How far?

I had to do a quick errand in downtown Sebastopol this morning (30 September 2020).  As I walked, I started noticing burnt leaves scattered on the ground.  I'm guessing they drifted to Sebastopol a couple of days ago when the Glass Fire started, but perhaps folks who live there know more about the timing?  For the record, here's one example:

 

 

How far did this oak leaf travel?  What did the tree look like?  I'm so sorry, old friend.  Thank you for your gifts.

 

Thank you

  

Waxing gibbous Moon, photographed from Cotati in smoky skies on 28 September 2020.  Thank you to all of the first responders who are working so hard during this intense wildfire season, and to everyone who has been gathering and sharing information about the fires.  Your efforts to keep us safe and up-to-date are appreciated.

Sky light

 

 Late in the sunset from Cotati, 26 September 2020

 

Fishing line

  

Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) and a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) fishing along the Bodega Harbor shoreline on 23 September 2020.

 

 

Spangled up in blue

  

I haven't had a chance to share this moth yet, but it's a beauty, so here goes.  

Meet the Zigzag Furcula (Furcula scolopendrina)!

Check out these close-up views of the scales — a wonderful mix of pearly white, charcoal gray, glowing orange, and metallic blue:

 

 

 

 

 

This species is more typically associated with forests, but the caterpillars feed on willows, so perhaps it found some on or near Bodega Head.  Photographed 1 August 2020.

Waiting for summer fruit -- Part 2

A few nights ago I posted some photos of juvenile Cedar Waxwings in Bodega Bay — see "Waiting for summer fruit" on 18 September 2020.  Ruth wrote to say that there wasn't confirmed nesting data for Cedar Waxwings in Sonoma County.  Well, since this is a rare event, I'm including a couple more photos for the record:

 

 

(Eric thinks the young waxwings look like little dinosaurs.  Do you agree?)

 

 

 

 

(This bird starting actively begging when an adult flew in with food.)

 

 

Cedar Waxwings generally nest in more northern locations — e.g., from southeast Alaska through British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, and extending down to northwestern California (Del Norte and Humboldt counties) — Sonoma County is south of the main breeding range for them along the West Coast.

 

Beach hoppers for brunch

  

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) feeding on amphipods (beach hoppers) at Salmon Creek Beach. 

 

 

 

Waiting for summer fruit

 

 

Juvenile Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) resting among lichens on a pine branch.

 

There were four juveniles being fed by an adult.  Here's a view of them watching and waiting:

 

 

Cedar Waxwings are late nesters, breeding late in the season when summer fruits and berries have ripened.  The adults will feed the young for ~10 days after they leave the nest.  (These fledglings were being fed coffeeberries.)

On the sand

  

 

Recently I spent some time sitting and watching some Tidewater Gobies (Eucyclogobius newberryi). Here's a selection of photos, showing how well camouflaged they are against the sand.

 

 

 

 

The females develop darker fins:

 

 

 

 

A close-up of the eyes with beautiful chromatophores:

 

 

 

 

At home on the sand:

 

 

 

Sipping verbena

 

 

Fiery Skippers (Hylephila phyleus) on Pink Sand Verbena (Abronia umbellata)

Ashes on her eyes

Late this afternoon I was walking by a wall that I pass by regularly when something caught my eye.   A large dragonfly was perched there, so I approached for a closer view:

 

 

 

As I moved closer, I noticed little white flecks here and there, and wondered if they might be ash.  You can see them on the green thorax and on the dark brown eyes:

 

 

Well, I couldn't tell for sure if the flecks were ash, but they look like the ash that's on our car right now.  This is a Common Green Darner (Anax junius), photographed on 13 September 2020.

 

Aboveground network

  

Carol was asking me about Pacific Silverweed (Potentilla anserina ssp. pacifica) today, which triggered a memory of this photo I took back in 2007.   

This species has an amazing network of stolons (aboveground runners).  This was fairly early in the growing season, but imagine the leaves getting larger and filling in the spaces.  Later in the summer and fall, the stolons are harder to see.   

Pacific Silverweed likes wetlands, e.g., on Bodega Head we find it in freshwater marshes, wet seeps along the bluffs, ephemeral dune ponds, and the upper edges of salt marshes.

Shark in amber

  

Gordon wrote this afternoon to let me know he and a few other folks from Madrone Audubon had come across a small shark at Doran Beach this morning (9 September 2020).  He took a couple of photos and kindly agreed to let me share them with you.

Not only do these photos document an interesting shark stranding, but they also show the unusual amber light in Bodega Bay and elsewhere today caused by the intense smoke from so many large wildfires.

Salmon Sharks (Lamna ditropis) look very similar to White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), but they have a shorter snout, the white coloration on the underside extends above the pectoral fin (just behind the gills), and there is a double-keel at the base of the tail fin.  I can't quite see that keel in these photos, but the other characteristics look right for Salmon Shark.

During the late summer and fall, we often receive a few reports of stranded juvenile Salmon Sharks.  Sadly, not too long ago it was discovered that these stranded sharks often have a bacterial brain infection that causes meningoencephalitis (which may result in disorientation).

Here's another photo illustrating the size of the shark, with a pair of footprints for scale.  It appears that the shark was only ~4 feet long or so.

 

 

Many thanks to Gordon for sharing this interesting observation and his photos!

Yellowish light

 

There was so much smoke over us today, the ambient light had an eerie yellowish cast all day.  The temperature was quite a bit cooler than originally predicted (similar to when volcanic ash blocking the sun cools air temperatures).  I think the original predictions were for mid-high 90s (°F), but it was in the mid-high 70s (°F) instead. This photo of the sun over Cotati was taken at ~4 p.m. on 8 September 2020.

Sleeping sandpipers at the seashore

A few views of roosting Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri), 5 September 2020.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A brief visit

  

 

A striking Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) stopped briefly in our backyard this afternoon (4 September 2020), just long enough for a quick photo!

Pink flush

There have been large flocks of Elegant Terns in Bodega Harbor recently, and it's been easy to hear them calling along the outer coast of Bodega Head.

I stopped to take a few quick photos near Gaffney Point today (3 September 2020):

Note the pink flush on the underparts (more noticeable under overcast skies):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S.  Back in 2012 I posted a recording of Elegant Terns calling in Tomales Bay.  If you want to hear an example of their calls, you can check out that recording here.

 

Fantastically spinose

 

Recently, Maddy found several of these sea spiders (pycnogonids) living among low intertidal tunicates on Bodega Head.   This species is very distinctive among our local sea spiders because of the many spines covering its body.  Below is a close-up view of the top surface of the sea spider.  Notice the numerous cactus-like spines around the legs and abdomen:

 

As Joel Hedgpeth noted in his 1951 paper on the sea spiders of Dillon Beach, this species is “fantastically spinose” and so it seems appropriate that it is named Nymphopsis spinosissimum!  

The drawing below from Hilton (1942) shows the spiny body plan of this species.  You can also see another important distinguishing feature of this species — the three tubercles (tower-like structures) in a row on the upper surface of the sea spider:

Modified from: Hilton, W.A. (1942) Pycnogonids from the Allan Hancock Expeditions. Reports of the Allan Hancock Pacific Expedition 5 (9): 277–339.

In the side view below, you can see the spiny abdomen in the back (it looks like a finger pointing to the left), then the three spiny tubercles in a row, and lastly the ocular tubercle at the front (the projection on the right side with reddish coloration bearing the shiny eyes). 

Finally, here’s a head-on view of the sea spider, showing its grasping claws (chelicerae) and the ocular tubercle above:

 

It seems possible that all of these sharp spines might help defend the sea spider against being eaten, but very little is known about the biology of this species.    

Many thanks to Maddy for finding these sea spiders and Eric for taking the excellent photographs!