Here is my running species list for 2023. I’m including those I’ve taken photos of, heard, saw without getting a photo of, or found tracks/scat that I could identify. You can see last year’s species list HERE.
Total for 2023: 130
JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN |
108 | 33 | ||||
JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |
Includes ** new-to-me [lifer] species.
Arachnids: (Last year: 30 species)
- False Black Widow Spider, Steatoda grossa
Birds: (Last year: 153 species)
- Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus
- American Coot, Fulica americana
- American Pipit, Anthus rubescens
- American Robin, Turdus migratorius
- American Wigeon, Anas americana
- Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna
- Audubon’s Warbler, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Setophaga coronata auduboni
- Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon
- Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
- Black-Necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus
- Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
- Bufflehead Duck, Bucephala albeola
- Bushtit, American Bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus
- California Quail, Callipepla californica
- California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
- Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
- Common Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula
- Cooper’s Hawk, Acipiter cooperii
- Crow, American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
- Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auratus
- Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto
- Gadwall, Mareca strepera
- Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
- Great Egret, Ardea alba
- Great-Tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus
- Greater White-Fronted Goose, Anser albifrons
- Grebe, Pied-Billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps
- Green Heron, Butorides virescens
- Green-Winged Teal, Anas carolinensis
- Gull, Larus sp.
- Gull, Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
- Gull, Ring-Billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
- Hermit Thrush, Catharus guttatus
- Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus
- Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous
- Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria
- Lesser Scaup, Aythya affinis
- Lewis’s Woodpecker, Melanerpes lewis
- Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus
- Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos
- Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
- Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus [heard]
- Northern Harrier, Marsh Hawk, Circus hudsonius
- Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
- Northern Pintail, Anas acuta
- Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata
- Oak Titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus
- Osprey, Pandion haliaetus
- Peafowl, Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus
- Phainopepla, Phainopepla nitens
- Red-Shouldered Hawk, California Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus elegans
- Red-Tailed Hawk, Western Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis calurus
- Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
- Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
- Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula
- Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens
- Snowy Egret, Egretta thula
- Sparrow, House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
- Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
- Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
- Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
- Swainson’s Hawk, Buteo swainsoni
- Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus
- Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
- Western Bluebird, Sialia mexicana
- Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta
- White-Faced Ibis, Plegadis chihi
- Wren, Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris
Fish: (Last year: 6 species)
Fungi and Molds: (Last year: 30 species)
- Agaric Mushroom, Coprinopsis uliginicola
- Black Witches’ Butter, Black Jelly Roll, Exidia glandulosa
- Bleachy Entoloma, Entoloma ferruginans
- Blewit Mushroom, Purple Core, Lepista nuda
- Brown Jelly Fungus, Leafy Brain, Phaeotremella foliacea
- Brownit Mushroom, Clitocybe brunneocephala
- Crust Fungus, Stereum sp.
- Crystal Brain Fungus, Myxarium nucleatum
- Deer Mushroom, Pluteus cervinus
- Hairy Curtain Crust, Stereum hirsutum
- Impatient Inkcap Mushroom, Tulosesus impatiens (formerly Coprinellus impatiens)
- Pleated Marasmius, Red Thread, Marasmius plicatulus
- Tall Psathyrella, Psathyrella longipes
- Tuberous Polypore, Polyporus tuberaster [similar to Dryad’s Saddle]
- White Stubble Rosegill, Volvopluteus gloiocephalusi [white or gray mushroom, slick cap with colored center, pale pink to gills, papery volva]
- Yellow-Staining Milk Cap, Lactarius xanthogalactus [reddish cap, milky gills]
Galls: (Last year: 85 species)
- Oak Apple, California Gall Wasp, Andricus quercuscalifornicus
Insects, Arthropods, Hexapods: (Last year: 227 species)
- Bee, European Honeybee, Western Honeybee, Apis mellifera
- Little Mite, Linopodes sp.
- Paper Wasp, Golden Paper Wasp, Polistes aurifer
- Springtail, Subclass Collembola
- Dragonfly, Variegated Meadowhawk Dragonfly, Sympetrum corruptum
Invertebrates, Other (Last year: 6 species)
Lichen on Trees/Wood: (Last year: 39 species)
- Boreal Button Lichen, Buellia disciformis [pale gray to bluish with black apothecia on wood]
- Candleflame Lichen, Candelaria sp.
- Giraffe Spots Crust Fungus, Peniophora albobadia
- Green Shield Lichen, Flavoparmelia caperata
- Hoary Rosette Lichen, Physcia aipolia
- Hooded Rosette Lichen, Physcia adscendens [hairs/eyelashes on the tips of the lobes]
- Pin-Cushion Sunburst Lichen, Polycauliona polycarpa [bright orange, apothecia, close, piled]
- Powder-Edged Speckled Greenshield, Flavopunctelia soredica [pale green, lots of soredia]
- Ribbon Lichen, Ramalina leptocarpha
- Trumpet Lichen, Cladonia fimbriata
Lichen on Stone/Metal: (Last year: 23 species)
Mammals: (Last year: 42 species)
- California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
- Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
- Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger [rusty belly]
- Otter, North American River Otter, Lontra canadensis
- Raccoon, Common Raccoon, Procyon lotor
- Western Gray Squirrel, Sciurus griseus
Pathogens/Bacteria: (Last year: 16 species)
- Coral Spot, Nectria cinnabarina
Plants, Flowers, Trees: (Last year: 575 species)
- Alder, White Alder, Alnus rhombifolia
- Arundo, Giant Reed, Arundo donax
- Ash, Oregon Ash, Fraxinus latifolia
- Black Walnut, Eastern Black Walnut, Juglans nigra
- Blackberry, Armenian Blackberry, Rubus armeniacus [red canes]
- Blessed Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum
- Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra cerulea
- California Buckeye Chestnut Tree, Aesculus californica
- California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana
- California Pipevine, Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica
- Cattail, Broad-Leaved Cattail, Typha latifolia
- Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus sp.
- Field Mustard, Brassica rapa
- Grasses, Saltgrass, Distichlis spicata
- Gray Pine, Pinus sabiniana
- Jointed Charlock, Raphanus raphanistrum
- Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta
- Manroot, California Manroot, Bigroot, Marah fabaceus
- Mistletoe, Broadleaf Mistletoe, Phoradendron macrophyllum
- Oak, Coast Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia
- Oak, Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni
- Oak, Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
- Olive, Olea europaea
- Poison Hemlock, Conium maculatum
- Sunflower, California Sunflower, Helianthus californicus
- Teasel, Wild Teasel, Dipsacus fullonum
- Toyon, Heteromeles arbutifolia
- Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
- White Sweetclover, Melilotus albus
- Willows, Salix sp.
Reptiles and Amphibians: (Last year: 10 species)
- Pacific Pond Turtle, Western Pond Turtle, Actinemys marorata
- Western Fence Lizard, Blue Belly, Sceloporus occidentalis
Other Vocabulary:
- Apothecia: [a-poth-EH-cee-ah] concave cup formations on lichen that bear the spores; asocarp
- Bilateral Gynandromorph: an organism that contains both male and female characteristics that can be distinguished through sexual dimorphism. Usually seen in moths, butterflies, other insects and birds.
- Cecidologist: a person who studies plant galls
- Cilia: outgrowths on the thallus of lichen that look like eyelashes or tentacles
- Crown Shyness: gaps in the canopy between trees in the forest that allow for sunlight to get through, and help the trees “social distance” to help neighboring trees to avoid infections and infestations.
- Fasciation: also known as cresting, a relatively rare condition of abnormal growth in vascular plants in which the growing tip which normally is concentrated around a single point and produces approximately cylindrical tissue, instead becomes elongated perpendicularly to the direction of growth, thus producing flattened, ribbon-like, crested (or “cristate”), or elaborately contorted, tissue.
- Fundatrix: stem mother, a viviparous parthenogenetic winged or wingless female aphid produced on the primary host plant from an overwintering fertilized egg
- Inquiline: an animal exploiting the living space of another, e.g. an insect that lays its eggs in a gall produced by another (not the same as parasite because they don’t necessarily adversely affect the host.)
- Intergrade: There are two types of intergradation: Primary intergradation: Occurs in cases were two subspecies are connected via one or more intermediate populations, each of which are in turn intermediate to their adjacent populations and exhibit more or less the same amount of variability as any other population within the species. Adjacent populations and subspecies are subject to cline intergradation, and in these situations it is usually taken for granted that the clines are causally related to environmental gradients. Secondary intergradation: When contact between a geographically isolated subspecies is reestablished with the main body of the species or with another isolate subspecies, interbreeding takes place as long as the isolate has not yet evolved an effective set of isolating mechanisms. Consequently, a relatively distinct zone or belt of hybridization will develop depending on the degree of genetic and phenotypic difference that was achieved by the previously isolated subspecies.
- Isidia: [EYE-sid-ee-ah] ; small outgrowths of the thallus, from about 50 micrometres to a millimetre or so in length. They contain both fungal hyphae and photobiont cells and vary in shape, depending on species, from bulbous to cylindrical or branched, sometimes even coralloid .
- Osmeteria: the “horns” on the head of swallowtail caterpillars. “…The everted organ resembles a fleshy forked tongue (not unlike a snake tongue)… [and emits] a foul, disagreeable odor which serves to repel ants, small spiders, and mantids…”
- Soredia: [SORE-dee-ah] powdery grainy-looking balls composed of fungal hyphae wrapped around cyanobacteria or green algae on lichen; asexual reproduction
- Teneral: of, relating to, or constituting a state of the imago of an insect immediately after molting during which it is soft and immature in coloring.
- Thanatosis: “death drop” insect use to evade capture. Feigning death is a technique used by lots of different critters, including the opossum.
- Thigmotropism: the turning or bending of a plant or other organism in response to a touch stimulus (what causes a vine to wrap around a tree, for example)