The Phoebes were the Stars of the Day, 04-26-22

I got up around 6:00 this morning with the dogs, fed them their breakfast, and then got myself ready to head out to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve. There were some specific trees I wanted to check for galls, but otherwise I was open to whatever nature wanted to show me.

I watched the Black Phoebes, which have a nest there every year, catch insects and feed their babies. A couple of times, I saw the adult do a kind of fast flip in mid-air and catch winged insects as they flew by. This year’s nest had FIVE babies in it, and they were all nearly fledged, so cramming them all into that little mud cup wasn’t easy. I could have watched them all day, but really needed to get moving.

I also got a glimpse of a Bewick’s Wren nesting cavity. There were three babies, again nearly fledged, sitting on the outside rim of the nest – which was well-hidden inside of a bush. Of course, as always, the camera decided to focus on the leaves in front of the nestlings, instead of on the birds themselves

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

There was a European Starling that was doing her wing-twirls, and another one that was poking its head out of its nesting cavity.

And I saw a few beautiful Ash-Throated Flycatchers.

I saw my first Tussock Moth caterpillar of the season, and my first Black-Tailed Bumble Bee on this walk along with several other insects. I’m trying to work my naturalist’s eye in anticipation of the upcoming City Nature Challenge.

I found a few Small-Flowered Catchfly flowers. They’re glandular-hairy especially on veins, and feel sticky to the touch.

It was fun seeing a mama California Ground Squirrel back at the burrow at the end of the trail on the bluff side of the preserve. She avoided me at first, but then seemed to realize I wasn’t a threat, and she came out and posed for me for a while. Ground squirrels are one of my favorite animals, so it’s always great to see them.

I walked for a whopping 4 hours before heading home. That’s the best I’ve done since my surgery in January. This was hike #22 in my #52HikeChallenge for the year.

Species List:

Acmon Blue Butterfly, Icaricia acmon
Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus
Ash-Throated Flycatcher, Myiarchus cinerascens
Azolla, Water Fern, Azolla filiculoides
Bedstraw, Velcro Grass, Cleavers, Galium aparine
Bee, European Honeybee, Western Honeybee, Apis mellifera
Bee, Leafcutter Bee, Megachile sp.
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
Black-Tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus
Broad-Leaved Sweet Pea, Lathyrus latifolius
Bumblebee, Black-Tailed Bumble Bee, Bombus melanopygus
Bushtit, American Bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus
Caddisfly, Black Dancer Caddisfly, Mystacides sepulchralis
California Black Walnut Pouch Gall Mite, Aceria brachytarsa
California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana
California Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly, Battus philenor hirsuta
California Pipevine, Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica
California Quail, Callipepla californica [heard]
California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
California Sycamore, Western Sycamore, Platanus racemose
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
Cat’s Ear, Smooth Cat’s Ear, Hypochaeris glabra
Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum
Clover, Rose Clover, Trifolium hirtum
Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
Cranefly, European Crane Fly, Tipula paludosa
Crown Whitefly, Aleuroplatus coronata
Dictyna Spider, Dictyna sp.
European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
Fremont’s Cottonwood, Populus fremontii
Grasses, Mediterranean Hair-Grass, Rostraria cristata
Green Lacewing, Chrysopa coloradensis
Harvestman, Protolophus singularis
House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus
Hoverfly, Black-Margined Flower Fly, Syrphus opinator
Iris, Douglas Iris, Iris douglasiana
Iris, Yellow Iris, Iris pseudacorus
Katydid, Fork-Tailed Bush Katydid, Scudderia furcata [nymph]
Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous [heard]
Ladybeetle, Seven-Spotted Lady Beetle, Coccinella septempunctata
Live Oak Apple Gall Wasp, Spring generation, Amphibolips quercuspomiformis [upside down volcano on the edge of the leaf, green or brown]
Live Oak Folded Leaf Aphid, Stegophylla essigi [in live oaks, folds the leaf over itself; sometimes the leaf turns red/reddish]
Lupine, Miniature Lupine, Lupinus bicolor
Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos
March Fly, Bibio vestitus [tiny, black, elongated body]
Metallic Wood-Boring Beetle, Subgenus: Melanthaxia
Milkweed, Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa
Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
Mule Fat, Baccharis salicifolia
Non-Biting Midge, Cricotopus sp.
Northern California Black Walnut, Juglans hindsii
Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii [heard]
Oak Apple, California Gall Wasp, Andricus quercuscalifornicus
Oak Titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus
Oak, Coast Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia
Oak, Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni
Oak, Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
Penstemon, Mountain Blue Penstemon, Penstemon laetus
Pineappleweed, Chamomilla suaveolens
Plum, Prunus domestica
Poison Oak, Pacific Poison Oak, Western Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum
Popcorn Flower, Plagiobothrys sp.
Purpletop Vervain, Verbena incompta
Pyracantha, Firethorn, Pyracantha coccinea
Red-Shouldered Hawk, California Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus elegans
Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
Ruptured Twig Gall Wasp, Callirhytis perdens [on live oaks]
Scarlet Pimpernel, Lysimachia arvensis
Small-Flowered Catchfly, Silene gallica
Snakefly, Common Snakefly, Agulla sp.
Swallow, Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor
Towhee, California Towhee, Melozone crissalis
Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus [heard]
Treehopper, Buffalo Treehopper, Stictocephala bisonia [exuvia]
Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
Western Boxelder Bug, Boisea rubrolineata
Western Mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis
Western Redbud, Cercis occidentalis
Western Tussock Moth, Orgyia vetusta
White Horehound, Marrubium vulgare
White-Breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis
Wood Duck, Aix sponsa
Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Thryomanes bewickii
Wren, House Wren, Troglodytes aedon [heard]
Yarrow, Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium