Fauna – Mashabu

After the Fire

Palisades Fire seen from PCH at 11:21 a.m.

Re-framing fire’s destruction through nature’s lens.

Summer cobwebs are catching dust now, their architect/owner’s duties complete. Here are recent neighborhood sightings which deserve to be shared. After a summer of nocturnal harmonies, calls of the Baja California tree frogs are making way for the crickets’ jingling bell calls. It was glorious when they were performing together. Great Horned owls’ calls areContinue reading “Autumn in the Canyon”

Acorn Woodpecker

In nature, never say never. Just because we haven’t seen something doesn’t mean it cannot occur. Case in point: an Acorn Woodpecker visit to our birdbath. During the first visit observed and filmed by Bob, this Acorn Woodpecker landed, perched, plumbed the depth of the water, and promptly took a bath. Click here to watchContinue reading “Acorn Woodpecker”

Oddments

~ The American robins have found the seeps in Santa Ynez Canyon and are flocking to drink, en route north. Larger than their European counterparts which are house sparrow-sized, they are reliable visitors to birdbaths and often found around hackberry trees in winter. In spring and summer, they’re easily spotted with earthworms and insects in theirContinue reading “Oddments”

Coyote

After moving to Point Dume in 2019, we heard people mention that the November 2018 Woolsey Fire had driven coyotes out of the Santa Monica Mountains, across the Pacific Coast Highway and into residential neighborhoods. An important member of the ecosystem, the coyote keeps rodent and rabbit populations in check. A couple of weeks agoContinue reading “Coyote”