By 6:00 I was on my way over to the American River Bend Park for a walk.  It was about 65º when I got there, and 75º when I left about 3 hours later.  That’s really too “hot” for walking, but I needed to get outside and move around.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

  When I first got into the park, I saw a Jackrabbits and a Coyote, but it was still too dark for my camera to see them.  That was disappointing. And I didn’t a lot of anything new along the way, but the exercise was good for me, so it wasn’t a wasted trip.

I walked a route I didn’t usually walk… and now I remember why. It runs right alongside part of the bike trail and bikers go whizzing by, talking loudly to one another. Quite a distraction.

The most interesting thing on my walk this morning was a female Green Darner dragonfly (Anax junius) sunning herself in the early morning hours. The females have a green thorax and brown abdomen; the males have a green thorax and a blue abdomen. Despite her size – These dragonflies are big! — she was almost invisible against the tree, and I only saw her because she was lightly thrumming her wings, trying to warm up her flight muscles.

I was able to grab her off her tree for a few seconds to get some close-ups… for which she bit me! Hah! Dragonflies don’t sting but they do have hard mandibles and can give you a good pinch with their mouth. I put her back on her tree when I was done with the photos, and she sat there shuddering her wings for a moment more before taking off.

I walked for about 3 hours and then headed home.

Species List

1. Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus
2. Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna
3. Black Walnut Erineum Mite galls, Eriophyes erinea
4. Black-Tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus
5. Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra cerulea
6. California Brickellbush, Brickellia californica
7. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
8. California Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly, Battus philenor hirsuta
9. California Pipevine, Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica
10. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
11. Canada Goldenrod, Solidago canadensis
12. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
13. Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum
14. Coyote, Canis latrans
15. Doveweed, Turkey Mullein, Croton setigerus
16. Everlasting, Anaphalis sp.
17. Goldenrod Bunch Gall, Goldenrod Floret Gall Midge, Solidago canadensis
18. Green Darner Dragonfly, Anax junius
19. Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni
20. Italian Thistle, Carduus pycnocephalus
21. Jimson Weed, Datura stramonium
22. Kernel Flower Gall Wasp, Callirhytis serricornis
23. Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria
24. Live Oak Gall Wasp, 1st Generation, Callirhytis quercuspomiformis
25. Live Oak Gall Wasp, 2nd Generation, Callirhytis quercuspomiformis
26. Mallard duck, Anas platyrhynchos
27. Pumpkin Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus minusculus
28. Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus [heard]
29. Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis [flying]
30. Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
31. Ruptured Twig Gall Wasp, Callirhytis perdens
32. Rusty Tussock Moth, Orgyia antiqua [cocoons]
33. Swedish Blue Duck, Anas platyrhynchos domesticus var. Swedish Blue
34. Tall Buckwheat, Eriogonum elatum var. elatum
35. Tarweed, Common Madia, Madia elegans
36. Two-Horned Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus dubiosus
37. Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
38. Western Bluebird, Sialia mexicana
39. Western Fence Lizard, Blue Belly, Sceloporus occidentalis
40. Western Goldenrod, Solidago lepida
41. White-Breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis
42. Woolly Oak Aphid, Stegophylla brevirostris
43. Wooly Mullein, Great Mullein, Verbascum thapsus
44. Yellow Starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis