Violet-green

Traveled to the central Oregon coast today and didn't arrive until early evening.  There was a nice flock of swallows (at least three species) feeding over a nearby river mouth.  

 

There were scattered rain showers and the light was very dim, so this isn't a great shot — nevermind the challenge of photographing swallows in flight! — but it still provides a glimpse of a Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina).

Morning glory

 

Coastal Bluff Morning-Glory (Calystegia purpurata subsp. saxicola) 

This photograph is from 14 May 2011, but 2013 also seems to be a very good year for this native perennial on Bodega Head.

P.S.  The subspecies name "saxicola" means "rock-dwelling."

P.P.S.  Calflora calls this species the Bodega Morning-Glory!

Revealing

 

American White Pelicans foraging in Bodega Harbor, 19 May 2013

I like this picture because it reveals quite a bit about white pelicans.

About foraging — White pelicans often forage in groups.  They feed by dipping their bills into shallow water, and often do so synchronously.  Note the raised wing posture, which I'm guessing is for balance while reaching below the surface.

About habitat use — You can see that these pelicans are in a relatively sheltered location with mudflats in the background.  Scanning carefully, you will also find strands of eelgrass draped around some of the birds (especially the second bird from the left), indicating use of seagrass beds.

About reproduction — Look closely for birds with gray feathers on their crowns.  This coloration is found in chick-feeding adults.  (White pelicans don't breed on the coast, but they've arrived here after nesting at inland lakes.)  And the large rounded "horn" on the bill of some individuals is also only present during the breeding season (it's usually shed after eggs are laid).

About species interactions — Note the Great Egret in the background.  The egret appeared to be "attending" this flock of pelicans, waiting for fish that the pelicans flushed or missed. 

 

California ovipositing

It was pretty breezy this afternoon, so I checked out one of the more sheltered dune ponds and noticed this dragonfly at the surface of the water.

 

This female California Darner (Rhionaeschna californica) was ovipositing (laying eggs) in the leaves of the submerged vegetation.  At this stage, she has already mated with a male, so the eggs are fertilized.

 

A male California Darner was hovering nearby.  It's likely he was the last male to mate with this female.  The male was actively guarding the female, defending her against visits by other males.  (There's a good reason for doing so, as it's thought that dragonflies can remove the sperm from previous matings.  By chasing away other males, he protects his investment.)

 

Here's a close-up of the male in flight:

 

The eggs that the female deposited will eventually hatch into larvae (dragonfly nymphs).  In large species such as this, the larval stage will often last for at least a year or more.  Then the nymph will undergo metamorphosis, crawl up a plant stem into the air, and break out of its nymphal skin to emerge as a flying dragonfly.  The adult dragonfly may live for a month or two.

To boldly go

 

 

Loki's Chiton (Tonicella lokii), photographed on Bodega Head, 4 July 2011

The little explorer

I looked down among some grasses and sedges near Campbell Cove today to see a small jumping spider with a highly patterned abdomen:

 

It was doing a lot of exploring...

 

 

...and looking around.

 

I'm wondering if this might be a species of Phidippus, but I'm not sure yet.  I'll have to ask for some help and will report back if anyone has feedback about an identification.

 

Along came a sea spider

In late April, I was looking through a microscope trying to photograph a local hydroid when I was distracted by something orange with long legs:

 

I zoomed in for a closer look:

 

This is a pycnogonid, or sea spider.  It's a little hard to make everything out at first, but I just had to post these pictures because this animal is so unusual.  

This sea spider is mostly transparent.  The orange lines are branches of the gut that extend throughout the body and into each leg.  (Somehow this patterning made the sea spider look like some sort of Halloween skeleton to me!)

The head is on the left side and if you look carefully you can see small silvery spots that are the eyes. [There are four eyes, but all four are not always visible.]  The two arching appendages on either side of the eyes are chelicerae — the presence of chelicerae tells you that sea spiders are related to horseshoe crabs, spiders, and scorpions.

After that, the body (or trunk) is narrow, but there are very long legs extending out to either side.  In the next photo, the sea spider has turned to face away from the camera and is now crawling along a branch of the hydroid.  Note the sharp curved claws at the tips of its legs for holding on (reminiscent of a sloth).

 

Close-up of leg and claw wrapped around hydroid branch:

 

I believe this sea spider had just eaten one of the hydroid polyps — see the pink mass next to the sea spider in the following image.  The sea spider has a long proboscis that it uses to suck fluids out of its prey.

 

There are many other interesting facts to share about sea spiders, but I'll save those for another night. 

For now, since you've become familiar with what this sea spider looks like, can you find it in the photo below?  The transparent-and-orange coloration is effective camouflage against the backdrop of the hydroid, but I think you'll be able to find it if you search carefully.

 

The sea spider is in the lower right corner, at the lower end of the rightmost brown hydroid branch.