Birds

 "That patience now doth seem a thing of which

He hath no need. He is by nature led

To peace so perfect that the young behold

With envy, what the Old Man hardly feels."            Coleridge

What something is, compared what a person might think it is can be so different as to be exactly opposite. Coleridge often considered this idea. His poetry is amazing if there is time to actually delve into the concepts. That is also a large part of what this nature blog is all about.

Our waterways teem with mammal life. Muskrats, nutria, otters, and beaver. Most of the time we don't get a chance to see these creatures, and even worse, is the circumstances when we do. This large female was dead on the side of the road in a curve of the road entering Corrales that is notorious for roadkill.

No one will ever know what happened, but I can say there was a beaver dam right nearby where an excavator was dredging. This female probably was forced away from the dam along the off shoot that goes under the road. She likely had kits, who hopefully were on the cusp of being weaned.

Skunks are another shy mammal that is often around Corrales after dark. Contrary to their reputation for being bold and standing their ground, I often see or hear them charging off into the darkness. They are more prevalent around buried drainage pipes, maybe the foraging is better there, but I suspect they just like the cover.

Coyotes continue to divide opinions, but they are another shy, retiring mammal that is seen far less often than most people expect. They are a prey species and know how to behave around humans. My personal opinion is that they are opporuninsts, but would much prefer to be left alone and away from humans if they can help it.

The crazy song dogs appear to try eating anything once, not unlike our own pet dogs, who are alternately defenseless prey and fierce hunters of wildlife. I suspect this in in a large part a reflection of the owners and often not connected in any way to objective facts. The fact is the coyotes can be studied by their scat, and the scat is that of an opportunistic omnivore, with a sweet tooth.

Rock squirrels thrive around humans, even when persecuted extensively. They clear out bird feeders often and love to explore new crops. This one was killed because it damaged chile crops. This is odd because chile is specifically evolved to deter mammal tast buds. However no animal, man included, will turn down trying to eat something that exists in abundance.

"Water, water, every where,

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, every where,

Nor any drop to drink.

The very deep did rot: O Christ!

That ever this should be!

Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs

Upon the slimy sea" Coleridge

Refugia is a term for where an ecosystem holds out against chance and change. Sometimes it is enough to protect a species. Here, the tracks of the heron as it hunts the trapped frogs in a pond tell the story of terror. The young frogs have transformed into frogs in a bid to escape the feeding as the puddle shrinks by darting into the tall grasses. Normally they overwinter and transform the following Spring. The cold could soon freeze the surface. However, they have survived as the snow and rains north of us raised the water table enough to return water to the ditch, for a while.

The frogs survive by feeding on small insects attracted to still water bodies. Other animals attracted to these include many species of marsh spiders who can dart across small patches of water in the sedge grasses. It is amazing how many species of creature is a dedicated predator. I know this as some sort of wolf spider, but can't seem to figure out the genus.

"But by my looks, and most impassioned words,

I roused the virtues that are dead in no man,
Even in the assassins' hearts! they made their terms,

And thanked me for redeeming them from murder."

There are many other assassins hiding in Corrales. This one is waiting for feeding honey bees. One of the true bugs, it has turned its piecing proboscis to hunting nectar seeking insects. This one is a wheelbug, called that because of the cog shaped hump on it's back, that sadly did not come out well defined in this picture.

"“The first great requisite is absolute sincerity. Falsehood and disguise are miseries and misery-makers.” Coleridge

This leaf footed bug is also a true bug. Also, has a proboscis designed for piercing. But it is a dedicated vegetarian that the wheel bug is probably mimicking to try and hunt more effectively.

"What if one reptile sting another reptile? Where is the crime? The goodly face of nature hath one disfeaturing stain the less upon it" Coleridge

Wireworm are the insect larvae of click beetles, of which there is about 1000 species in the US. The adults usually tunnel into crops while the "worms" feed on dead vegetation like the damp leaves from trees. Because they do no one any good, most people are content to see them removed, but their presence indicates a healthy biomass, plus, the more they are exterminated the more they develop resistance to all attacks.

The tree crickets are a group of insects with a complex series of behaviors. The young emerge in spring from holes drilled into tree bark before the winter and begin to feed on aphids, changing to plant material as they grow older.

"The butterfly the ancient Grecians made
The soul's fair emblem, and its only name-" Coleridge

It can be strange to see butterflies around Corrales in the winter. There are actually still flowers around, if you know where to look. The mistletoe flowers do not look like a typical flower, yet the giant purple hair-streak butterfly still is attracted to them as well as midges and other very small insects. Butterflies also like salty fluids and can also feed on tree exudates that often form on cottonwoods infected with fungal infections.

The famous monarch butterfly is not the only migrant in Corrales. This is a related butterfly known as the Queen butterfly Danaus gilippus. There is also a King, Soldier, and Viceroy butterfly, as well as the famous Monarch. Not only does the Queens feed on flowers that can contain poisonous alkaloids, but they also convert those compounds into danaidone, which is a sex pheromone.

The Orange sulphur Colias eurytheme is one of the butterflies that exist in huge numbers in the alfalfa fields of Corrales and Bosque Farms. It is pretty rare to see these insects with their wings open unless they are flying or dead. Almost all of their brilliance is shown in the UV spectrum.

The rustic sphinx moth is found around nightshade plants in the summer. The caterpillar is known as a hornworm, and the metamorphosis happens just under the soil. The caterpillar has to grow fast as there are many species of parasitoid wasp that seek to lay eggs within its body. This is a very large moth often seen in warm weather.

The tropical least skipper is one of the smallest butterflies. It likes to stay in damp, grassy areas and is quite a weak flier, found in Arizona and New Mexico and as far south as Nicaragua.

Birds are attracted to Corrales for the quiet and ability to continue nature behaviors such as roosting, calling and migrating. Many species are also been injured or electrocuted by the high voltage wires that run through our trees. Herons visit from time to time when the water levels are low enough to make the fishing easy. They appear to appreciate to appreciate a quiet area.

"All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair--

The bees are stirring--birds are on the wing--

And WINTER, slumbering in the open air,

Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!" Coleridge

 

In the winter, crows congregate in the river valley, maybe banding together in areas of warmth or good feeding on the nearby city dump, The often collect for a period near to nut trees such as walnuts or pecans found at the Bachici Open space.

New Mexico is a major pecan producer, and there are many other trees about the bosque. We also have walnuts and oaks thriving is some spots. This encourages many animal species, including humans to seek them out. The Mountains had a good pinon crop this year too.

There are many animal species that remain hidden from human sight, but luckily the sandhill cranes are not one of those animals. They can be easily attracted by food and a little space and privacy. Their loud calls are easy to follow, but you will not see any chick with them as their breeding grounds are far to the north as far as Russian.

With mild winters the feral turkeys are still around enjoying the food placed out for the sandhill cranes. The local flock appears to have grow at least 50% in the last year with great survivability compared to the last few years.

The high silt clay of the alluvial basin is cracking as the winter grasses begin to push up from below. They form crazy hexagonal cracks as they quickly begin to replace the damage of the constant mowing and heavy traffic placed on them.

Down by the river, the fine mud can crack into bizarre sigils, offering great nooks and crannies for seeds and small species of critters to hide in.

“What if you slept
And what if
In your sleep
You dreamed
And what if
In your dream
You went to heaven
And there plucked a strange and beautiful flower
And what if
When you awoke
You had that flower in your hand
Ah, what then?” Coleridge

This striking plant is one of the Ipomopsis species. Very striking, and also a tough little species found in many dirt types. Flowers and their pollinators form a complex inter relationship that can be very difficult to follow except in certain abstract ways. When complicated by being rare. or having unexpected behaviors, such as flowering in the winter things can be complicated.

The Chicorieae family can be one of the last to seed and are often fed on by many small birds as they work to find food once the insects have disappeared. Having the seeds float on the wind means that when birds visit they often help to spread the seeds further

Horsetails seem to be spreading in the Corrales area, tolerating both shade, sun and any soil. This plant is very hardy and spreads by spores and underground roots.

Trees are a keystone species for Corrales, their changes mark the graduation of the seasons and their erratic behavior both condemn and recharge large sections of the resident populations of humans. The natural animals and birds found here are unique and draw many people here to appreciate the ditch banks, river and miles of undeveloped space between Bernalillo and Albuquerque.

Many people are quite envious of those who are lucky enough to live in the leafy shade of the stately cottonwoods. 

    We, of course might see the flaws of trees a little too keenly, especially during periods of wet snow. Still, we do not need to forget that it is quite a luxury to be habitants of a place so full of natural charm and beauty. That is something Coleridge himself would appreciate.

Celebrate

 "La Nature est un temple où de vivants piliers
Laissent parfois sortir de confuses paroles;
L'homme y passe à travers des forêts de symboles
Qui l'observent avec des regards familiers." 

    Baudelaire

French poetry can seem perverse and confusing, but for those with perseverance the themes can really hit home. Charles Baudelaire was very contrary, but his themes of nature as a teacher can seem very native to the average Correleño who visits the outdoors even once in a while. Though few of us are in the Bosque during the night, or see many dead animals, those things are still a part of what shapes all of our experiences of Nature and this is what French poets like Baudelaire and other symbolists talk about.

Baudelaire published his book of poetry around 1860 and later was found guilty of offending public morals with his work. While he was acclaimed as a reputable art critic, he was always a tragic figure. In the same way, this porcupine is a beautiful specimen, and I was able to get some very good pictures of it. Sadly this was because it had been hit by a car and killed on the side of the road. It appeared to be holding a posy of bright brown/red Chinese pistache seeds.

 

 When ugliness and beauty co-exist, how are we to appreciate it? Also, there is a deeper story to tell. The bosque is always host to trees that don't stay in the garden boundaries or a garden catalogue. This is a beautiful beetle called Magacyllene robiniae. It is found with the black locust tree that usually exists east of the Mississippi but has been transplanted mostly in Albuquerque along the river. The wood is amazingly rot resistant and the tree never really dies, regenerating by suckers underground.

At the other end of the spectrum, here is a young southwestern fence lizard's tail poking out from a fissure in the fibrous bark of the Fremont Cottonwood. Young lizards overwinter in deep cracks and most should survive the cold until next spring. Unless they move, you will never know they are there. The widespread removal of mature cottonwood trees to prevent damage has an affect on all levels of the ecosystem.

"Who dare assign to art the sterile function of imitating nature?" Baudelaire.

The open, bright yellow and purple flowers of fall seem to have a very different function than those of spring or summer. These aster flowers are sturdy, and much larger. They seem to encourage insect meetings, much like a dance floor. Look closely and you can see a crab spider lying in ambush for a small fly. Both insect and arachnid might conceivably help pollinate this compound flower.

Many small birds are moving to what I call the starvation food sources. Seeds of the russian olive and others are edible but not highly nutritious. The birds can feed at bird feeders, or spend more time foraging naturally. The big advantage is the natural behavior encourages them to pair bond and also jostle and argue. Birds have complicated behavior that adapts them to do things like develop territories and migrate, a big part of this is learning when to flock and when to disperse. This is why ducks and pigeons can be domesticated, but sparrows and sand hill cranes cannot. Those birds just don't have the right instincts for crowding in stressful situations that the mallard and pigeon seem to be able to handle.

"Seeing you so, my beautiful dainty one, your feet in the mire and your moist eyes turned to the sky, as though to demand a king, one would say indeed: a young frog invoking the ideal. " Baudelaire

The story seems to be that there was once a thought in the 1930's that Amercians were ready for frogs legs. The biggest frogs were bullfrogs from America's South-eastern states. The idea never got past the franchise step as the great depression was ending, but the bullfrogs are still here. They can be found basically anywhere there is permanent water. Some specimens in the Gila do grow to quite impressive sizes because this benefits the biggest fish in a shrinking pond, so to speak.

Wasps are typical carnivore insects in that they feed on pollen and sugars but can also digest proteins, espcially for feeding to larva. They have adapted well to living near to human habitation but are incredibly adaptable.

Mosquitos have out manoevered all of humanities attempts at elimination. The irony is that the blood sucking is simply a means to collect proteins needed to produce egg cases. Their infection risks are likewise simply the side effect of certain parasites being able to invade the salivary glands of this insect as a means to get a free ride.

Yellow fever mosquitos like this one have come up with evolutions that allows them to also adapt to anthropomorphic ecosystem changes. They survive over the winter by breeding in buried pipes and inside houses. The larva is apparently capable of living in damp ground instead of standing water, opening new niche ecosystems for the species.

"Who would you be, I wonder, by those marks

If I had moths to friend as I have flowers?"    Robert Frost

It took a while, but I was able to narrow this down to Frederickia albidula. a pretty rare moth. Problem solving is only satisfying if one is able to solve, but moths are often tricky for beginners to figure out, in spite of the amazing resources now available online. I particularly recommend bugguide.net

"this carnival where many illustrious hearts,
Like butterflies, wander flamboyantly" Baudelaire

The smaller butterflies often have the small heart shape on the trailing edges of their wings. Its more prominent in the smaller skippers. This is the Dainty Sulphur, the english spelling is correct, only in this case. These butterflies can't survive the winter no are not adapted for migration, only flying a few inches above the ground. In the autumn, the outer wings are usually more dark green, apparently related to the caterpillers being exposed to less sunlight each day.

The number of generations produced in a season is called voltinism and is variable depending on length of day, temperature and other factors. This moth is still undetermined, but you can tell from the "fur" behind the head and the thick flight muscles that this a more cold hardy species of lepidoptera. 

"a silent horde of loathsome spiders

Comes to spin their webs in the depths of our brains,
All at once the bells leap with rage
And hurl a frightful roar at heaven" Baudelaire

Pretty much sums up most people's experiences of spiders. Here is a Pholcus phalangioides eating a elm seed bug. It is not the harvestman spider, commonly called daddy long legs. this spider prefers warm indoor cellars. often called cellar spiders. They don't travel much, creating a lot of genetic drift due to the founder effect between different population loci. Their locations depend on human habitation; they are a synanthrope. They are a good sign if you dont like spiders and they actively hunt other spider species inside dwellings and control their own numbers by cannibalism. Their bites are of absolutely no effect on humans, and the venom is weak even on insects.

 

 "He goes, transforming the paving stones into islands,

Quenching the thirst of every creature,
And everywhere coloring nature red." Baudelaire

If you look closely, you can see that there is three different colors of stems on the ever present pigweeds. Some are green, others yellow, and some are red. Like traffic lights these colors mean specific things. Not all weeds are growing the same way. The green ones are still growing and photsynthezing, still investing energy into their seeds. The yellow ones are dormant and shed their seeds, ready for the next year. The red ones are preparing to enter senescense and release anthrocyanins more likely betalains) which are red colored to protect cells from light, bacterial and other damage during periods of high free radical activity. Short version big picture concept; its a kind of sunscreen.

"
"While an odour of graves through the darkness spreads,
And on the swamp's margin, my timid foot treads

Upon slimy snails, and on unseen toads."    

Baudelaire

Dark skies are an amazing benefit of living rural. Rare and fleeting to most of us who can't camp every week-end. It is a thrill to walk in the bosque at dusk and see a huge woodhouse toad sitting on the trail in the silence. Even in daylight hours when the spooks are vanishing, there is always plenty of evidence of activites from the many footsteps in the dry dust, the numerous scat piles from coyotes, or the wet marks where the beaver have exited the ditches. 

"

“I love to watch the fine mist of the night come on,
The windows and the stars illumined, one by one," Baudelaire"

The wide open of the huge starry sky is sadly not as dark as it could be. While New Mexico has some of the best dark skies in the country, the view is by no means pristine. Still, there are miracles up there from the recent asteroid, to the pink glow of the northern lights. To say nothing of the ancient light of the twinkling stars themselves.

As Corrales gets ready to welcome the sandhill cranes back into the fields I appreciate the flocks of everything from ducks to the standard Canada geese. I know that they will one day be gone either in the Summer blaze or as the climate changes and sadly that could be in my lifetime. The term "future shock" was developed in the 1960's to describe change happeing to quickly to adapt to. Hopefully the bucolic charm of Corrales can survive the sudden changes and threats of modernity. The poet Baudelaire observed the darker side of Paris during a period of modernisation in the 1850's, what would he think about the changes brought to the wildlife of Corrales as it creaks under the strain of being loved to death?

Chills

"The best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”
― Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath lead a tumultuous life and wrote deeply moving poetry about personal feelings. She also had a lot to say about bees, often using them as a metaphor for attempting to control events and relationships round her. Her epitaph at her grave site in Yorkshire reads "Even amidst fierce flames the golden lotus can be planted" A little unsettling, given that both her and her estranged husband who wrote that, committed suicide in a gas oven. More unsettling is the fact that "golden lotus" is no actual plant, but is the name of a cultivar of a close relative of the banana....Facts often ruin good poetry, but can also bring out the shine.

 

 As the weather cools, different flowers make an appearance. As has often been commented by Plath, flowers are both ephemeral and hardy. The desert evening primrose is now seen, it sometimes pokes out along the clear ditch, but only where there is dense foliage.

There is a lot more going on in this picture that it would seem. Notice the pile of pollen that has fallen from the anthers. This was created by buzz pollination of the bumblebees. However, others have done a much better descriptive writing job than me, and can be found at this link.
 

 This is a very specifically southwestern aster, the desert chicory. It's specific Latin name is Pyrrhopappus rothrockii. The genus means flame colored tufts, and the species is named after Joseph Rothrock, a fascinating pioneer in the field of American forestry. Asters are a hardy flower often found in the fall. These flowers fill an important niche of fall nutrition for many insects.

These blister beetles are likely destroying the plant, rather than being effective pollinators. In the world of biology this is not actually a bad thing, as the plant has already finished with the pollen and flower structure. The beetle is interested in the pollen, found on male flowers and this system protects the female flowers somewhat to produce the seeds needed for the next generation.
  

 Many bees do look alike, but you should be able to notice that the bees have odd colored eyes and maybe that their antennae are quite long. Even entomologists are quite confused about what bees are in which of these groups. These bees tend to be quite solitary, but cluster around the flowers as the sources of pollen and nectar become scarce.

Asters are a very diverse group of flowers and use a large open face as a sort of dance floor, where generalist pollinators can meet and greet. The center is made up of a compound group of many smaller flowers which are easy to reach, as can be seen by the bulging pollen baskets on the legs of this bee. Bees have the genus name of "anthophila" which translate from Latin as "flower lover"

 

 there are many species of sunflower, most are not as large as the ones pictured in the popular imagination. They have a impressive ability to move so as to keep their face towards the sun. This property seems to have something to do with increasing the temperature of the flower face and speeding seed germination.

 

 In corrales, Bullfrogs are not actually native and seem to be an attempt at animal husbandry at the end of the great depression. Their tadpoles are able to overwinter, but need permanent water sources, which have become rarer in Corrales of late.

 

 While mosquitos are ubiquitous, they are mostly a tropical insect that feeds on plant sap and nectar. They need blood proteins to lay eggs and they need a still water source for their larvae.

 

 Mosquitos have adapted very well to human habitation and now can live year round, surviving the winters in underground culverts to avoid the freeing temperatures that once would have killed them off. Most species draw blood from sleeping birds. Ironically, most birds were nearly wiped out by human mosquito abatement programs involving DDT, which thinned bird eggs to the point where they were crushed by the parents resting on them.

 Cockroaches are another tropical insect that has done very well living close to humans. Desert cockroaches have begun to supplant the tropical species due to being able to tolerate a wider range of conditions. This one was actually killed by pest control on the UNM campus, but it very likely had already left behind many progeny, so the rules of biology makes its death of absolutely no import. While cockroaches provide no direct parental care, this is a huge advantage, as the young are able to fend for themselves as soon as they are born, irrespective of what happens to the mother.

 

The female praying mantis is often unfairly vilified (or lauded) for it's predatory approach to mating. This actually happens in few encounters. Mantis are raised by the thousands to be released in the spring and summer to protect delicate rose buds. They are not terribly good at that, but because of the practice, many have been able to spread throughout the US.

 

 The season for lizards are almost over, those most often seen are the youngsters who have to sun themselves for energy and digestion. They molt as they grow, this also has the effect of increasing their ability to blend into the mulch of a suburban garden.

 

 The turtles are also taking advantage of the decreasing length of daylight to sun themselves. The spiny soft shell here is at the UNM duck pond. They are found in Corrales, but are incredibility difficult to spot, due to their secretive nature and ability to stay submerge for long periods.

There are many insects that are important but don't seem to be. the spittlebug would be one of those. It has an ability to make a protective froth of foam to protect the young eggs. They also are called froghoppers, because of the way they sit with their legs tucked under them.

The pygmy blue butterfly seems to like the Russian Thistles and can be found on them in surprisingly large numbers right now. People do not realize that the Russian thistle has tiny flowers. Makes sense for  attracting small butterflies.

Sylvia Plath was noticeable as a literary figure because she had a new way of describing complex emotions. She showed people their inner lives in a new way. You wouldn't think this has much in common with a spider but think on this.

We all know spiders as web slinging blood sucking insects that catch flies. In fact they are none of those things. The spider above actually chases down and hunts ants without webs. The genus is Euryopsis and even though they have been described since the 1900's almost no one knows they exist. They hunt the much larger carpenter ants and even though they are related to comb footed spiders they act and look much more like the jumping spider species.

This beautiful insect is a spreadwing damselfly. They are the smaller cousins of the dragonflies, but are just as energetic and colorful, if a little smaller. This one is a female from the body color and paler eyes. They prefer mill ponds and still pools as resting places.

 

 This is a different species of damselfly, a springwater dancer. In the poem "Purdah" by Sylvia Plath she describes the dazzling beauty and sinister strength. She could have been describing the sleek lethality and beauty of this little hunter of bugs.

 Mushrooms are the fruiting body of a delicate filigree of white fibers. These fibers called mycelium gather together. and the fibers inside those fibers, called hyphae, change composition into what ends up as the cap. stem and gills of the mushroom. How the hyphael mass becomes mushroom tissue is complex. Each fungal cell represses and encourages certain genes that describe how to grow. This mushroom evokes the same shape as the classic "Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath. The themes of confusion and sense of identity would be familiar to the cells of this fungi, if they dwelt on such things.

The prospect of easy pickings encourages the local turkey flock to come out of hiding and forage for lazy insects, fall plant produce, and other gleanings. The fall is a time of distractions, from balloon traffic and sandhill cranes, most of us look for diversions and celebrations of deeds to divert us from the drudgery and strain of normal life. Sylvia Plath once found a baby bird and was able to distract herself from the constant stress of writing and her anxiety of inadequacy by nursing it back to health. Eventually her husband killed it by gas when they both realized they needed to move on. Apparently she wrote this was a "moving moment"

Cottonwoods are both the blessing and curse of living in Corrales. They are the shade and the beauty of this area but come with responsibilities and compromises. This picture shows the burn from shorting eletrical wires in high winds. The limbs of cottonwoods dry out and fall often. Luckily, healthy cottonwoods are quite wet and do not easily catch fire. But as our bosque dries in a prolonged drought, the acequias are empty for longer, and more people remove the forests that once covered the soils we are more at risk from our own actions than ever.

Sylvia Plath's last poem, unfinished, is "Edge" and is as raw as this pruned and burned limb after remediation by PNM. Corrales's identity is affected by the past, but also the future as our village moves into an era of tourism and hope for better times. We should be mindful of the possible wreckage, as we forget what makes this village a worthwhile habitation in the first place.