Close to the bark

  

I returned home from the farmers' market to hear a Brown Creeper calling in our front yard.  Luckily my camera wasn't too far away, and the creeper spent some time feeding in a few different trees.  

Here it is searching crevices in the bark:

 

 

The creeper appeared to be successful locating prey, but the prey was too small for me to see while watching.  However, zooming in on photos later revealed a couple of prey items.

 

A small insect larva at the tip of the bill:

 

 

 

 

And possibly a small spider?

 

 

 

 

Turned out there were two creepers, both feeding along different tree trunks.

 

I love how well Brown Creepers blend in with the landscape of the trees—  the bark and lichens and mosses:

 

 

 

I'm also grateful for such wonderful visitors to our yard!

Of time and light

 

 

Curl of time, curl of light.  We're approaching the solstice!

 

Birch bark in Walpole, MA, on 17 December 2021.

 

Where the rivers meet the sea

A few highlights from a short walk in Humarock, MA, this afternoon (26 December 2019), close to where the South River and North River meet.  This is my old stomping grounds (where I grew up), so there were some familiar friends, but some new ones, too!  

In order of appearance:

 

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) hunting over the dunes at Fourth Cliff

 

Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) resting on a floating dock

 

 

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) perched on a tree on Trouants Island in Marshfield, MA.  I spent many years here and never saw an eagle, so it was fun to be surprised by one today!  (My mom mentioned there is now a pair nesting along the North River.)

 

Ripples in birch bark 

 

Ripples in sand

Not ribbon candy!

 

This is a little out of order, but I didn't have a chance to share this picture last week.  Do you recognize this shrub?  

I wish we had manzanita growing on Bodega Head.  This picture was taken in Yosemite.  

The red and copper-colored bark is so appealing [a-peel-ing? ;) ]!  Not having spent a lot of time studying California shrubs, it's easy to start asking questions about manzanita bark.  Why is it so red?  Why does it peel?  Why is it so smooth underneath?  I wondered if there would be something protective about these features.  

Sure enough, when I looked for a quick answer on the Internet, I found a Bay Nature article entitled, Why is manzanita bark so smooth and red?  It's worth reading, but the basic idea is that the peeling bark may help prevent things from growing on the trunk/stems...and the red color is an indicator of tannins, chemicals which taste bitter and thereby reduce herbivory.

It's the total opposite of ribbon candy, which is what these beautiful shimmery peels reminded me of when I first saw them.  Perhaps that dates me somewhat, as ribbon candy doesn't seem to be as common anymore.  It used to be shared during holiday events when I was young.