Hazy skies

 

The Moon through smoke-filled skies on 30 August 2020.  Here's hoping for a clearer view of the full moon on September 1st!

Mint condition

 

Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)

nectaring on mint flowers in our backyard, 30 August 2020

 

At the creek

Adrian posted some nice shorebird sightings from Salmon Creek last night, so I went for a short walk there this morning (29 August 2020).

A few examples:

 

 Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) trying to land in a patch of Ditch-grass (Ruppia maritima)

 

Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) on the opposite shoreline

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) preening in the creek

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) feeding near shore

Falcon express

 

Dim light, but nice views of a young Peregrine Falcon tonight (28 August 2020) when leaving work.

 

Heading north

We took a quick look offshore before leaving the coast tonight (27 August 2020) and Eric spotted large flocks of Sooty Shearwaters (Ardenna grisea) close to shore and heading north.  

There were thousands of birds streaming by.  Here's a series moving closer with each view.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]
 

 

 

 

 

 

The things she carries

Check it out!  When sorting through some low intertidal samples looking for ribbon worms, Maddy spotted this tiny polychaete worm.  It was only ~2 mm long, and it was brooding embryos along its back!

For orientation, look for the red eyes at the anterior end.

Before this, we hadn't known that some marine worms use this life history strategy.  (It reminded me of the frogs that brood embryos on their backs.)  The embryos undergo direct development, i.e., they'll continue to develop on their mother's back until they're tiny juvenile worms.

Meet Salvatoria sp.!

 

Many thanks to Maddy for spotting this fascinating worm, to Eric for taking photos, and to Leslie for help with the identification.

Ruff around the edges

Last night I heard that Dea found a Ruff (Calidris pugnax) near the entrance pond at Doran Beach.  Ruffs are rare migrants in Sonoma County.  They typically breed in northern Eurasia and winter mainly in Africa.  So when I went to the post office today (25 August 2020), I swung by to see if it was still around.  Luckily, it was!

Here's a series of photos.  This juvenile Ruff spent most of its time feeding in shallow salt marsh pools, but it paused a few times to preen and rest.

Check out the beautiful buffy edges to the feathers:

 

 

Sometimes Ruffs walk in a very upright position:

 

 

Although it was feeding in the pools a lot (probing in the water), it also spent some time in the pickleweed along the edges of the pools:

 

 

I didn't get a great photo of the Ruff in flight, but when it was preening you could see hints of the white U-shaped band on the rump (at the base of the tail feathers):

 

There were quite a few Red-necked Phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus) feeding in the same pools, so here's one shot with the Ruff and a phalarope in the background:

 

 

I think I first wrote about Ruffs in 2012, so to learn more about them check out the post called "Ruff day at the beach" from 30 April 2012.

Many thanks to Dea for spotting this bird and spreading the word!