birds

The time for insects is fast coming to a close. You would never guess this considering how many big insects are out and making noise right now, but truth is this is their swan song. Some birds are leaving, and others are coming in as the changing seasons bring constant change to everything except the people.

This big guy is an elm sphinx found at the edge of Corrales. People do not often recognize all the different big moths we have. I have found sweetheart underwings before, but this moth is much bigger. This is not the same as those energetic "hummingbird moths" which could be one of about 10 different species. These are much more a much more sedate moth species because it takes work to fly when you are this big.

The insects buzzing in the evening are not these cicadas, but katydids, and crickets. The cicadas are done, and dying off steadily as autumn approaches. The larva returns back to an underground lifestyle and will not be seen again for several years, depending on species.

This moth is currently feasting in large numbers on the nectar of the Sacred Datura plants. Those plants put out big pale flowers each night and furl them again each morning, much to the annoyance of the local honey bees that try to sneak in, or get captured inside. In this picture you can (sort of) see the huge coiled tongue.

Moths are far tougher and more powerful than they would seem. I put this one in a petri dish when it  became disoriented by the white paint of a porch and became trapped. Putting the moth in a shallow dish prevents it beating itself to death trying to escape . You can see the fine dust from the wing scales that make this moth so hard to hold. This species is called the five spotted hawk moth, due to the spots down the side of the wide body. You can also find lined sphinx moths, and sweetheart underwings. Those species tend to have pink hind wings.

 

There are 11,000 species of grasshoppers. Making matters worse, many can change color and size depending on factors like heat, food and swarming. Right now, there are really big ones out in the pigweeds.

Migratory birds have come into the bosque. These solitary sandpipers are one of the few shore wading birds that will go into the small ditches to look for small creatures. They are on their way  to central America to spend the winter.

most other foraging birds like clear water and open vistas to look for predators. So, those are usually found on the river. The Canada geese and mallard ducks are arriving there now. The sandhill cranes are still a month away.

These spadefoot frogs are found underground near to puddles made in the desert. This one was under a large rock near to where it metamorphosed 2 months ago. They are differnt from the more common woodhouse toads because they don't have a white stripe running down the back. That big belly stores enough food and moisture to last it a few months through the winter.

 

There is a lot of available food in the ditches right now, especially if you are a carrion eater. All turtles are opportunity feeders to some extent, but the snapping turtles feed on any slow moving creature. This large one was following a carp upstream as the water levels continued to fall.

This type of spider is called a cellar spider. If you look closely, it appears to have a happy smiling face on the abdomen waving at the camera. Spiders like this move into houses as the outside evening temperatures continue to fall.

Fall foliage shows up the mantids better, they also slow down in the autumn sun and are much more visible. They feast on the fly swarms that humans and livestock tend to attract. This one was at a restaurant.

This cellar spider has caught a single large ant. There are many ant species in Corrales, some are tiny and others very large. The cities have fewer species, but the ones that survive, thrive in huge numbers. A diverse number of species seem to hold themselves in check much better as they exploit specialist niches.

The butterflies are becoming fewer, but honestly there did not seem to be a huge number of them this year. Normal variation in insect numbers is often ascribed by humans to everything from alien invasion  to deities in a classic mixup of correlation versus causation. However, there is certainly a legitimate worry that human activities are having horribly long lasting effects on all the pollinators.

The largest numbers of butterflies are often in the smallest species. I have seen the common weeds hosting huge numbers of tiny butterflies. I always wonder if people realize that butterfly gardens already exist in nature and are composed of much more than just milkweeds for the most famous species.

This flower (evening primrose) is one of the typical food plants for the white lined sphinx moth caterpillars. The flowers are also beginning to fade as the temperatures fall. There are definitely far fewer bees around right now and the wasps have all vanished.

Everything seems to be migrating right now, with devastating consequences for indigenous wildlife like this young toad. People in the future are going to wonder what the hell the fuss about cars was all about, considering all the damage they do to the environment, on-road, off-road, to pedestrians.....

Skunks are tough animals, but they have a hard time adapting their hard headed ways to road safety. Cars are not impressed by their stink and formidable teeth and claws.

Many animals die in the autumn. This fence lizard seems untouched, but the eyes are missing. A murder mystery.

This is less of a mystery. This pile of porcupine hair and quills was found on a dog path that often has porcupines on it due to the presence of fallen fruit in a nearby orchard. There was no carcass nearby, but I would guess an unleashed dog is likely at a vet visit wishing it had thought things through for a few seconds before pouncing on an unknown hairy animal.