Last Saturday was warm and rainy, and I took a walk on the forested hillside of the arboretum. I wanted to be a little more sheltered from the wind and rain and to listen to the magical, orchestral sound of the rain falling through the canopy. As I paused on the trail soaking it up, I noticed, what appeared to be, small earthworms crawling around on a tree. They ranged in height on the tree from near the base up to about eight feet. They were all small and thin. I took this video to show you and also to let you hear the rain that was pouring down. Along the trail, I saw them on big-leaf maples, Douglas firs, and incense cedars. The ground underneath these big trees was fairly sheltered and had not become saturated with water, forcing the worms to the surface. Why were they crawling around on the trunks of these trees? There are so many mysteries to be encountered in nature every day.
Fall Mosaic
In the light of the tilting earth, the wind sweeps in rain and cool air igniting the landscape in a warmth of colors and the plumage of fall spreads its wings in a dazzling display.
Salamander
I found this small salamander crawling through some leaf litter. You can get a sense of its size from the rusty-orange fir needle tucked underneath its body. At first, I was struck by the flame of red-orange on its tail. As I knelt down to have a closer look, I was mesmerized by its colors and patterns. Its body was mottled copper and gold with blue speckles on the canvas of a black, moonless night sky. This terrestrial creature crawling through layers of decaying leaves was like a portal, a keyhole to the cosmos. It looked like I was peering into a gaseous cloud of stardust deep into the universe. To produce such a gentle creature, a miraculous journey of commingling elements and mystic forces came together over an incomprehensible vast expanse of time and space. Its body seemed so fragile, and it was a reminder that the balance of nature is delicate. We need to slow down and be better caretakers of the earth. I thought, “How much longer can Mother Earth sustain the weight of human progress?”
Juncos
I was watching a small flock of juncos move across the landscape. They were down on the ground hopping and flitting about in the grass. Here and there one would pop up into this poison oak bush and eat some berries.
I love these little, winter flocks that gather at the arboretum. For me, they have a peaceful and calming presence. They embody the serenity of winter—a compass pointing to a gentle quietness as life slows down in the waning light and cooling temperature. Plant me in the earth among the decaying leaves and dry flower stalks. Let roots anchor my body and transport the elements into my spirit. Let juncos spend the cold winter nights nestled in the thicket of my warming embrace. I’ll provide them refuge from the wind in the canopy of my coat. Seeds will spill from my pockets onto the ground, and they will joyfully dance around my feet in the rain filling their bellies. We will become old friends as we weave our lives together—a companionship made of gratitude, kindness, and harmony.
Acorns
I was sitting down watching a white-breasted nuthatch bouncing around the limbs of an oak tree. There were heaps of acorns scattered across the ground. I decided to open some of them up and have a look inside. Acorns are a nutritious food source, and I was curious how many had a little grub inside. Of the seven that I opened, only one was free from a grub. All of the others were in various states of being eaten and one of them was completely devoured. I wondered how many of the acorns become inhabited by these insect larvae. I see squirrels and jays carrying off acorns to cache for the winter, and I am sure they would be disappointed to discover later on that most of their acorns had spoiled. Are they able to tell which ones are free from larvae inside? It would be interesting to investigate their stash and see.
White-breasted Nuthatch Caching Acorn Pieces
As I enter the arboretum, I hear the call of the white-breasted nuthatch as it merrily explores its world among the trees. Lately, I have seen it flying down to the road in the turnaround loop at the entrance. Acorns that have dropped onto the road are being broken open as vehicles drive over them. The nuthatches are picking up the pieces and caching them. It is interesting to watch them choose a spot to hide the acorn chunk. They will seemingly audition a few hiding places before finally settling on a spot. Besides looking for the best-protected area to ensure that its morsel of food stays unspoiled, I also imagine it might do this if it thinks it has been seen hiding its acorn that could potentially be taken by another animal. I saw this one stuff it in a couple of different places under a carpet of mosses before it finally decided on a crevice under a broken limb. After it wedged the bit of acorn in the crack, it collected some moss and stuffed it in to further protect and conceal the acorn. I love watching these birds. For me, their calls ringing across the landscape are an integral part of the spirit of the arboretum.
Flickers Rivalry Dance
I was on the arboretum bird walk this month and watched a couple of flickers performing their display that is used for courtship and territorial defense. In early spring or summer during courtship, they will face off in this display usually while a prospective mate watches. Since it is October, I imagine these two were engaged in territorial defense. The Cornell Lab’s All About Birds describes this display thus: “Two birds face each other on a branch, bills pointed upward, and bob their heads in time while drawing a loop or figure-eight pattern in the air, often giving rhythmic wicka calls at the same time.” They would also fan their tail feathers. The flicker on the right seemed slightly bigger and slowly backed the other one out to the end of the branch. The smaller flicker eventually flew around its rival to a nearby vertical limb. The other flicker followed and they continued their dance circling the limb.
Resources
Northern Flicker Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/lifehistory. Accessed 25 Oct. 2023.
Chickadees Eating Honeysuckle Berries
I heard the sound of chickadees calling and walked up the path to see what they were up to. They were in a mixed flock of birds that included white-breasted nuthatches, red-breasted nuthatches, brown creepers, ruby-crowned kinglets, golden-crowned kinglets, dark-eyed juncos, bushtits, Townsend’s warblers, Steller’s jays, and a varied thrush. There was a frenzy of activity from the ground all the way into the upper part of the canopy.
The chickadees were eating the bright red honeysuckle berries! (They were also gleaning insects out of the lichen and moss on the tree branches, and eating poison oak berries. Check out the post - 09/26/23.)
The chickadees mostly swooped by or briefly hovered to snag a berry. On occasion, they would grab onto the end of the vine and pluck a berry off. Once they had the berry, they would fly over to a branch to eat it. Afterward, I would see them taking off with one of the seeds up into the tree and returning fairly quickly for another berry. Perhaps they were stashing the seeds somewhere in the tree to eat later.
It was difficult to get these photos and they aren’t the best. The chickadees were so fast at snagging the berries, and it was tricky to anticipate where they were going to be. Plus my camera wants to take its time focusing, so I took a fair amount of blurry chickadee photos as they zipped away or in-focus photos of the berries after the chickadee flew off. There are loads of honeysuckle berries before and after the incense cedar exhibit. Those are good places to post up and potentially watch them eating the berries. Good luck!
Licorice Ferns
Licorice ferns grow on fallen logs, tree trunks, rocks, or on the ground 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 will awaken the new leaves.
They grow from a rhizome that is usually tucked into a bed of moss where it is protected and kept moist. The rhizome has a licorice flavor which is unrelated to the other plants that have a licorice taste such as star anise, fennel, or licorice. Daniel Mathew writes, “In the Northwest, licorice fern rhizomes were sucked by hungry hunters or berry pickers along the trail, or fed before meals to finicky young eaters. In quantity they may prove laxative, but most people find them too bitter to eat in quantity.”
On the mossy log in the last photo, you can see leftover stems where some animal has been eating the new, unfurling leaves at the end. There is no mention in any of my field guides of the leaves or the early shoots being edible for people.
I love the beautiful patterns they make as they grow and overlap in a carpet of lush green on the ground or cascade down the side of a tree. Their vibrant spring green in the fall is uplifting to my spirit as the light wanes into winter.
Resources
Mathews, Daniel. Cascade-Olympic Natural History. Raven Editions in conjunction with the Audubon Society of Portland, 1988.
Prescribed Burn Photo Presentation
There was a prescribed burn in part of the South Meadow recently. Here are some photos I took as I wandered around investigating the aftermath. When I first arrived, a coyote was already on the scene checking it out. At one point I noticed it eating something off the ground. When it eventually meandered across the meadow and into the wetlands, I went over to see what it was eating. Interestingly, I found a pile of charred blackberries on which it was foraging. I looked for grasshoppers that had been toasted in the fire. A sign out at the arboretum says that native people used to collect grasshoppers after they burned grassland areas. I had trouble locating any grasshoppers. I found a few by following yellow jackets that were harvesting them. Surprisingly, I did find quite a few millipedes that had died from the fire. The third photo reminds me of a glowing ember and looks like a praying mantis cocoon. As I walked around, I occasionally flushed a small moth that patiently allowed its photo to be taken. Moths are quiet and mysterious. There were small spiders roaming around. As the sun lowered in the sky, I could see their silk strands had already extensively been sewn across the ground. The teasel plant is an invasive biennial plant that has established itself in the meadow. I imagined that a major reason for the burn was to kill many of the first-year teasel plants growing and the seed heads from this year. It rained shortly after the fire, and the teasel rosettes immediately began to sprout new green leaves. So the fire didn’t kill them. Also, the fire didn’t burn the woody flower stalks and the seed heads at the top of them from this year. So those seeds are still viable. Why didn’t the folks who performed this prescribed burn make sure these seed heads were burned? I scraped away the blackened grass and noticed that there was a small layer of grass that was unburned and many various plant seeds remained unharmed on the ground. Under the deer scat the grass was unburned. I also turned over rocks in the meadow and saw that the ground underneath was protected and unburned. I saw flocks of juncos out there eating the seeds. In the last photo, it shows the edge of the burn. The unburned area is thickly thatched with grass. So the burn did accomplish opening up the ground to allow more plants to sprout and grow. It will be interesting to see what plants repopulate the area. Will more native plants be able to grow or will nonnative plants dominate?
These are a few of my observations and thoughts I wanted to quickly scribble down to pique your interest. I would love to be on the team of people who investigate the flora and fauna after a forest fire. I am sure there are so many fascinating discoveries to be made.
Antlions
Adult female antlions lay eggs singly in sandy or loose soil. When the egg hatches, the larva digs a conical pit and hides just below the surface at the bottom. When an ant or small insect falls into the pit, the antlion grabs its prey with its jaws (mandibles), pierces its body, and drags it below the surface. The hollow barbs or spurs on the jaws can both inject and suck. They inject poison to immobilize their prey and enzymes to break down the internal tissues. When the antlion finishes sucking the juices out of its prey, it will cast the insect out of the pit and wait for the next one. I found a couple of shriveled-up ants on the top of one of the cones.
Along some of the paths at the arboretum, you will find these pits, usually protected under the canopy of trees. I have often seen these pits in soil under the eave of a house or barn where it is sheltered and stays dry.
When the larvae are ready to become adults, they dig deeper into the soil and form a round cocoon made of sand and silk. After about a month, the insect emerges as an adult to mate and repeat the cycle. The adult has a long, skinny abdomen with four narrow, veined wings and resembles a damselfly. The antlion is differentiated from a damselfly by its prominent clubbed or curved antennae. Also, the antlion rests its wings back in an A-frame fashion, and a damselfly holds them together. I have been looking around to find one to photograph, but I haven’t found one yet.
To find the antlion larva, I took a spoon and scooped the ground underneath and around the pit. I didn’t want to hurt it or have it retreat into the soil if I tried to extract it directly from the pit. I put the scoop in a little sieve and gently sifted out the dirt. I was left with tiny stones, flecks of wood, and other debris. It took me a minute to locate the antlion larva because it blended in so well with this assortment of organic matter. I gently moved it onto a leaf and then onto the ground. I was surprised by how cooperative it was in being handled and photographed. I sat beside it and watched it, hoping to see it make its pit. After about 10 to 15 minutes, it slowly retreated to slightly below the surface. I waited for a little longer, but it didn’t move. I marked the spot and returned the next day to find that it had remade its pit and was waiting at the bottom. I love this insect! I hope to see you out there.
Resources
Antlion. https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/neuroptera/antlion/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.
“Antlion Adults.” Missouri Department of Conservation, https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/antlion-adults. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.
Antlions | Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County. https://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/antlions.shtml. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.
More Birds Eating Red-osier Dogwood Berries
These are not the best photos, but I wanted to document and share what other birds are eating the red-osier dogwood berries. Over the past couple of weeks, I have seen warbling vireos, Swainson’s thrushes, and varied thrushes eating the berries. These birds are a little shier than the robin I took photos of eating these berries in a previous post. They tended to either eat berries more towards the inside of the bush where there was good cover, or they would pluck a berry from the outer limbs and retreat into the bush to eat it. A few times they briefly ate a few berries out where I could get a photo. I also had to stay back a little ways when taking the photos, otherwise, they withdrew back to the inside of the shrub. I am not sure what it is about this particular red-osier dogwood shrub that has drawn so many birds to it. It is definitely loaded with berries and maybe its close proximity to the water has made the berries tastier and juicier.
Curiously, there has been lots of cedar waxwings flying around in the vicinity, but I haven’t seen any of them eating the berries yet. I would think that these berries are part of their diet.
Virginia Rail Walking
I have been revisiting the wetlands to hopefully watch the Virginia rail. I have been lucky enough to see it again! It has been venturing a little farther into the open, and I got to see it walking around and foraging. One of the things I noticed is that sometimes the rail used its whole foot as it walked through the wetlands.
Most birds are digitigrade animals which means that they walk around on their toes, not the entire foot. The backward-bending joint that looks like a knee is actually the bird's ankle. The rail mostly walked around on its toes. However, it often moved or stood in a kind of crouched position and engaged its whole foot. This seems like it would provide support with balance and stability while walking on slippery surfaces. I could also see it useful when stalking, lunging at prey, or leaning forward to probe around with its bill. Additionally, the rail has long toes which helps distribute its weight when walking on soft surfaces like the muddy bottom of a marsh. I imagine that long toes with claws further aid in stabilizing and gripping slippery stems and leaves of lilies like in the wetlands.
Chickadees Eating Poison Oak Berries
When I awoke, the land was damp from overnight showers and the sweet smell of the earth filled the air. The rain has arrived just in time to herald the beginning of fall. It was a cool, cloudy morning, and I went for a walk at the arboretum. I ambled up the creek trail to the joyous vocals of the black-capped chickadees celebrating the rain’s return. They were bursting with energy as they bounced back and forth between the tree canopy and the understory. As I rounded a corner on the path, I could see that they were foraging poison oak berries. They quickly would fly down to a cluster of berries, pluck one, and fly over to a nearby branch to eat it. This patch of poison oak has lost its leaves, so it was easy to see the chickadees eating the berries. I also became more aware that the leafless poison oak blended in more with its surroundings as the chickadees circled all around me eating berries.
Mixed in this whirling eddy of chickadees along the creek trail were many other birds. Red-breasted nuthatches were looping around the trunks and limbs of trees. Two downy woodpeckers were actively pounding on dead branches. A brown creeper was hopping up a tree probing the nooks and crannies of the bark. Steller’s jays were at the top of the canopy collecting acorns. A western screech owl was sleeping in the entrance of a tree cavity. A couple of spotted towhees were scratching around in the leaves on the ground. A Bewick’s wren was bouncing around an Oregon ash looking for something to eat. It was a rollicking fall festival!
Happy fall! Happy birding! See you out there!
California Ground Squirrel Collecting Acorns
I heard some rustling at the top of an oak tree and various bits of debris and an acorn or two were falling through the canopy. I looked up to see a squirrel rustling around in the foliage. It appeared to be gathering acorns, but I couldn’t quite get a clear view. After about 5 minutes or so, it came scurrying down. It would climb down the trunk, perch on a limb, and survey the surroundings. Once the scene was assessed to be safe after about half a minute, it would continue down to the next limb. When it got low enough, I saw that it was a California ground squirrel and its cheeks were bulging with acorns! Ground squirrels have cheek pouches that they can stuff with extra food to take with them to cache for later. This one looks like it managed to cram maybe six to eight acorns or more in there! Maybe it had already retrieved any acorns that had fallen on the ground or maybe it was just easier to gather and choose yummy, healthy, bug-free acorns from the tree instead of hunting for them on the ground. I’m not sure, but it was interesting to see a ground squirrel at the top of an oak tree. I hadn’t really imagined it venturing up there, but it seemed at home navigating its way around high up in a tree.
Yellowjackets Investigating Willow Leaves
There is a willow down by the river at the small beach where people and their dogs go swimming. It is teeming with yellow jackets crawling on the leaves. It was slightly unnerving to stand next to it record this video and check out what they find so alluring. The undersides of many of the leaves are covered with tiny aphids. So, the upper surfaces of the leaves below them are lightly sprinkled with honeydew. My guess is that the yellow jackets are attracted to this sugary substance. It was fascinating to watch the yellow jacket’s antennae sweep the surface of the leaf as they walked around foraging. I read a little about insect’s antennae and was captivating to read how they work and see all of the different shapes and sizes. Yellow jackets perceive the sense of smell, hearing, and touch through their antennae.
Another interesting thing I observed happening was that some of the yellow jackets had difficulty flying away. After moving around on the leaves for a while gathering honeydew, they would pause for takeoff, flutter their wings a few times, achieve enough liftoff to clear the leaf, and then fall to the ground. They would then crawl around on the ground, and I kept a close eye on them to make sure that they didn’t crawl up under my pant leg. It’s kind of strange, right? What was happening to them?
I also wondered why the yellow jackets didn’t forage any of the aphids. They didn’t seem interested in them at all. Aphids seem like tender little morsels that would be easy pickings.
What Bird Is This?
I briefly watched this bird out in the wetlands as it flew around catching insects. I liked the way the light was shining behind it illuminating its rusty-colored tail. I was only able to watch it for a few minutes and then it flew back into the wetlands where I couldn’t see it. For fun, I thought it would be interesting to see what you thought this bird might be. Leave your guesses/thoughts in the comments below.
I just want to add that this small wetland area attracts so many birds. It is a real eye-opener how crucial wetlands are, no matter the size, in supporting so much diversity in wildlife.
Virginia Rail
It was early evening, and I took a leisurely walk through the arboretum. As I approached the wetlands, I heard the calls of chickadees moving through the lower part of the canopy and decided to go see what they were up to. I walked out onto the bridge in the wetlands to find them flitting around in the red-osier dogwoods. As I was watching them, a small flock of Bushtits came sweeping through and descended onto the lily pads sticking out of the water. They were excitedly gleaning insects from the surface of the leaves. As my eyes followed their acrobatic tumblings, I came across another bird at the water’s edge. A Virginia Rail was squatting on a lily pad and quietly foraging.
A Virginia Rail’s habitat is mostly shallow, freshwater wetlands but can also occupy brackish marshes near the coast. They prefer wetlands with “40–70% coverage of tall, emergent vegetation” (All About Birds). This consists of cattails, rushes, grasses, and plants like spirea, red-osier dogwood, and willow found in the wetlands at the arboretum. These areas provide great cover. Coupled with that, Virginia Rails have excellent camouflage and are mostly solitary birds, so they are often heard more than seen. With their long toes and strong legs to help them walk around on floating vegetation, they are right at home in a marsh habitat.
Their diet consists of “beetles, snails, spiders, flies, small fish, slugs, crayfish, and frogs. In the winter, they eat aquatic invertebrates as well as plant material and seeds” (All About Birds). This one appeared to be probing into the mud for food and eating bits of vegetation.
Seeing this bird is a reminder of how important it is to stay tuned into my surroundings. This encounter only lasted a few minutes, so it can be easy to miss these brief, but exciting moments. I am also reminded to be curious about places that I have been to many times because they can offer new and delightful experiences.
I hope to see you out there.
Resource
Virginia Rail Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Virginia_Rail/lifehistory. Accessed 16 Sept. 2023.
Black-capped Chickadee Eating Oregon Ash Seeds
Chickadees are so curious and have such a varied diet. This morning I heard them calling from the canopy and decided to go over and see what they were doing. I found them plucking Oregon Ash samaras, carrying them over to nearby limbs, and eating the seeds. They were so adept at balancing, lining up the samara along the limb, and picking the seed out of the end. They would eat some ash seeds for a few minutes, then dart over to an oak tree to rummage around through the canopy for a couple of minutes, and then pop back over to the ash for more seeds. I am always amazed at how action-packed they are and that they never seem to stop moving.
Gopher Snakes & Western Fence Lizards
Here are some more notes from wandering along the river. I have been seeing many small Western Fence Lizards. I see them basking on the rocks, leaping between rocks, and looking around and underneath rocks. They are curiously exploring their world. I imagine their bodies find it thrilling to feel all of the different textures of the rocks—gritty, smooth, bumpy, etc. They must be acutely tuned into all the different temperatures of the rock’s surfaces from the hot tops in the sun to the cool bottoms next to the damp ground and every thermal reading in between.
Another animal that is keenly tuned into its surroundings is the gopher snake. It was quietly moving in and out of the rocks and through the willows. I imagine it was aware of all the scurrying lizards and was looking for a meal. Its diet includes insects, lizards, rodents, birds, and bird eggs. Gopher snakes are constrictors. I watched it for a little while hoping to witness it capturing its prey but didn’t have any luck.
