Sleeping in the sun

  

It was another warm day, with temperatures reaching ~65°F on the coast today (3 February 2026).  I was checking on a few different things and was seeing quite a bit of insect activity (butterflies, bumblebees, and flies).  There was a nice breeze and it felt like one of those days when it would feel nice to take a nap in the sun, and then I happened upon a badger...sleeping in the sun!

The badger looked up for a moment, and looked pretty sleepy:

 

 

And then it nestled down for a nap.  

 

I walked quietly in a wide circle so as not to disturb the badger and took one more photo showing the badger lying in the grass next to its burrow:

 

 

 

Any sighting of a badger feels special, but I especially enjoyed this view of one at rest, with the sunshine on its back and the breeze blowing across its fur.

Curled up in the prairie

  

Luck found us again last week with a sighting of an American Badger (Taxidea taxus) napping in the mid-day sun.  After a couple of minutes it shook itself and then descended into a burrow.  Fortunately, I had a long lens on my camera, so this photo was taken from a distance and then cropped.

Soaking up the sun

  

Lucky day at work today (25 February 2025)!  We were headed outside to eat lunch on the deck when I noticed a very large hill of freshly dug soil...and an American Badger resting right next to it!

The badger mostly spent time lying in the sun, but it looked around a few times, so here are a couple of different views (below).  Note: We watched the badger from far away, so these photos are a little misleading.  I took them with a large zoom lens and then cropped the photos heavily.

 

 

Hooray for coastal prairies and mustelids!

Turning the corner

  

A Coast Larkspur (Delphinium decorum) to help usher in spring!

The Vernal Equinox occurs on 19 March 2024 at 8:06 p.m. PDT.

Light as a feather

 

 

A feather in the coastal prairie.  (Perhaps from a Burrowing Owl?)  Photographed on 7 November 2023.

Springing into action

 

 

I was a little surprised this morning when a bounding flash of color caught my eye.  Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata)!   

 

I went to get my camera and returned hoping that the weasel might be in the same area.  I couldn't find it at first, but kept scanning and eventually noticed a little face emerging from a freshly dug burrow.

 

This weasel was quite active — looking around, listening to bird sounds, sniffing the air, pulling back when a bumblebee flew by.  And then it emerged from the burrow, took a few spins around, went in and out of the burrow, and then dashed off to another spot in the grassland.

 

Luckily I had a zoom lens on the camera and the weasel wasn't too far away, so here are a few more of my favorite images.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earth day?

  

Every day is earth day if you're a badger!  

Photographed on 11 April 2023.

Low to the ground

 

 

I've been doing lots of desk work lately, but here's a quick shot of a fly-by Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) from 11 November 2022.

Golden highlights

  

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), Bodega Head, 12 November 2022

Tower of flower

  

A beautiful larkspur in a coastal grassland near Jenner on 19 May 2022.  I'm not sure which species this is yet (if you have an idea, let me know!), but thought it was still worth sharing.  Another view:

 

 

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.

In the prairie, after the rain

  

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) in the coastal prairie, 31 March 2022

In the Bodega Bay area, Whimbrel are often observed in marine and estuarine habitats — sandy beaches, mudflats, rocky shores.  But sometimes, especially when the ground is wet after rain, we'll see them feeding in the grassland.

 

 

 

 

I wonder if it reminds them of the tundra habitat that they'll spend time in during the breeding season?

 

 

 

At ground level

  

Whew, some luck was with me this afternoon and I had some wonderful moments watching a Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata).  I had trouble choosing which photos to share, so here's a selection of my favorites.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viola purples

  

Hooked-spur Violet (Viola adunca), 17 April 2021

Chocolate bells

  

 

 Chocolate Lilies (Fritillaria affinis) photographed in Marin County on 21 March 2021

 

 

 

 

After 16 years...

 

No joke — I've been hoping for a badger photo for over 16 years now, and tonight (11 January 2021) it finally happened.  We often see evidence (digging) of American Badgers (Taxidea taxus) in coastal grasslands in this area, but seeing the animals themselves is rare (they're more active at night, which I am not).

Tonight Eric suggested one more task which would require going for a short walk.  Somewhat unusually, I wasn't so sure...it was cold and foggy and getting dark.  But we got ready to go, and somewhat unusually (again), I decided to leave my camera with the zoom lens behind.  It was so foggy I didn't think it was worth carrying the larger camera.  Then Eric said offhandedly, "Okay, let's go find a badger."

Not long after leaving the car, I couldn't believe my eyes because I looked to the west and there was a badger...rambling around in the coastal prairie...and all I had was a point-and-shoot camera!  Lucky for me, Eric was willing to go back to retrieve my larger camera while I kept an eye on the badger, and we ended up with a few fun photos.  Here it is — surveying, smelling, listening, looking:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Such an intriguing animal.  I'm so happy to know they're out there digging in the coastal prairie soil, even while I'm curled up in my bed.

A bit of a blur

 

Whoosh!  What happened to the last ten years?  It's a little hard to believe that it will be 2020 tomorrow. 

I started the Natural History of Bodega Head eight years ago now, which also makes me shake my head a bit.  Is that really possible?

You never know what each day will bring.  Best wishes for the year ahead!

 

Burrowing Owl at sunset, 30 December 2019  

Waiting for sunset

 

Burrowing Owl (Athena cunicularia), waiting for sunset, 1 November 2019

 

Bright spot

 

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), Bodega Head, 31 October 2019

May the Fourth

 

Close-up of LAYIA platyglossa, otherwise known as Tidy Tips.

We thought this might be a good choice for Star Wars Day.

(Get it?  Layia is fairly close to Leia, isn't it?)

May the Fourth Be with You.

P.S.  The gold color isn't a bad choice for the Boston Bruins, either.  Yeah, B's!