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”
Author Archives: Mashabu
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”
Monarch Butterflies
Stopping by the Pacific Grove, CA Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary on November 9, we arrived with anticipation. On previous visits in the early 2000’s, I had seen the thousands of butterflies clinging to and wafting on the eucalyptus’ columnar branches in this park, located between Monterey and Carmel. This year, we passed numerous trees with no visibleContinue reading “Monarch Butterflies”
White-crowned Sparrows
Winter residents in the southern two-thirds of the United States, white-crowned sparrows are easy to spot with distinct black and white stripes on the heads of the males.Here’s a male demonstrating “double-scratch” foraging as described by John P. Dunning in The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior 2001 edition (page 524).They’re spotted on theContinue reading “White-crowned Sparrows”
Spotted Towhees
A very sporty looking member of the bird world, the Spotted Towhee is easy to notice with its colorful plumage. Click here to watch a singing member of this species: https://youtu.be/tupEPvqkmGo In The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior, “New World Sparrows” author John B. Dunning Jr. advises that they are seed eaters and insectContinue reading “Spotted Towhees”
Meet a Jumping Spider
Attached to the front door trim, this inch-long spider was hard to miss with its orange coloring. The rest of the body appears striped gray and black. Why are we seeing these spiders now?Phidippus adumbratus is found primarily in southern California, with a few appearances as far north as San Francisco, according to iNaturalist. ActiveContinue reading “Meet a Jumping Spider”
Marbled Godwits
Marbled Godwits are among the birds that autumn’s migration has brought to Zuma Beach. Having spent the summer breeding in shortgrass prairies and eating insects, earthworms and freshwater fare, they now forage for small fish and seaside invertebrates. All About Birds indicates that the bills of Marbled Godwits change color depending on the season; just now theyContinue reading “Marbled Godwits”
Raccoon appearance
The genesis for this project was an attempt to document, literarily and pictorially, some of the species in our Southern California neighborhood. A coyote yipping outside our window one evening resolved the question of whether the 2018 Woolsey Fire drove animals into Point Dume in greater numbers. Having heard from neighbors that raccoons were inContinue reading “Raccoon appearance”
Mashabu 