Invasion

The depth of the details in nature found all around us are usually not appreciated, even by those who look. There can simply be too much to see and information overload is not something most of us need more of. But the lessons of our environment are always worth it to those who spend the time to see.

 

Most people who have experienced frogs from school tend to think they are all like iconic northern leopard frogs. In the bosque these have been eradicated by the more invasive bullfrogs that were released during farming experiments in the 1930's (still debated). One of the weird things about these frogs is that the life style of the large adults is very different than the lives of the juveniles of the same species. This juvenile can't hibernate yet and is still out in the colder weather, hunting. Unlike leopard frogs, bullfrogs have large brains and large fat body stores. Both species need oxygenated water to survive more than four days of freezing weather

 

 

 This Cooper's hawk is enjoying the morning sun. Actually, it is likely still out because it has not yet caught a bird napping in the bosque and is staying out late to study the behaviour of the feeding flocks traveling along the bosque routes. You can see the classic puffed chest of a sunbathing bird at rest.

 

This is actually the same bird as above, but from behind. This pose is very different, with hunch shoulders and a wary affect, it is looking much smaller. This time it is in hunting mode; sleek, inconspicuous and ready to pounce from the shadows.

The forb plants are growing rapidly, taking advantage of few insects and less sunlight competition as the leaves fall to grow quickly. This is a sow thistle. Plants like this are well adapted to land disturbed by construction because it is a therophyte. These plants spend most of their lives as seeds in the soil, waiting for favorable conditions. Then they burst out, make more seeds and quickly die away again. These plants typically become weed species, as almost no eradication strategy will be able to catch them in a vulnerable phase to wipe them out.

The east facing slopes of dry ditches are the first to warm in the mornings. The bright winter sunlight is actually pretty fierce and allows these forbs to quickly grow a thick taproot full of energetic sugars. Steep slopes prevent taller plants from getting a foothold as they crowd themselves out. These are docks many of these plants are polyploid; they carry multiple sets of the genome, making them very hardy and resistant to damage and environmental stresses. Humans has 23 chromosomes that are paired. Docks carry several hundred chromosomes that are "backed-up" ten times in each cell.

The unique New Mexico climate means plastics quickly degrade in the high UV from the constant dry sunlight. Dry wood, on the other hand, will last almost forever as fungal infections are pretty rare in treated wood and water damage is almost unheard of away from plumbing pipes. This is bad news for people who leave dog poop out on the trails because the feces will petrify before they "naturally breakdown". Those particles eventually pollute our river with fecal coliform as the plastic bags they are in break down within a week in the sun (if the skunks and coyotes don't open them first). The old wooden iconic structures can last a very long time in dry environments.

Native cottonwood trees do not have much resistance to fungal infections because they do not often encounter the problem outside of the bosque. The old, mature trees can get wet rot, and dry rot. Some arborists classify fungal infections into white and brown, depending on the look. These "heritage trees" often die when the fungus gets into the living cambium under the bark at the ground level and topples the tree over (see the large white/brown scar at base of this tree). Old cottonwoods are also famous for shedding branches, in a process called "Cladoptosis". It has killed some zoo animals in the past.

Heavy traffic and compacted soil often kills trees, which need air and water to reach their roots. This tree has shed some bark after a superficial fire scorched the surface. It might survive if "artist conk" doesn't invade. Most people have heard about the lack of viable young cottonwood trees in the bosque. (this link has a good discussion of the general principles)

Tumbleweed is one of a series of different plants that are designed to snap off easily at their base as the plants dries. The wind rolls the plants along and scatters seeds over a wide area.

 

Most plants do not travel around, and the next generation seedlings benefits from the increased moisture and shade provided by the previous year's growth in a type of nursery

The levee road is hard packed, dry and dusty. It would seem to be a very inhospitable location for seedlings, and is for most species. But that just means it is perfect growing space for any species that can "figure out" how to make it work. Enter the holly hock plant. By growing now, it will be perfectly positioned to thrive later in the year. The seeds likely have been sitting in the soil for some time, and the signals they need to grow are active. They use a process of "scarification" to survive and even thrive in ridiculously inhospitable environments (like around humans)

I have noticed that many creatures and their lives are affected greatly by holes and walls. This structure in the ground under the plants is built by some sort of wolf spider for protection/hunting. Webs are multipurpose but are lightweight, and waterproof. Their production can be fine tuned to be sticky, or not, stretchy or firm. Some forest species can make them into slingshots or food parcels. The classic web structures are just the tip of how spiders can use their filaments.

This hole shows an insect mass hatching from this fibrous mass, maybe a braconid wasp species, but I don't know. That hole specifically is where the caterpillar used to be that the small wasps hatched out of and pupated.

Unlike parasite wasps, the photogenic birds are returning. Our mature cottonwoods provide the perfect perching spots for migrating birds. Along with them the birders also visit to view them. These flickers are a common sight, but still gorgeous.

The crow flocks seem very comfortable bedding down in the thick trees and shrubs near the river. A group of crows is called a "murder"

The thin whiote line along the edge of this wings describes it as a white winged dove. These common birds have definitely figured out how to live in suburbia by accepting bird feeders supplemented with feed foraging. Many birds actually suffer from human bird feeders, but not this species (or the raptors that rely on them)

It was interesting to help out at the Tingley ponds pollinator garden with some new plantings. The seedlings are raised in giant commercial greenhouses and the crowded, cramped environments often mean they can raise more weeds than pollinator plants. The moist environments from heavy watering also meant some seed pots have these snails. I'm still not sure, but these two I found in the soil are actually Physella acuta. A common aquatic snail often found in plants (even thought they don't eat them)

While most people want all "weeds" removed I have seen the pygmy blue butterflies like this one rely on the stands of Russian thistles (note the spikes on the plant) to thrive in large numbers. There are still many hardy aster species around that provide nectar and pollen. Unfortunately, the same plants also help large grasshoppers survive, which people look on negatively. The tough grasshoppers and the delicate butterflies are connected, and dependent on humans to make the right management choices for them.

 

 

 

 

 

Absent

 The bosque is remaining remarkably free of animals right now, but that's okay. Everything leaves a story from its passage through life. So it goes, as Vonnegut would say.

One of the bad things about the internet is that it can be hard to find your niche. There are a million pictures of sand hill cranes out in the digi-verse and most are spectacular. But THIS picture is mine, and documents the first sighting by me of cranes in our neighborhood, so it is the best for that purpose. The cranes are attracted by the locale...but also by someone who is feeding them, too. I suspect their numbers are not going to be great this year, but that is also fine. The acres of Bosque del Apache are managed almost exclusively for the use of these big birds and that is where you should go to see the jaw dropping numbers attracted by a perfect habitat.

The colder seasons seem less inviting, but I am noticing that many new plants are becoming more noticeable as all those greens fade to oranges, browns and greys. This plant is very prominent on open areas along the pathways and is identified as ragweed

I think this is honeysuckle, which is a very unusual plant. The delicate blossoms are still on the plant, and they seem to perk right up when cuttings are brought into the house...

Humans have long had a connection with soil. We really don't in these times, but it is still fascinating to feel it beneath our feet. Usually it is hard packed and dry, but sometimes you can get a sense of the potential of this interaction of sand, clay, humus, air and water we call dirt when you walk those areas less trod. This ditch has been dry for a while, but the area just below the dry surface is still wet, and this allows lubricity for the grains of sand and clay to slide when they are walked on. Basically, you sink a little.

This picture is trying to show the imprint where a carp died and left scales and bones in a messy jumble. This is the first stages of the aeons long process of fossil creation. If this skeleton is then covered by a fine silt to preserve detail, one day a future blogger might find a fish fossil in a badlands formation. Those degraded proteins form nitrates after being acted on by bacteria and return to the plants.

 

The scales of the carp are impressively large and distinct. The skulls of catfish and carp are also large and impressive, and scattered all over the mud under the reed patches where the last of the water finally disappeared. Only the carp have scales, the catfish are coated in a smooth skin that helps them breath in stagnant waters.

 

 The sides of  a dry ditch are not static. Here there is a hole that likely has been used by several species over a short period of time. Toads, mice, gophers and turtles all use tunnels and enlarge them to meet their needs. In the winters many birds will use them as well. Humans are totally oblivious to the network of interactions that are going on less than a few feet under their....uh, feet.

This hole is a snapping turtle nest that was dug out by a raccoon sometime during the late summer. The white bits on the lower right of the picture are the leathery shell fragments that were left behind.

The salt crystals left by the alkaline waters of the clear ditch form roughly hexagonal cracks as they lose water. Crickets survive in these moist micro-climates and are often heard late into the evening even on pretty chilly nights.

The turtles are often the last species to abandon a ditch de to lack of water. Often, they are predating on the stranded fish. Like most animals, they eat what is available. Distinctions between herbivores and carnivores are lessons best left behind in the high school classroom. Their distinctive trails show in the stream beds and is where the water will flow as the levels rise again, which they have already begun to do, (slowly).

This plant bug was just a random picture I took for general interest. I had not expected the little heart shape on the middle of the back. The magnified world of bugs is endlessly fascinating and even with the cold weather, is showing no signs of stopping.

The jumping spiders are very active right now outdoors. They come in many shapes and sizes and are incredibly fun to watch. Their eyes are highly evolved for distance and jumping so they seem to have very anthropomorphic attributes, like startling reflexes, aggression, and examining new situations. The usual disclaimer; totally harmless to humans, obviously.

 

This bug is a little notorious. A wheel bug is actually capable of inflicting a painful bite, unlike most of the insect panicking that is going out there in our internet world. This is one of the largest of the "true bugs" and is apparently domesticated by organic farmers.

The hour before the sunrise is an amazing time to be outdoors in the fall. Most people are hurrying to their cars for the morning commute, but if you have the proclivity, the dawn silence (no engine roars) is full of the sounds of large birds preparing for their travels, too.

Large flocks of crow roost in the trees of the bosque. They are found in flocks anywhere they can roost in large numbers above the ground. There are also ravens, but they are very different in habits and temperament. Grackles stay closer to human habitation, but starlings prefer trees in open fields.

 

 Here is a small flock of Canadian geese in their classic "V" flight patterns used to travel over long distances. Large birds do not like to take off from confined spaces like forests and are more often found on lawns, golf courses, and agricultural fields.

This plant is quite the conundrum to me. It has at least a half dozen common names and even two official ones. It is a native....just not of here, maybe. Apparently, internet sources indicate it was released by the USDA as a cultivar from seedlings collected in the Jemez district. I would love to know more about this... shrub, (maybe tree) from an expert (who isn't a gardener, too confusing). Most people here know it as the New Mexico olive. Most sources rate it highly as an animal food source, but the specific details and sources are amazingly sparse. People can't even agree if it's edible. Weird for such a common plant in the bosque, but at least it seems to have a very positive media relations image. This likely has something to do with the NM Forestry grants provided for bosque management. They maintain lists of invasive species, which is soon going to sound pretty archaic. I suspect you do not put a species on a wanted poster if you helped create it...

Heraclitus

 The Greek philosophers always argued about whether the world is unchanging and inviolable, or constantly changing and different. This dichotomy continues down to the present day. Phenology, the study of changes within a cycle of change straddles this divide.

For example. This IS a butterfly, and also a common chequered skipper. However, it has not always been a butterfly, and was placed in a separate superfamily (this classification is not yet widely accepted). What something IS, will always be a philosophical question. But the world can twist itself into knots over tautology as well. How does it make sense that we cannot define a butterfly when everyone knows what one looks like?

 

Here is another butterfly genus, Colias. It is called a clouded yellow EXCEPT outside the US, where it is called sulphur (generically). The genus often is lumped in with near relatives. Basically, humans do not seem to care to look that much at these cold tolerant species when it does not affect our activities that much.

This is a moth, very definitely. The structures of the antennae are definite for the moth genus. We care a lot about this [particular species because it is a pest. We spend money studying pests.  Meet the evergreen bagworm (Thyridopterx ephemeraformis), a male. The genus name means transparent wing, which is unusual for a moth.

 

Grasshoppers spend the cold mornings sitting near the top of tall stands of kochia and tumbleweed. They can become mobile and move into the short, young grass shoots of meadows during the hottest part of the day. Turkeys and cranes seem to seek them out when they are slow and vulnerable in the early mornings.

 

While blanket flowers are native to the west, it is a little unusual to see inside the bosque. This one is likely an escaped cultivar from a garden. The family of asters in general are pretty remarkable. I often watch a purple aster open and close its petals in response to the sunlight during the day. These flowers are often the only high energy sugar and pollen boost for insects such as flies and beetles who need just a little extra boost during the cold months. When the plant is in a sunny, warm spot they often have many insects still buzzing around them during the winter.

 

This flower is also an aster. But it is also a sunflower flower. I think it is a nodding beggar tick. One flower with a multitude of names. This one flower is also a multitude of flowers working together called a capitulum. Some plants, like Christmas pointsettas, mimic a flower structure by turning some leaves red. They are likely how plants first began to attract pollinators. Specialized structures called flowers developed about 130 million years ago. Humans like to breed and control flower development and some of the history of this is jaw dropping. A good book on this subject is "the botany of desire"

Creating order out of chaos is a uniquely human experience. It is always worth remembering that that chaos is never truly defeated though. Watching nature at work helps to remind us that, even though we can manipulate the very molecules that create life, and create flowers that can't even reproduce (orchids), nature itself is always inscrutable.

Along with pumpkins, another sign of autumn is the appearance of the buffalo gourd. The Latin name translates as "stinky gourd". The reason they are visible is not only that other vegetation has been died due to autumn, but mostly that the covering vegetation has been mowed away by the MRGCD ditch clearing process. The migratory bird nesting season (March-August) controls when much of the forest management can happen. This plant is very charismatic, with a long line of small pumpkins on a string and a deep root that looks like human legs. The leaves emit a pungeant odor when brushed. The domestic gourds like pumpkin and squash do not produce the bitter substances that the plants uses to limit grazing activity by rodents and coyote.

 

Plants do not move. A term for this is that they are "sessile". They make up for this by adapting to the environment instead of migration like animals do. Now that the drainage ditches are dry, the bare soil is growing into a wetlands meadow. This may or may not become permanent depending on...humans basically. If the soil continues to build up, this ditch will fill in just like a beaver dam.

 

 The lack of standing water means that the soil heats and cools at a much faster rate than a pond. But not as much as a dry, dusty soil. The colder temperatures probably is what killed this crayfish.

 

This Chinese mystery snail needs water to breathe, so it suffocated when the water disappeared. This species is widely eaten in China and Thailand and has been established in the US since 1914.

There is a wide variety of "weeds" growing along the edges of the ditch. While we treat them all the same, these plants are organized into different ecological niches. The brown and red stems here are spiky and brittle. They belong to the Russian thistle. the thistle breaks apart easily and scatters seeds over a wide area. The green plant in the middle is a pigweed. It is still growing in profusion and is adapted to a longer growing season. It uses the extra growing time to make many more seeds. Both are tumbleweeds, which describes a process, rather than a specific species. 

Humans are very weird about naming plants. Kochia is an tough agricultural pest, but summer cypress is a cultivated plant in the Southeast US. Mexican fire weed is a different ornamental plant in gardens of the Southwest. Same plant. Plants are endlessly adaptable.

The early nights and colder mornings are getting crisp as the first frosts begin. There is practically no  free moisture, so frosts can be an important form of water for plant organisms. Here, the "hunter's moon" behind high clouds is looking very Halloween like. The haze is created by ice and water particles suspended in the clear air.

This great horned owl is a year round resident of the bosque. It is preying on the first of the ducks that are coming into the area. It is one of the few birds with the power to hunt the abundant skunks that are also around eating apples and compost. The bright moon means that the prey is more likely to see the large birds, so this one is resting and relaxed while it waits for something interesting to happen tonight.

The red tailed hawks are coming into the bosque as the rabbits retreat from the more open areas following the growing grasses. This is the first one I have seen and it is pretty shy, an indication that it hasn't established a territory yet.

This is a black phoebe, a common visitor to the bosque and pretty noticeable in the winter due to it's "in-your-face" attitude to life. They usually hunt insects by darting from a perch and back. They do not tolerate other birds nearby and the constant challenges and posturing must be exhausting.

A slower, but no less intense battle is happening with the mallards that are arriving. A female will rest and feed on duckweed in an area and is almost always closely followed by a male who is hoping to breed, but is mostly keeping other male ducks away as a service to the female. Mallards are pretty tolerant of humans when in a small group like this. As the flocks get bigger, there is a lot more noise as competition for attention heats up. These gluttons eat a lot, and their presence can be inferred wherever there is muddy water and no duck weed on the surface. They are a dabbling duck species feeding at the water surface.

The wood ducks are much more likely to fly away if humans are in the area. They have a high pitched squeaky alarm call that many animals listen for as an early alarm. These ducks are small and fast and often hide under the Russian olive trees to avoid the attentions of hawks. Ducks are vulnerable only if they leave the thickets because hawks are not fans of tight, wet spaces where they cannot move freely.

This is a siskin on a perch wire. The chest feathers are puffed out to allow the morning sun to warm its skin. The small songbirds really do seem to enjoy the first rays, and bask quickly (∼ 20 minutes) before they get down to the business of the day.

 

According to several sources (Hawks Aloft) , Corrales bosque hosts some of the highest concentrations of Coppers hawks ever recorded. This bird shows the dark, red eye of a smaller and older male. You can also see the thin, wide yellow feet this bird uses to clutch and constrict its bird prey. The feet can spread wide to catch a bird in flight like a net, but it cannot kill with a powerful dagger claw like the bigger mammal hunting raptors. Notice the big bulge in the lower chest that houses the huge flight muscles needed to sprint after the fast moving doves.

The bosque is a landmark for may birds as they travel about the state. Here the cranes are migrating between their nightly roosts of the river and their feeding grounds (right now Los Poblanos fields) during the day. The crows are also traveling along the river; from the willows by the river at night to the landfill dumps during the day. Both of these flocks are increasing rapidly in size each day.

Often mistaken for cranes, this heron is watching over the last few puddles for the medium sized fish it favors. The classic perching style and long pale beak are very unlike the terrestrial habits of the social cranes.

Perching snags are very important to the larger birds, but are also a danger to humans below due to gravity. We go to great lengths to fight gravity, as seen in this photo of an tree removal. I have always found it odd how....thorough... humans are when it comes to destroying tree habitat. I guess when you have this much expensive iron and petroleum involved you have to be fast and focused. I have never seen anyone other than a couple of kids actually climbing a tree. Arborists and lumberjacks are not found in this part of the state it seems. Low value lumber from cottonwoods do not seem to encourage this sort of industry.

Bullfrogs are an endlessly adaptable species. They need permanent water to survive in an area, but this one shows the classic muddy head that shows it has been burrowing into the soft bank of Liam's pond to find shelter until the fierce sun (after 10am most days) can provide the warmth needed to move and digest its food.

The water also provides safety for the young frogs. They are capable of impressive, explosive speed in their jump back to the safe water depths. Here, this young frog is surviving in a ditch puddle. It is not likely to survive unless it can feed on a lot of insects over a mild winter.

It seems strange to see reptiles out during the day, but there is a lot of migration going on right now. The young bull snakes are traveling and finding new hibernaculum until Spring. They can be very visible to humans during this period. Unfortunately, most are found dead in the road when hit by cars.

The lifestyle of a large bull snake is very different, as they will have an established territory and still actively hunt for rodents like mice and squirrels. Here is a shed from a large (five foot) bull snake that was still damp. It used the tunnel sides to scrape off the skin in one single, large piece. These non-venomous constrictors get this big because one of their main prey items is any snake smaller than itself. Who knows what battles go on under the soil?

This tunnel in the grass was inhabited by a grey squirrel that seems far too large to fit, but I watched it slide inside easily enough. Most of it was a giant bushy tail.

Ground squirrels have adapted very well to humans and their strange ways. They like large old cottonwoods, but only if they are in wide open spaces near to bird feeders. This one knows it has been spotted and is trying to look like tree bark. It does blend in pretty well. When the raptors are around the squirrels spend much more time close to solid objects. In the summer when there is less of an aerial threat they are more often out on open perches looking out for cats and other ground predators while advertising their squirrel fabulous-ness to other glam rock star squirrels.