Tag Archives: Laura Baker

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The Salamanders are enjoying the wet winter we've been having. Several have recently been spotted. Bettye Winters photographed a Speckled Black Salamander. You will see this salamander measures a little more than four inches.

Laura Baker spotted a different salamander, an Oregon Ensatina Salamander.

I learned that the Ensatina can be found under logs or brush, by or in streams and lakes, and other moist places, like the Mendonoma coast! It’s better not to touch this Salamander, as they rely on cutaneous respiration. Their skin is very sensitive and they are easily distressed by handling.

There is a great website to learn more about all things Herps. Gary Nafis created the website California Herps, a guide to amphibians and reptiles in California. Here's the link: http://www.californiaherps.com/index.html

Thanks to Bettye and Laura for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We have three storms on the way, so we are in for another rainy period. Breaking the drought feels really good!

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Motion detector cameras are giving us a view of wildlife we might not get to otherwise see. Laura Baker's camera caught the backside of a Black Bear.

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Laura wrote, “Our trail camera caught the backside of a Black bear as it was leaving our property, no doubt after eating its fill of apples and pears from our trees. The funny part is that in reviewing the photos from the past month, we found an earlier, almost identical shot. It appears that the bear would prefer to put a tree between it and the camera, rather than take the easy path along the road, which would put it in closer proximity to the device. But who knows?”

Here's a print a Black Bear left in the mud, this one taken by Terry Bold.fresh-bear-track-by-terry-bold-large It's pretty exciting to see a Black Bear. They do love apples, so if you are on the Mendonoma coast and have apple trees, be prepared to share!

Thanks to Laura and Terry for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

 

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Laura Baker found this rare beauty, a Phantom Orchid, Cephalantheru austinae. If you look closely, there is a Click beetle on top.

Phantom Orchid, Cephalanthera austinae, with a click beetle by Laura BakerHere's what Laura said about this flower:

"The Phantom orchid is well-named since it is pure white except for some yellow in the flower parts. It has an interesting and complex relationship in the forest ecosystem as a mycotroph. The orchid gets its nutrition from a fungus which, in turn, must get its food in the form of sugars from green plants. In this case, most likely the Douglas fir tree under which this orchid bloomed.”

A treasure in the forest! Thanks to Laura for allowing me to share her photo with you here.