Black and yellow bumblebee feeding on light purple sage flower.
Native Black-tailed Bumble Bee feeding on Sonoma Sage last week in Mayacamas Mtns.π
Plant info. here...
calscape.org/Salvia-sonom...
#Bees #NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat #Inverts π·ππ±
Small black, orange and off-white checkered butterfly perched in green foliage.
Three checkerspots are in this image. Two are mating while a third is trying to join in!
Another checkerspot feeding on a bloom of Orange Bush Monkeyflower.
This checkerspot is hanging upside down while feeding on a wild radish flower. Wild radish is a non-native, invasive species in California.
Some of many Variable Checkerspots we saw yesterday in the Mayacamas Mtns. They're small, but beautiful #butterflies. π #NaturePhotos #iNat π·
Small blueish gnatcatcher with a dark eyebrow stripe. He is perched on a dead branch, pausing during a high-speed chase.
Watched this male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher having a territorial tussle yesterday in the Mayacamas Mtns. Got lucky with this shot, since they were in high gear! Glad to see them returning.π
#Birds #NaturePhotos #iNat π·
Hit the jackpot at Point Reyes! π° Tracked down these yellowish-green Trillium beauties just as they hit their peak. If youβre out #Bloomscrolling this week, the coastal stands are putting on a clinic. πΏπ± #iNat #NaturePhotography #California #Wildflowers
Visited #PtReyes this week to seek out these beauties, and found a couple stands that were peaking! These #wildflowers are Trillium chloropetalum var. chloropetalum (pale yellowish-green petals).π
#NativePlants #NationalParks #CaliforniaNativePlants #Bloomscrolling #NaturePhotos #iNat π·π±
Close-up of little brown, black, orange-ish butterfly perched on my finger as I moved her off the path and on to a native blackberry flower.
Helped this tiny Western Pine Elfin (Callophrys eryphon) off the path this week in #PtReyes. It had been nine years since I'd seen one, so meeting this beauty was very special.π
#InsectThursday #Butterflies #NationalParks #NaturePhotos #iNat #LittleThings π·π¦
Brown and black shorebird with an invertebrate in its long red beak, standing in a puddle among mud flats.
Black Oystercatcher enjoying some invertebrate #snacks from mud flats of Bodega Harbor last month, for #BirdOfTheDay. π
#Birds #Shorebirds #NaturePhotos #iNat π·πͺΆ
Black and white woodpecker with a red spot on head is holding on vertically while excavating a hole in a dead conifer. There are wood chips flying through the air as he releases them.
Mr. Hairy Woodpecker excavating this week in #PtReyes for #WoodpeckerWednesday. π
#Birds #NaturePhotos #iNat #NationalParks #Woodpeckers π·
Chipmunk facing the camera while eating grass buds from a long stem, perched on a woody branch above the ground.
Cutest Sonoma Chipmunk having a snack this week in #PtReyes for #WildlifeWednesday. π #NaturePhotos #iNat π·
Close-up of two red to orange tube-shaped flowers dangling over broad deep-green leaf. There are many more leaves from the same shrub around them.
Pair of Coast Twinberry blooms yesterday at #PtReyes, for #Twosday. π
Plant info. here...
calscape.org/Lonicera-inv...
#NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat #Bloomscrolling #NationalParks π·π±
A golden yellow carpenter bee
A male Valley Carpenter bee. California native
#Insects #iNat ##NaturePhotos #Bees π·
Macro of small pink flower with golden anthers, above green whorled leaves in blurred redwood duff.
Western Starflower (Lysimachia latifolia) blooming earlier this month in Golden Gate National Recreation Area, for #MacroMonday. π
Plant info. here...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysimac...
#NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat #Wildflowers #Bloomscrolling π·π±
Close-up of tall green stem with three green leaves and a white three-petaled flower at top of stem. It is growing from redwood duff.
Stand of three white and one pinkish-flowered trilliums.
Macro of bright yellow violet bloom with blurred green leaf in background.
Pacific Trilliums and Redwood Violet under Coast Redwoods at Sonoma Coast State Park last week.π
Violet info. here...
calscape.org/Viola-semper...
#Wildflowers #NativePlants #CaliforniaNativePlants #NaturePhotos #iNat #Bloomscrolling π·π±
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±
