I saw at least three sea lions swimming in the channel from the marina. Submerging for long periods of time, they would suddenly pop up in a different spot.
4 days later a skeleton. Cleaned by ants. Second photo was taken Monday after it recently died. Obs is in iNaturalist w more photos.
Along the east side of Klopp Lake. Mother and pup.
Queen and Monarch possibly mating together? In the Mueller Native Plant demo garden butterfly area.
The difference between the desert cottontail and brush rabbit definitely stand out when they are side by side. :)
Dorsal and ventral dark coloration, almost black and no tuft of hairs on the tip of the tail.
I think a pair was mating and the male got eaten?
Incredible variety of frog and snake life in this canyon. This search was briefly alluded to in my article on endangered frogs in the SoCal mountains: https://bangkokherps.wordpress.com/2018/10/23/california-waters-frogs-of-the-socal-mountains/
A male mating with dead female
He maybe thinks she is still alive
Found mating at camp site along the Potomac River. Temperature was in the 38-40 °F range.
Do the different species of Ceroctis ie the C capensis and C gyllenhali mate or have I got this all wrong? @magrietbrink
As I was taking a picture of this female Common Merganser (Gänsesäger) in the channel at the entry of Nymphenburg Palace, she suddenly raced away with her bill and eyes under water. I first thought she was chasing Black-headed Gulls, but she surfaced with a Chub that was so large and heavy that she lost her grip on it. She must have stunned the fish, because she pulled it out again after searching for it under water. This time, she didn’t only struggle with the weight of the fish, she was also surrounded by excited Gulls who wanted to get a bite. The Merganser tried in vein to get airborne with the heavy load, and eventually had to drop her prey… She seemed pumped up and excited after this catch and shook her feathers and flapped her wings for a bit. And then she continued her search.
For the Chub: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/34861851
rainbow trout eating a fly on the surface of Lake George
Male tiger beetle attempting to mate with female Ocellated Tiger Beetle. This observation is for the male.
Male Eastern Red-bellied Tiger Beetle attempting to mate with female Ocellated Tiger Beetle. This observation is for the Ocellated Tiger Beetle.
The first photo is NOT a photo from the time, place or date. *The photo posted for time date and place may be disturbing to viewers.**
Trying to ID the dragonfly, not the Monarch. The monarch is in a separate post. Can anyone explain this behavior? After approaching and staying near these insects for awhile, they flew off and seemed completely fine. I’m not sure if I witnessed mating or what...
Based on melted flight and body feathers, and location under a power pole, I’m gonna say this one was electrocuted.
Steller's Jay sunning in protected corner on a deck. Note feathers are lifted, exposing uropygial (preen) gland.
requesting comments about the ears
Lady bug newly emerged from pupa: last two photos are a couple hours later - spots coming in
Three clubtails, two of which are mating.
A Cyclocephala sp. male trying to mate with a Tomarus gibbosus female.
This observation is for the female.
A Cyclocephala sp. male trying to mate with a Tomarus gibbosus female.
This observation is for the male.
Found under woody debris mating (separated when I tried to get a photo).
Mating in same pedestrian tunnel (Tunnel No 1) in which 40 specimens overwintered. All are gone except these two and one other. None present in Tunnel #2 that I documented all winter (where 15 were present).
A Wood Frog on top mistaking this Salamander for a female!
I have a 100 gallon tub of water near my house so wildlife can drink. Just as it was getting dark a short while ago something caught my eye and this small White-tailed buck came to drink. Somehow this fella got a plastic jug caught up in his velvet antlers...I hope he can get it off. I had to chuckle at this sight, however, something I had certainly never seen before. Anyway, he drank some water then trotted away. Hope he will be OK!
Why this Leopard Frog is in amplexus with a Green Frog is anyone's guess, but I don't think it will work out. Unless . . . maybe we will find Greepard frogs?
These crows were eating something off the street. I've been wondering if crows eat the newt roadkill. I've seen this phenomenon several times now, but I haven't been able to get a closeup to see if they're actually eating newts. There were a lot of decomposed newts in this location, though. I wonder if the poison in the newts' skin deteriorates over time so that it's safe for the birds to eat?
Pacific Newt (roadkill)
Found dead on Alma Bridge Rd. near Priest Rock Trailhead.
Decomposition Rate Study
These observations show the decomposition of a newt over time. This will give us a sense of how fast the bodies decompose so that duplicate entries aren't added to the main project and the total count is more accurate.
Ref: Decomp03
After 4 days and 1.5" rain:
Picture #1: 12/19/2018 (Wed)
Picture #2: 12/23/2018 (Sun)
Pacific Newt (roadkill)
Found dead on Alma Bridge Rd. near the Los Gatos Rowing Club entrance.
Decomposition Rate Study
These observations show the decomposition of a newt over time. This will give us a sense of how fast the bodies decompose so that duplicate entries aren't added to the main project and the count is more accurate.
Ref: Decomp04
After 6 days with no rain:
Picture #1: 12/25/2018 (Tues)
Picture #2: 12/31/2018 (Mon)
Eating what looked like trash :(
Cached by bobcat (based on camera trap images)
These bones were found under water in a small pond. The animal might have drowned.
Male Elegant Sheep Moth (Hemileuca eglanterina) mating with a female Nuttall’s Sheep Moth (H. nuttalli), found and photographed by Sarah Hockensmith during a Tahoe Institute for Natural Science summer camp
Rough-Skinned Newt (roadkill)
It just made me sick this morning to see 42 (yes, forty-two!!) dead newts on Alma Bridge Road. Many were bloody with guts spewed out (recently dead). Others were smashed flat so that the orange belly could not be seen.
See the following journal posting for more info: https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/truthseqr/13713-roadkill
I wish the highway dept. would put up barriers to keep the newts off the road and stop the carnage.
Description:
(Alma Bridge Road)
Mating pair. These individuals and/or others from the same location were collected and are preserved in my research collection at MacEwan University.
A very old black bear scat that was weathered away. Now, the seeds in it are sprouting, indicating how bears help disperse plants in their scats.
entangled with 2 buoys