Tag Archives: Peter Baye

•

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...

•

Peter Baye wrote, "Here are some photos of a beautiful flowering shrub that isn't too common in Mendonom - canyon gooseberry, Ribes menziesii. It has incredible tiny fushsia-like flowers, dark maroon to pink or white.

This bush is from The Conservation Fund's Buckeye Forest, on Fuller Creek. Not many records of them up here, most of them quite old."

Fuller Creek is a tributary of the Gualala River. I personally have never seen this flowering bush. It's quite lovely. To learn more about the Conservation Fund, here is a link to their website: https://www.conservationfund.org/projects/gualala-river-forest

Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

Another sunny, warm day here today. Hints of rain coming in for the weekend.

•

Peter Baye wrote, "“I have had in-channel flowing river sightings of Foothill Yellow-legged Frog egg masses, over 20 egg masses in one reach only a couple hundred feet long, and hatched larvae. The black tadpoles are as numerous as toads!"

"And Steelhead fry that definitely came from recent redds [nests.] Fly fisherman Charlie Ivor noted that the Steelhead are making their nests later than normal, adapting to the wintery spring flows.”

The Gualala River, designated a "scenic and wild river" by the State of California, is a wonder. The river has many challenges and many of us are involved in protecting it. You can learn more at Friends of Gualala River's website: http://gualalariver.org/

Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

Oh my, it's spectacular on the coast today. The wind died down and the temps are up. Low tide in the mornings have brought in sightings of beautiful Sea Stars, giving me more photos to share with you in the days to come.

•

Here's a photo Mary Sue Ittner took of Lupine, Goldfields, Lasthenia californica, and Johnny Tuck, Triphysaria eriantha, all native wildflowers.

Peter Baye found Hoffman's Jewelflower, Streptanthus glandulosus.

And Blue-eyed Mary, Collinsia sparsiflora,

Many, many more species are blooming now, a feast for the eyes.

Thanks to Mary Sue and Peter for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Beautiful sunny, breezy, warm weather today!

•

Peter Baye was north, up at Big River, where he found several pairs of elusive Wood Ducks. He wrote, “I almost always hear Wood Ducks on the Gualala River without seeing anything more than their backends in flight. They are even more shy on the water than Pond Turtles, but these were in partial cover in the native Pond-lilies. They were wary but not alarmed, long enough for me to see their painted plumage. They look like fantasy waterfowl.”

Wood Ducks' calls are quite different. You can listen to them here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/sounds

Here's what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has to say about these beautiful ducks: "The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches."

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

It's still windy today, but warmer...almost 70 degrees!