Its raining... tree compounds

Still in lockdown I have been mulling over the overarching Siberian elms that grow from my neighbour's yard. The mystery was that I knew the tall trees were raining down some sort of "sap" onto my wife's car. She moved the car out from under the canopy. First off, I noticed the "sap" was water soluble, because a quick wipe of the windshield wipers removed it. This meant it wasn't sap, like the pine trees produce. I thought it might be from the sprinkler system, but a quick look around the car showed a concentration of spots more above than below and on all sides equally. Also there was no rain spot rings of mineral deposits.

I didn't give it much more thought until I started wondering why the numerous species of ants were so excited in the early evening to be moving around our concrete porch, they were really checking it out. There is no food out there, and they were more interested in the bare concrete than the gravel around it. The clincher was watching the flies slurping the residue off our gate that is under the trees.

So I had to research. I do not like plants, they are far too technical for me and have nothing to do with frogs. However, initial research in PubMed shows that elms trees in Albuquerque (Ulmus pumila) are raining down a veritable chemical factory. I thought it was just sugars. I knew about all the compounds that ward off foraging animals, but I had never heard of synamones a class of substances put out to attract predator insects; known as chemical ecology. The mystery of what the attractant here is persists, but maybe one day I'll have an answer...

fishing expedition

The insects are out for sure. The mosquitoes bite in the evening and the flies buzz in the afternoon. Of course, before they buzz, they have to warm up. Here is a specimen near a horse farm that is not quite ready for the day yet...

There are many small lizards out in the evenings now. They like hanging around septic tanks which are cool, moist and attract bugs... Most are either ground lizards that race or fence lizards, like this one that specialize in hiding.

Many nestlings die in the arduous process of learning to live. Here, a couple fell out during some high winds and were scavenged by next morning. I think they are robins. Luckily, there are many more hidden nests growing their precious cargoes out in the trees. In the coming months were will see many more helpless birds on the ground braving this thing we call life.

I have trouble believing this, but my phone app lists this little tyke as a "Barbarian grasshopper" I feel he should have a little helmet with horns, maybe some furs across the shoulders. Wait, it looks like he does have that part of the costume...

There were many mammals tracks in the dust beside the ditches, many birds too. Some are easy to identify, but most I don't bother. It is pretty startling how easier it is to read the story of the tracks in the early morning or late evening when the sun is shining across them and enhancing the shadows.

 
I just found out this spider's name is "ghost spider" pretty fancy. Look closely and you can see the midge that keep his attention long enough for me tom take the picture. There doesn't seem to be huge numbers of bugs out at night right now. Wondering if that has anything to do with the hummingbirds that have just moved into the area? While hey are known for being nectar drinkers, they also take a large number of small bugs.

I take MILLIONS of pictures of bullfrogs. I notice the eyes are brown in the morning and more green by afternoon. This male has a beautiful radar dish of an ear behind that golden eye. The evening is filled with the sounds of insects, like crickets and amphibians calling. But by morning most activity has ceased. I get pretty excited by nearby amphibians calls; Woodhouse toads, mostly but a few bullfrog. Next chance for rainfall is may 10, when we might have the monsoon start.

This is a carp and she is spawning. There is a collection of 1-3 males following her, ready to release milt on the eggs she periodically releases. Usually that happens when she gets hung up on some shallow mud, or water weed. Makes quite a splash too, these are powerful fish. Unfortunately for the anglers lining the banks, these fish are not interested in eating at the moment...

Bird migration

This is some sort of sunfish (maybe?) I leave the birds and fish to people who want to spend a lot more time on this stuff than I do... It was feeding in the same area as the small schools of recent arrivals, but had a clearly different feeding strategy, as well as being much easier to photograph...

The pocket gophers are easy to spot if you get up early and are able to hold still. This one is pushing earth out of his burrow, after he pulled a whole mustard plant into it. It looked just like a cartoon from Bugs Bunny.

This very bold turtle was one of the pack feeding on a bird. They are omnivores, and like vultures, probably need the bigger snapping turtles to get into the carcass before they will be able to chow down on the softer stuff. The younger turtles are more likely to be hunting insects, but the older ones are not the gentle plant eaters I was lead to believe. Of course, for a feeding frenzy, it was a very genteel and sedate affair...

My favorite species. He is showing off his prominent urostyle that supplies the scaffold for his huge jumping muscles. Apparently, frogs have only have one neck bone and a fused backbone. I have seen them moving their heads, and I have my doubts. Apparently swans have 27 neck vertebra, the most of any species ever living...

There is a lot of mysterious rippling in the water lately. I suspect there has been a release of fingerling catfish and the bass are feeding voraciously on them right now. These farmed catfish are skittish and very early feeders.  I haven't yet been able to see the barbels on the water surface to confirm species, however. The water is getting very murky right now.

There are a surprising number of wasp species around, this is one of the large sand wasps. Very difficult to get a picture of as they do not hold still. They are also less visible than the bright blue black wasps also rummaging around in the sand.

There is a bird migration moving north right now, they mostly fly late at night according to Birdcast and fly across either the plains of Texas, or up the chain of the Rockies. They bring us the hummingbirds, and often other birds that get lost, especially if there is stormy weather. Seabirds and occasionally pelicans, mostly.

This unfortunate young duck ended up as a feast for a group of large, assorted turtles. I spotted large red eared sliders, and a common snapping turtle. No idea what else was roiling around down in the murky depths. Many birds die is the bosque at this time. Some from depredations by hawks and owls, but also from avian flu and avian malaria. Most are just inexperienced, or tired from the long trip and parasites. Car strikes take a large toll also. The buzzards are the first to migrate, presumably to be ready for the feast that follows...

Spring seeds and breeds

It must be summer when these captive bred ladybugs appear. With the heat, most fly off the roses they were put on, and head off looking for cooler weather.

I am pretty proud of this picture, a longhorn borer beetle laying eggs on the wood. this is definitely egg laying season for a lot of birds and insects.

The warm night temperatures are bringing out the beetles, this clown is one of my favorites, a poor flier who always crashes into thigs and ends up upside down and has the weird name of carrot beetle.

There are locusts and dragonflies around, this one had orange legs and a bright blue throat, very startling colors.

there were a few crayfish wandering up the ditch and digging in the fine mud for soft bodied creatures. I hear they are predators on snail when young and become more vegetation as they get older, this big specimen only has one claw left, likely arguing over territory.

There are seeds a plenty right now along the ditches, some are elms, but mixed in are cottonwood fluffs and a few of these poplars

I do not have the equipment to take pictures of fish very well. In this picture there is a timid largemouth bass There was a crazy number of fishermen going up and down the banks today and this pair is probably one of the reasons why.

My favorite frogs were out and exhibiting a wide range of colors. The lack of small frogs can probably be explained by the appearance of bass...

This slider shell was surprisingly smooth and ornate. A common slider basking in the sun.

The damselflies are much more helpful at holding still than the bigger dragonfly, there is a lot of reds and blues as the pairs fly in to lay eggs in the shallow water. Maybe the mosquito fish will even leave a few for the next generation...

While most frogs rest in the shallows of the banks and are dark grey, there are plenty that float out in the middle of the ditch on the weed matting. They tend to make a more pale green snout with a prominent white lower lip.

 This is likely a Phoebe, but I thin the kingbirds should be coming in soon. The hummingbirds are very aggressive right now and are actively clearing the bosque of feathered neighbors. Nesting birds do not make good neighbors.

Water, water everywhere.

The dry weather continues. Jackets are done, the morning air is barely cold now. The dust flies up in the still, dry air along the dirt roads as I walk along.

A clear sign of warm weather is the small lizards that have suddenly appeared, feasting on the numerous spiders that have put out their webs. The spiders have become more visible since the insectivorous birds have all left suddenly. Usually, this is a sign of nesting season, birds do not tolerate other birds nearby during nesting season. This trickled down effect  is a a good example of the interconnectedness of things; the food web.

the bullfrogs have begun to put on weight finally. Where frogs are not found, like the fast moving water of the ditch, there are many cricket bodies, suggesting those are the insects they are eating. The crickets have begun singing in the early evening, but there are still not many calling right now.

dry conditions seem to bring the cottontails out during the day more often. They are pretty bold this week, especially with all the dogs being walked off leash...

this guy was a neat find. I thought the flash of movement was just another lizard, but this little guy was determined to pull this weed into his burrow. I would guess the strong lateral root system is causing him to need to come more to the surface to cut through the anchoring.

For some reason I just love this guy's name; identified as "Brother moth" the patterns on the many moths I see each morning range from drab to pretty startling. You have to look close to see a lot of the finery, however.

Walking along, I noticed some odd ripples in the water coming from inside the culvert pipe.  Watching them, I figured they were from something breathing fast. I also saw there was interference waves, so that meant more than one source. I knew only birds have that high metabolism, and only one bird makes surface waves in water. Looking in, I was gratified to see two ducks hiding from me. Deduction is a wonderful thing. When it works, your educated guess can feel like some sort of magic vision. Surface waves are a weird thing that amphibians and fish have learnt to minimize, or use to their advantage.  Prolonged splashing always attracts the wrong attention, the key is not to break the water's surface. Frogs are masters of camouflage, in part because when they move slow, the water never ripples. And when they move fast, every frog in 30 feet is "instant messaged".

Changing times

There are more flower varieties coming out now the danger of frost has receded. Different flowers use different colors to attract different insects. Pale white is better for night insects like moths. Bees seem to like purple, blue for flies. Hummingbirds like red but those flowers are usually oddly shaped. There are many species of wasp out. almost all of them are non stinging and are searching for good nesting sites. The notorious yellowjackets come out in the heat of summer for people's sugary drinks at picnics.

The variety of moths at the night light traps have improved with the higher night time temperatures. Inaturalist is having a BioBlitz, and they recommend moths as one of the easiest animals to attract and photograph with an average phone camera.

This fence lizard was cold enough that my child was able to walk up and touch it on the nose yesterday. He got bopped on the nose again today. I thought it was because the lizard was cold, but it might be this lizard is not strongly averse to people...A survival trait, or a hindrance?

This is a small red eared slider who's ancestor came from released pets, probably in the 80's during the teenager mutant ninja turtles phase.  Turtles use the sun to jump start their day by heating up.

We found a snapping turtle that was unusually lethargic, even for an ambush predator that eats once a week. After fishing it out using a lot of care, we found the head was damaged from what was likely a encounter with a passing car. It is likely to die, but it was still very alive, even though it was missing it's eyes. We called animal control who came and collected it to see if there might be a rehabber who would try and help it recover.

It was unusual today to hear so many engines and noise, there were lawnmovers and vehicles and airplanes and cellphones. Quite an assault on the senses after weeks of silence. There were many people out enjoying Earth day too. I think we as a species might be quick to alarm, but even quicker to forget...

Frog days of summer

The hot, dry temperatures in the mid rio grande valley were really evident while the MRGCD continues to grade the Lateral ditch banks. Is is surprising we don't see more forest fire damage around. Here, the dust is being dampened down by a pumper truck in preparation for the bulldozer to make another run, compacting the bank sides again. They have done a good job building the banks back up, pity the area now looks like a construction site.

In the scuzzy ditch, the bullfrogs are enjoying the  safety of all the leaves and debris in the muddy water. The range of frog sizes has increased, with many new young male frogs about. This tells me mating season is almost here. With this amount of space, it is rare for fights to break out, the big males mostly just push the young nimble interlopers out of their territories.

There was a small Coopers hawk hiding out in a tree and wouldn't let me get a clear picture. I thought it was acting strangely shy, maybe a nest? It was in an area where there are many chickens and rabbits, but that is not usual prey for these bird specialists. After I gave up trying, I saw in the next tree an oblivious dove enjoying the sun's rays, the perfect prey for Coopers. I guess I interrupted a meal in progress.

I am very excited about a woodhouse toad calling from a flooded field for the last few days. It is never there during the day, however.  Instead, I saw this barn swallow collecting beakfuls of mud to begin the long process of building a clay nest in a nearby barn.

Love is on the ground

Today there was mating taking place. Lizards and toads were warm enough.

The toad was calling from a flooded irrigation field. I have a feeling he might not be successful this night...

This pair of lizards were busy. I watched three of them chasing each other until I realized one was a female...

It is nice to see the new flowers after seeing nothing but mustard plants and crossflower for a month. Here is a globe mallow, found where the ground is moist. The rest of the bosque is pretty bone dry and the passing cars are throwing up clouds of fine dust when they drive past (PS, SLOW DOWN!). The dust does leave good tracks, including this puzzle:

Something about 40 lbs climbed out of the ditch and waddled across the trail into the woods next door where there is a regular trail through the grass. It likely slept in this straw hole on the opposite ditch bank. I suspect raccoon, maybe skunk, or possibly porcupine, maybe muskrat. The muddy prints were pretty generic. I am paying closer attention to the many holes on the sides of the bank now.

The nice thing about all these birds jostling for territory, is that they hold still on their perches while advertising their property. It makes them a heck of a lot easier to photograph. Still pretty poor results, but I'll get the hang of it... Last night we saw a ghostly night heron flying low through the ditch, and there were tracks yesterday in the dust along the banks, their big three toes are pretty distinctive, but I usually see them perched late at night in the trees.

life returns in Audio

The morning birds have changed their tune: literally. There is a lot more squabbling and territorial disputes and songs. I got to see two hummingbirds squabbling...they tend to be very territorial unless there is a feeder around. The ditches are full of

turtles

and frogs, the dragonflies are out and the lateral ditch is swarming with large fence lizards and

small whiptails which are fast, but easy to catch as they dislike the cold ditch water and 1/2 the time run towards the water's edge where they get stuck. There are many ways to catch lizards, but all need a little time to practise before you'll "get it".

The trees are developing a dark green color to the mature leaves and flocks of birds are rummaging around them looking for stuff. The soft dust at the ditch edge shows many tracks of a resident skunk, who seems to follow a very predictable night time patrol pattern.