Granite-matching

 

Hidden among stone, the granite-matching eggs of a Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani).

 

Perched on the hood

I know I've shared some oriole photos recently, but I can't help show one more that was taken today (29 May 2020).  

The local male oriole was landing in different places in our backyard and then came to rest on one of our favorite garden statues.  In all of our years with this little wizard, we've never seen a bird perched on its head.  

How wonderful to see a Hooded Oriole on the hood of the little wizard!

 

Flyby

 

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

 

Tuned in

 

The amazing odor-receiving antennae of a Ceanothus Silk Moth (Hylaphora euryalus)

 

Summertime blues?

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm not much of a hot-weather person.  It was in the 90s in Cotati this afternoon, and that's a little too hot for me.  It was so hot that I couldn't even think straight about what to post tonight, but then Eric came to the rescue.  We talked about it and he thought a butterfly might be fun and easy to post.

So here you go!  Two photos of a beautiful Blue Copper (Lycaena heteronea) from Eric:

 

 

 (Here's hoping the thermometer doesn't reach quite so high tomorrow.)

 

Cooling off

It was warm in Cotati today (24 May 2020), with air temperatures reaching the high 80s.  In the late afternoon a male Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus) visited our backyard water bath:

 

Here's a close-up where you can see the decurved bill and the pretty light blue color at the base of the lower mandible:

 

Tiny crowns

Perhaps you didn't realize when you woke up today that you'd be seeing one of the best kamptozoan videos of all time!  ;)

Eric and I had to do some long-term surveys earlier this month and after finishing one of the surveys, Eric spotted this amazing clump of kamptozoans, also known as entoprocts.  Kamptozoans are an unusual group of animals (they're in their own phylum, so not really like any other invertebrates), and because they're so small, they're not often seen.

This colony of Barentsia conferta was growing in a tidepool at the base of some red algae and coralline algae:

 

You're seeing lots of individual zooids, each with a crown of tentacles attached to a calyx (the cup-like portion) on a stalk, that are connected together at the base.  [This species was first described by Kerstin Wasson in 1997.  She gave this kamptozoan the apt species name "conferta," which means "densely packed."]

 

Kamptozoans are sometimes called "nodding heads" because of the interesting motion within a colony.  And that's the best part of tonight's post.  Eric finally (it's been a long-time goal of his) captured some excellent video showing the zooids' mysterious nodding behavior (sometimes I think it looks a little more like knocking — it can happen pretty quickly, and they seem to influence each other).

Here's the video clip.  And I'm not kidding — this is probably one of the best kamptozoan videos available.  Enjoy!  [For a larger view, click on the "Enter full screen" icon in the lower right corner.  If you can't see the video player below, click on the title of this post to go directly to the web site.] 

Baby blue eyes

A quick shot from our backyard last night (20 May 2020):

 

This year a pair of American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) nested in a tree in our backyard.  The juveniles (at least two of them) just left the nest and are starting to walk around the tree, jumping from branch to branch and taking short flights.  

I was struck by the beautiful blue color of their eyes.  Apparently the eyes will be blue for ~2 months, then turn to gray and then brown.  Note also the pink gape (at the inner corner of bill), which will be visible for ~3 months.

Perhaps because we've been home more during the shelter-in-place order, we've seen quite a few fledglings in our yard.  Along with the Oak Titmice, Bushtits and American Crows, we've also seen juvenile Bewick's Wrens recently.

In action

Back in February, Eric found this wonderful ribbon worm, Micrura verrilli.  The nemertean was ~12 cm long and observed among sea squirts in the low intertidal zone.  The best part is, he captured some video footage and edited it into a clip that we're excited to share. 

First, here are two still photos:

 

I don't know why this species has such a colorful orange tip at the anterior end.  Do you have any ideas?

 

And now for the video.  It's always fun watching a nemertean in action.  [If you can't see the video player in your e-mail, click on the title of the post above to go to the NHBH web site.]

 P.S.  Thanks, Eric, for sharing this great footage!

P.P.S.  Hello to nemertean fans, Maddy and Serena and Amelia!  ;)

Fleeting

Although we often hear Hooded Orioles (Icterus cucullatus) in our neighborhood, when they stop in our yard, their visit is usually fleeting.  I've had a hard time getting photographs of them.

Recently an oriole has been coming to our water bath, so Eric prodded me to stage my camera nearby so that I was prepared as soon as she arrived.

Voilà!  

 

In Cotati on 19 May 2020.

They did it!

Congratulations to the Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) that nested in our neighbor's tree!  You might recall that I wrote about them building a nest in March ("Nest building" on 19 March 2020) and feeding young in early May ("A mouthful" on 4 May 2020).

Tonight I heard begging calls in the backyard and was suspicious that the Bushtits might have fledged.  We went out and saw the adults feeding at least four juveniles.

The young Bushtits are paler than the adults, and very fluffy looking.  Here are a few of my favorite shots:

 

 

 

 

Note the gray iris of the bird in the photo above...indicating this is a young female. 

 

Pretty darn cute, aren't they?

We felt lucky to observe this family's success from our backyard.

 

Worlds of color

Recently I was looking through some close-up photos of foam bubbles.  I couldn't choose a favorite, so here are two examples.  

The two images are pretty different from each other, but they're representative of the amazing worlds of color found on bubbles in sea foam.

[You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

Across the street

Several times during the past few weeks, I've heard Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) calling overhead.  One time I could tell they were near the top of a tall redwood tree nearby, but I couldn't see them.

Tonight I heard them up there again, and this time I caught glimpses of them flying among branches, but somehow they disappeared and I couldn't get a photo.  

Later I was sitting in our kitchen with the backdoor open and heard them calling again.  So out I went, and this time I finally got one decent shot (not in the redwood, but in a neighboring tree):

 

Five crossbills flew out of the tree and headed east.  Photographed in Cotati on 15 May 2020.

 

Perspective

I don't know about you, but recently I'm finding that it helps to take some deep breaths and to remember to keep things in perspective.

In that vein, tonight I'm sharing four images of the same flock of Sanderlings (Calidris alba).  Choose your favorite perspective!

[You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

 

Spring tattler

 

Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana)

Hidden but revealed

Here's a fun one.  Can you find the isopod hiding in this scene?

 

The isopod is very well camouflaged against the surrounding sand grains.  It's pretty much in the center of the image.

Here's a closer view:

 

Such a cool little crustacean!  I'm not sure which species this is, but it's one of the isopods in the Sphaeromatid family.  It's similar to a pill bug ("roly-poly") that you might find under a log, but this marine isopod was in a shallow sandy tidepool.

I love the little turquoise spotting at the posterior end.  And that's a neat little black-and-white design in the middle section.

P.S.  Here's a different individual from 29 June 2018.  You can see how these isopods can roll up into a "Little sphere."

 

Dressed for spring

 

Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba)

The eyes have it

Well, Eric had fun pulling out last night's fish photo, so he gathered a few more for your viewing enjoyment.  A selection of some of our local sculpins:

 

 

 

P.S.  Thanks again, Eric!

 

Rainbow-eyed

There are some nights when it's hard to decide what to post on this blog.  [But most of the time it's not, because something turns up during the day that really stands out. Honestly, I'm still somewhat surprised how often this is true.  When I first started the blog, I wondered if I would have enough material, but I quickly learned that there are more fascinating natural history observations in the world than I could ever post.]

While we discussed possible photos that we could share tonight, Eric thought you might enjoy this beautiful sculpin eye.  This fish was photographed hiding among some red algae in a tidepool.  A rainbow-eyed sculpin!  (That's our name for it, not an official name.) 

Personally, I'm drawn to the purple crescent at the lower edge of the fish's eye, but the entire combination is stunning, isn't it?  (And that's not a bad pair of lips, either.)  A marine rainbow just for you!

 

P.S.  Many thanks to Eric for sharing this photo! 

 

Folksy

When an Oak Titmouse flew into the water bath this morning, Eric looked up and wondered about the intensity of the blue color of its legs and feet.  I glanced over and a second titmouse landed close by, which made both of us wonder what was going on.  Most of the time, when titmice visit our water bath, they come one at a time.  

 

These two titmice seemed a bit "'folksy"—  very comfortable with each other — and not nearly as skittish and in-a-hurry as titmice usually are.  Given their behavior, we realized that these might be juveniles.

Not long after that, one of them flew to a nearby tree and started wing-quivering and giving insistent begging calls.  Soon an adult flew in with insects and fed the juvenile.

I was struck by how hard it was to tell the juveniles and adults apart by appearance alone.  With very close views, I could see that the juveniles had pale yellowish gapes (the innermost portion of the bill):

 

Then I read that the juveniles also have indistinct (hard-to-see) buffy tips to the upperwing coverts, and more filamentous feathers under the tail:

 

This titmouse family spent quite a bit of time in our yard this afternoon.  It was a fun opportunity to learn more about one of our common backyard birds.

 

A mouthful

Back in March, I mentioned that I had located a Bushtit nest in a neighbor's yard — see the post called "Nest building" on 19 March 2020.

The Bushtits have been actively foraging in our yard, so I went out to see if I could snap a few pictures of them bringing food to the nest.

Sure enough, both the male (dark eyes) and female (pale eyes) were arriving with bills overflowing with insects.  Here are a few examples:

 

 

 

 

A few fun facts about Bushtit nesting behavior: (1) Their eggs are tiny, only ~13.7 mm x 10 mm; (2) their average clutch size (number of eggs in the nest) is ~6 (range from ~4-10); (3) the incubation period is ~12-13 days; (4) and the time to fledging (when the young leave the nest) is ~18 days.

Bushtits are primarily foliage gleaners, snatching invertebrates off of leaves and branches.  They're known to feed their young lots of caterpillars, along with beetles, wasps, bugs, and spiders.  Good job, everyone!

 

Ring around the daisy

 

A small bee making its way around the ray flowers of a Seaside Daisy (Erigeron glaucus). 

Here's a close-up so you can enjoy the metallic green color of the bee,with white hairs on its abdomen, and pollen covering its legs and face.  Busy, busy!

 

Welcome to May

 

A wonderful way to begin the month of May — Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) in our backyard in Cotati, 1 May 2020.