I got up around 5:30 this morning because the dog needed to get outside. Since I was up, I decided to stay up, and after giving the dog his breakfast, I got dressed and went out to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve for my walk. I was sunny and already about 53° when I left the house. When I got back home around 11:00 am it was 78°.

During my walk I saw but couldn’t get photos of a couple of Bullock’s Orioles, a male Rubyspot damselfly, and several White-Lined Sphinx Moths. The Rubyspot was a bright red male, and I was so bummed that I wasn’t able to get a photo of it. The Orioles and Sphinx moths were whizzing around, so I couldn’t get my camera to focus on them. Gotta be fast when you’re photographing nature!

CLICK HERE for the album of photos.

I was able to get photos of other critters including an Oak Titmouse with a small caterpillar in its beak, a Turkey Vulture sunning himself on the top of a tree, and several Western Fence Lizards including a male courting a female, and another female who looked really gravid (pregnant, full of eggs).

A one point along the trail I found a nesting cavity in the side of a tree and saw Tree Swallows, an Acorn Woodpecker, and a House Wren all seemingly fighting for it. The Tree Swallows out-numbered the other two species at the tree, so I’m assuming they’re taking that spot.

I also found a couple of squirrel dreys (nests), including one near the Maidu Village near the nature center. The squirrels there had pulled tules out of the tule hut on display and used them in their nest. Hah! And I found a Bushtit nest in a spot where it was surrounded by Pipevine.

The Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies were flittering all over the place. At on spot, I came across a vine where the caterpillars hat just hatched from their eggs and were busy eating the shells. Another cool sighting was a Snakefly. I found a female (obviously by her long dagger-like ovipositor) sitting on a leaf and got a photo and video snippet of her before she rushed away.

So, it was a good walk.

Species List:

1. Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus,
2. American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus,
3. American Robin, Turdus migratorius,
4. American Rubyspot Damselfly, Hetaerina americana,
5. Ant, Little Black Ant, Monomorium minimum
6. Aphids, superfamily Aphidoidea,
7. Ash-Throated Flycatcher, Myiarchus cinerascens,
8. Bedstraw, Cleavers, Galium aparine,
9. Black Tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus,
10. Black Walnut Erineum Mite galls, Eriophyes erinea,
11. Black Walnut, Juglans nigra,
12. Blue Oak, Quercus douglasii,
13. Blue Penstemon, Penstemon azureus,
14. Bullock’s Oriole, Icterus bullockii,
15. Bush Sunflower, Encelia californica,
16. Bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus,
17. California Buckeye, Aesculus californica,
18. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi,
19. Groundsel, Senecio sp.,
20. California Manroot, Bigroot, Marah fabaceus,
21. California Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly, Battus philenor hirsuta,
22. California Pipevine, Aristolochia californica,
23. California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica,
24. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica,
25. California Towhee, Melozone crissalis,
26. Clover, Strawberry Clover, Trifolium fragiferum,
27. Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus,
28. Common Catchfly, Silene gallica,
29. Common Fringepod, Thysanocarpus curvipes,
30. Desert Cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii,
31. Dogtail Grass, Cynosurus echinatus,
32. Douglas Iris, Iris douglasiana,
33. Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger,
34. Golden-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla,
35. House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus,
36. House Wren, Troglodytes aedon,
37. Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni,
38. Italian Thistle, Carduus pycnocephalus,
39. Leaf Miner, Cameraria sp.,
40. Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria
41. Live Oak Gall Wasp gall, 1st Generation, Callirhytis quercuspomiformis
42. Live Oak Gall Wasp gall, 2nd Generation, Callirhytis quercuspomiformis
43. Long-Jawed Orb Weaver Spider, Tetragnatha sp.,
44. Lupine, Lupinus sp.,
45. Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos,
46. Mayfly, possibly Hexagenia limbate,
47. Miniature Lupine, Lupinus bicolor,
48. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura,
49. Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii,
50. Oak Apple Gall Wasp gall, Andricus quercuscalifornicus
51. Oak Titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus,
52. Pacific Rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus,
53. Pink Grass, Windmill Pink, Petrorhagia dubia,
54. Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum,
55. Q-Tips, Slender Cottonweed, Micropus californicus var. californicus,
56. Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula,
57. Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciose,
58. Snakefly, Agulla sp.,
59. Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus,
60. Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor,
61. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura,
62. Valley Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa varipuncta,
63. Valley Oak, Quercus lobata,
64. Valley Tassels, Castilleja attenuate,
65. Vetch, Vicia sp.,
66. Wavy-Leaf Soap Plant, Chlorogalum pomeridianum,
67. Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis,
68. Western Redbud, Cercis occidentalis,
69. White Horehound, Marrubium vulgare,
70. White-Breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis,
71. White-Lined Sphynx Moth, Hyles lineata,
72. Winter Vetch, Vicia villosa,
73. Yellow-Faced Bumblebee, Bombus vosnesenskii,