Tag Archives: mock orange

General Blog, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

Trying to Beat the Heat on 06-05-19

I got up around 5:00 am this morning so I could get out to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve before it got too hot outside. The predicted high for today was 100°. When I got to the preserve, it was already about 67° outside.

Just seconds after I arrived, my CalNat graduate/friend, Roxanne M., showed up to join me and so did “The Other Mary”, Mary M., another volunteer trail walker at Effie Yeaw.  She brought a small bag for me filled with blackberries from her yard. I thought that was so nice of her.

The three of us walked for about 3 hours, but we cut out walk short because it was humid and hot at the river. When we left, it was already about 80°– and it was only a little after 9 o’clock. Pleh!

We weren’t expecting to see a lot, because nature is kind of in a transition period right now. We’re waiting for mammal babies to be born and insects to start showing themselves.  And, we didn’t see a whole lot, but Roxanne and I can always find something to look at and focus on.

Roxanne is doing a seed-collecting thing right now for the naturalist class, and so she stops at different plants to see what kind of seeds they have on them and how the seeds might be disbursed.  She took on this project on all by herself and is volunteering all the time it’s taking her to collect specimens and ID the plants.  I’m so proud of her!

CLICK HERE for the album of photos.

On our walk we saw a group of about four deer including a young buck in his velvet and a very pregnant doe. And later on, we also saw a bunch of baby rusty-headed Common Mergansers zooming down the riverside with their mom. It was so cute to see some of the babies swimming with their face down in the water, like the adults do, looking for things to eat.  Roxanne, The Other Mary and I all tried to get photos of them, but they moved so-so fast, it was really hard!

I also stopped to get some video of a hive of Common Black Ants (yeah, they’re really called that) carrying their larvae from one nest to another — most likely because the old nest was compromised in some way (infested with fungus, collapsing, etc.).

Moving the eggs and babies around can be really risky because they make for tasty treats for other insects and some birds, so the workers who carry them (very gently in their jaws) have to move really fast and know right where they’re going.

Queen ants are pretty awesome. They control the sex of all of their offspring (only creating males when it’s time for nuptial flights; ost ants you see are females); they can live for up to 15 (some say 30) years, and only mate during their nuptial flights… which means they can mate with several males during that short-term flight period, and then hang onto the sperm for the rest of their entire lives.

On our way out of the preserve we noticed leaves with circular cutouts on them. They’re made by Leafcutting Bees (Megachile sp.), a kind of native bee that lives in cavities. They use the bits they cut out of the leaves to line their tube-like nests and build a neat row of individual compartments, in each of which they’ll form a small doughy mound of pollen and nectar. On top of each of these mounds, the bee will lay a single egg.

Mother leafcutters can control the gender of their offspring, and often lay the eggs of their female offspring in the back of the tube-nest and the males in the front. This way, if the nest is invaded by a bird or other insects, it’s the males that will die first, leaving the females protected.

Although they’re solitary bees and don’t produce a lot of offspring, leafcutters are great pollinators. You can encourage them to pollinate your garden by building nesting boxes, called “bee condos”, for them in your yard. Here is a guide from the Xerces Society on how to do that: http://ow.ly/MhVf50uygX1.

Species List:

  1. Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus,
  2. Asian Ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis,
  3. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans,
  4. Blessed Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum,
  5. Bullock’s Oriole, Icterus bullockii,
  6. California Brodiaea, Brodiaea californica,
  7. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi,
  8. California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica,
  9. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica,
  10. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis,
  11. Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus,
  12. Common Black Ant, Lasius niger,
  13. Common Merganser, Mergus merganser,
  14. Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis
  15. Coyote Mint, Monardella villosa,
  16. Dogtail Grass, Cynosurus echinatus,
  17. Elegant Clarkia, Clarkia unguiculata,
  18. English Plantain, Ribwort, Plantago lanceolata,
  19. European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris,
  20. Goldwire, Hypericum concinnum,
  21. Green Shield Lichen, Flavoparmelia caperata,
  22. House Wren, Troglodytes aedon,
  23. Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni,
  24. Italian Thistle, Carduus pycnocephalus,
  25. Leaf-Cutter Bee, Megachile,
  26. Long-Jawed Orb-Weaver Spider, Tetragnatha elongate,
  27. Mock Orange, Lewis’s Mockorange, Philadelphus lewisii,
  28. Moss, Bryum Moss, Bryum capillare,
  29. Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii,
  30. Oak Titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus,
  31. Oregon Ash, Fraxinus latifolia,
  32. Pacific Bent Grass, Agrostis avenacea,
  33. Praying Mantis, European Mantis, Mantis religiosa,
  34. Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia,
  35. Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa,
  36. Spicebush, Calycanthus occidentalis,
  37. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura,
  38. Valley Oak, Quercus lobata,
  39. Valley x Blue Oak, Quercus lobata x douglasii,
  40. Variable Flatsedge, Cyperus difformis,
  41. Wavy-Leaf Soap Plant, California Soaproot, Chlorogalum pomeridianum,
  42. Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis,
  43. White Alder, Alnus rhombifolia,
  44. White Horehound, Marrubium vulgare,
  45. Winter Vetch, Hairy Vetch, Vicia villosa,
  46. Yellow Water Iris, Yellow Flag, Iris pseudacorus,
Firsts, General Blog, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

Bugs and Birds Mostly, 05-29-19

I got up at 5:30 this morning. I would have slept in a tiny bit more, but Sergeant Margie needed to get outside to pee. Since I was up, I decided to stay up and head over to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve for a walk. It was about 55° when I got there, and almost 70° when I left.

I saw a lot of the usual suspects at the preserve. Still very few deer around; the boys are off getting their antlers and the girls are off getting ready to give birth to their fawns.

CLICK HERE to see the album of photos.

I did get to see another pair of Mourning Doves working on their nest. I saw the male first, along the trail picking up twigs and bits of dried grass and flying them over to the female. She was sitting in the back of a half-fallen branch of a tree, tucked in a broken bit of bark. Smart girl!

Later on, along the trail, while I was watching a young Fox Squirrel, a California Ground Squirrel showed up, and then a Scrub Jay landed nearby with a green plum in its beak. Wow, lots of photos just within a few feet of one another. I love moments like that.

I walked for about four hours and then headed home.

Species List:

  1. Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus,
  2. American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus,
  3. Azolla, Water Fern, Azolla filiculoides,
  4. Bewick’s Wren, Thryomanes bewickii,
  5. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans,
  6. Blessed Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum,
  7. Blue Elderberry, Sambucus cerulea,
  8. Bush Katydid, Scudderia furcate,
  9. California Brodiaea, Brodiaea californica,
  10. California Dandelion, Taraxacum californicum,
  11. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi,
  12. California Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly, Battus philenor hirsuta,
  13. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica,
  14. Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus,
  15. Darkling Beetle, Eleodes dentipes,
  16. Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger,
  17. Eastern Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis,
  18. Elegant Clarkia, Clarkia unguiculata,
  19. European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris,
  20. Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus,
  21. House Wren, Troglodytes aedon,
  22. Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni,
  23. Italian Thistle, Carduus pycnocephalus,
  24. Lace Lichen, Ramalina menziesii,
  25. Little Black Ant, Monomorium minimum,
  26. Live Oak Erineum Mite gall, Aceria mackiei,
  27. Live Oak Gall Wasp, 2nd generation, Callirhytis quercuspomiformis,
  28. Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos,
  29. Mock Orange, Philadephus lewisii californicus,
  30. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura,
  31. Mugwort Weevil, Scaphomorphus longinasus,
  32. Mule Fat, Baccharis salicifolia
  33. Northern Saw-Whet Owl, Sophia, Aegolius acadicus,
  34. Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii,
  35. Platygaster, Platygaster california,
  36. Plum, Prunus subg. Prunus,
  37. Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum,
  38. Red Mulberry, Morus rubra,
  39. Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus,
  40. Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia,
  41. Rose Clover, Trifolium hirtum,
  42. Rusty Tussock Moth, Orgyia antiqua,
  43. Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa,
  44. Southern Alligator Lizard, Elgaria multicarinata,
  45. Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor,
  46. Wand Mullein, Verbascum virgatum,
  47. Western Carpenter Ant, Camponotus modoc,
  48. Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis,
  49. Winter Vetch, Vicia villosa
Firsts, General Blog, Naturalist, photography

Found a Robin’s Nest at William Land Park, 06-23-18

I headed out with the dog to the William Land Park for a short walk. And I mean short. We were only out there for about 90-minutes. It was 73º already when we left the house at 5:30 am! and 80º when we got back home.

On our way to the park, I came across a mother Wild Turkey and her NINE poults. They were by an open field right near a bus stop. Mom was on one side of a rickety chain link fence, and the babies, who were on the sidewalk, couldn’t figure out how to get through the fence to meet up with her.  So, they were running back and forth, peeping loudly. Mom finally walked up to where there was a gap in the fence and stayed there until the kids could join her.

In the WPA Rock Garden, there were different species of Mullein in bloom all over garden, yellow and white. Just some fun facts about mullein: it’s a biennial plant; the word mullein, comes from the German language, meaning “king’s candle” because of its scepter-like, candle-straight growth in its second year; the leaves and flowers are edible and make a nice tea. Most of the mullein we see are non-natives and the Woolly species is considered an invasive in California even though it’s not really that aggressive.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos and video snippets.

I also saw signs that the Leaf-Cutter Bees had been busy at work in the garden. They cut out perfect little half-circles in the soft leaves of the Redbud trees to line their nests. I also saw a lot of the ubiquitous European Honey Bees, some Yellow-Faced Bumblebees, some Long-Horned Bees just waking up from their overnight torpor, and a small group of bright red Assassin Bug nymphs on the stems of some Red Poppies of Flanders.

I also found what I thought was a collection of tiny, black shiny insect eggs. I took photos of them and when I blew the images up I realized that the little black things were actually bug nymphs (Pittosporum shield bug, Monteithiella humeralis, I think) just hatching out of their white eggs. Cool!

At the pond, there was a Mallard mama out with her seven ducklings, and also a mama Swedish Blue/Mallard hybrid with her three ducklings. One of her ducklings looked like a Mallard baby, but the other two were black and yellow with light colored bibs like the Swedish Blues. One of those babies also had black feet with yellow toes. So cute!

There was also a lone Wood Duck (a little female who didn’t take any guff from the larger Mallards), a Crested Duck, a pair of Peking Ducks, and some Indian Runner Ducks. No geese, though, which I thought was kind of odd.

High in a tree on one side of the pond, I could see a nest and something moving around in it. The nest was made of twigs and grass, and also had some white ribbon hanging from the bottom of it (which made it easy to spot). For I while I couldn’t tell what kind of bird was moving around it, so I tried looking at it from different angles and different distances from the tree. I then I realized it was Robin’s nest. Mama Robin came by to check on the kids – there were actually three of them in there. I think she’d brought them something to eat, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Papa Robin showed up a few seconds later, and then both parents flew off again to find more breakfast.

Oh, one thing I noticed that I’d never seen before: a mosquito drinking nectar from a flower. I knew the females drank blood, but for some reason it never occurred to me that they (and the males) drink nectar, too.

As I said, we only walked for about 90 minutes and then headed back home because it was already getting too warm outside. It got up to 102 today.

Firsts, General Blog, Naturalist, photography

Robins at the WPA Rock Garden, 08-06-16

I got up at 6:30 this morning, and headed over to the WPA Rock Garden for a walk. It was actually a little chilly outside (about 53°) with a nice breeze, so it was actually quickly lovely.  I’d gone there with the idea of walking through the garden and around the ponds, then go to the zoo, then go grocery shopping.  I was waaaaay too ambitious, especially considering that I’ve been tired all week. So I did my walk and shopped for groceries, cutting out the zoo entirely for today.  Tomorrow, the zoo is supposed to be hosting a Pokémon Go day, but today I saw all of the adults and older kids out around the park and hanging out in front of the zoo, to see what Poké-stuff they could find. Hah!

There wasn’t a lot really new to see at the park today, but I did get to watch a mama Robin feeding one of her three fledglings.  The babies were all very capable of feeding themselves, but pestered mom for food anyway. Danged teenagers.  Hah!  I got some video of that exchange.

CLICK HERE to see it, and other photos in the album for this day.

I also watched a hummingbird trying to take a bath in the water caught in the leaves of a tree after a sprinkler got to it, and got s little snippet of video of that, too.  There was enough moisture to get the bird’s feathers wet, but not much else, so it ended up just looking like it had bed-head. Hah-2!

Oh, and on my way out of the park, I saw a crow across the lawn that looked very odd.  It looked like it had a white or pale yellow patch on the back of its neck that wrapped around to its cheeks.  (I thought maybe it was a weird-looking magpie at first, but its body and beak were definitely “crow”.)  None of the other crows seemed to care about the oddball one; they worked with it to try to find stuff to eat.  It was too far away for me to see it clearly, though; and the camera couldn’t “reach” far enough to see it clearly either. As far as I could tell, I surmised that the crow must have been in the middle of a molt and the pale color I was seeing was is skin and undercoat of feathers.