Weathering the storm

  

A short story about a hummingbird and her nest.  Before the storm on 4 February 2024, I had photographed this Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) on a nest.  During the storm, I wondered how she was faring and if the nest would survive the storm.  I hadn't had a chance to go back until this past weekend, but here she is on 10 February 2024:

 

 

The nest made it just fine, and it looks like she might be incubating now.  [Anna's Hummingbirds generally lay two eggs, each ~12 mm (~0.5") long.]

Somewhat surprisingly, while I was walking towards this area I was listening for hummingbirds in case she had moved to a different location when I heard a hummingbird calling and followed it to a different nest location.  Then I checked the original site and found that nest intact, too.  So here's a second Anna's at a nest:

 

 

I love how the greens of the hummingbird feathers match the greens of the moss in the nest.

Barking up the right tree?

  

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) in Cotati on 10 February 2024.

Setting crescent

  

 It was little too dark, but I decided to try anyway...and the photo turned out somewhat interesting.  I like how it looks like a painting!  Crescent moon before it disappears behind low clouds over the ocean on 10 February 2024.

Resting in the harbor

  

What do you think — Is this a Kelp Pipefish (Syngnathus californiensis)?  

Photographed in Bodega Harbor on 3 February 2024.

Bronze sculpture?

  

A very large egg case, probably from a Big Skate (Raja binoculata), washed up on the beach on 5 February 2024.

Such an interesting design with those long curved ridges. Here are a couple more views:

  

 

 

 

 

And if you'd like to learn more, I wrote a longer post about a Big Skate egg case back in 2012 — see "Just in case" on 7 March 2012.

A paler cousin

  

Thanks to Colin for getting the word out that a Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii) was visible from the Lucas Wharf area in Bodega Harbor this morning.  I was nearby so went over for a quick look, and Scott was there to point me in the right direction.  This is a rare species here, with fewer than a handful of records for Sonoma County.

Here are a few other images for the record.  Note the large, pale bill.  In the last photo, you can compare the Yellow-billed Loon with several Common Loons.  It's a little bit larger and has more of a brownish tone overall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photographed in Bodega Harbor on 3 February 2024.

Tricolored!

  

We were out in the field briefly this past weekend and I encountered two different hermit crabs in these beautiful snail shells — Three-colored Top Snail (Calliostoma tricolor).  

The snail is generally a more southern species, with most range descriptions describing their distribution from Santa Cruz south to Baja California, Mexico.  Looking online, however, there are quite a few records north of Santa Cruz to at least Bolinas, and one outlier up in Mendocino County (Thanks, Michael!).  So for the record, here's an observation from Sonoma County on 26 January 2024.