Passing front

 

Hooray for rain!  Although fast-moving, it was nice to see a passing shower release ~0.5 inch of rain in Bodega Bay this morning.

What swims, and has ruffles and horns?

We're back from Sacramento, but it was a long weekend, so here's a picture from September that I haven't had a chance to share yet:

 

Meet Pseudoceros luteus, a beautiful, graceful flatworm.  This image is from Bodega Harbor, but I also received reports of them from Tomales Bay this year.  Jarrett was the first one to alert me to this species in Bodega Harbor — perhaps around 2007?  This year, Pseudoceros luteus seems much more common in the Harbor, perhaps due to warmer water conditions.

I was wondering about this flatworm's scientific name.  I don't have access to a book of Latin names right now, so I'm just guessing that "Pseudoceros" means something like, "false horns."  [Think about a different animal with a somewhat similar name = rhinoceros = "nose horn".]

But the next question would be — where are this flatworm's "false horns"?  Perhaps the name refers to the black tentacular flaps that stick up like small "horns" — they're more easily seen in the picture below.

 

Watch for these flatworms over the tidal flats or swimming by the docks.

Striking jay

I'm at a meeting in Sacramento.  All of the presentations are indoors, but this morning I took a few minutes to get some fresh air.  Although I walked along a very busy street, it was nice to see and hear a few birds: Pine Siskin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and this Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica):

 

The genus, Aphelocoma, means "simple hair," apparently in reference to the lack of banding on the feathers.  But they sure are striking jays! 

Photographed in Sacramento on 6 November 2015.

Counting stars

I've been thinking about juvenile sea stars lately, so here's a picture from the archives (although not too long ago — it's from January 2014).

These are juvenile Ochre Sea Stars (Pisaster ochraceus).  They were ~6 months old when this picture was taken.  It's fun to see their colors starting to appear (orange, brown, purple...).  How many individual sea stars can you find in the picture below?  [You can click on the image for a slightly larger version.]

(Warning: My answer is below the picture.)

 

The number of juvenile Ochre Sea Stars present along the coast is highly variable year to year.

Okay, are you ready to compare counts?

I found 13 individuals in the picture above...although one is tough to see because only part of an arm is visible.  Here they are:

 

We've been following this cohort of juveniles for two years, and it's been fascinating to watch them grow up.  More about that in another post!

Whitewater

  

It's been "breezy" for the past couple of days, leading to lots of whitewater close to shore.

Photograph off Salmon Creek Beach on 3 November 2015

Rounded and flattened

 

Have you seen a White-tailed Kite pellet before?  I hadn't until about a month ago.  This is similar to an owl pellet — the kite coughs up a pellet of the prey parts that can't be digested, e.g., fur and bones. (Kites primarily feed on small mammals.)  This is one example, although some pellets are smaller than this.  I read that the dimensions of the pellets can vary depending on the size of the prey that the kites have eaten recently. 

Most of the pellets I've seen are rounded like this one.  And although it's probably difficult to tell from the picture, the pellets are somewhat flattened.

So there's your lesson for the day.  Now you can tell everyone that you know what a kite pellet looks like.

:)

 

Silver and gray

 

I haven't been able to get out much lately, so here's a shot looking west from Bodega Head on 18 October 2015.  

So far, it looks like there's been ~0.1 inches of rain at Bodega Bay today.  I hope a little (or a lot!) more comes tonight.