Enraptored

We had a nice trio of raptor observations this morning.  I think one of the best views was this bird near the Bodega Bay Post Office:

 

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetis leucocephalus)

Returning from a shorebird survey, this bird was perched on a wire along the road:

 

Separating Cooper's Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks can be challenging.  I'm going with a small male Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) for this one, but I'm open to other opinions!

Earlier, just as we began the shorebird survey in Bodega Harbor, this bird made a quick pass over the tidal flats:

 

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

 

Dividing

 

During field surveys last week, I noticed this very elongated sea anemone.  It took a few seconds for me to register that this Moonglow Anemone (Anthopleura artemisia) might be dividing, and I wasn't sure that I'd seen this species dividing before.  (It's known that Moonglow Sea Anemones can undergo fission, but I'm not sure I've seen it myself.)  So I thought it would be worth posting a photo for the record.

In the Bodega Bay area, the anemone best known for undergoing longitudinal fission (basically dividing into two) is the Aggregating Sea Anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima).  One individual begins to stretch out, then eventually divides in half, regenerates a few internal structures, and becomes two genetically identical individuals (clones).  The process is illustrated below.  The right column shows the external view of a dividing anemone, and the left column shows the internal view:

 

Modified from Sebens, K.  1983.  Morphological variability during longitudinal fission of the intertidal sea anemone, Anthopleura elegantissima (Brandt).  Pacific Science 47: 121-132.

In case you're curious to see what this looks like (and if you want to watch for it yourself), here are older photos of Aggregating Sea Anemones in the process of dividing:

 

 

(Don't worry about the yellowish color of the anemone above; they're pale when they're growing in very shaded environments.)

Maybe next time we go back to the field site where the first photo was taken we'll see two Moonglow Sea Anemones in the little pool!  Stay tuned...

Western crescent

 

I'm guessing many of you saw this beautiful crescent moon tonight (28 January 2020).  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]  Venus was close by, but I couldn't quite capture them both in a photo.

Anemones for...

...dinner!

Shag-Rug Nudibranch (Aeolidia loui), on the left, eating an Aggregating Sea Anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima), on the right.  Photographed in Bodega Bay on 23 January 2020.

 

Perched up high

 

On my way to the post office today, I noticed a Peregrine Falcon perched on a telephone pole along Westshore Road.  I couldn't help stopping for a closer look.  So beautiful!

 

Twilight zones

 

Layers of color over Bodega Head at sunset, 23 January 2020

Among the sponges

Eric recently collected some calcareous sponges (Leucilla nuttingi) in the low intertidal zone for his Invertebrate Biology course.  In the past, we had noticed some isopods living inside these tiny vase-like sponges (see post called "Sponge surprise!" from 12 January 2012).  But last week in class, two students with sharp eyes (Maddy and Michael) noticed some other interesting animals living in association with these sponges:

 

Meet the amphipod Podocerus spongicolus!  This tiny amphipod is only 3-4 mm long.  Notice its very long 2^nd antennae.  The amphipods cling tightly to the outer wall of the sponge with the pointy tips (dactyls) of their thoracic appendages.  In the photo below, you can also see the shiny calcareous skeletal elements (spicules) shining through the body wall of the sponge:

 

This amphipod can be distinguished from other Podocerus species by the fact that article 4 (A4) of the male gnathopod (feeding appendage) is extended forward (see arrow in left figure below).   The photo on the right shows this same feature in the live amphipod:

 

As its name indicates, Podocerus spongicolus is known to be associated with sponges. Otherwise, it appears that little is known about this species.  We have only been able to find a few museum records of this amphipod (from the 1930s and 1960s). 

 

It is interesting to think about its life among the sponges.  Many thanks to Maddy and Michael for spotting these amphipods, Collin for identifying them, and Eric for taking the photographs! 

Surfbird photo journal

Yesterday (20 January 2020), I spent a little time watching Surfbirds (Calidris virgata, formerly Aphriza virgata) along the rocky outer coast.  Here's a bit of a photo journal of Surfbird behavior:

 

Resting on the rocks after a large wave splash.

 

Feeding on a juvenile mussel. 

Bathing in a tidepool. 

 

Aggressive behavior, during which the two birds were very vocal.

I'm curious about this aggressive behavior.  The birds were bathing along the edge of a very large tidepool.  There was plenty of space for all of the birds in the flock, but aggressive interactions between Surfbirds seem fairly frequent in these situations (while the birds are bathing).  I wonder if the intense interactions could be more about social organization and relationships, rather than competition for space?

The birds splash, call loudly, spread their wings, raise their tails, rise up, or lean over, open their bills, jab at each other, and sometimes even grab each other's bills (Ouch!). 

 

 

Check out the serrations along the edge of the bill in the photo below.  The sharp edges are probably useful for grasping prey, but perhaps they're also helpful in these interactions:

 

 

Even though Surfbirds are generally seen walking on rocks in our area, this pool was deep enough that sometimes the Surfbirds would swim across it.  A different perspective!

 

I felt grateful for the opportunity to spend some time observing these Surfbirds.  There's always something to learn!

 

Silver and green

 

West-northwest swell and south-southeast winds made for some pretty waves today (20 January 2020).  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

Descending

 

Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea), Bodega Bay, 17 January 2020.  I wasn't sure what this bird was up to at first.  It flew down to a shrub very close to the ground, and then I realized it was descending from branch-to-branch towards  a small patch of open water, perhaps for a drink?

Storm clouds at sunset

I was driving home from work and looked west at the lingering storm clouds when a flock of birds caught my eye.  I wasn't sure what they were at first, so I pulled over to look more closely.

Eventually I figured out that they were kites — a group of at least eight birds flying over the dunes.  Perhaps they were headed to a roost site somewhere? 

Kites in silhouette are attractive enough on their own, but with the stormy lighting, it was a dramatic scene:

 

 

P.S.  Looks like we received ~1 inch of rain in Bodega Bay today.

On the way to work

 

On the way to work this morning (15 January 2020), I felt grateful for a few moments with this Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) perched on a Monterey Cypress tree in Bodega Bay.

Shadows on the far horizon

A rain shower passed by this afternoon and left streaming cloud shadows on the surface of the sea.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

Tiny shells and spines

Well, I'm running out of time tonight, but I thought it would be fun to share this photo:

 

While doing intertidal surveys this past weekend, we noticed quite a few Sandcastle Worm (Phragmatopoma californica) tubes that were built primarily out of Foraminifera (informally called "forams") shells and small sea urchin spines.  [Forams are single-celled amoeba-like protists.]

More often, these worm tubes are made of darker colored sand grains (see the post "A close call" for examples of the more typical tubes).  But the tubes we saw this weekend really stood out — beautiful white foram shells cemented together with green and purple urchin spines and skeleton pieces.

I'm not sure if the forams are more common right now for some reason, but the worms sure did a good job at finding them and using them to build their tubes!

Seeing stripes

We've been doing low tide intertidal surveys during the past couple of nights.  On 10 January 2020, Eric looked down to see this amazing fish:

 

I think this is a Slimy Snailfish (Liparis mucosus).  We hadn't seen this species before, so we took a few documentary photos for the record.

For scale, the fish was ~7-8 cm (~3 inches) long.  [Those are the blades of Stephanocystis (formerly Cystoseira) osmundacea surrounding the fish.]

The striped patterning was mesmerizing.  Here's a close-up of the head:

 

And an even closer one of that intriguing eye with the teardrop-shaped pupil:

 

Slimy Snailfish have a broad distribution from Alaska to Baja California, Mexico.  The Guide to the Coastal Marine Fishes of California (Miller and Lea, 1972) says they're uncommon.  Although there is a more common snailfish in our area (the Tidepool Snailfish, Liparis florae), it was fun to meet a different species!  (Thanks, Eric!)

Fun fact: The snailfish family includes a species that has occurred deeper in the ocean than any other fish — over 26,000 feet (~8 km) below the surface along the Mariana Trench.

January moon

 

Moon over the eastern horizon, photographed from Bodega Bay on 9 January 2020.

Dawn of a new year

 

This one goes out to my mom.  She always takes a sunrise photo on New Year's Day, and this year I took one, too.  Although I'm a bit late in sharing it, this is the sunrise from Cotati on 1 January 2020.  

Vested

 

Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii), an uncommon migrant and winter resident in the Bodega Bay area.  Note the narrow buffy "vest" and the relatively fine streaks on the upper breast and along the flanks.  Photographed on Bodega Head on 30 December 2019.

In the winter sun

It was sunny and the air temperature was ~60°F (~15.5°C) around midday in Cotati today (5 January 2020).  While eating lunch, a movement caught my eye, and I was a little surprised to see a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) perched on the fence in our backyard.

 

I'm guessing this was an adult butterfly that had been overwintering nearby and felt warm enough to emerge to bask in the winter sun for a little while.

 

Time to pause

Today I was working on a weather station repair.  I had to wait ~30 minutes for some data to download, but it wasn't such a bad day to have to pause for a little while.  :)

A decent west-northwest swell and a southeast wind made for beautiful surf conditions.  Below are a few examples from 3 January 2020.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

 

 

Another nice way to start 2020!

Watching and listening

I heard through the grapevine that Evening Grosbeaks (Coccothraustes vespertinus) had been seen in Bodega on Sunday, so I stopped by to look around today (1 January 2019).  

I got lucky and found a few fairly quickly.  Although they were feeding among dense branches, here are a few photos for the record.  I was also able to record their call notes, so check out the audio files below. 

Occasionally the grosbeaks would fly down to Salmon Creek for water:

 

 This one was tugging on strands of lichen:

 

Close-up of the large bill:

 

And of a male eating a seed (Box Elder?):

 

It was a fairly quiet day, so I managed a couple of quick audio recordings.  The first file documents the typical call notes, while the second file is an interesting variant.  [If you can't see the audio files in your e-mail message, click on the title of this post above to go to the NHBH website.]

The typical call note is sometimes written as peeer or cheer.  [Note that there's also a frog calling (ribbit) in this recording.]

 

Now here's the second call type.  This two-syllable call note was from birds perched and foraging in a tree.  It sounds a bit like chew-ee:

We don't get to see Evening Grosbeaks often in Sonoma County, so watching and listening to these birds was a nice way to start the new year.   I'm looking forward to more natural history adventures in 2020!

P.S.  Tom Hahn has confirmed these as Type 1 Evening Grosbeaks.  These birds are usually in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies, but occasionally move south.  Click here for more info about the different Evening Grosbeak call types.