This is the end of the mating season of our local Black-tailed Deer. Big Bucks migrate onto the Coast and fight over which Does will be in their harem. Glenn Funk photographed this handsome Buck in Anchor Bay - perhaps he needed a rest after chasing all his Does.
Clay Yale photographed this four-point Buck on The Sea Ranch.
The Bucks look healthy with their beautiful antlers.
Thanks to Glenn and Clay for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
You can't miss this big caterpillar - it's lime-green! And it has little yellow and black antennas, and white spiky bumps, and lots of green feet.
At first I thought it was the caterpillar of a Hummingbird Moth but the markings were a little off. Then I thought of the huge Ceanothus Moth and...bingo!...I had the answer. This is the caterpillar of that beautiful moth.
Here is what this caterpillar becomes, photographed by Clay Yale. What a transformation!
Thanks to Peter and Clay for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
One of the strangest creatures on the Mendonoma Coast is the caterpillar stage of a Ceanothus Silk Moth. I shared a fantastic photo of Jerry Rudy where he witnessed a female Silk Moth lay her eggs. He watched the eggs hatch and has tended them since. Except when he had to be away from the Coast for a while and he asked his friend, John Sperry, to tend them. John took the first photo of this exotic-looking caterpillar.
When the caterpillars have stored up enough energy, they begin to spin their cocoon, as photographed by Jerry.
Below are several cocoons. The Silk Moths spin a silk thread a mile long into an intricate double-chambered cocoon.
And below is the finished cocoon. The pupae will reside inside during the rest of the year and into spring.
In spring, the lovely Ceanothus Silk Moth emerges to live only a few days. The one below was photographed by Clay Yale. This moth is about four inches across.
What a metamorphosis!
Thanks to John, Jerry and Clay for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
Nan Brichetto came across this little green frog on the gravel banks of the Gualala River. It's a Chorus Frog or Sierran Tree Frog. It used to be called a Pacific Tree Frog but its name was changed recently.
These frogs have a big call which sounds like "ribbit, ribbit." They are able to change their color to match their surroundings. Below is a Tree Frog changing from green to rusty red. This was photographed by Clay Yale.
It must be nice to be able to camouflage oneself! Thanks to Nan and Clay for allowing me to share their photos with you here.