Smiling at the full moon

  

 Happy Halloween! 

Nice feathers!

  

David mentioned that a Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) had been observed on Bodega Head, so I stopped by the outer parking lot this morning to see if it was still around.  Luckily, it was still there, just south of the whale watch area.

Lapland Longspurs are rare fall or winter visitors to Sonoma County.  They breed in the Arctic tundra and Bodega Bay is a bit far south for them (at least along the coast).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the beautiful rufous feathers — you can click on the image for a larger version:

 

 

 

Many thanks to David for letting me know about this bird and to Mario for spotting it! 

 

Fog and morning light

  

 

Interesting light with fog over the ocean this morning, 29 October 2020.

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

 

 

 

Foam shadows

  

 

Blue shadows from low-angled light across ocean waves of foam, 27 October 2020. 

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

 

 

 

A tribute

I've received a couple of reports of Red-striped Barnacles recently, including one from north of Fort Bragg, which is very far north for this species.  (Thanks, Michele!)

So I've been thinking about barnacles lately, and in general I'm just a big fan of this fascinating group of marine invertebrates.  Here are a few shots to celebrate them:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In order of appearance:

 

Red-striped Barnacle (Paraconcavus pacificus)

Blue Buoy Barnacle (Dosima fascicularis)

Giant Barnacle (Balanus nubilus) 

Wingspan

  

I've been busy with some indoor projects this week, but here's a nice Caspian Tern photographed back in August.

Bar-tailed beauty

  

Larry reported a Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) at Limantour Beach yesterday and I couldn't help going down to look for it this morning (19 October 2020).  I encountered it in a flock of Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa).  They were all busy feeding on Mole Crabs (Emerita analoga).

 

Since it's been a while since I've seen a Bar-tailed Godwit, here's a selection of photos.

 

 

 

The Bar-tailed Godwit is a little smaller than a Marbled Godwit.  Note that it's grayer above and whiter below compared to the rusty tones of the Marbled Godwits.  And note the difference in the facial markings — the Bar-tailed has a much more pronounced pale supercilium (eyebrow) and a dark eye stripe that extends behind the eye.

Here are a few photos with the Bar-tailed Godwit next to Marbled Godwits for comparison:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the field I noticed some grayer feathers coming in on the upper back (incoming winter plumage):

 

 

 

 

And some of the other feathers are quite worn.  If you look closely, you can see that the paler spots on some of the feathers have almost completely worn away, giving some of the feathers a scalloped or jagged appearance:

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful morning at Point Reyes, and I'm thankful for some time with this interesting bird: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S.  Bar-tailed Godwits are known for their extreme long-distance migrations — e.g., non-stop flights from northern Alaska to Australia/New Zealand, an ~11,000 kilometer (6,835 mile) flight!  They're rare in Northern California.

 

October crescent

 

 

Crescent moon from Cotati, 18 October 2020

At the surface

 

 

 

Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) at the surface just offshore of Bodega Head, 17 October 2020.

Sunset layers

  

 

An interesting sunset tonight (16 October 2020), with layers of light floating above the horizon.  I'm guessing there was some heat distortion, which isn't surprising for such a warm day.  [It was much hotter inland, but it reached at least 76°F (24°C) in Bodega Bay today.]

Octopus as teacher

  

Recently, Paul passed along a movie recommendation.  I was so taken by the movie, that I'm passing along the recommendation to you!

If you haven't seen it yet, or if you'd like to see it again (because it's that good), check out "My Octopus Teacher."  [It's available online via Netflix.]

Feeding together

Another quick shot from the shore of Bodega Harbor (on 14 October 2020) — this time of a mixed flock of shorebirds.  How many different species can you find in the photo below?  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

 

 

 

I've circled four species of sandpipers below:

 

 

 

From left to right —

In red:  Sanderling (Calidris alba)

In yellow:  Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

In green:  Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)

In blue:  Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)

The long and short of it

  

 
American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhyncos) in Bodega Harbor, 13 October 2020

 

Green glass

 

 

A couple of quick wave shots from 11 October 2020.  There was a 8-9 foot northwest swell this afternoon.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

 

Looking out

  

 

A very calm Pacific Ocean off Bodega Head on 9 October 2020.

 

Up on the roof

  

Ligia pallasii, a high intertidal zone isopod.  This one was up high in a shady rock crevice.  If you look closely, you can see a very small juvenile isopod a bit below the left antenna of the adult (it has gold markings).  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

Nostalgia for stars

  

Sunflower Star (Pycnopodia helianthoides).  Sometimes I really miss seeing Sunflower Stars, so here's an older photo from 2006.  (We haven't seen this species in the Bodega Bay area since 2014 after their populations were decimated by disease.)

 

Captivating capsules

  

We came across several squid egg capsules washed up on the beach yesterday (3 October 2020).

These elongate gelatinous capsules contain lots of developing embryos (somewhere between ~50-300, depending on the capsule), each within their own compartment.  It's somewhat similar to a beehive, so if you look carefully at the photo above, you can see that the capsule contains many roughly hexagonal-shaped areas and each one of those has a tiny squid embryo.  (The squid larvae are ~3 mm when they hatch.)

Here's a closer view:

 

 

Above you can see several embryos, each with two bright red eye spots, a relatively short body section behind the eyes, and a drawn out teardrop-shaped yolk.

When you zoom in even further, you'll notice small chromatophores (pigment spots) on the mantle/main body section!

 

 

The time it takes for the embryos to develop is dependent on water temperature.  In our area it might take ~45-75 days (faster development in warmer water) before the tiny squid larvae are ready to hatch and swim away from the capsule.

P.S.  If you'd like to see squid embryo chromatophores in action, I posted a short video clip back in 2014 — scroll down to the bottom of the post called "Be dazzled!" on 8 October 2014.

A new tweed?

  

This beauty of a moth showed up at our house tonight (2 October 2020).  I spent quite a bit of time trying to identify it, but came up short.  I'll keep trying, but if this moth looks familiar to you, let me know!

Here's a close-up of the amazing scales.  Eric and I both think this mix of colors has great potential for a tweed fabric: violet, teal, indigo, and charcoal, with flecks of white.  Pretty spectacular!

  

 
P.S.  ADDENDUM (3 October 2020): I think I've figured this one out.  My best guess right now is a Subterranean Dart Moth (Feltia subterranea).

 

The kelp and the moon

 

 

 

Two photos showing the smoky light in Sonoma County today (1 October 2020).

 

Above, Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) off Bodega Head in the afternoon.

 

Below, the first full moon of October 2020, photographed from Cotati.