Tag Archives: Jerry Rudy

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Last month Jerry Rudy photographed this Village Weaver in Timber Cove. His daughter, Susan Rudy, wrote, "For the second year in a row we’ve had a beautiful male, non-native bird - Village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) also known as the spotted-backed weaver or black-headed weaver at Stillwater Cove - foraging around our buildings. This species is native to Sub-Saharan Africa."

"Last year it appeared alone, and seemed to be feeding on spiders on windows.  This year, it came through with a flock of mixed blackbirds: Red-Wing and Brewer's.   It appeared to be moving north with the group.  It is a brilliant yellow bird, with a black cowl and a bright red eye.  It is not particularly wary of people, so I assume it’s an escapee from someone’s aviary.  Keep an eye out."

I did not receive another sighting of this bird, but perhaps you will see him!

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

We got a little rain today, Saturday, not much, but rain is always welcome. It's quite balmy and still.

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Ceanothus is blooming up and down the coast, so it's no surprise that beautiful, big Ceanothus Silkmoths should appear. Frances Anderson photographed one outside Action Network in Gualala.

Ceanothus Silkmoth by Frances AndersonWillie Brown also photographed one.

Ceanothus Moth by Willie BrownI've wondered if Nike got their idea for their swoosh from Ceanothus Moths!

One of the most interesting and unusual photos of these moths was taken by Jerry Rudy in Timber Cove. His photo shows a female laying her eggs on a stem.

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Thanks to Frances, Willie, and Jerry for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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I'm going to let Jerry Rudy tell this story. He wrote several weeks ago, "You will remember the Silk Moth that ended up on my back door about a year ago. She laid a bunch of eggs on a native azalea in our yard. These hatched into larvae that John Sperry and I kept fed with Ceanothus until they built their beautiful cocoons. The cocoons were attached to sticks and I placed several in our garden that is protected by netting and waited for the next stage of their life.

"Three days ago moths began to emerge from those cocoons; a female and two males so far. This is the female shortly after she emerged from her cocoon. She has inflated her wings and is ready to mate."

Jerry continues, "That night several males showed up and we found them hanging on the garden netting trying to enter the garden. We picked them off the netting and placed them near the new female. The female is still hanging onto her cocoon on the far left."

The female has moved away from her cocoon. One of the visiting males has attached his abdomen to hers and he hangs below her. Notice the difference in the size and shape of the male and female antennae."

"They remain attached for several hours as the male transferred seminal fluids to the female. By the end of their mating, the male's abdomen has shriveled up, while the female's became much plumper. Note  how worn the male's wings are as a result of his efforts to find this female.

"Since these pictures were taken the female has laid several clutches of eggs that we intend to move to a nearby Ceanothus bush. Thus the circle has closed."

I thank Jerry for allowing me to share his photos with you here, showing us something we might never get to see. To see the photo from last year of the female laying her eggs, here is the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2013/04/29/a-photo-of-a-lifetime-a-ceanothus-silkmoth-lays-her-eggs/

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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.

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Jerry Rudy discovered a nest of Killdeer eggs in a meadow behind his home in Timber Cove. They are truly hidden in plain sight.

You can see how the Killdeer mother chose a spot that closely resembled her eggs. Here's a photo of an adult Killdeer next to its eggs, which was taken by Rich Perry.

Killdeer often lay their eggs this time of year in gravel riverbeds, as Rich's photo shows. That's one of the very good reasons to never drive in a river like the Gualala River.

Thanks to Jerry and Rich for allowing me to share their photos with you here.