Fringed

  

Okay, I haven't posted a mystery close-up photo in a while, so here you go!

 This one might be a challenge, or maybe not.

 Can you guess what it is?

I'll share more info about it tomorrow night.

What a fly!

  

Wow, what a fly!  I had to do some work in the dunes today.  As I was walking back I noticed this fly landing on the sand.  Even from a distance the colors looked interesting, so I bent down for a closer look.  Such beautiful metallic purple and copper coloration!  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

I think this is a type of bee fly (Bombyliidae), but I'm not sure which species.  If you have any bee fly contacts that could help with an identification, let me know. 

Mellow yellow

 

 

Another unusual color form — this time of a California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica).  Note the very pale yellow coloration, rather than the intense orange more typical of this species or the bi-colored petals (yellow petals with orange bases) of coastal California Poppies (for an example, see the post called "Cup of gold"). 

I read one article that describes how this pale coloration in California Poppies has a genetic basis, i.e., a genetic mutation that impacts the production of carotenoids (responsible for orange pigments).

Photographed in northern Sonoma County on 24 April 2022.

The Elusive Pimpernel?

 

 

Ah ha!  This little flower has been eluding me for quite a few years...until Eric spotted it yesterday (24 April 2022).

 

It might be puzzling at first, but this is the blue form of a common wildflower, Scarlet Pimpernel (Lysimachia arvensis, formerly Anagallis arvensis). 

Here's a close-up of the more typical flower on the left — salmon-colored petals with red bases — and the blue form on the right — blue petals with fuschia bases:

 

 

 

We looked carefully and discovered that even though they were side-by-side, the blue flowers were separate plants.  Have you seen this blue form of Scarlet Pimpernel before?

 

 

 

Whirling and basking

  

We had to do some work in northern Sonoma County today (24 April 2022).  While walking the trail we noticed several Western Pine Elfin butterflies (Callophrys eryphon) whirling around near a few pine trees.  Eric captured this beautiful view of an elfin basking in the sun.

A night for rainbows

  

Wow!  There were rainbows everywhere we looked on the way home from work tonight.  And I think this is one of the brightest I've ever seen.  Photographed from Stony Point Road on 21 April 2022.

Before the rain

  

Early morning light on 20 April 2022

Taking hold

  

Juvenile Sea Palm (Postelsia palmaeformis) in the rocky intertidal zone on 18 April 2022.

Outward

  

We've been busy with low tide work lately, but here's a fun photo from late March, thanks to a mushroom!

Close to shore

 

More Gray Whales were visible close to shore today (15 April 2022) -- here are a few examples!

 

 

 

 

 

Showing the way

 

 

Nice views of Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) cow-calf pairs close to shore off Bodega Head today (13 April 2022).  Head-on view (above) and a side view below:

 

 

 

And a couple of close-ups:

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a gale

  

Like clockwork — after a few days with gale force northwest winds in April, a flock of Bonaparte's Gulls (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) appeared in Bodega Harbor today (11 April 2022).

I counted 57 birds in the flock, but here are a couple of close-ups.  [You can click on them for larger versions.]

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know if these birds will be around tomorrow, but they were resting on the water at the north end of the harbor (near Whaleship Road).

P.S.  Here's an older post under similar conditions, "Taiga bound" on 4 May 2015.

Feeling the heat

  

Air temperatures were far above average on 7 April 2022.  There were insects everywhere on Bodega Head that day.  I'm not sure which species of grasshopper this is, but they kept flying up from the coastal prairie.

P.S.  As for the temperature — I'm a little confused because I've checked several weather stations in Bodega Bay and have seen different readings for the maximum air temperature on 7 April 2022.  I'm guessing it was somewhere in the 74-75°F (23-24°C) range.  It's rare for air temperatures to reach over 70°F in Bodega Bay — for a general review, see the post called "Pretty cool (or not)" on 15 July 2019.

New feathers

  

  Surfbird (Calidris virgata) starting to acquire breeding plumage (e.g., the black feathers with white edges, some with rust-colored spots).  Photographed on 7 April 2022.

Close to shore

  

I've been hearing reports of Gray Whales off Bodega Head during the past few days, so I took a quick look this afternoon (7 April 2022) and saw a few individuals fairly close to shore.

 

 

 

Octiria?

  

Yes, you saw that right.  This Bat Star (Patiria miniata) has eight arms!  They typically have five.  We've seen them with six, and once we found one with seven arms (see "7 for the 7th" on 7 March 2017).  This is the first Bat Star we've seen with 8 arms.  (Just for fun, we've been calling it "Octiria" instead of Patiria.)

Many thanks to Sam for spotting this unusual specimen and sharing this great photo!

P.S.  For the record, we've also found an 8-armed Ochre Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceus) — see "Octoaster?" on 29 April 2020.

Blue, blue, electric blue

 

Opalescent Nudibranch (Hermissenda opalescens), photographed in a tidepool on 28 March 2022

Refuge in a pine

  

A similar scene to March 10th unfolded this morning as I was driving to work.  I could see a Bald Eagle out on the tidal flats in Bodega Harbor, and there were Western Gulls swooping down on it.  Eventually the eagle took off and flew towards Spud Point:

 

 

 

The eagle landed in a pine tree along Old Bay Flat Road:

 

 

 

It kept a close eye on the gulls...

 

 

 

 

...and generally remained watchful:

 

 

 

I think this is a different individual than the one I photographed on 10 March 2022, so there must be a couple of different Bald Eagles visiting Bodega Harbor.