Early birds

Just a quick note to document the early return of Whimbrel to our area.  I photographed this flock of eight on Salmon Creek Beach on 27 June 2015.  These are early migrants — the first individuals returning from the northern breeding grounds.  (Most don't start appearing in the Bodega Bay area until July.)

In western North America, Whimbrel nest in subarctic and arctic areas of Alaska and Yukon Territory.  They winter from British Columbia to Chile, with most birds south of San Francisco Bay.  

 

Gargoyles by the sea

 

 

In 1945, Tyrrell wrote "The young, when hatched or only a day or two old, are not things of joy and beauty.  In fact, they reminded us of grotesque gargoyles."  I suppose it's true that raven nestlings are not quite as regal as their parents — it takes a few weeks until they're fully feathered.  But look at that mouth!  I was impressed with both the width and the color.  Even without an adult nearby, these chicks were reaching around with their bills wide open, waiting for a delivery of food.

I'm guessing these raven nestlings are about 2 weeks old.  (They'll leave the nest after 5-7 weeks.)  They were photographed on Bodega Head on 25 June 2015.  I was far away from this nest, but cropped the picture later to view the number and condition of the nestlings.  How many can you find?

First quarter

Did you see the beautiful sunset on 24 June 2015?

 

I stepped outside to enjoy the shapes and colors of the clouds:

 

And then I looked straight up and noticed the moon:

 

This is a first quarter moon, occurring ~1 week after the new moon.  The first quarter moon rises at noon, is overhead at sunset, and sets ~ midnight.  It's called a first quarter moon because it's about one quarter of the way through its orbit around the Earth. 

And although it's often called a "half moon," only one quarter of the bright side of the moon is visible to us.  That is, the dark side directly opposite the bright portion (in this case, on the left) is in shadow.  And the other side of the moon (facing away from the Earth) is also half lit and half in shadow.

P.S.  Some of the facts above are from earthsky.org.

The Bearded One

 

Intriguing, isn't it?  Pretty little tufts of narrow filaments at intervals along the branch.

Here's a slightly zoomed out view:

 

Meet Dasya binghamiae (formerly Pogonophorella californica — quite a name change!).  Not only is this a fun seaweed, but this individual represents a new record for Sonoma County, and the northernmost record of this species in California!

Congratulations are due to Peter Connors for noticing a seaweed that looked "different."  It was growing on the South Jetty (at the entrance to Bodega Harbor).  Although it had been documented in Marin County — near the Estero de San Antonio in 1912 and in Tomales Bay in 1995 — it hadn't been observed in Sonoma County until 18 June 2015.

 

I am familiar with another species of Dasya from the East Coast, whose common name is Chenille Weed.  I haven't seen a common name for Dasya binghamiae.  How about Tufted Dasya?

Its former name, Pogonophorella, basically means "a bearer of beards," presumably for all of those little tufts.  So I suppose another possible name could be Bearded Dasya.  Which name do you like?  Can you come up with something better?

Name that flower

 

This is Microseris bigelovii, a nice annual wildflower that grows along the coast.  The Jepson Manual doesn't list a common name for it.  When I realized that, I thought it deserved a common name, so I started playing around with ideas.

Below I'll tell you the name I came up with, and here's a hint: I'm not sure you can tell from this picture, but it has a very pretty orange hue.  Do you want to try to come up with a common name?

So I've decided to call this flower Bigelow's Tangerine.  It has a certain ring to it, doesn't it?  And it describes the petal color and refers to the person for whom it was named.

Later I learned that Microseris bigelovii is sometimes called Coastal Silverpuffs, in reference to the rounded head of seeds (similar to a dandelion).  But I think I'll keep calling it Bigelow's Tangerine.  I can't help it...it sounds exotic, and it's fun to say!

Let me know if you came up with other ideas!

P.S.  This flower was named after Dr. John Milton Bigelow — a professor of botany at Detroit Medical College who participated in the Pacific Railroad Survey of 1853-1854 and several other collecting trips in California.

Keen on keenae

Not too long ago, Eric wondered why I hadn't posted more pictures of local snails.  I think he was surprised because it was one of the first groups I started studying when I moved to California.  To be honest, I'm not sure what the answer is.  Many of them are small, so perhaps hard to photograph.  But since his observation is true, I'll be trying to share some more snail photographs.

 

These are Eroded Periwinkles (Littorina keenae) in a narrow crevice in the splash zone (the highest level of the rocky intertidal zone).  They live higher than any other marine gastropod.  They can be out of the water for such long periods of time that some people might consider them semi-terrestrial.

They're called Eroded Periwinkles because their shell erodes as they age.

 

This is a helpful characteristic when you're trying to identify them, but if you only look at larger, older individuals, you miss out on the wonderful variation and patterning of the juveniles:

 

As you can see, some are pale, others are dark (mahogany brown?), and they have variable amounts of white.  It's amazing how well these combinations match the surrounding rocks.

Below are two more examples of the pale and dark forms:

 

 

Although they blend in well, once you know what to look for, I'm guessing you'll find some Eroded Periwinkles in splash zone crevices during your visits to the coast.

 

On the buckwheat

Here's a bit of a mystery.  Can you guess what caused this pattern on the leaf of the Coast Buckwheat (Eriogonum latifolium)?

 

The next photo will give away part of the answer: 

 

A small caterpillar was feeding on the outer layers of the Coast Buckwheat leaf.  I'm guessing the caterpillar is either a blue or a hairstreak.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure which one.  If you know which butterfly this is, let me know, and I'll post the answer!

Photos from the Pinnacle Gulch Trail on 19 June 2015.

P.S.  Click on the names for an example of an Acmon Blue, a Gray Hairstreak, or a Coast Bramble Hairstreak.