Slugyard

Moss Loves the Rain

Mike B. — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:30:06 +0000

Here in western Oregon, moss is practically a way of life. It rains so often here in the fall, winter, and spring that moss grows almost everywhere. This patch is in my front yard.

So what’s with the red stalks? Everyone knows moss is green, right?

These tall stalks are called sporophytes. Moss reproduces by creating spores, which are then released from the tops of these stalks. When the spore lands somewhere that is moist, it begins to grow into a new patch of moss.

This is likely Red Roof Moss which, according to Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Pojar and MacKinnon, is the most common moss in the world. So it might be in your yard too no matter where you live.

Awake Garter Snake

Mike B. — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:30:07 +0000

Recent sunshine has awoken a Garter Snake!

My son spotted this one while we were working in the backyard. It looks to me to be a Northwestern Garter Snake. They spend the winters huddled together in hidden crevices, waiting for the sun to drag them back out- kind of like the rest of us in this part of the country!

It was surprisingly still. It let me get quite close to take this photo above- I wonder if it was still a bit sluggish since it was early in the day and not too warm. Remember that snakes are cold-blooded so they need warmth to get their bodies moving.

Above is a wide view of the snake and its surroundings. Since snakes eat invasive slugs, I am more than happy to let them stick around my yard. Having shrubs and cover near the edges of your yard is a great way to attract them. Give them a place to hide and they’ll probably pay your yard a visit! Since Garter Snakes are completely harmless to humans, there’s really no reason not to.

Bee Mimic Is Back

Mike B. — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:30:16 +0000

On Friday I took a photo of this insect above. What is it? A bee?

Saturday morning I saw another one, this time on a rhododendron. My son saw it too and yelled out, “Dad, there’s a honey bee!” I took a closer look.

It’s a fly! Don’t let the markings fool you- doesn’t this look like a fly if you ignore its colors? The eyes are huge, and in the middle photo above the eyes look like those of a horsefly. Also, the antennae are typical fly antennae.

This is a Drone Fly. Like a lot of insects, as an adult it feeds on nectar and pollen. According to the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Insects & Spiders, the larvae of the Drone Fly are known as rat-tailed maggots. Pleasant, huh?

Why does it look like a bee? To confuse predators, of course! Just like my son was, predators are fooled into thinking this is a bee with a stinger, so they might stay away rather than trying to catch it for a meal.

Spring Is In the Air

Mike B. — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:43:30 +0000

Wow is it ever a beautiful day today! Sunshine and warmth are both to be had outside, and my garden is responding. My Hellebores are flowering- they aren’t native to our area, but they do flower very early. This gives pollinating insects some winter food as you can see above. This bee is drinking nectar from the flower and has collected some pollen in the basket on its legs- see it? Bees bring this pollen back to the hive where they eat it as a source of protein.

On a different Hellebore was this fly. What kind is it? It looks to me like an Elongate Flower Fly, just like a similar one I saw around this time last year. It might be something different, but regardless it also drinks nectar from these early flowers.

There are some native plants flowering as well. Above is one of my Oregon Grapes, and below is one of my Evergreen Huckleberries.

This is a great time of year to get yourself outside and see what’s going on in your yard! Any interesting insects or flowers growing yet?

Insect Eaters in the Skies

Mike B. — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:40:24 +0000

Some sunny weather seems to have brought out some flying insect eaters- birds!

Above is a Bushtit. These birds are very small and travel around in fast-moving flocks. They don’t stand still for very long, so I usually have a hard time getting photos of them. How can you tell if they are Bushtits? One way is to watch them fly from tree to tree. Oftentimes they will travel one at a time in a single-file straight line! It is funny to watch.

This Bushtit was part of a group that was buzzing around my neighbor’s tall conifers. Even though it is winter, there are still lots of insects and spiders to be found. The birds were doing their best to pick the trees clean.

And they weren’t alone. Above is a Townsend’s Warbler landing in a nearby fir tree. Townsend’s Warblers are only around here in the winter, and they aren’t common to see. They like to stay high up in the tree canopy, which means they are also hard to photograph. But, like Bushtits, they also hunt for insects.

I didn’t get a good photo of their heads, but they have a striking black and yellow pattern.

So how does the Song Sparrow fit in? Unlike the Bushtits and Townsend’s Warblers, these very common birds are easy to photograph. This one happens to be eating seeds that have fallen from my bird feeder, but they also will eat insects on the ground.

So there are insect-eaters in the trees and on the ground. Where else? Don’t forget the tops of the trees. This Anna’s Hummingbird was getting a good view of the neighborhood from atop another conifer. And yes, it also eats insects.

Is no place safe for an insect in winter?

Flock of Robins

Mike B. — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:30:24 +0000

Last weekend a flock of robins landed in my backyard.

They were everywhere! According to the National Audubon Society’s The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior:

Wintering American Robins occupy mainly the same habitat types as they do in the breeding season…if the ground is not frozen, they forage for worms…American Robins are often gregarious on their wintering grounds, moving in flocks as they seek out fruit-laden plants.

The flock had more than Robins, too. Two Northern Flickers were sitting atop my fence while the Robins were foraging and they didn’t leave until the Robins did.

Luckily for these birds the ground was not frozen, and this Robin above grabbed a huge earthworm about 1 second after I took this photo. It looked like they wanted to stick around for a long while eating, but then it started to rain hard. They flew up into the trees to wait it out. I found this curious, because most of the trees didn’t have leaves and it wasn’t any drier up there. Maybe the sound of the rain covers up predator noises, so by instinct they fly away?

Once the rains did come, my Rain Garden filled up. This is the first winter since we built it last year and it has worked very well.

During the summer this will be filled with native grasses, insects, and flowering shrubs. While it might look bare during the winter, it’s also easier to watch the raindrops splashing in the ponding water.

Floodplain Filled

Mike B. — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:30:43 +0000

After some snowfall and then heavy rain, the Willamette River hit flood stage a couple of days ago.

Above is a photo I took on Friday. The bases of the trees you see are normally about 10 to 15 feet above the edge of the river. Not today. The space between the camera and the trees is a grassy field. But, the river didn’t crest (hit its highest point) until Saturday. What did it look like then?

Other than the sun shining it doesn’t look too different. The water is a few feet higher- if you look closely at some of the trees in the two photos you’ll be able to tell.

Notice that all of these trees are cottonwoods- this is the floodplain, where the river spills on the rare occasions when it overflows its banks. On this side of the river the floodplain is wide until it becomes a steep slope upwards towards our neighborhood.

Turning around at the spot I took the photos above, we see this. A path winding upwards with fir trees in the background. These woods are mostly comprised of fir trees above the floodplain. Below the floodplain, there are no fir trees at all. I imagine this has something to do with either their water tolerance, the strength of their roots to hold on in a flood, or both. The cottonwoods, however, do just fine.

It isn’t very easy in the photos above to see the change in water level from Friday to Saturday. Below are two photos I took of a small waterfall a short distance away from the above scene. The first photo I took on Saturday- there is no waterfall at all. The second photo was taken on Friday.

Anna’s Hummingbird Colors

Mike B. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:38:12 +0000

It’s been a while, but I finally saw another hummingbird out front. This one perched on top of my neighbor’s cherry tree. It is an Anna’s Hummingbird and they live in our area all year-long. In this photo, it looks completely colorless. Hummingbirds actually reflect very bright colors off of their feathers, but only when the angle to the sunlight is just right.

In this photo above there is just a hint of red on the bird’s face. But in the one below…

…it’s bright! I wrote a post about these color changes last year- check it out for more info. Below is a video (a poor video) showing the color coming and going as the bird turns its head.

Crazy Like a Fox Squirrel

Mike B. — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:26:53 +0000

Yes, a Fox Squirrel. This little one looks harmless enough, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it is not a native squirrel. It is either an Eastern Gray or a Fox Squirrel, but I think it is a Fox Squirrel since it has so much reddish fur.

According to Invasive Species in the Pacific Northwest edited by Boersma, Reichard, and Van Buren, these squirrels were introduced in 1925 “primarily as pets and charismatic lawn ornaments on estates and campuses.” They prefer walnut trees (among others), so my backyard has tons of food for them. Since they are not picky about eating other things too, it is easy for them to dominate and replace our native squirrels. They don’t hibernate, which is why I was able to take this photo the other day.

In previous posts I’ve shown how little walnut trees pop up all over my yard. Yes, these squirrels bury some of the walnuts and then never find them again. Sounds to me like a good strategy for ensuring a future food supply!

Phalaropes Aplenty

Mike B. — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:00:39 +0000

My friend Joe made a great find while birding in southeastern Oregon. Below are his photos and his description. Great shots!

Red-necked Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope

In Joe’s words:

During a recent trip to Lake Abert in Southeast Oregon, I came across a very large flock of migrating phalaropes feeding on brine shrimp along the lake shores. While I have seen a few phalaropes birding in the northwest, I’ve never seen thousands as I saw on this sunny August day. I was fortunate and saw two species, the Wilsons Phalarope and the Red Necked Phalarope. The Wilsons Phalaropes breed in eastern Oregon and stage at such locales as Lake Abert prior to migration. These birds winter in saline lakes of the west and South America. The Red Necked Phalaropes are circumpolar, breeding on the subarctic tundra and winter on the open oceans of South America. Many migrate within about 30 miles of shore over the ocean and they also use a secondary flyway through central Oregon which includes Lake Abert.

I was fortunate to have been at Lake Abert at this time as the birds likely only stay on the lake for a few days before moving south. Truly an amazing act of nature!!

Slugyard

Moss Loves the Rain

Related posts:

Awake Garter Snake

Related posts:

Bee Mimic Is Back

Spring Is In the Air

Related posts:

Insect Eaters in the Skies

Related posts:

Flock of Robins

Related posts:

Floodplain Filled

Anna’s Hummingbird Colors

Related posts:

Crazy Like a Fox Squirrel

Related posts:

Phalaropes Aplenty