

Northward flights

Have you heard about the recent northward flights of Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies?  Some of the observations made it to the New York Times a few days ago.

Painted Ladies were visible on Bodega Head throughout the past weekend.  During the last few days I've noticed them flying by my office window.  For the record, here's a photo that I took from my desk on 19 March 2019:

 

I've written about Painted Ladies in the past.  For more photos and information about them, see the post called "The third lady" on 13 October 2012 and "On their way to the desert?" on 23 November 2013.

Equinox

 

Happy Spring!

Tendril of Wild Cucumber (Marah fabacea), 19 March 2019

Following footsteps

Earlier in March, I was watching some insects visit the flowers of Footsteps-of-spring (Sanicula arctopoides).  Check out this fly.  Hard to believe how thin its "neck" is:

 

I'm not sure if this next insect (below) is a wasp or a bee — maybe a wasp?  Let me know if you can help with an identification:

 

And here's one of the flower:

 

Shimmering green

In between chores today, we were keeping an eye out for something green to help celebrate St. Patrick's Day...

 

This Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) seemed to fit the bill!

Nestled in the iris

About a week ago, I was walking in the coastal prairie during a chilly afternoon.  I noticed a bumblebee nestled in an iris flower, then another bumblebee in a different iris, then two bumblebees in a third iris, and there were quite a few others.  I'm not sure why so many bumblebees ended up in Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana) flowers, but it was a nice setting:

 

Stopping by for a drink

 

I've been hearing that other folks in this area have been seeing Purple Finches (Haemorhous purpureus) in their yards.  Two stopped by for a drink in our yard on 12 March 2019.  Note the thick bill, pale eyebrow, and notched tail (compared to the more common House Finch).

 

Gratitude and contributions

 

Today we heard from so many people about the study we published referenced in this morning's blog post called "Fauna in flux."  Throughout the day, I just kept feeling grateful — for all of our family and friends who have supported us over the years, and for all of the people who helped out with this project. 

Our marine heatwaves study was a major undertaking.  We worked with hundreds of people — over 100 different observers, including scientists, naturalists, birders, fishermen, surfers, divers, students, and teachers, as well as taxonomic experts, museum collection managers, librarians, volunteers, and more.  So many people are involved in different aspects of a project like this, including boat captains, deckhands, and technicians.  And it's hard to describe how important historians and journalists are for providing context, written records, and outreach.

So when I was thinking about which photo to post tonight, I gravitated towards this expansive sky.  It represents all of my thanks to everyone!

Fauna in flux

 

You can click on the image above for a larger version.  From left to right:
Row 1: Hilton’s Nudibranch, Blue Buoy Barnacle, Short-beaked Common Dolphin, Olive’s Nudibranch
Row 2: Spanish Shawl Nudibranch, Violet Sea Snail, Pelagic Red Crab, Hopkins’ Rose Nudibranch
Row 3: Brown Booby, Striated Sea Butterfly, Glass-spined Brittle Star, Scarlet Sea Cucumber
Photo credits: Brown Booby (Roger Harshaw); Scarlet Sea Cucumber and Striated Sea Butterfly (Eric Sanford); all others by Jacqueline Sones.

Well, it's been almost five years, but our summary of the unusual warm-water species that appeared during the 2014-2016 marine heatwaves has finally been published today! 

Quite a few of you helped in this effort — sending us your photographs and observations over the years.  We really appreciate all that you've done to help document these events and to provide a baseline for future marine scientists and natural historians. 

The scientific article titled “Widespread shifts in the coastal biota of northern California during the 2014–2016 marine heatwaves” in the journal Scientific Reports is available to everyone via open access format here.  (If you can’t download/access a pdf file, let me know and I can help.) 

Also note that much of these data surrounding these observations, and photographs of all 67 species noted in the paper, are included in the Supplementary Information file, which is also available via open access here. 

Check it out and let us know what you think.  It has involved a lot of hard work, so we're pleased to be able to share this article with all of you.  And, as usual, we continue to be interested in hearing about your sightings of unusual species!

P.S.  If you'd like to share this article with your friends or colleagues, here's a shortened URL address that links directly to the paper: https://rdcu.be/bqDmo

Caught by the storm

Yesterday I had fun watching an isolated squall approach Bodega Head from offshore.  I was watching it out at sea, and could see that it was moving towards Bodega Head.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

3:13 p.m.

The contrast between the ocean ahead of the squall and within it was mesmerizing. 

3:14 p.m.

 

At first I thought it might slide to the north of where I was standing, and then I realized it wasn't going to, and I thought, "Uh oh...now I'm going to get soaked."  

3:16 p.m.

I took a few quick pictures and then turned to try to find shelter.  

3:18 p.m.

I knew that it was too late to stay dry, but I had had fun watching the storm.  Then all of a sudden I started getting pelted with hail!  It wasn't rain, so I had a little more fun taking a few pictures of the hailstones, and then I headed back in.

3:25 p.m.

 

Storm falcon

Just a quick photo of a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) during an incoming storm late this afternoon (9 March 2019).  The falcon was hanging above me in an updraft along the bluffs.  It was very windy and the conditions were quite dark, but I liked the falcon's silhouette.  (More about the storm later!)

 

Tipped off

Not long ago, Steve and Chris mentioned that they had seen an eagle in Bodega Harbor.  I looked around, but didn't find it.  

Then today (7 March 2019), while I was out along the coastal bluffs with my head down checking on some plants, I heard a gull calling in the distance.  It took a second or two, but then I registered that the gull's call sounded a bit distressed.  So I looked in that direction, and there was an adult Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)!

I had a camera with a larger lens with me, but it was packed away.  So I scrambled to get it out of the camera case.  The light wasn't great, but I managed a few interesting shots for the record.  I've seen eagles in the harbor, but I think this is the first time I've seen one on the outer coast of Bodega Head:

 

 

 

Although eagles are uncommon in Bodega Bay, I've heard that they've been observed regularly near the mouth of the Russian River.  Perhaps this individual wandered down from there?

P.S.  If you'd like to see pictures of an eagle in Bodega Harbor, check out the post called "Coming in for a landing" on 13 January 2017.

Lingering

 

Lingering light showers this afternoon, 6 March 2019

 

Look what turned up!

 

Stephanie very kindly wrote to share this photo of American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana) from Dillon Beach.  She observed three individuals at Sand Point on 5 March 2019.   We don't often get to see avocets on the outer coasts of Sonoma and Marin counties, so this is a nice sighting.

Note that females tend to have shorter and more strongly recurved (turned upward) bills.

I think I last posted about avocets almost six years ago — check out the post called "Avocets in July" on 8 July 2013.

Many thanks to Stephanie for sharing her photo!

Showers and light

This one is from 4 February 2019.

 

Zigs and zags

I've been working on some photo organization today (long overdue!).  Here are two beautiful chitons that I haven't had a chance to share yet:

 

 

These chitons were photographed in the low rocky intertidal zone on 22 January 2019.  They both appear to be in the genus Mopalia, but I'm not sure which species yet.  (If you have any ideas, let me know!)

Springtime in the willows

 

Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) in the willows (Salix sp.), Bodega Dunes, 2 March 2019.

I liked the view from farther away, too: 

 

Ruffled feathers

While getting ready to leave for work this morning, I looked up to see this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) in our yard:

 

At times it looked quite ruffled:

 

Eventually we realized it was because most of the smaller birds in the neighborhood weren't so happy about the hawk being nearby.  Many of them dove at the hawk, scolded it, or just kept flitting from branch to branch, close to the hawk, but not too close...

 

[Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) in the lower left corner.]