Tag Archives: mating

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Black Oystercatchers nest just above the high tide line on rocky areas on the coast. Craig Tooley recently spotted this mother with her eggs.

We hope people will be careful exploring the rocky shoreline this time of year, for the sake of these and other nesting birds.

Some years ago Craig got a photo of two Black Oystercatchers mating. Look at the voyeuristic Harbor Seal in the background!

This photo made me laugh! I hope you enjoy it too.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share  his photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: www.ruffimage.com

We have a lot of clouds today but it is still warm.

Spring doesn't know...

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Kathryn Arnold and Michael Kleeman sent in a fascinating video of three Yellow-faced Bumblebees. She wrote, “Michael and I came across some bees behaving mysteriously. There is one large bee and two smaller ones. They appear to be the same species. Are the two smaller ones attacking the larger one? Trying to mate? Hitching a ride? Thanks for helping us solve the mystery!”

I sent Kathryn’s video to Peter Baye and he shared it with entomologist Will Ericson. Peter wrote, “That’s was a Bombus vosnesenskii – Yellow-faced Bumblebee - queen copulating with two males. Will said he’d never seen the actual act before!”

Here's the video:

Thanks to Kathryn for allowing me to share her photo and video with you here.

Cloudy and cool-ish today, quite nice for a walk.

Spring doesn't know...

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Grace O’Malley in Timber Cove wrote, “The warm air last week brought out a kaleidoscope of butterflies, flitting and fluttering about in my flower beds. I was delighted to see a pair of Monarchs dating in flight, and then they landed together on a grassy bed, glued abdomen to abdomen. May she successfully locate the native milkweed to perpetuate life."I asked Monarch expert Mia Monroe about these butterflies mating in the autumn. She wrote, “Good to hear from you and with such good news. With this warm weather much is going on, like migration, and some seem frisky and mate. It’s not the best thing as it’s the wrong time of year. But that female can also make it through the winter and then in spring lay her eggs at the ‘right’ time.”

Interesting! Thanks to Grace for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

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Get a room- that's what Eric Zetterholm said after witnessing the Bald Eagles mating. This is the mated pair at the Gualala River. In the first photo, the smaller Bald Eagle, the male, looks like he's showing off to the larger female just beneath him. "Look ma, no hands!"

Then the male appears to be talking to the female.

He must have said something sweet, because mating then took place.

It was foggy the day Eric got these photos. I thank him for allowing me to share them with you here.

We've had a nice soaking of rain today, with more on the way - hooray!

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Suzie Chapler noticed these two Katydids on a potted plant on her porch. They were mating.

two-katydids-mating-by-susie-chaplerKatydids are related to Crickets, and are also called Bush Crickets. Their scientific name is a tongue twister: Tettigoniidae. They mostly eat leaves, flowers, bark and seeds.

Thanks to Suzie for allowing me to share her photo with you here. This is actually the first photo of Katydids I have received in my ten+ years of doing my Mendonoma Sightings column in the Independent Coast Observer.