Orange in the orange

 

This Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus) has been visiting our yard in the evenings.  He's shy, so I haven't been able to get a better picture yet — this was my first.

I was curious about the species name — cucullatus.  Quite appropriately, it means "hooded."  When I was searching for the meaning, I realized there were quite a few birds, and other organisms, with "cucullatus" in their name.

This is tough, unless you're familiar with the scientific names of birds.  Can you think of other birds named cucullatus?  Or here's a small hint: other birds that are hooded?

- Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
- Dodo (Raphus cucullatus)
- Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus)
- Bronze Mannikin (Spermestes cucullatus)

I suppose it's not surprising, but I also noticed many other species with cucullatus in their name — fungi, flowers, snakes, a grasshopper, a beetle, and a copepod.

Fun!

I hope the oriole comes back for another visit.

A sign of warm water?

I've heard a few reports of Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) recently — a couple washed up on local beaches (see below), and Lewis saw one swimming at the north end of Bodega Harbor yesterday (near Whaleship Road)!  I don't know how often they enter Bodega Harbor — do you?

This relatively small sunfish was photographed on Salmon Creek Beach on 14 June 2015:

 

Ocean Sunfish are often associated with warmer water.  Although sea water temperatures have dropped down to 10.5°C (51°F) during the last couple of days, just before that they were up to 15.5°C (60°F).  It'll be interesting to see how warm the ocean gets this summer.

Roll out the Barrel

Last night I showed a picture of doliolids washed up on Salmon Creek Beach:

 

 

I thought it would be valuable to document this event, and to illustrate what the doliolids looked like en masse on the sand because you might encounter them that way.  However, I felt badly that the picture didn't provide a proper introduction to doliolids.

So here you go!

 

These animals were ~1 cm long.  Doliolids are barrel-shaped with prominent muscle bands.  (In doliolids the muscle bands completely encircle the animal, whereas in salps the muscle bands are incomplete.)  They have openings at both ends — water is drawn in through the oral siphon and expelled through the atrial siphon (see diagram below).  The muscle bands are used for swimming, and for opening and closing the siphons.

 

Modified from Biology of the Invertebrates, 6th Edition by Pechenik (2009)

 

Doliolids are active filter-feeders, using a mucous net to capture small particles in the water.

Cilia on the pharynx generate a water current.  As the water passes through the pharyngeal cavity, food is trapped on a mucous sheet (secreted by the endostyle) and then is rolled into a string and transferred to the mouth.  The pharynx is also a site for gas exchange.

Here's another individual in which you can still see the pharynx (at the bottom of the picture):

 

I was intrigued by the structure of the pharynx, so I've included an even closer view where you can see the gill slits (the long, narrow openings in the pharynx):

 

Although many doliolids are tropical or semi-tropical, Dolioletta gegenbauri is a relatively cold-tolerant species.  This species is found in northern California, but it's uncommon to see them near shore.  They're open ocean animals, so finding them on the beach is rare (and fascinating!).

Purple slime

A quick walk at Salmon Creek Beach on 14 June 2015 yielded some interesting sightings.

 

There were quite a few (perhaps 25?) Blue Buoy Barnacles (Dosima fascicularis).  Many individuals were attached to By-the-wind Sailors (Velella velella), but some had their own floats, as above.

There was a lot of foam, and many bubbles, and you know I can't resist photographing colorful bubbles.  

I couldn't choose a favorite bubble picture, so I've included a few (below).  Which one do you like?  (Some of these bubbles were attached to Velella, which created a vivid blue backdrop.)

 

 

 

 

One of the most interesting things we saw wasn't easily photographed.  Here's a picture:

 

I know it doesn't look like much, but I'm guessing you can tell that it looks gelatinous, and purple!

There were probably millions of doliolids washing up on the beach tonight.  Doliolids are planktonic animals related to salps and pyrosomes.  We first noticed doliolids in the surf zone about ten days ago.  This is the first time we've observed large numbers stranding on Salmon Creek Beach.  Although we didn't identify them for sure, it's likely to be Dolioletta gegenbauri.  You can see a nice picture of an individual doliolid at the JelliesZone web site.  (They also include a description of doliolids.)

Unfortunately, the doliolids didn't retain their shape when washed up on the sand, so they just looked like patches of purple slime.  If I get a better picture in the days ahead, I'll post one.  Meanwhile, if you're walking local beaches and see something similar to the picture above, perhaps you'll recognize it as an interesting pelagic animal!

 

P.S.  Eric also noticed an unusual, strong sulfur smell while walking the beach — perhaps emitted by phytoplankton?

 

At the high-tide line

 

Seaside Heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum), photographed near Dillon Beach in early June 2015.

Here's a view of the entire plant, spreading across the sand near the high-tide line:

 

I really like this plant — there's something about it's blue-green leaves, and the contrasting flowers out at the tips of the branches.

Some of my older pictures from Bodega Bay in 2007 highlight the flowers and their purplish throats:

 

 

I think I also like this plant because it reminds me of another species associated with cobble/gravel beaches — Seaside Mertensia (or Oysterleaf), Mertensia maritima.  Although Seaside Mertensia is not found in California (I've seen it in New England and on Grand Manan), it's in the same family, and it shares the wonderful blue-green leaves, fun clusters of tubular flowers, and an association with interesting habitats.

Lookout

 

Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani), Bodega Head, 12 June 2015

Pleased to meet you!

 

Janet noticed this young male Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) in the Bodega Marine Lab parking lot on 9 June 2015.  Luckily, it was still around on 10 June, so I documented it with a few pictures and an audio recording. 

Although I've photographed several Chestnut-sided Warblers in the fall, I think this is the first time I've seen one on Bodega Head in the spring.

 

After the rain last night and this morning (!), the warbler spent quite a bit of time preening and trying to dry off.  It alternated preening bouts and feeding bouts, and was very vocal, singing loudly throughout the morning.  (I first heard it while working inside at my desk!)

 

 

While feeding, it actively looked for insects among the leaves and branches:

 

 

And here's the audio recording.  You might need to turn up your volume.  [If you can't see the audio file below, click on the title of this post above to view the file on the web page.] 

Sometimes this warbler's song is translated as "Pleased, pleased, pleased to meet you!"  Chestnut-sided Warblers have two types of songs: one that sounds like that phrase with an accent on the "you," and another that has an unaccented-ending.  Mostly this bird seemed to be singing the unaccented-ending song, but if you listen closely around 12-13 seconds, you can hear a quiet version of the accented "Pleased to meet you" phrase.

What a treat to hear this handsome warbler on the West Coast!