I found a charred script that was exquisitely carved on a weathered, ashen canvas. They are ancient symbols communicating a message of the inscrutable depths and layers of life. It’s a reminder of the mystery of life and the vastness of all that is unknown and unknowable.
Queen Anne's Lace Seeds
The Queen Anne’s lace flower umbels have transformed into small baskets of seeds. All the spiky seeds cradled together have a spirit bursting with excitement—they are saying, “We are ready to go!” For dispersal across the landscape, the tiny, brown seeds are covered with burs. They will grab on to the fur of passing animals that brush up against them. This includes people too. There always seems to be a couple stuck on my pants or in my shoelaces.
One year Anniversary.
Thank you everyone for reading my blog. I started this blog one year ago and this is my 166th post. It has been very rewarding exploring Mt. Pisgah. I have enjoyed taking photos and then coming home to do research and write the posts. I have learned heaps, and I am constantly amazed at all of the interesting life there is to discover at the arboretum. Life can be busy, and I hope that you find time to be out in nature. I wish you all peace and wellness. I hope to see you out there. Thanks again.
Black-capped Chickadee & Speckled Oak Gall
While the Steller’s jay is busily exploring the oak tree canopy collecting acorns, the black-capped chickadee is investigating the speckled oak galls on the underside of leaves.
As it forages for these galls, you will see it acrobatically clinging to the oak leaves. Sometimes it will open the gall while hanging on to the leaf. Other times it will pluck the gall off the leaf and take it over to a nearby branch to extract the larva.
I took one of the galls over to a picnic table and cut it in half. The gall reminds me of a ping-pong ball—it is round, light and the shell is paper thin. On the inside there are white, electric fibers radiating from the center where the small larva is encased. The larva will emerge from this small encasing when it is ready and eat the inside of the gall for food.
Small groups of chickadees are roving through the landscape at Mt. Pisgah exuberantly opening these little packages and eating the yummy larva inside. To help locate them, listen for their chick-a-dee-dee-dee call. You might also hear them whistle the notes fee-bee-ee or fee-bee of their song.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. Hope to see you out there.
Pillbugs
A pillbug is also known as a roly poly. It receives its name because it curls up into a ball for protection when it feels threatened. It is native to the edge of the Mediterranean and is a beautiful, fascinating creature.
The first thing I learned when researching pillbugs is that they are not insects, they are isopods. An Isopod is any member of the order Isopoda (class Crustacea), that includes marine, freshwater, and terrestrial species. Pillbugs are terrestrial crustaceans!
In general, terrestrial isopods mate in spring. After mating, the female pillbug lays her eggs into a fluid-filled pouch called a marsupium where the eggs will remain for two or three months until they hatch. Upon hatching, the juvenile pillbugs will stay in the marsupium for three or four days before emerging from the pouch.
Its body is dark gray and their outer shell is divided into these small plates. It is propelled by seven pairs of legs, and it has a pair of antennae that are constantly feeling the landscape as it roams. The dwell both on the surface and in the soil. The seek out damp habitats, so you will usually find them places like under leaves, rocks, logs, etc. The recent rains have moistened the environment, and I am seeing lots of pillbugs out exploring. Accompanying the recent rain is an abundance of leaves falling to the ground and beginning to decay. Pillbugs are detritivores, so they happy right now.
References:
Animal Diversity Web
University of Michigan
Museum of Zoology
Featured Creatures
University of Florida
Moth - Alfalfa Semilooper
Out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement. I looked over just in time to watch this moth land on these dried leaves. I took out my camera, and when I went to take the photo, it took me a minute to find it again. Even after I took a couple a photos, my brain was still a little uncertain whether or not I had taken a picture of a dried leaf or a moth. To check, I slightly moved the vegetation that it was resting on. It slightly vibrated its wings to let me know it was there.
It truly feels impossible to put into words how incredible this moth’s texture and patten resembles dried leaves. It knows this and chooses the right place to land in order to camouflage itself. When I saw this one land, it was initially facing upward. Quickly after it lit upon the leaves, it shifted into this more downward facing position before it came to rest.
I used the following online publication to identify this moth: Lepidoptera of the Pacific Northwest: Caterpillars and Adults
Canada Goose
“Few men have souls so dead that they will not bother to look up when they hear the barking of wild Geese.”
—Roger Tory Peterson
How To Know The Birds. 1949.
This was the first sentence in the section of the book on geese. Nicely stated Roger.
In How To Know The Birds, Peterson had this to say in his opening sentence about the Canada goose: “This is the ‘wild goose’ that everyone knows, the big ‘honker’ whose V, pointing like a compass-needle to the north, marks the coming of spring.”
There are always some Canadian geese here in the Willamette Valley throughout the year.
Licorice Fern Sprouts
It started raining early Saturday morning and by mid-morning on Sunday, new sprouts of the licorice fern had already began to emerge.
Licorice ferns usually grow on fallen logs, tree trunks or rocks in mossy beds where their roots can be protected. They are considered summer-deciduous here—with the lack of rainfall during the summer, these plants die back. The first rains at the end of summer or the beginning of fall, like we experienced this weekend, will awaken the new leaves.
Subterranean Termite
Last night I awoke to the sounds of rain drops pattering on the dusty window sill. I opened the window and the sweet smell of the earth breathing a sigh of relief came rushing inside. I wondered about what new life would awaken out of the slumber of late summer.
As I wandered around the arboretum, curtains of rain showers continued to sweep the day. During one of the intermissions, I heard the soft, whistling calls of a flock of cedar waxwings. When I walked out to an opening by the river, I saw them swooping out and back from a small tree. As I got closer I could see a fluttering of insects slowly taking flight off the ground.
Termites were emerging from a small hole and gathering together in a small cluster. Their wings were delicate and fresh with an opalescent luminance. As they took to the air, their flight was a white, wispy dance. As they silently floated skyward, it felt like a dream. They seemed more spirit than an animate creature of this world.
Steller's Jay Harvesting Acorns
As I walk into the arboretum at the White Oak Pavilion, I am greeted by the sounds of falling acorns. Acorns are a sturdy nut with some gravity as they fall. As they drop through the tree, I can hear them brushing against the oak leaves. They bounce off the ground with a hearty thud or strike the metal roof of the pavilion with a resounding pop. I have had a couple come close to thumping me on the head as I went underneath one of the oaks. Hopefully my hat will lessen the blow.
Accompanying the orchestra of falling acorns is the shook shook shook shook vocalization of the Steller’s jay. They are busily selecting acorns and caching them for the winter. They will usually make a small hole in the ground and tuck the acorn inside by pounding on it a few times. Afterwards they will cover it with debris, such as leaves or sticks. Obviously they try to be discreet when stashing their food. If they feel that they were seen while hiding their food, they will return to retrieve and relocate it. This behavior has happened with me as I have attempted to photograph them burying an acorn.
In David Sibley’s book What It’s Like To Be A Bird he has this fascinating detail about acorns and nutrition: “One significant challenge of eating acorns is that they have high levels of tannins, which bind with proteins and makes them unavailable. Acorns are high in fat and carbohydrates, but, eating acorns alone, jays lose weight rapidly because tannins lock up more protein than the birds get from the acorns. If a bird has access to other sources of protein—enough to make up for what the tannins remove—then acorns in moderation can be a valuable part of the diet.”
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. Hope to see you out there.
Sibley, David Allen. What It’s Like To Be A Bird. New York, Knopf, 2020.
Pacific Ninebark seeds
Many of the pacific nine bark shrubs are loaded with clusters of seed pods. The pods have dried out and are splitting open to release their seeds. I squeezed one of the clusters a few times and small seeds came pouring out. They were smooth and a little shiny.
Several sources state that this plant is poisonous or toxic. I was unable to find any mention of the seeds being a food source for any animals, such as birds, mice, ants, etc. Although recently, I did find a pacific ninebark shrub down by the river that had been chewed by a beaver.
I’ll keep watching to see what animals are interacting with this plant.
California poppy
The perfect flower to adorn the wrap-up of summer is the California poppy.
Its warm, orange blossoms emerge to capture the last, sunny rays of the season.
A luminous token of remembrance to carry with you through the gray, rainy days of winter.
A glowing ember to spark plans for all the cool, exciting trips you will take next summer.
A keepsake tucked inside your memory to remind you of the magical cycle of the seasons.
There hasn’t been any significant rain all summer and yet the California poppy is green and blooming. It must have some strategy to store and retain water efficiently in arid conditions. I love the contrast of the delicate, soft body of the poppy and the dry, pokey grass surrounding it.
Downy Woodpecker & Mullein
Downy woodpeckers can often be seen on the flower stalks of mullein this time of year. The yellow flowers steadily open throughout the season starting at the bottom and moving upward as the stalk grows. So you can see flowers blooming on top of the stalk, fuzzy green seed pods along the middle and older pods turning brown at the bottom. The woodpeckers are opening the pods and extracting small larvae inside that appear to be eating the seeds.
As I investigated a couple mullein stalks, I found they were attracting a surprising number of insects and spiders. I encountered a goldenrod crab spider, a daddy-long-legs, grasshoppers, aphids, weevils, caterpillars, honey bees, native bees and wasps all on a couple plants. My guess is that the woodpecker is taking the opportunity to sample a few of them along the way.
Manroot Seeds
The manroot vines were very prominent earlier in the summer as they wove their way up through the understory or created thick blankets on the ground. As the leaves and vines have dried up, they have visually receded. I have been poking around trying to find one of the fruits. Manroot is a native perennial in the gourd family, so I wanted to see what the fruit looked and felt like as it matured. Surprisingly, it was hard to find one, but I finally discovered one hanging in an osoberry shrub.
The small fruit pod was splitting open and the seeds were starting to spill out. The seeds have a look and feel of small, weathered river stones. The are round and flat with a slight curve. They were pleasant to handle as I rolled them around in my hand listening to them tumble against each other.
One of the interesting things I noticed was that the leaves, vines and tendrils of the plant were all crispy dry. However, the brown, fibrous gourd shown in the second photo that contained the seeds was still moist. It looks papery and dry in the photo, but it is actually still damp and spongy.
The dried leaves were captivating as they hung from the vines like wrinkled, folded capes. They were curiously covered in small dots. I feel that plants take on another fascinating life and energy as their color, shape and texture transform as they die.
Praying Mantis
While walking along the south meadow, I saw a creature launch, fluttering and flapping out of the grass. As it propelled itself through the air, it reminded me of some whirligig invented in the initial days of flight exploration. I watched as it leap-frogged its way across the landscape. It was very noticeable while flying, but as soon as it landed, it quickly blended in with its surroundings.
Well-camouflaged to their environment, mantids are ambush predators. They wait motionless or slowly stalk their prey. This creature gets its name from holding its fore legs in a prayerful pose. These legs are armed with barbs that can snare an unsuspecting insect. They strike with lightning speed, and once in their grasp, their powerful mouthparts easily pierce through the armored exoskeleton. I’ve watched them munch and crunch a grasshopper effortlessly. I read that they are voracious eaters, even going so far as being cannibalistic! The female often devours the male after mating. I also read that as they emerge as tiny mantids in the spring, they will sometimes eat each other. It is easy to see why gardeners employ these amazing creatures to help keep other critters eating their garden in balance.
California Sister
I stood out in the main meadow just beyond the White Oak Pavilion and watched this butterfly as it flew in and out of the outer branches of the oak trees.
Although it has quite a bumpy, meandering flight pattern, it seems like it has a territory. There was a breeze swirling about and small, brown oak leaves were floating and tumbling through the air. Amusingly, if one of the leaves fluttered into the butterfly’s airspace, it would swoop over to it as if to warn the intruder. Even dragonflies would be paid a visit if they came into its domain.
I loved watching the flash of its bold orange and white markings. It is a fairly quick flyer and a little tricky to follow as it weaves through the landscape. It would only light somewhere for a few seconds, which made getting a photo pretty tricky. However, it occasionally paused on these overripe blackberries for a minute or so to eat. In my research I found that rotting fruit is part of their diet. So look for a patch of blackberries along the edge of the oak savanna. This is a good place to try and get a good look at them as they momentarily pause to eat. Good luck.
Red-breasted Nuthatch Collecting Seeds
Sitting in the shade of a ponderosa pine listening to the river flow, I heard the faint murmurings of the red-breasted nuthatch. The pine cones are beginning to open in the warm, late-summer sun and the nuthatch is on the scene to start collecting seeds for the winter. After retrieving a seed, it flew over and stashed it in the furrowed, mossy bark of a bigleaf maple. It merrily went about filling its larder for most of the morning.
Occasionally, it would take a break and forage for food - pine seeds, insects, spiders and other arthropods. All About Birds by Cornell Lab summed up their foraging behavior nicely: “Red-breasted Nuthatches move quickly over trunks and branches probing for food in crevices and under flakes of bark. They creep up, down, and sideways without regard for which way is up, and they don’t lean against their tail the way woodpeckers do. Flight is short and bouncy.” I will add that you will often see them facing downward, pausing to tilt their head upward to survey their surroundings.
Listen for the sound like a small tin horn as the red-breasted nuthatch toots and squeaks on its joyfully spirited way through the landscape.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. Hope to see you out there.
Resources:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-breasted_Nuthatch/lifehistory
Wood-Pewee Fledged
I saw two of the three wood-pewee fledglings nearby along the river in a willow shrub. The parents were dashing by and feeding them in what seemed like a fraction of a second. This fledgling sat quietly on this small branch and patiently waited. I watched it for about a half an hour, and I never heard one peep out of it. Usually fledglings will vocalize with a begging call to be fed, but it can also get the attention of predators. Perhaps this little fledgling has already had a close call and has decided to sit and wait silently.
Black-and-yellow Argiope
Spiders are magical creatures. They have organs called spinnerets that produce silk. This amazing material is used very creatively in the world of spiders. The most obvious use is that it can be used to build webs like the circular construction of this orb-weaver. Their silk is also used for swathing prey that gets caught in the web and to make sacs to encase the spider eggs. In a process called ballooning or parachuting, some spiders will release silk that can be caught by the wind which allows them to float into the air. I read a National Geographic article that said ballooning spiders have been found more than two miles high and thousands of miles out at sea! Spider webs are strong, stretchy, sticky and very versatile. Many birds will collect them and use them in building their nests.
The spider in the photos is the female. The males are smaller with brownish legs and less yellow coloration on their abdomens. The male seeks out a female and plucks at her web during courting. After mating, the female fills a spherical sac with a tough, brown papery covering. She attaches it to one side of the web close to resting position, then dies. Eggs hatch in the autumn, young overwinter in the sac and then disperse in the spring.
References:
Milne, Lorus and Margery. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders. New York, Knopf, 1996.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/spiderwebs-explained
Last Nest of the Summer?
The Western Wood-Pewee has been, in my experience, the last bird nesting of the season out at the arboretum. That said, there was a robin’s nest nearby where the fledglings just left the nest within the last week. The baby pewees look as if they are going leave the nest any day now. They are fluttering their wings, preening their feathers regularly and perching on the side of the nest. There are three in the nest which seems crowded and hard to believe when you look at the size of the nest.
The parents stay close by to the nest. They could easily be back at the nest at a moments notice if a predator, such as a Steller’s jay, gets too close. The parents perch on small, exposed tree branches as they watch for insects flying by. They will swoop out in a small loop to catch an insect, and they will often return back to the same spot as if an invisible rubber band snapped them back.
The babies have insatiable appetites, and the parents are returning every couple of minutes to stuff food in their bright yellow bills. I can hear the babies almost constantly calling out from the nest to be fed.
I am sure the parent pewees welcome the closing of the day to get some well deserved rest.
