The Lost Vagrant: Assorted Past Musings Part 1

Happy Throwback Thursday! Here are some long overdue reports from the late summer after I returned from New York up to the end of my summer break. Enjoy!

July 29th: Just a short trip to Salt Pond A2E and back. My first trip after returning from the Huyck Program.

Some bee fly species. Perhaps Paravilla sp.? The alkali heath around Salt Pond A2E is surprisingly rich in insect life.

Common buckeye in the pickleweed

Behold, North America's smallest butterfly and one of the smallest in the world, the humble Western pygmy-blue. It seems that this lovely species really loves this area as I have seen numbers of probably at least 100 in this small area of salt vegetation.

Probable Enchoria sp.? Pretty little geometrid moth.

Parasitoid wasp on the prowl.

Haha can't identify these for my life... So many species...

Common checkered-skipper.

Another Western pygmy-blue. I love this butterfly so much! My best pictures came from last year at around the same time when one was cooperative enough for me to take a phone picture.

Good to finally see a monarch in this county for this year. This beloved butterfly is going through severe population declines. Hopefully this one passes down its genes.

Charismatic great egret in breeding plumage.

Oops missed.

Forster's tern

Sleeping barn swallow. Look at that eyelid!

Gulp. Sequence of Great Egret eating what looks like a staghorn sculpin, in which case, the caption could also be "ouch" as that fish species has spines on its gill opercula which open and impede swallowing. The bird did dip its catch in the water several times, so perhaps that made it easier to swallow. I wonder how these fish got into Shoreline Lake. I mean, who stocks native bay fish into a recreational water body?

August 6th: Following the SECOND rain we had this year in the summer, I went on a standard bike trip to Alviso. Shorebird migration was going well, with a large diversity of those species seen. Overall a very lovely day.

Lovely crepuscular rays

Invasive Mediterranean white snails becoming active after the precipitation. Normally during the summer these mollusks aestivate, often covering dead vegetation with their white shells.

Photogenic double-crested cormorant at Salt Pond A4.

Such a lovely bird.

Some of the many passing Wilson's phalaropes at Alviso.

Common raven.

Lesser yellowlegs

Comparison shot of red-necked (top) and Wilsons' phalaropes. Fairly early for the red-neckeds but they were starting to come in.

Lovely Wilson's phalarope. Even in basic plumage this species is beautiful.

Red-necked phalarope feeding on land with a least sandpiper.

Cooperative least sandpiper at New Chicago Marsh.

Great blue heron contemplating its existence.

Great Egret looking towards its uncertain future.

Not sure what this green heron was thinking of though.

Lovely native yellow Orange Sulphur nectaring on invasive yellow star thistle.

August 13th: Another regular bike trip to Alviso for migrants.

Morning shorebirds at Charleston Slough.

Calm reflective waters...

Egret and night heron party at A1

California least tern, an endangered subspecies. This adorable bird stages at A2E before continuing on its southbound migration. Too bad I couldn't get nicer photos...

Salt Pond A3W in pretty spectacular lighting.

Peregrine falcons at Sunnyvale WPCP

Audubon's cottontail by Pond A12.

Seriously such an adorable bunny.

Black tern going into basic plumage. My first spotting of this lovely species this year.

Another cool wasp I cannot identify. Looks like a Trypoxylon sp but again, not sure. Alviso has a surprisingly high diversity of curious hymenopterans.

Flyover of a shorebird mix as I biked back from A11.

California ground squirrel

Possibly stuck. What a cutie.

Downy woodpecker gorging on pistache fruit at Sunnyvale Baylands

Dancing anise swallowtails also at the Sunnyvale Baylands.

August 17th: The last day. Went on a short trip to A2E and back. Because of suboptimal lighting, no good pictures were taken. Nothing out of the ordinary seen but a nice, relaxing way to end summer vacation.