Fall beauty

 

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia), photographed in the Bodega Dunes on 7 November 2017

This butterfly was alternating between basking in the sun and nectaring from male Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis) flowers:

 

 

Tree frog

Sierran Treefrog (Pseudacris sierra) on a Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), 7 November 2017.  

We're received 0.7 inches of rain so far today (8 November 2017), and it looks like showers will continue for a couple of days. 

Two of the locals

Nice views of two local raptors in the Bodega Dunes today (7 November 2017):

 

Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)

 

White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)

Resting on the rocks

Yesterday (6 November 2017), a few people reported a Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) at the southern end of Bodega Head.  It has been observed on the rocks below the outer State Parks parking lot.  

I haven't seen it yet, but here's a photo of a Rock Sandpiper from several years ago (on Bodega Head in February 2013). 

 

Rock Sandpipers are rare in the Bodega Bay area.  I hope the one that was spotted yesterday stays around for a little while!

Light rain

We've been busy lately, including some field work during the low tide tonight.  I don't have too many recent photos to share, but here's one showing the light rain during our surveys on 5 November 2017:

Eye to eye

 

We were finishing up some surveys tonight (2 November 2017) in the intertidal zone when Eric spotted a small Red Octopus (Octopus rubescens) among the rocks.  

The octopus was under water, but shallow enough that I could use my underwater camera to zoom in for a close-up of its eye.  Be sure to click on the image above and explore the diversity of colors and patterns and textures.  Exploring the eye of an octopus is like visiting another world!

ADDENDUM (3 November 2017): Hmmm...clicking on the photo above didn't enlarge it that much, so here's a zoomed in view of the octopus' eye...

 

 

In case you're curious, here's a view of the little octopus:

 

With its tentacles curled in, this octopus was only ~4 cm (1.5 inches) long.

A starry celebration

 

Well, I was caught up in listening to Game 7 of the World Series tonight.  And when the Astros won, I decided to post a sea star picture to help their fans celebrate. Here's an orange Sunflower Star (Pycnopodia helianthoides, in the class Asteroidea) to say — Congratulations, Houston!  

P.S. Astro is Greek for "star."