Nature upload: the living, traces of the past, finicky finches, and a GAME! =)

The Living

Some lovely lichen I found 'neath an old oak tree

when I was foraging about for some nature coolness.

 

Under the same oak, I found this a few days later.

Looks like a nest with a perfect hen's egg in it, right?

It's fungus. Some kinda puffball, I presume. =)

And, from my field site, a super not great photo of a FABULOUS bird, a phainopepla.

I'd never seen one at the site before, and have only seen them maybe 4 times?

Looks like a black cardinal with red eyes. And makes a sweet little sound.

SUPER cool.

Traces of the Past

Photo that represents much of what I love about my job.

Looking for and detecting wildlife, in whatever form I can.

This is a coyote print in some tasty mud.

And thanks to the smarty tweeple I follow on twitter (e.g., @Laelaps & @LianaBrooks),

I believe THESE are worm tracks.

I only find them RIGHT after a rain storm in areas that are pure dirt (no plants).

I'm super psyched I learned this. Such beautiful tracks.

DH and I were cruising around learning about local mining history.

Our shadows on infrastructure of what I think was a ferry landing at the Merced River.

 It's just off highway 49 (its name is NO coincidence re: 49-er history).

Hills are greening up nicely, around here. Yay! =)

Then we cruised down foothill backroads to where some mines used to be

and found this beautiful fence. I LOVE the way it frames everything.

Finicky Finches

Got photo documentation of our local birds

rejecting the millet in the birdseed I put out for them. =)

House finch grabbing millet to fling...

...annnnd flung!

(See lower right hand corner)

Duly noted. =)

Guessing Game: How Big Is This Oak?

An oak as viewed from within the Ahwahnee in Yosemite NP.

How tall would you guess it is?

If you were standing next to it, how high up would the top of your head go?

Just go ahead and try and picture yourself there. 

Then scroll down to see how tall people are relative to the oak.

derp

derp

derp

So, how close were you to reality?

I think that tree is OVER 70 feet tall.

A towering beauty, to be sure. =)

I hope your winter is cruising along nicely. =)

xoxooxobb

Feeder frenzy, fawn photobomb and fabulous fungi

It was a cold morning and I'd just flung a bunch of wild bird seed out.

The birds rewarded us with early morning visits.

Two hungry acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus)

neatly photobombed by a mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fawn.

THREE acorn woodpeckers on one pinecone. Impressive.

Especially the one that's upside down.

I also like that one tiny bit of feed falling 'neath them.

Sticking the tongue out.

First saw these two Steller's jays (Cyanocitta stelleri)
and wondered why the little one was standing its ground in the face of a larger one.

And then I thought: oh... the little one is probably the offspring of the big one.*

And rather than threatening with the big mouth, it's saying, "Feed me!"
It's a theory.*

Since we've gotten a bit of rain these last few weeks,
the hygroscopic earthstars (Astraeus hygrometricus) unfurled again,
much to my delight.

I love this olive green one... so elegant.

Nice beige, crackly one.

This one shows JUST how much they can look like an exploded acorn.

So, that's some of the things kicking around the property in February.

I will be posting more images of birds
and the early-blooming flowers soon.

In the meantime, here's to more rain here in the west! Woo-hoo!

xoxoxo bb


*Yes, it's a theory, but it's probably wrong. Two smarties commented that
this sort of behavior is common in mated pairs. Flirting, basically. =) Thanks, peeps!

Tumbling photos, field work hazards, & rain saves my butt

My guess: Edith's checkerspot (Euphydryas editha)

on yerba santa (Eriodictyon californicum).

1. Am doling out more photos from the (fairly glorious)

CNPS hike along the Merced River,

including wildflowers, butterflies, etc.,

on Tumblr (click on that!) 'cause it's faster. For now.

Hope that's alright. xoxoxo

2. Hazards of field work, part 12

Found a good site for Saturday's mushroom hike: hooray!

Unfortunately, also found poison oak on my body.

I knew I'd gone through a patch 2 days ago,

during an exploratory hike of a potential site,

so washed my clothes with Tecnu.

Forgot to wash MYSELF with Tecnu.

Oops.

3. The recent RAIN we got saved my hiney!

Until about 10 days ago, we had almost NO mushrooms visible anywhere.

Cruised through a potential hike in the Sierra NF yesterday,

and saw over 6 species.

Some kinda TINY, beautiful, BRIGHT mushroom.

No clue, re: ID. In the Sierra National Forest, Bass Lake District.

Thus, I am saved.

From a mushroom-free mushroom hike.

And mushroom-free mushroom-seekers.

Who would need someone to blame.

And pelt with pinecones.

Thank you to the rain + warmth that --> MUSHROOMS!

And thank you, in advance, to the Sierra National Forest

for having handy, fruitful, and free forests for us to roam.

I'll think of you if/when I write a check to the IRS this year.

xoxoxo!

bb

fungal fun with Photo Quiz Phriday: bb guesses species, too!

Quiz answer, Part 1

So, GREAT guesses, EVERYONE. Very creative. =)

Dan Maxwell was on the right track right away (fungal leanings).
Then Cindy NAILED it:
"a puffball with a particularly elegant color"

YUP! =) DING! DING! DING!

Yes, guessers, it was a fungal thang that I photographed
and fell in love with its textures; the humble puffball.

I've seen them around our property before, but never purple.
Typically they are brown in the inside, grey/white/tan on the outside.

Here's the 2 that Bear pointed out to me:

In the next shot, it's the same guy as the one above,
but it's SUPER purple. Muppet purple.

I'm thinking it's taken with a flash,
so that explains the apparent color change??
Thoughts?

So, what species is this, biobabbler?
Quiz answer Part 2

I start flipping through Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora
(expert and SO funny--the book is a delight).

Pawing through pages of puffballs, I spy a black & white photo...
"mature specimen in which the outer layer
of the peridium (spore case) is disintegrating." (p.687)
oooh, yes. Very promising.

Next sentence:
"The purplish color of the mature spores is the
most distinctive characteristic of this species."

Oh, yeah, baby!

So, I conclude that the beauty above is
Calvatia cyathiformis, purple-spored puffball.

Sweet.
Thanks for helping me learn, Noble Readers.

And thanks so much to
Mylee, Dan, Sean, Elephant's Eye, and Cindy,
for your participation. You bring me delight. =)
xobb

Still shameless: wordless Yosemite @ Glacier Point & Sentinel Dome

 

bb

tiny frosted mushroom sprouts feathers...

 

 

Nature is so amazing.

bb