Blue with black Steller's Jay is perched on a branch with green leaf and catkin buds sprouting nearby. This crested jay has a pair of small blue stripes in the middle of their black forehead.
Steller's Jay has beautiful #blue forehead #stripes for #BirdOfTheDay. π #Birds #NaturePhotos #iNat π·
A bright yellow-green parakeet, shown in flight with wings spread.
The extinct Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis), from my book A Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic Coast, Yale University Press. a.co/d/6rKgbMQ π§ͺπΏππͺΆπ‘ #wildlife #scicomm #sciviz #wildlifeart #iNat #scientificillustration #natureart #visualscicomm #sciviz #scicomm #birds #extinct
Two small grey with white speckled shore birds resting on a sandy beach.
#Speckled Black-bellied Plovers on #OneLeg for #BirdOfTheDay. These beauties have a Vulnerable conservation status. They were near San Francisco Bay last January. π #Birds #NaturePhotos #iNat π·
Close-up of black with yellow bumblebee facing camera while exiting a golden poppy flower. There is a buttercup flower just beyond them and they are in a green grassy area.
Female Pyrobombus gathering pollen in California Poppy this week near Sonoma Coast for #InsectThursday. π
#NativeBees #NativePlants #Pollinators #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat π·π±
Close-up of a single pink flower atop a long green stem. Beyond it are small gold flowers on coastal hills, in front of a long view of ocean shore.
Sea Thrift (Armeria marΓtima) blooming along Sonoma Coast yesterday for #WaterWednesday. π
Plant info. here...
calscape.org/Armeria-mari...
#NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #Ocean #NaturePhotos #iNat #Bloomscrolling #Wildflowers π·π±
Female brown, grey and white duck next to male who is black, white and grey. They both have red-orange narrow beaks that are dripping from recent feeding under water.
Female merganser showing off her brown fluffy head while floating downstream.
Male merganser pops his head up from feeding under water.
#Twosday pair of Common Mergansers feeding in river shallows yesterday.π
#Tricolour #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #NaturePhotos #iNat π·
Macro of reddish-orange to yellow nodding flower with many long filaments with yellow anthers.
One of a few Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) flowers that were beginning to bloom on Bolinas Ridge Saturday.π
Plant info. here...
calscape.org/Aquilegia-fo...
#MacroMonday #NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #Bloomscrolling #iNat π·π±
Close-up of a relatively small cackling goose with grey body and black and white head, standing in shallow water.
Overwintering Aleutian Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii ssp. leucopareia) in Petaluma Wetlands, January 2016. This #migratory subspecies has a Vulnerable (T3) conservation status, and breeds almost exclusively in the Aleutians.π
#Birds #BirdOfTheDay #NaturePhotos #iNat π·
White iris with light purple veins and a splash of yellow, as seen from above in shaded grassy area.
#Stunday white version of rare Marin Iris (Iris douglasiana var. major) along Bolinas Ridge yesterday.π
#Irises #NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #iNat #NaturePhotos #Bloomscrolling #Wildflowers π·
For the past few weeks the baby Allen Hummers have been growing and it has been wonderful! Took this shot, ate breakfast, came back and theyβre gone ! We are So happy!!!π₯Ήπ₯Ήπ₯Ήβ€οΈ Stateofthestateparks.com
#iNat #photography #NaturePhotography #Birder #cali #birding #parks #birds πͺΆπ¦ #birdsky
#nature
Oooh an Anna in the sun! We are so lucky! π±β€οΈππ» Stateofthestateparks.com
#iNat #photography #NaturePhotography #Birder #cali #birding #parks #birds πͺΆπ¦ #birdsky
#california #nature
Macro of tiny yellow with off-white flowers growing in grassy area. These are Creamcups.
Close-up of blooming purple iris in foreground, and coastal hills beyond them. Douglas Iris
Close-up of fuzzy maroon ball of buds and bright pink crinkled flowers at top of stem, surrounded by green foliage. This is a Checkerbloom.
Happy Vernal Equinox!
Lovely #wildflowers blooming this week at Sonoma Coast SP.π
Creamcups (Platystemon californicus)
Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana)
Checkerbloom (Sidalcea malviflora)
Iris info. here...
calscape.org/Iris-douglas...
#NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat π·π±
Close-up of small turquoise elfin butterfly with line of white dots on their wings. There is a tiny light green butterfly egg directly below this butterfly. While the lupine leaf it is attached to is not known to be one of their host plants (Buckwheat), there are many Coast Buckwheats in close proximity.
Another little turquoise butterfly on an iris leaf. There is a tiny whitish butterfly egg on the leaf directly behind this butterfly. While it is on an iris leaf, there are fuzzy Coast Buckwheat (host) leaves surrounding them.
More Coastal Green Hairstreaks from Tuesday. If you look closely, there are also eggs in both shots. Didn't see them ovipositing but the first is light green, so matches their description. I'd guess they're both CGH eggs.π
#InsectThursday #Butterflies #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat π·π±
Close-up of a small blue-green elfin butterfly perched on fuzzy leaves of their host plant, Coast Buckwheat.
Another of same species of butterfly perched on an arched iris leaf.
Another tiny turquoise elfin butterfly on an arching iris leaf.
One more Coastal Green Hairstreak perched on a curled fuzzy buckwheat leaf. (I photographed at least twenty of these beautiful butterflies, so I will be posting a couple more favorites soon.) :)
Endangered Coastal Green Hairstreaks (Callophrys viridis) were abundant along the Sonoma Coast Tuesday. Always thrilled to see these gorgeous little butterflies! π
Coast Buckwheat (host plant) info. here...
calscape.org/Eriogonum-la...
#CaliforniaNativePlants #Butterflies #iNat #NaturePhotos π·π±π¦
Macro of a cluster of pink with golden-yellow pea family flowers. This is Hosackia gracilis. It is rare and has a threatened conservation status.
Macro of fuzzy reddish-orange paintbrush plant with blurred green foliage in background. (I think this is Wight's Paintbrush, but haven't gotten confirmation on it yet.)
A few flowering violet plants with purple buds and blooms in a grassy area near the coast. This is Viola adunca, also known as Dog Violet. *There are two endangered Sonoma County butterflies, Myrtle's and Behren's silverspot, who rely on this plant as their larval host.
Close-up of Sun Cup plant with two four-petaled sunlit yellow blooms, and a couple flower buds in a grassy area. There is a tiny beetle in each flower.
#Wildflowers yesterday at Sonoma Coast SP.π
Witch's Teeth (Hosackia gracilis)
Wight's Paintbrush (Castillega wightii)
Hookedspur Violet (Viola adunca)
Sun Cup (Taraxia ovata)
Violet info. ...
calscape.org/Viola-adunca...
#NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #MacroPhotos #iNat π·π±
Large black and white bird of prey with wings open as s/he wrangles a large fish atop a dead tree.
Osprey on top of a tree and a Perch, last week at Bodega Head for #TreePerchers, #BirdOfTheDay. π
#Birds #BirdsOfPrey #Fish #NaturePhotos #iNat π·
Close-up of crooked stem with large alternating shiny green leaves and tiny white star-shaped flowers. There are a couple flower buds at the end of the stem and more blurry plants in the background.
Star-flowered Lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum stellatum) beginning to bloom on Sonoma Mtn. last week.π
Plant info. here...
calscape.org/Maianthemum-...
#NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #Wildflowers #Bloomscrolling #iNat π·π±
Two close-ups of an arboreal salamander. S/he is on wet pavement in top photo and on a wet leaf in the second shot.
Young male Elephant Seal asleep on a sandy beach facing the camera. He looks like he's grinning.
Blown out image of a Pileated Woodpecker holding on vertically to a dead tree trunk as s/he hammered away to create a nest in that snag.
Close-up of a Red Admiral butterfly sunning while perched on a bay leaf.
Fourteen years ago today I joined iNaturalist & added my first batch of observations. :) Never would have guess that it would become such a big part of my life, but 18k+ observations later I'm still loving it! Here are some shots from that first batch of observations. Thanks #iNat! π #NaturePhotos
Hummingbird perched on a dead branch looking over their shoulder, showing off iridescent red and green feathers.
Anna's Hummingbird flashing red and #green last week, for #BirdOfTheDay. π #Birds #NaturePhotos #iNat π·
Silvery fly with a beak-like tongue, red eyes , small antennae, long legs, and long pointed abdomen on a yellow flower.
Just in time for #flyfriday I saw this beauty on packera at Arabia Mt. #iNat cv suggests genus Empis, which is apparently a taxonomic challenge. Might be a species where the males bring courtship presents wrapped in silk, leading to their nickname βballoon fliesβ.
#flyday #insects #bugsky
Close-up of faded white trillium among redwood duff.
Pacific Trillium (Trillium ovatum) blooms were finishing up under Redwoods yesterday on Sonoma Mtn.π
Plant info. here...
calscape.org/Trillium-ova...
#NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat π·π±
This Lotus Hair Streak posing like a queen on this California Buckwheat.
Gorgeous! Stateofthestateparks.com
#CaliforniaNativePlants #iNat #photography #NaturePhotography #Bloomscrolling #parks π± #nature
#plantskyπ§ #butterfly
Close-up of small white anemone flowers with a purple cast. Their stems are reddish and they have trifoliate, toothed green leaves.
Gray's Anemone (Anemonoides grayi) blooms for #WildflowerWednesday. π
#NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat π·π±
(Lupinus hirsutissimus) aka the Stinging Lupine! Spring is popping! Take a break and get outside! All pics are our own! Stateofthestateparks.com
#CaliforniaNativePlants #iNat #photography #NaturePhotography #Bloomscrolling #parks π± #nature
#plantsky
Horned Bee sleeping in a Mariposa Lilly! This is the second time we have seen this! Stateofthestateparks.com
#CaliforniaNativePlants #iNat #photography #NaturePhotography #Bloomscrolling #parks π± #nature
#plantsky #bees
Close-up of tall slender stem with narrow green opposite leaves, and two checkered orange to red bell-shaped, nodding lily blooms at top.
Close-up of tall green stem with narrow green leaves, and two whitish bell-shaped nodding lily flowers at top. This plant is in a field with more blurred blooms behind it.
Pairs of Scarlet Fritillary (Fritillaria recurva) and Fragrant Fritillary (Fritillaria liliacea) for #Twosday. F. liliacea has an imperiled conservation status.π
Fritillaria info. here...
calscape.org/search/?plan...
#NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #Wildflowers #iNat #Botany π·π±
Close-up of freshly emerging reddish oak leaves with light green margins, among many branches with bud-breaking leaves. Through the branches there is are blurred green hills.
Burst of California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) leaves, last week on Sonoma Mtn. π
Calscape plant info. here...
calscape.org/Quercus-kell...
#Trees #NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat π·π±
Close-up of bronze, black and white hummingbird perched, while looking back over its shoulder.
#Photogenic Rufous Hummingbird for #BirdOfTheDay. π
#Birds #NaturePhotos #iNat π·
Macro of tiny five-petaled white flower with fuzzy green leaves, and with tiny black dance flies on petals.
Macro of tiny deep pink flower with golden yellow pollen.
Macro of light blue flower with darker blue veins, and a group of tiny black dance flies wandering inside petals.
Macros of sweet little #wildflowers last weekend on Sonoma Mtn. Those tiny insects are Dance Flies (Anthalia sp.).π
White Nemophila (Nemophila heterophylla)
Red Maids (Calandrinia menziesii)
Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii)
#NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat #Botany π·π±
