Tag Archives: Annapolis

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Laura Baker wrote, "I was out looking under logs up here in Annapolis and had a wonderful experience. I found a Speckled Black Salamander, a first for me. Later in the day I found a Wandering Salamander, also a first.”

Here's Speckled Black Salamander, Anedies flauvipunctatus. Its Scientific name sounds like an incantation from Harry Potter!

And here is the Wandering Salamander, Aneides vacrans.

Here's a look at this salamander's long, squared-off toes.

These are climbing salamanders and have prehensile tails. Wandering Salamanders often are found high in the canopy of old-growth trees, where they can live for the entire lives. The Gualala River watershed is the southernmost limit of their range.

Thanks to Laura for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

We received .25 inches of rain yesterday, the first in over a month. We have more in our forecast. Today I can see showers out on the horizon and the Pacific Ocean has big swells.

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Lewis Lubin and Laura Baker have an old orchard on their Annapolis property.  Lewis wrote, “During breakfast last Sunday, we saw our neighbor looking for his breakfast of apples and pears from our Annapolis homesite. We all saw each other and respected our boundaries.”

That's a pretty good-sized bear! Here's a couple of favorite photos of a Black Bear eating huckleberries, taken by Jon Shiu.

ooo, lots of huckleberries for the hungry bear! This is a good year for our wild blueberries. Huckleberries are prized by many creatures including migrating birds, Deer, Black Bears...and me!

Thanks to Lewis and Jon for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

On such a high fire danger day, when many neighbors inland have had their power turned off, here on the Mendonoma Coast it is cool and breezy. There is rain in the extended forecast - we just need to get through the next couple of days. Fingers crossed!

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Will Ericson had a rare sighting of a California Dogface Butterfly near Annapolis.

He wrote, “They had been hilltopping on the mountain and pollinating almost exclusively purple-colored flowers. I almost never see them.” Hilltopping, also spelled hill-topping, is a mate location behavior where the males fly up to the top of a hill to try an attract a female.

Thanks to Will for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

It's a lovely day today on the Mendonoma Coast.

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Jane Simmonds found a tagged Monarch with the numberB2838, and an email address on September 14th in her garden at Annapolis. Jane reported her sighting, writing, “There were two [Monarchs], one tagged and one untagged. They were loving the zinnias.” It was a particularly fun sighting for Jane, as it was her birthday.

tagged-monarcy-butterfly-by-jane-simmonds

Dr. David James of Washington State University wrote Jane back. He was thrilled, as he had reared this male Monarch. He told Jane the tag was extremely light and positioned near the center of gravity of the butterfly. The butterfly was released from Yakima, Washington.

Dr. James is studying the migratory routes taken by Monarchs from the Pacific Northwest. He says there are a few thousand tagged Monarchs, and he wouldn’t be surprised if others were seen here. But so far Jane's sighting is the only one of one of these tagged Monarchs.

Thanks to Jane for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

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Peter Baye found some lovely wildflowers in the Annapolis area. The first is Bristly Jewelflower, Streptanthus glandulosus. It's a member of the mustard family

Bristly Jewelflower, Streptanthus glandulosus hoffmanii, by Peter Baye

 

Next is the lovely Bird's-Eye Gilia, Gilia tricolor.

Bird's-Eye Gilia, Gilia tricolor, by Peter Baye

Bird's-Eye Gilias are members of the Phlox family. Both of these flowers are California natives. They should never be picked - just enjoy their loveliness in the wild.

Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photos with you here.