Red Alder

Posted on June 2, 2023 by tspuckler

While looking for snakes in California, I wandered into this stand of trees. Red Alder is the largest species of alder in North America and one of the largest in the world, reaching heights of 65 to 100 feet.

This tree is most often found in moist woods and along streambanks. It quickly colonizes recently cleared land. Although many consider Red Alder a “weed” tree because it will often invade landscapes, this species is the first choice for ecological restoration.

Red Alder is a host to nitrogen-fixing bacteria that form nodules on its roots. Because of this association, the introduction of Red Alder to disturbed sites can quickly improve the fertility of soils, making the site more amenable to the colonization by longer-living conifers. The bark of this tree is mottled, ashy-gray and smooth, often covered by white lichens and moss. Its common name derives from the bright rusty red color that develops in bruised or scraped bark.

Red Alder’s leaves are ovate, 3 to 6 inches long, with bluntly serrated edges and a distinct point at the end; the leaf edges tend to be slightly curled under, a diagnostic characteristic which distinguishes it from all other alders.

Long catkins appear in Spring, before the leaves, producing copious amounts of pollen. Later it produces small brown cone-like strobiles less than an inch long that remain on the tree through the Winter.

Because of its oily smoke, Red Alder is the wood of choice for smoking salmon.

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Pigeon Guillemot

Posted on May 26, 2023 by tspuckler

While visiting the boardwalk in Santa Cruz, California, I noticed several of these sharp looking birds that I’ve never seen before. The Pigeon Guillemot is an attractive auk that nests on rocky coastlines of the North Pacific. Its velvety, dark brown plumage is set off by a bright white patch on the upper wings and vivid scarlet feet.

Unlike many other species of in its family, which feed far out at sea, these birds stay fairly close to shore where they forage along the seafloor for small fish, worms and crustaceans.

Male Pigeon Guillemots court females by showing off their red feet. On land, the male circles or even jumps over the female, pointing his bill downward and raising his scarlet feet conspicuously as he marches around her. Rapid zigzag chases in the water may also be involved in courtship.

The Pigeon Guillemot’s nest is shallow scrape in pile of dirt, pebbles and shells. It tends to be located in a crevice or cave, among boulders, in an abandoned burrow, or under driftwood or debris. These birds may also excavate a nest burrow. The same site is usually re-used for several years.

After their 1 to 2 eggs hatch, both parents feed their young, bringing them small fish at all hours of day, especially in early morning. Offspring leave nest 1 to 2 months after hatching (usually at night) and scramble or flutter down to the water. They are able to swim and dive immediately, but are not capable of strong flight for another 2-3 weeks.

This was a neat bird to observe while on my California adventure.

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Western Millipede

Posted on May 19, 2023 by tspuckler

This is a species of millipede found in California with no common name. Scientifically its kmown as Paeromopus angusticeps. It occupies the largest geographic range of all four species of Paeromopus, covering much of Northern California in a large arc extending from Monterey County on the central coast, north along the Coast Ranges to Humboldt County, and descending along the Cascades and Sierra Nevada range of eastern California.

Adults possess up to 80 body segments and range from 4 to 6 inches long, and are about a quarter on an inch wide. Their color consists of alternating bands of brown on a black or blue-black base color, although in some individuals the banding is largely indistinct from the base color.

Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterized by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda. The name derived from this feature is “Di” meaning “two” and “poda” meaning “feet.”

Most millipedes feed on decomposing vegetation or organic matter mixed with soil. They often play an important role in the breakdown and decomposition of plant litter.

These creatures are among the first animals to have colonized land, dating the species back 400 million years. Early forms probably ate mosses and primitive vascular plants.

Due to their lack of speed and their inability to bite or sting, their primary defense is to curl into a tight coil to protect their delicate legs inside their armored exoskeleton. Many species also emit foul-smelling liquid secretions through microscopic holes called ozopores.

Millipedes have inspired and played roles in scientific research. In 1963, a walking vehicle with 36 legs was designed, said to have been inspired by a study of millipede locomotion. For me they are always a fun find while out in the field.

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California Sea Lion

Posted on May 12, 2023 by tspuckler

While visiting California I spent some time observing these very cool animals that are known for their intelligence, playfulness and noisy barking.

Males tend to be chocolate brown, while females are often golden brown. At about five years of age, males develop a bony bump on top of their skull called a sagittal crest.

California Sea Lions are very social animals and groups often rest closely packed together at favored haul-out sites on land or float together on the ocean’s surface in “rafts.”

These mammals live along the rocky Pacific Ocean coastlines of western North America. California Sea Lion males bark like dogs to communicate with other males and females.

California Sea Lions mainly emerge from water on sandy or rocky beaches, but they also frequent manmade environments such as marinas and wharves. They are sleek animals that are faster than any other sea lion or seal and can top out at speeds of 25 miles an hour.

They are sometimes seen “porpoising,” or jumping out of the water, presumably to speed up their swimming. They have also been seen “surfing” breaking waves.

California Sea Lions are opportunistic eaters, feeding on squid, octopus, herring, rockfish, mackerel and small sharks. They are entertaining animals to watch and were a fun part of my visit to the Golden State.

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Western White Trillium

Posted on May 5, 2023 by tspuckler

While hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I came across this unmistakable and endearing plant that softly lights up the vernal understory of moist coniferous and mixed forests in California and some of its surrounding states. This plant is also known as Pacific Trillium, Coast Trillium, and Pacific Wake-robin. The “wake-robin” name refers to the plants early spring blooming season.

This wildflower is easy to identify due to what looks like three showy white petals held just above three large triangular leaves. A perennial that grows from rhizomes, it technically produces no true leaves or stems above ground; the stems are considered an extension of the horizontal rhizome. The part of the plant that we notice most is an upright flowering stalk and the leaf-like structures are bracts, but most people call them leaves, because they photosynthesize.

This is one of many types of flowers that rely on ants for the distribution of their seeds. The ants collect trillium seeds and bring them back to their nests. Trillium have a calorie-laden appendage on each seed called a strophiole. Ants eat the strophioles and discard the seeds, thus dispersing them to different parts of the woods. Ants have been observed to carry trillium seeds as far as thirty feet from the plant where they collected it from.

Western White Trillium’s flowers bloom starting in late February in the southern part of its range and in March or April elsewhere. Citizen science observations of flowering plants of this species peak during the first week of April. Since White Trillium is Ohio’s State Wildflower, it was neat to see the West Coast species of this plant.

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California Quail

Posted on April 28, 2023 by tspuckler

I often see this cool bird while out and about looking for reptiles in California.

The California Quail is a small ground-dwelling bird with a curving crest or plume, made of six feathers, that droops forward; the plume is larger in males than in females. It is a handsome, soccer ball-sized bird with a rich gray breast and intricately scaled underparts.

Its stiffly accented “Chi-ca-go” call is a common sound of brushy areas of California and the Northwest. They are often seen strutting across clearings, nodding their heads at each step. If disturbed, they may burst into fast low flight on whirring wings.

This is a highly sociable bird that often gathers in small flocks known as “coveys.” One of their daily communal activities is a dust bath. A group of quail will select an area where the ground has been newly turned or is soft, and using their underbellies, will burrow downward into the soil one to two inches.

They then wriggle about in the indentations they have created, flapping their wings and ruffling their feathers, causing dust to rise in the air. They seem to prefer sunny places in which to create these dust baths. I’ve witnessed this activity while on Mount Hamilton.

Thsi bird’s main habitats are broken chaparral, woodland edges, coastal scrub, parks and farms. As an adaptation to living in arid environments, California Quails can often get by without water, acquiring their moisture from insects and succulent vegetation. During periods of sustained heat they must find drinking water to survive.

California Quail nests can contain as many as 28 eggs. These large clutches may be the result of females laying eggs in nests other than their own, a behavior known as “egg-dumping.” The chicks leave the nest shortly after birth. They make their first attempts at flight when they are about 10 days old and stay on the ground for about a month before roosting in trees with the rest of the flock.

The California Quail is the state bird of California.

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Pacific Ringneck Snake

Posted on April 21, 2023 by tspuckler

This is a fine and colorful reptile that I frequently come across on my visits to the Golden State.

Adult Pacific Ringneck Snakes are normally around 11 to 16 inches long and about the diameter of a pencil. They have smooth scales and are usually a dark olive green color on their backs, although they can vary from brown to almost black.

These snakes are secretive and nocturnal, so they are rarely seen out during the daytime. I usually find them under logs, rocks or flagstones and sometimes in leaf litter.

True to there name, they generally have a bright ring around their neck. They are well known for their unique defense posture of curling up their tails and exposing their bright red-orange underside when threatened.

This reptile prefers moist habitats and can be found in wet meadows, rocky hillsides, riparian coridors, gardens, farmland, grassland, chaparral, mixed coniferous forests and woodlands.

The diet of the Pacific Ringneck Snake consists primarily of small salamanders, earthworms, and slugs – but they also sometimes eat lizards, frogs, and smaller juvenile snakes of other species.

Females lay their eggs in the Summer, sometimes doing so in a communal nest. In the Winter, hibernating individuals often aggregate in groups.

As a species, Ringneck Snakes have one of the largest geographic ranges of any species of snake in North America and are represented by several subspecies.

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Purple Shore Crab

Posted on April 14, 2023 by tspuckler

I found this cool creature while tidepooling on the California Coast. Crabs come in many shapes and sizes, but they have a few things in common – usually ten jointed legs and eyes at the ends of short stalks.

The Purple Shore Crab can be found sheltering under rocks in inter-tidal areas along the west coast of North America. They are quite adaptable, being found from the frigid shores of Alaska all the way to the sunny beaches of Baja California.

These crustaceans look for food during low tide at night on top of rocks and on nearby sandy beaches. They feed on green algae, snail eggs, smaller animals and more. On the flip side, for their part, they’re eaten by scoters (a type of sea duck), fish and gulls.

Purple Shore Crabs are rarely found in water deeper than three feet. They prefer rocky coastlines where hiding places are plentiful, because they do not burrow in sand, like many other crabs.

They have the ability to regulate the amount of salt in their systems, a trait called osmoregulation. This enables them to live rather far into brackish estuaries and salt marshes, where the the level of salt in the water changes with the tides.

The mating ritual of purple shore crabs involves a bizarre dance during which males and females rise up and embrace, belly to belly. The males clasp females firmly with their legs and claws, and fall over backwards.

The Purple Shore Crab truly was a fun find on my California trip.

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Rock Gunnel

Posted on April 7, 2023 by tspuckler

I caught a couple of these fine fish while tidepooling in the Golden State. Though it may look like an eel, due to its flattened, elongated body – it is in the same order as many other more “conventionally shaped” fish, such as Striped Bass.

Fully grown adult Rock Gunnels can reach a foot in length. Their coloration is highly variable, ranging from hues of yellow-green to brown to crimson.

This neat creature may remain above the waterline at low tide, sheltered beneath rocks and algae; it can breathe air if necessary. They are frequently encountered on rocky shorelines and splash around noticeably when uncovered.

The Rock Gunnel uses habitat sheltered by rocks and algae both above and below the waterline, which is likely to protected it from its natural predators – seabirds, fish and marine mammals.

Thought to spawn during Winter, its eggs are laid on the underside of a shell or under a stone in a nest prepared by the male. The male guards the eggs, fanning them with his tail.

The Rock Gunnel is found in the coastal waters of North America and Europe. It is thought to feed mainly on small crustaceans, polychaetes and mollusks.

This fish is also known as the “Butterfish” due to its slipperiness.

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Stout Shrimp

Posted on March 31, 2023 by tspuckler

While tidepooling on the Pacific Coast, we found a few of these cool and colorful creatures.

The Stout Shrimp is one of several species of shrimp with the common name “Broken Back” Shrimp, named for the sharp angle of the attachment of its tail to its body.

This crustacean’s color is highly variable, ranging from white mottling or stripes to browns and greens. It regularly occurs in the intertidal zone or along the sides of floats, where they are often the most commonly seen shrimp.

The Stout Shrimp is nocturnal and comes out at night to forage for food. During the day they can be found under seaweed, hidden around rocks or nestled among mussels.

It is mainly carnivorous, feeding on a variety of small animals. In turn, it is eaten by a variety of fish…but only if the fish can catch them. Like crayfish, these shrimp use the rapid flexing of their tail to scoot away from danger.

Although small, these fine invertebrates were a fun find while exploring California.

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Tim Spuckler's Blog

Reptile Ramblings and More

Yearly Archives: 2023

Red Alder

Pigeon Guillemot

Western Millipede

California Sea Lion

Western White Trillium

California Quail

Pacific Ringneck Snake

Purple Shore Crab

Rock Gunnel

Stout Shrimp