The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo CountyConservation Project Manager Cain Silvey spotted this bald eagle while working on a land conservation project in the Adelaide area, W of Lake Nacimiento. Shortly after this eagle flew out of the tree it was joined by two more bald eagles and the three of them circled overhead for a few minutes before flying off toward the lake.
California's oak woodlands provide homes for more than 300 vertebrate species, including these bald eagles. Seeing these magnificent birds reminds us of the value of The Land Conservancy's work to conserve land for the benefit of wildlife, nature and people.
The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo CountyPismo Preserve Ranger C.J. Silas spends a lot of time hiking the Pismo Preserve to keep 11 mi. of trails safe and enjoyable for visitors + healthy for nature preserve inhabitants. These are some of the things found on recent hikes. Evidence of animals who have passed by or passed away. If you're grossed out by scat, don't look! Thanks for sharing, C.J.!
Most likely the backbone and pelvis of a deer, perhaps what's left of a mountain lion's dinner.
The scats shown above and below are impressive! Both were found in the middle of trail, a way of communicating with other coyotes: I've been here! Coyote diet varies seasonally. When prey animals are plentiful, you'll see a lot of hair in the scat. When in short supply, you might see more fruit pits and remnants of a vegetable diet. Coyotes lean toward the carnivorous side but are omnivores.
The Cal Poly Vertebrate Lab* processes wildlife specimens for research and outreach purposes. Most of the specimens we received are roadkill that have been collected and donated to the lab by Cal Poly students or community members. The specimen in the video is a badger,Taxidea taxus, that was collected at the Pismo Preserve by The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County staff Dylan Theobald. It had likely been deceased for at least a few days and had already started to decompose. Following collection, the badger specimen was frozen to prevent further decay.
The first thing we do at the lab is examine the specimen and determine what is the most useful way to process it given the condition of the specimen. As the badger was already starting to decay, we decided to just keep the skull and a paw. Our lab uses a Dermestid beetle colony to clean skulls. Dermestes maculatus is a flesh eating beetle commonly used for skull cleaning. The colonies are fairly easy to care for and can fully clean a skull in just a few weeks.
To prepare the badger head for the colony, we froze it for one week to kill any harmful parasites or diseases, removed the skin as the beetles won’t eat the skin, and removed some of the excess tissue. We also took a tissue sample to conduct DNA testing. The video shows how the beetles find the skull and begin consuming it. By the end of the video, all the flesh has been eaten off of the skull. This video was recorded over 9 days.
When the skull is removed from the dermestid colony, it must be put in a freezer for at least one week to kill any beetles or larvae remaining on the skull. After that, the skull goes through a degreasing process which involves soaking it in soapy water and switching the water every few days for about a week. After that, the process is complete and the skull is ready to be added to our museum collection or used for outreach!This badger will become part of the specimen collection used for The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County's outdoor education program, Learning Among the Oaks. We hope you will find this video interesting and informative and look forward to sharing more videos of our lab procedures in the future!
Click on the video below to see time-lapse video of the process (Caution for the squeamish -Includes graphic images).
What is that mossy stuff hanging from the oaks? Natalie shares the story of lace lichen with her cousin while hiking in Vamonos Canyon at the Pismo Preserve. Did you know that California has a State Lichen? Yep! This mossy stuff isn't moss and it is honored as the State Lichen of California. Pretty interesting that it is not one but two organisms (up to three for lichens in general) living symbiotically.
Pismo Preserve Ranger CJ found this scat on a trail at the Pismo Preserve. Notice that it is not at all hidden. Maybe this animal wanted to make a statement? What else do you notice? Tapered ends, twisted tubular shape, presence of hair and size. Any guesses? Maybe a coyote?
Vineyard School Oak Ambassador alumnus Tristan discovered these ladybugs snuggling up for the winter ahead. Even though our winters are mild, ladybugs still know when it's time to snuggle. As the supply of their favorite foods, like aphids, drops off in the fall, it's time to rest. Warming days will awaken them and signal that it's time to mate, eat and produce more ladybugs. See https://www.kqed.org/science/468582/the-once-in-a-lifetime-ladybug-love-in
LATO docent ~ nature photographer Mike Klatt shared these observations and photos:
"The last couple of evenings a bit after sunset, large numbers of red-winged blackbirds have been flying to roost for the night in the Italian cypresses in our backyard. We're not sure where they are coming from, but we do see them in a large valley oak tree that's about 50 yards away from the Italian cypresses before they fly to the cypresses. The sound is truly beautiful. It's like a choir of red-winged blackbirds all singing good night to each other. There must be at least 100 or more of them."
Young Santa Margarita Elementary School nature photographer Emily and her Oak Ambassador sister were on hand this morning with their mom Jen to help Morro Coast Audubon Society volunteers Freddy and Cheryl install eight new songbird nest boxes along the Santa Margarita Ranch Learning Among the Oaks (LATO) Trail. Emily shared these photos and videos!
Mike Klatt watched this buck rubbing the velvet off of its antlers. It took about an hour of hard rubbing. Velvet is a type of skin, richly supplied with blood vessels to provide nutrients for growing antlers. Once the antlers have finished growing, the velvet has done its job. It is rubbed off or dries~falls off in late summer, early fall. Read more about this fascinating process: https://sciencing.com/do-deer-velvet-horns-6690259.html
This buck has been hanging around our yard. Sometimes in the fall we see bucks that have broken antlers which is probably a result of butting heads with another buck over a doe or two. I don't recall seeing one in the spring. I wonder why this fellow ended up this way. --- Michael Klatt, Atascadero
On June 3, 2020, LATO nature photographer Michael Klatt shared these beautiful photos of Western bluebirds nesting in the Klatt's Atascadero backyard. The bluebird family vacated the nest - baby birds successfully fledged - a few days later.
Male Western bluebird returning to the nest box with a meal for the chicks.
Both the male and the female Western bluebird at the nest box.
The female Western bluebird leaving the box.
Male leaving the box with droppings from the chicks. We parents work hard to keep the nest clean.
Male leaving the box to find more food.
Now the female leaves the nest to find food.
One of the nestlings looking out into the world. I'll soon be ready to fly!
What does this Cooper's Hawk see? Click on the name to find out more about this skillful flier. It is easily confused with the Sharp-shinned Hawk, another small hawk found in woodlands, suburban areas and even backyards. Photo by Michael Klatt.
Nature photographer Michael Klatt shared these beautiful photos of an Atascadero doe and her fawns. Micheal shared,
Even after living here for nearly 40 years, we never get tired of watching the deer. Recently a mother and her twins have been spending a lot of time in our backyard. Today they are laying on the grass trying to keep cool. It's pretty easy to see how the inspiration for Bambi came to be. I started to go outside to get a photo, but I didn't want them to have to venture out into the heat to escape my lens.
Enjoy this video report from Ocean View School Oak Ambassador Alex who shows us how the woodlands outside of Redding, CA, near the town of Igo, are recovering from wildfires.
Ocean View School Oak Ambassador Natalie T. was surprised to discover this nest with eggs hidden behind a light fixture at her house on April 30, 2020.
Morro Coast Audubon Society friends helped us identify this as a house finch nest. The house finch is known for using a variety of interesting nesting spots.
Look below to see what Natalie found in the nest on May 12!
Update: See Natalie's May 27 photo of the almost ready to fledge baby finches!
We asked the Oak Ambassadors what the word stewardship means and we got a lot of amazing responses. These kids really care about our shared Earth. Here's a sample from Ocean View Oak Ambassador Penny:
Stewardship means to just be a good person and help out as much as you can. This can apply to nature and land because if you are keeping Earth clean, and respecting nature, then you are showing stewardship towards nature and land. You can be a good steward of nature by respecting every plant and animal's boundaries and not being invasive in their habitats.
On a more light-hearted note, Ocean View Oak Ambassador Jackson made special Earth Day cookies!
Vineyard School Oak Ambassador alumnus Tristan and his mom (and Learning Among the Oaks volunteer docent) Nancy discovered this fresh new mayfly adult, ready to leave the shed skin of aquatic nymph behind. When it's time for the adult to emerge, the nymph leaves the water. Thanks to LATO friend and entomologist Dennis Sheridan for helping with identification. Mayflies are members of the Order Ephemeroptera, derived from the Greek word emphemeros, meaning "day." It's a fitting name because the adult mayfly has a very short life span - from a few hours to no more than a few days. Learn more about the mayfly life cycle -- super interesting!
