Western Honey Bees, etc.

I have been thinking that I need to keep a better journal about my nature wanderings, both physical and mental.

I have come up to Coyote Pond almost everyday for a week now. I saw a rat scurry under a ledge about a month ago when walking on the middle trail, the one below the ridge top and I set a trail camera on it. The first time was just overnight and I got a photo of a upper portion of a rodent https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/214418884 but was not able to identify it. So I put it back for about four days and it took about 850 photos, of which only a few were of critters and the great majority was taken when the sun shine through the trees creating moving shadows in the wind. I have put it back out and will leave it longer this time. I have set the timer so that it only takes photos from after sunset to about noon, when there is no sun shining in the field of view.

I have also observed the many many California Buckeyes along the top of the ridge and along the bottom trail, the Enchanted Trail. On the first trip there were many Ichneumonid Wasps mostly on the California Buckeye https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/214268020,https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/214268022. However, when I went back on subsequent days I did not see any of these wasps, which I find strange.

I have seen three California Pipevine Swallowtails in the area, two of which I was able to photograph https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/215572651, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/214672746. This makes me believe that there are California Dutchman's Pipevine in the area. I have searched both sides of Orchard Creek above Coyote Pond under the area of dense trees and have not found any. However, there are large parts where I cannot search due to the dense brambles in the understory. As an aside, I have planted a single Pipevine plant and it has started to put on leaves. More on this in another issue.

So, now to the Western Honey Bees (WHBs). There is a large area of California Buckeye in bloom (I will have to use the mapping function on my GPS to determine the actual area) and several areas of blackberry Brambles on which there are thousands of WHBs but I find very very few other pollinators such as Yellow-faced or California BBs. One area of brambles I have watched is an area at the upper end of the dense wooded area along Orchard Creek (this area https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/215317906). The bramble area is a triangular patch about 105 feet by 50 feet or roughly 300 square yards. I also estimate that there may be 5 WHBs per square meter, or 1500 WHBs (there seem to be more) but only maybe two BBs. But the other thing I notice is that a BB will land on a flower but only stay for a very brief period when I have seen them on isolated flowers away from the patch spend longer. I believe this is the threat that WHBs pose to our native bees.

While searching the understory for the Pipevine plant today I heard a soft Great Horned Owl call, then another. I estimated which tree it could be in and walked out from under the trees. I saw a shadow which I thought could be the owl, took some pictures, then started to take a circumferential route about the tree. Immediately the "shadow" moved behind some dense leaves, telling me it was the owl. I left it at that point and went back under the trees. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/215774451

And I saw a coyote. I saw one a week or so ago on my morning walk, but this one I was able to photograph. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/215774447

And I got a flat tire on my bike and had to push it home. All in all, a good day.

Posted on May 14, 2024 11:27 PM by joerich