wet

Like many others in Corrales, I like to put out bird feeders, hummingbird feeders, bird baths, and water for the dogs. I am also well aware of the downsides of this non-selective source of wildlife attractant.

Still, a picture will usually help clarify an issue. This infrared picture shows the suitably demonic eyes of the ubiquitous trash panda that does such a good job of hiding from humans during the day. The time stamp on this trail cam shows the time as being around midnight. This guy has visited this birdbath around the same time over the last week. Based on my own past experiences, I can tell you raccoons are a lot bigger up close that you would think. Just as coyotes are far faster, and more agile than they should be. Some wildlife is best kept a few arm lengths away.

I had to move the bird seed feeder further away from the car after some rodent species began chewing on it's wires. This squirrel seems to still think free food is still in the area.

Even though I have no official garden, this rabbit is still able to find grass tufts to snack on. Many of these guys follow similiar paths during the night, and coyotes are usually also watching.

The recent rains mean many small flowers are out and trying to attract a few insects with some showy blooms. The best "weeds" are the first colonizers of bare fields. This one is a specialist of ditch sides. It is a pink lady.

Its nice to see a yellow flower that is not a dandelion. Of course, I have no idea what this one is, but I'm working on it. I found it in an area of horses and vineyards, so it must like disturbed soils. It is in the aster family, which is well represented in Corrales

This plant also has me stumped (not too hard with botany species.)

This virginia creeper is a specialist of shadowy undergrowth environments and is a fast tree climber. This young specimen will quickly establish itself.

Many of the insects in the bosque are swarming right now. Many are NOT mosquitos. Like this one, which is pretty ubiquitous in this area next to the ditch.

This one also looks like a mosquito, but is not. Notice the difference in the antennae compared to the earlier photo.

This one actually is a mosquito. you can see the prominent proboscis with the juice sucking apparatus at the front.

This giant crane-fly is often confused with a mammoth mosquito. I guess it must seem scary, but I quite like seeing them.

All of those insects are hoovered up by the barn swallows as they sweep over the waters. Some fly high, others, like this one, go for the insects that are laying eggs on the water surface. Swallows are devilishly difficult to photograph. This bird did about 20 passes along the ditch, I was taking tens of pictures, and this photo was the only one that even came close to coming out "right".

There are many other birds that prefer a more sedate style of hunting. This sandpiper hunts  along the water edge very far from any people.

This awesome hunter often perches on the edge of water and darts out to catch flies in mid air. It's flying skills are pretty impressive.

The prey is not completely defenseless. There are many wasp species, and they are out on the bosque doing various errands. Look closely and notice the "two" antennae are fused in this picture, these are just for show; this is a fly species pretending to be a critter with a stinger. The wings also look identical to those of a paper wasp (which it also isn't). All these species of hoverfly are wasp mimics.

The best evasion strategy is to not evade anything. The termite males take flight right after rains and are looking for these pale yellow females. There are swarms in the bosque now, as far as I can tell, most do not eat people's houses, they just want to lay eggs

There are many species laying eggs right now. Many have hatched, the first goslings are on the river with the adults. I think this egg hatched, bit it is sort of hard to tell. the wind and rain for the last day brought down many cottonwood branches, along with a few nests.

 

 This is a baby snapping turtle (a svelte common snapper, not the hulking alligator snapper). It has spikes on its shell like a pine cone. It has a long tail and large head.

This slider (you can barely see a "red ear") also has spikes of the rear of it's shell, but the shell's scales (scutes) are smooth and look like they have fingerprints (or Chinese script), which give this pond slider it's Latin name; scripta.

here is a lizard showing off why it's called a fence post lizard. There were many on just one site, which is pretty unusual for this solitary species.

Lizards are incredibly complex creatures, which is easier to appreciate in close up. These are the spiny lizards because the scales end in sharp points. There always seems to be a lot of thinking going on behind those small eyes.

cold

The amount is dead critters out there is disturbing. But I have noticed in past years that spring is often a time of high mortality as well as fecundity.

this bat was found dead at Bachici open space. It can be nice to relate the tiny dots fluttering over the canal at night with the complicated little face seen here.

There are many bats found in New Mexico. This state has half of all bat species found in the US. Many can be found in the cracks of the Alameda bridge in the summer. 

the bat is the only vertebrate other than birds to achieve true powered flight. The wing in the previous picture is very different than the feathered wing shown here, which is the lunch felt overs from a successful cooper hawk hunt.

With the increase in the amount of water in the ditches, some of the banks are collapsing, especially those that have burrowing animals undermining them, like the muskrats.

the clay topsoil has to be replaced and properly compacted down with a heavy weight. this bulldozer does this job efficiently.

These smaller dump trucks maneuver well in the tight spaces. I just wonder where the soil comes from, because it clearly has seeds and spores from other places in it. Thse are then introduced to a new area with uncertain results. The Mid Rio Grande conservancy district has a huge area to patrol and repair, so they need efficient work done quickly. A far cry from the old days when acequias were local controlled and mostly designed to keep local people employed in the community.

Spring is irrigation season, start of the monsoons, and these carp are spawning vigorously. There is not a lot to see above water, of course, but the commotion seen here shows the intensity and power of these large fish as the males jockey for position to fertilize the eggs as the female lays them in still water.

Not all fish are so assertive. That tiny grey line in the middle of the picture is a tiny fish fry in an ephemeral pool on the bosque beach. He will likely die as the water dries up, or he may survive to be the biggest (2 inch) predator in this puddle over the summer.

this beetle is breeding in large numbers on the hills north of the Corrales siphon. They seem to prefer the willow leaves for feeding and congregating. The beautiful colors likely just warm insect eaters that they are foul tasting.

I think this is a velvet ant. They are actually a wasp species that preys on ant larvae. They are protected from ant bites by a thick skeleton and many stiff hairs.

This moth feeds on silverleaf; a type of common desert plant. But I am still researching why they seem to be the same color as the beetles seen earlier.

Not all blossoms are pollinated by honey bees. This tiny bee is a solitary digger bee. Not as industrious, as each bee is an independent contractor, so to speak. No workers, queens,or hives for these little guys, they do it all themselves.

 

There are many types of wasps out right now. Most are harmless like this sand wasp. Like digger bees they also don't build large nests under the eaves of people's homes, just a multitude of tiny holes in the ground.

Some sort of insect is making burrows in the mud left by receding waters by the river. I have not yet figured out what insect is doing this, I suspect some sort of water strider.
 

The cottonwood seeds are trying to time their release to the sparse monsoon rains. The seeds float down and stick to anything wet, like a puddle. The seed separates from the fluff after a couple of days drifting and then settles in a shallow area with mud. After being soaked for a week or so they begin to release a tiny shoot downwards as the water dries up. the deeper soil found in the bosque now means most seeds cannot germinate.

The bosque is a rich area for many other trees. Feral apricot and apple trees flourish in the areas with heavy ground cover, a boon in the fall for many animal species.

This is the first of the mulberries beginning to form. We have white and black (red) varieties and these trees are thriving, in spite of the fact that they are illegal to plant (trees often fail to follow the rules)

These beautiful blooms smell nice as well. It is some species of locust tree. was likely introduced by gardeners wanting a pretty flower.

Many different plants are taking advantage of high water levels. This is a type of water fern just beginning to take over a pond on bosque beach.

Where high water has receded and left a sand bar, many species of trees begin colonization. This area was occupied before by saltwater tamarisk, and the tree is re sprouting from under ground roots left over from when the surface was scoured by floodwater.

I don't know flowers much, but I figured people like to see them. This tree might be a Mexican buckeye. It should be found further south of here, but you know, global warming. I could also be wrong.

This milkvetch species survive in poor soils by using bacteria in its roots to boost nitrogen levels. They have distinctive leaves arrange in long ladders.

I still don't know what plant this is. My app was not able to keep up with the demands I put on it daily.

Here are metallic colored mating beetles eating young willow saplings. The numbers involved are huge, but I think they disperse quickly and long before the numbers of willows are reduced in any meaningful way.

The turtles are taking advantage of the hot sun to sunbath before the cold front arrives later this week. Each one seems to have a preferred log. In the ditch, unlike the Carrie Tingly ponds, they do not seem to share logs with other turtles.

Many are poking just their snouts above the water level in a sort of spy hopping seen in whales. Maybe they are just moving into the area and are nervous of the new and unfamiliar environment.

There is a lot to be nervous of. This snake is one of many hundreds of animals that will die meeting a car tire head-on in Corrales alone this year. Please slow down and watch the road, especially after the rains and during the warm summer nights.

fire

 

 

The number of muskrat sightings is high. These mammals are loving the rich supply of cattails that have grown in the last 2 years. The water table is also super high and this has opened far more of scuzzy ditch real estate than is usually available.

The barn swallow population is going to get bigger as new arrivals move in. Their distinctive nests are usually found under the traffic bridges over the river. The can catch their insects on the wing, and because of their long wings, they almost never land on flat ground. Telephone wires and vertical sides of tall buildings are a godsend for these zany birds.

There are over 200 types of mosquito species in the US. about 12 give a bite that could transmit disease. Most people include crane flies in the mosquito category, but they are not even closely related, either genetically or in annoying behaviors. This mosquito could be a vexans species, which can transmit dog heart worm and is found after fields are flooded.

The fire danger is ridiculous high. While water is available locally in the aquifer, acequias, and the river, there is precious little in the air or plants. The fire department is patrolling the bosque right now. But with the fuel load this high, the moisture levels this low; with high winds, the reality is any fire now is likely to just explode and there is not much any fire department would be able to do about it. Prayer is the only contingency plan.

I have begun the yearly tradition of rescuing the younger lizards from the cold irrigation waters. The smarter, older lizards like this fence post lizard are all sporting brilliant blue throats and competing for territory. They perform "push-ups" and flash their size, feisty-ness, and colors at rivals. They usually don't run from people like the whip-tails because that risks them running into a rival lizard's territory. Probably explains all those glares they give the people taking their photos...

 

snakes are usually the last reptiles to make an appearance in the bosque. None of the best snakes will be found anywhere near large numbers of people, but we can see garter snakes, gopher snakes, coachwhips and hognoses. This imprint in the mud looks like a small gopher snake. The chin rested on the left side of the photo. The detail is enough to make out chin scales, but I am also just guessing.

  

This fast moving snake was likely a coachwhip. they are often crushed by car tires. Luckily for this one, it crossed the ditch after the car had passed.

This is a meadow hawk dragonfly. They look a lot like the smaller damselflies and antlions but hold their wings out at right angles to their bodies instead of folded down their abdomen. They are very active right now hunting gnats and mosquitos. Most insects are also mating in preparation of egg laying.

This nest is one of the multitudes that are being prepared right now for egg laying season, that will last until end of August. This one is right over the clear ditch, seems too exposed to me, but I am not a bird architect.

This large common snapping turtle is sporting her big tail. She is unusually exposed in the sun and is probably on the move to find a good place to dug a nest and put down the eggs. Most nests are destroyed by raccoons. In about two weeks, when the nights are darkest, most of these ladies should be very busy digging holes. Probably why she is resting up and sunbathing now.

 

The squirrels are up and about. In the bosque, there are no nuts. So what do they eat? Unfortunately, many of them take a break from robbing bird feeders to eat bird eggs and nestlings. These guys are not as vegetarian as kids books might suggest. Later in the fall, they get very feisty, but right now they seem to just be looking for food. This one is actually a ground squirrel (yup, that's a thing). It is in the tree because of the people and dog watching him. He genuinely seemed to be scared of heights, the ground squirrels tend to have sparse tails, not the huge coifs found on the tree squirrels, even thought they are related

Even thought the birds are hot blooded, they also regulate their temperatures by their behaviors like the cold lizards. This one could be sunning itself, but is more likely spreading the feathers open and cooling itself in the breeze. the thin beak says it is likely a phoebe, a very common bird.

This is a willow that was heavily cropped by an industrial mower. The hardy plant is bouncing back quickly, mostly because it has the place to itself, and also has no other choice, being sessile.

The divesirty of small yellow flowers is impressive. This one thrives in drier areas

These small flowers belong to a scorpionweed. The impressive name is related to a misguided myth that they help with the pain of scorpion stings. Wouldn't recommend it as a medical strategy. There are scorpions around up in thw dry side that might be a problem, but a heck of a lot fewer than what people fear... Most scorpions are mild mannered and not dangerous to anyone.

Many people don't notice the small isolated pools where the aquifer reaches the surface, this usually happens under the elms and olive trees in the scuzzy ditch around target road. These areas are hotspots of animal and plant diversity because of the water availability, safety, shelter and food. This house finch is looking for water, a few insects, and maybe some fruits (Russian olives are not actually related to olives). There is a good chance there should be a lot of nests in those dense branches.

No one is excited by seeing the common sparrow. A pity, because it took one lady; Rachel Carson to notice that the common birds were vanishing in the book "Silent Spring" She noticed the birds were no longer singing, only then did she notice the birds were no longer there. It took much longer before people could put together all the the puzzle pieces that lead to DDT toxicity. Now, the frogs are vanishing; not the tough, ubiquitous bullfrogs, but the other 7,000 species that live in the pristine corners of the world. Without permanent, undisturbed wetlands, the native leopard frogs no longer exist in this area.