Solemn news this week from the Xerces Society: during the 2020 Thanksgiving western monarch count, only 1,914 butterflies were spotted in 250 observation sites. In 1997, when data collection began, 1.2 million western monarchs were counted in 150 locales in California and Baja California. Habitat destruction and lack of access to milkweed plants (the sole sourceContinue reading “Western Monarch Butterflies”
Author Archives: Mashabu
Gray Whale
During an ordinary beach walk, a gray whale slipped into our sight yesterday, a benediction from the sea. Perhaps we should have known something unusual was happening in the Santa Monica Bay because several groups of brown pelicans were seen diving for fish, making a big splash before taking off in flight repeatedly. Known to migrate through Santa MonicaContinue reading “Gray Whale”
American Coots
American Coots were easily spotted on a recent visit to the Malibu Lagoon. A fresh water basin in Western Los Angeles County, the restored estuary once again hosts a variety of birdlife year around, fed by water draining out of Malibu Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains. The level of the water was low onContinue reading “American Coots”
Fox Tail Agave
What appears at first glance to be a sad, droopy plant is actually a thriving life source for insects and birds. Sending up an arching, flower-covered stem after growing for ten years, the fox tail agave blooms starting in late summer through early spring. It is a magnet for bees and birds including hummingbirds, commonContinue reading “Fox Tail Agave”
Salps
The sea salps are back! No, that’s not a typo. Salps are small, shiny, prismatic and easy to overlook on a casual beach stroll. Referred to by some scientists as “vacuum cleaners of the ocean”, they appeared on Zuma Beach this week. We first noticed them last winter. After a few weeks, they disappeared. Shaped as orbs orContinue reading “Salps”
Cooper’s Hawk
A juvenile cooper’s hawk recently stepped into our birdbath. https://youtu.be/6YXhTKHQmgk This was the first time since the trail cameras were installed that we had a sighting on film. We had already seen one fly into the oleander hedge and swiftly emerge with something in its talons. I’d never seen a raptor in a birdbath.Continue reading “Cooper’s Hawk”
Great Horned Owls
After dusk this week, I heard great horned owls calling. Year-round residents of the United States, they begin their days after sunset. Turn your volume way up to hear the call of the great horned owl and a juvenile calling to a parent. The Ojai Raptor Center very kindly provided information about the second, higher pitched call.Continue reading “Great Horned Owls”
Female (Audubon’s) Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted on a bird-of-paradise blossom, this sparrow-sized bird is a year-round resident of Southern California. Cornell University’s All About Birds website indicates that Yellow-rumped Warblers eat insects and berries. Their stout beaks probe for insects and pick berries from stems. In fact, the species’ appetite for berries “when no insects are available enables them toContinue reading “Female (Audubon’s) Yellow-rumped Warbler”
Southern Sea Otters: A Keystone Species
Found in California’s offshore waters between Half Moon Bay and Santa Barbara, the southern sea otter is a playful animal which uses its chest both as a dining room table and a place to groom its pups. Lolling just beyond the breaking shore waves, rafts of sea otters wrap themselves in kelp for protection from greatContinue reading “Southern Sea Otters: A Keystone Species”
Monterey Bay
Visitors to Monterey Bay quickly find their ears tuning to unusual sounds at the shore. What is that roar? Did I just hear a bark? Sea lions are easily seen under Fisherman’s Wharf, on wood platforms which appear to be custom-made for them. When the water warms more than they’re accustomed to, they engage in jugging, andContinue reading “Monterey Bay”
Mashabu 