Bear in an oak tree. Probably dispersing young male from Sonoma County. Found bear scat on a trail in Olema Valley back in April.
A case could be made for Barred Owl at this location, but it would be on the extreme large end of the track length. GHO seems more likely.
Fronts have 4 toes registering and rears have 5. Tail drag visible.
The color and patterning are a great fit for ruffed grouse secondary, but I am struck by the fact that this a full inch longer than I’d expect for a feather of that type.
While the metatarsal pad is prominent (as is more commonly seen in turkeys), there is no hallux showing in these tracks. There is good texture showing on the pads in the semi-firm mud, but the toe margins are smooth sided (not bulbous), and each foot shows some proximal webbing between toes 3 and 4.
Tracks from one of the “Sikik” (Arctic Ground Squirrel) living in the riprap along the beach in Nome.
Jumping up onto a log. Last image is from an individual jumping down from the same log.
Protrusions from sweetgum tree
~2 month old baby. Mother was in same tree (a willow).
Scat and urine patch from a juvenile Bear, accompanied by tracks (last photos.)
Last fall's scat composed entirely of tough fibers. Cambium feeding sign?
Other Bear sign abundant in immediate area including much fresher, more typical scats.
Tracks made with droppings. A large number of droppings where they were eating several dead catfish. Lots of feathers from Turkey Vultures, but no way to tell if there were any Black Vultures there or not.
Egg mass on a dead Prunus serotina branch
Cocoon on a dead Prunus serotina branch
Similar to Brown recluse egg mass:
https://bugguide.net/node/view/41273
I saw these red fox pups at a den along the railroad tracks in the Shinnecock Hills Preserve.
Such a perfectly corvid bill shape, I think this is the only option. Will double check size later. I have never encountered something I confidently could say is fish crow in person and rarely online. Very excited to double check this when home.
Vertebra and cranium found a few feet away. Unsure if vertebra is associated by cranium almost certainly is.
with confirmed sighting of the bird
Walking
Scat on mound, tail drag through middle, front and hind tracks on the left. There were 4 of these mounds along the riverbank at 15-20 yard intervals.
Tracks
Fresh tracks and hopping trail in fine silt.
Fresh tracks in fine silt.
looks like someone sawed off the antlers (skeleton was not far from an infrequently used trail), so I’m guessing it was a young bull that died in summer or fall.
Found in a discarded beer can along a forest road. The shrew likely entered to seek beer remnants, got trapped behind the flap at the opening, and died from hypothermia or starvation in the wet conditions. The sheared fur and exposed skin suggests the shrew may have also suffered injury from the sharp metal in trying to escape.
Female. Feather in first picture has a pinched shaft giving a more pronounced bend. Last picture is coverts?
Squarish owl tracks in a dust patch near an old barn where 3 individual owls of this species were seen roosting a few minutes later.
La longitud de la navaja es de 60 mm.
This mother had three cubs with her.
Otters making more otters!!!!
In a trot. Rights at top (and inset), lefts below.
Medida del ancho 4 cm
Medida promedio entre ondulaciones 16.9 cm
Se observan dos tipos de locomoción:
Ondulación lateral
Rectilinear
Se infiere por las medidas y lugar que pueda ser Boa
with Microtus spp. for size comparison
Eggs coll. 23 April, 2024 on Quercus nigra
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/209184166
Maybe... on Liquidambar styraciflua leaf. Reared from egg.
Definite grouse scats to the left on (likely drumming) log, but some comparatively large scats to right. They almost seem too large and oddly shaped for grouse, but they are not a great fit for turkey either, which is likely the only other possibility.
Beautiful clear prints. Note claws and print on toe 1. Fur is present in tracks as well.
American Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
Scoggins Valley Park
50250 SW Scoggins Valley Road
Gaston, Washington County, Oregon
While driving around the road that circles the large lake at this state park, we encountered and briefly observed a smallish black bear that appeared to be alone and busy foraging. It was eating berries from the many berry bushes adjacent to the road.
Cutting the base of the flower from the petiole. Presumably feeding on nectar or embryo at the base of the flower. Thousands of cut flower beneath the tree. Seem to focus on many flowers in single clusters.
Pellet. Beneath perch commonly used by bald eagles.
Roaring River Ridge, Willamette national Forest, Oregon, USA.
R.I.P. Beaver.
Tracks
I think these are little marks where fish nibbled the algae off the rocks.
lots of nests dug into ground, birds present in nests.
Grey squirrel eating tree buds! I like how you can see her cutting twigs to hold like little popsicles so she doesn’t have to reach precariously the whole time. Even a city squirrel doesn’t ONLY eat from bird feeders and garbage cans; I like seeing them perform natural behaviors. (Though as clever, adaptable, opportunistic omnivores, almost anything they eat could be considered “natural”… kind of like dogs and humans in that way. Still: congrats on the healthy eating habits, random squirrel!)
I believe these are oak trees but I’m rusty on my tree ID when no leaves are present so I could be wrong; one of my plans for later in the year is to go up and down the riverbank path and ID all the good-sized trees.
Update: also this is more photography practice for me, trying out camera settings and then editing backlit shots once I get home - I think they’re getting better than the last chunk of super backlit photos?
It didn’t really hit me until I saw this bird that the heron from last year probably wasn’t just in non-breeding plumage, but was an immature bird. This site has actual professional photography of different heron plumages: http://gustaviatex.com/blog/2020/2/21/great-blue-herons-are-ready-for-spring
(Side note, frustrating that iNat only offers “adult” or “juvenile” for mammals and birds and not infant/adolescent/juvenile/1st year immature/etc… but I peeked at the topic on the forums and there are way too many people who care way more than I do arguing about it and as I have no intention of volunteering my time to wrangle the database, I will stay out of it! For my own personal rule I will use “juvenile” for babies/fledglings and consider full-size independent birds as “adult” even if they don’t have full adult plumage yet.)
I have now read that it takes 4 years for herons to grow up enough to sport this look, and that at first things like the cap are a little messy. So I don’t believe this is “Slim” suddenly all grown up and returning to a haunt from a few months ago, because that black and white cap is SHARP. I think this is a different, much more mature bird. Look at those PLUMES! And the black and rust inside the wings! As well as the bright orange beak (difficult to see the blue lore). Very different. And compare the “flying past the dock” shot to the other bird I noticed a few days prior which is still mostly grey everywhere including beak and legs, no snazzy plumes. THAT one could theoretically be Slim… remains to be seen if they hang around and get noticed in the same few spots on a regular basis like s/he did.
It was raining pretty hard when I noticed this bird from the west side of the path just south of the Belmont bridge (near where that huge gull landed!) and I decided it was worth it to risk getting my camera out of my backpack and try to get photos, but in the struggle to get it out of its waterproof case (a little reusable silicon snack pouch) while huddling under the umbrella, I evidently messed up a bunch of settings, and ended up with a lot of garbage! Also the bird kept moving north as I crossed the river and headed towards the boathouse in the park. All told I took more than 500 shots over the course of about an hour trying to get something usable, because I could tell the camera was unhappy with how dim it was in the rain, especially if I tried to make the shutter speed faster to catch the plumes blowing in the wind even though they were soaking wet. Trying to get something artsy framed by the dripping twigs was fun though. These are my favorites, plus a couple shots to see how far away s/he was, one emphasizing what a weird skinny creature they are from the front, and one flying past the dock for better direct comparison with the previous bird. Even from the opposite bank through the trees, that bird was DEFINITELY looking right at me a lot of the time - not difficult when my umbrella is both neon and reflective - and the black and white pattern over the eyes really gives it a smug condescending impression at times, LOL. I’m simultaneously happy with some of these shots and disappointed they didn’t measure up to my hopes; maybe I’ll have to paint the scene instead,