Shy

 For better or for worse, humans learn by listening to stories. Stories can teach, or they can just entertain. Usually, the storyteller has a theme for the story, and it was usually signposted. Now that the internet has replaced the storytellers, people can pick and choose their own stories. The signposts just seem to have disappeared in a jumbled mess of contradictions. 

But story telling is still here. Telling stories through pictures has a lot of history behind it and meanings can still be applied to the chaos that we see.

There are many, many animals in the Bosque. Most people, even those who spend a lot of time there do not see a fraction of what is possible. Despite years of looking, this is the first picture I have gotten of a Beaver. The far more visible muskrat is smaller and has a thin tail. While beavers are famous as engineers and keystones in their ecosystem, they can often do things wrong. This youngster is trying to build a lodge, but has chosen a section of the ditch that is being dredged right now.

The stories about coyotes range from sinister, to absurd. Still, it takes a while for people to feel comfortable around these wild animals. Humans like cages more than we might care to admit.

Cattails are multiplying rapidly along the interior drain and clear ditch since being introduced during a ditch bank repair several years ago. Not only do they catch sediment and choke out other vegetation, they capture nutrients, too. This alters the plant ecology that can grow nearby, encouraging weedy species that grow fast, like kochia.

Plants quickly spread and need to be mowed to control their growth. This slows down the invasive weeds, but cannot be a permanent solution. Here, the growth is removed simply to allow continued access along the ditch... for further removal.

Cattail roots form underground tubers and over time, they raise the soil level. Without management, shallow wetlands become meadows. Obviously this is bad if the goal is to drain water into the Rio Grande. That sediment has to be physically removed periodically. This is a massive undertaking that is funded only to the most basic level.

One reason the funding is meager is that the process leaves the ecosystem strip-mined, and muddy. The piles of vegetation in the foreground has to be removed. The pile of soil in the background is stored in the bosque and sold to the landfills in Rio Rancho as cover. There are often invasive plant seeds mixed into it. While an efficient solution, lack of public input very likely leads to conflicts between competing interests.

Birds and humans have a complex relationship. This is a feral domestic duck hybrid. Part of a small flock that lives year around at Alameda. It is much heavier than the wild mallard, but also has the partial green hood.

This wild mallard is an ancestor of domestic ducks. They have many traits that allowed early humans to domesticate them. Interestingly, it is not hard to "speak" mallard and many people can calm or aggravate a flock just though quacking. A weird example of communication with nature.

Other visitors in the ditch are much more wild and elusive. The grey heron wants nothing to do with humans, their dogs, or their smelly machines. The only reason this one has not flown away is that it is in a particularly good fishing spot where the ditch work has exposed many confused fish.

Sandhill cranes also do not like peoples activities much either. But they can be enticed to stay in Corrales if they have large, open fields, and occasional handfuls of corn. They clearly prefer the colder weather and hot days, they stay in the shade of trees. They seem very fond of well kept apple orchards.

 

 There are actually many insects still around. The grasshoppers are disappearing quickly, but are cold in the mornings and easily collected by a bird with a sharp eye.

Spiders do well in the colder weather until the frosts begin. This is a false crab spider. The genus is rather obscure and is named after the Greek god of death. A rather dramatic name for a harmless little spider.

Leaves are a much more complicated thing that we would think. They are only green because of the pigment that does the alchemy of turning sunlight and CO2 into sugars and oxygen. There is no scientific consensus as to why anthocyanins are actively produced in plants in the fall. This chemical is an alternative means of producing energy when the chlorophyll is removed. It is also a potent antioxidant and antimicrobial product. This chemical glows in UV light, is able to be turned into solar cells, and can be used as a pH indicator because it changes color from red to yellow then blue as the pH changes.

 

 The effect is seen in many plants and can actually come in many colors. The plants seem to do this more in areas of shade, and it must serve some sort of purpose. Other than being pretty, of course. Anthocyanins have been credited with a ridiculous number of human health properties, but actual proof has remained elusive.

Most plants in the bosque are common, either native or invasive. But there are many, especially on the south side near Alameda road, that are escaped from gardens, the so-called "volunteers". I think this is a Chinese pistache tree. They are planted in gardens because of their color, hardiness and the speed at which they grow.

Nature always provides the best colors. The high levels of dust from wind in the atmosphere this morning combined with the thick clouds in early sun's rays to produce a beautiful sunrise. On clear days the unfiltered rising sun causes a thick golden yellow, but the blues, pinks, reds and oranges are equally impressive on cloudy, unsettled days.

Birds need quite a bit of energy to molt their feathers. Crows try to molt symmetrically in the spring. The pigment melanin is used to structurally strengthen feathers, not to protect the protein from the sun like in humans. The large number of crows means that the feather shedding they undergo is more noticeable. The subtle blue color is actually a trick of the light from the structure of the miniature hooks that keeps the feather together.

This feather is a bit harder to identify, but I think it is from a northern mockingbird. This bird is featured in many stories, as well as being the state bird of five different states.

Engines can do amazing things for us. Keeping the growth of things under control is one of the most important of those things in the Corrales area. Petroleum distillates are directly responsible for many of the features of rural life, such as square fields. Not even the most outlandish fable would be able to weave these odd threads into a believable story. This why the truth will always be stranger than fiction, it's too unbelievable.

The interactions between the dry fields and the wet ditches is closely choreographed. Machines allow us to do a lot of work with the minimum of people. While great, there seems to be a downside, because the majority of people living in Corrales are less involved in maintaining the infrastructure that is critical to us all. The lack of support becomes more critical as the years go by and urbanization creeps ever closer.

The recent high winds bring attention to the relationship people have with their trees. Both beautiful and a safety hazard, there is a lot of debate about when humans should be involved in tree care. Some people spend $8,000 to remove dangerous tree limbs, only to find their driveway blocked after a windy night. Arborists who provide great advice on individual urban trees are often more erratic when faced with an actual forest ecosystem. Conversely, forest management strategies that work for an ecosystem will not help an individual decide when tree removal or pruning is necessary. (Basically, if you have to ask, the answer is yes).

Dead and down wood is a particular problem for the Corrales Preserve. This is why some novel solutions have just started to be looked at. Being able to involve a whole community might just have a better chance than large steel machines with limited time and budgets. Removing large log loads is hard to do and expensive when the wood is not near to a road and there is no easy way to dispose of it cheaply. This problem may require gathering a diverse community of people, and maybe a story.

Fur

Many people take rainbows for granted, but there is a lot of science that goes into making that perfect band of colors across the sky. The secrets of rainbows are well understood, but taking the time to observe is an underappreciated skill.

 

 There is a lot of science involved in rainbows, but most people have the basics; A rainbow happens when there is sun and rain together. There is also magic in the nuances (ever heard of moon rainbows? they exist). Also, the appearance of rainbows in New Mexico is a special wonder.

 

New Mexico loves to have weather that is unpredictable. The wet October is causing a flush of new growth of cool weather plants. Most of these should be grasses, but there is always surprises. Modern human land use puts a lot of pressure on seedlings that prefer disturbed soil. The effects of the autum weather will be noticed for at least the next 4-5 years as these plants grow.

Many mammals like this Botta's pocket gopher are getting stocked up for the winter. This one is likely trying to dry out the surface tunnels they use to forage for roots and search for other gophers. A good growth of roots now will help them do well through the winter.

 

 This crow is at a roost waiting for the drizzle to end. This time of year, the crows are near to human habitation because that's where the food and warmth is. (french fries and heating units at the malls)

This is a more unusual bird, a sharp shinned hawk hunting small birds close to the ground. It did not appreciate this photographer advertising it's hiding space. It was stalking silently along the ditches and then popping up into the low tree branches from below, catching the vigilant sparrows by surprise.

Red shafted flickers are loud, bossy birds. They are plentiful right now as well. Still, when seen up close they are also incredibly beautiful. The black throat is called a gorget and contrasts well with the red patches on the cheeks. They have a white patch on their back that is displayed when they fly away.

Many birds are noisy, but the belted kingfisher is one of the champions of fussiness. They use a few favored perches to flit along the ditches screeching out warning to other birds and sounding just like a tiny machine gun. When not moving, they blend in surprisingly well with the tree branches, but they seldom sit still for long.

The numbers of wood ducks is slowly increasing in the clear ditch. Right now they are in small groups, bu they will pair off soon. The amazing colors of the males distracts predators from the somber females. But they are also in their breeding plumage right now, agitating their rival suitors.

Turkey tracks and sandhill crane tracks are very similar, except turkeys are never solitary, and their tracks are usually "bulbous" These tracks look like sandhill crane, which I have seen flying over, but not yet in any fields this year. I should have pictures any day now.

The weather is still warm enough to see many turtles. This common snapping turtle seems very much at ease swimming down the ditch at the end of Via Oreana at the Upper Corrales Riverside drain.

Cattails can be a nuisance because they clog up the drains in Corrales with sediment. However, they provide much needed habitat to many animals. This is a Giant wetlands Wolf spider that was flushed out by cattail removal carried out with Albuquerque Open Space. This one was impressively large, with a body length of a finger joint. Many people do not know that wetlands have many spiders adapted to life on the water.

 

 The grass lynx spider is another hunting spider that does not use webs, thisspecies has an unusual arrangement of eyes on the head and dense, bristled legs to help capture insects. Many spiders are coming out in the evenings now, both hunting and also being hunted by birds and ants.

Birds are suffering as they complete their migrations. Not only do birds suffer from window strikes, loss of habitat and disorientation from artificial lights, but they periodically suffer avian flu pandemics that causes populations to crash. Even thought the flu season for birds is just beginning, there are many wild birds acting oddly as they try to feed while having trouble with co-ordination. This coyote has noticed a bird on a fence behaving strangely. Normally birds would not be on the menu for these canids, but in nature, no opportunity goes unexamined. The ability to observe is important indeed.

Forest

 While many people are accused of not seeing the forest for the trees, a forest is a lot more than just its trees. All the animals, the soil and even the air are all different in a forest and all are important

Humans are surprisingly good at removing trees, and forests. There are many machines built specifically for this purpose. This giant grader maintains the dirt roads on the top of the levee in the Corrales Preserve and removes some of the plant roots that undermine the structure. The relentless pounding of our feet compacts the fine clay into an impermeable, waterproof surface. The sheer numbers of users of the bosque defy belief. Everyone is seekin gaccess to the natural beauty. Some use very unusual modes of transportation, too.

It is not easy for 166 tons of metal, diesel and sand to be delicate. On the whole, the machine operators are amazingly precise. However, some damage was done to the end of the boy scout bridge this year. Apparently the boy scouts also built a temporary bridge over the Rio Grande in 1985 within 2 hours that spanned 152 feet using 150 Boy scouts, a few leaders, and doanted eight foot long pine logs.

 This bridge damage is unlikely to be repaired anytime soon, however.  Only a few winters will be enough to rot through these boards through. Wood is quite  a precious resource now, but access to the forest is even more so.

Wood ducks rely on dense undergrowth to feel safe from walkers. They pair up during the winter, with the vivid males staying very close to the cryptic female (can you see her in the picure, she's in front of the male). Thick branches help them feel safe from attack and they will keep hiding for a month or so until they feel safer in this area.

Flickers are usually very good at getting noticed with piercing shrieks and constant movement. It is less appreciated by most people that they can hide well when needed. The new arrivals are usually unsure until their place in the hierarchy of the treetops until a "pecking order" has been established. This is done by near constant squabbling and shrieking every morning.

As the trees lose their leaves, the nature of the forest changes. By the river sides in Corrales the difference in the nature of the forest changes slowly, and not dramatic. In places with a high density of maples, like in more mountainous areas in the north of the state, the color change in the autumn is pretty spectacular and abrupt. This maple leaf is from Fourth of July canyon, a place pretty well known for the dramatic color changes in the fall.

There are many birds that thrive well in the conditions of the Corrales bosque. Doves are here year round and seem very comfortable with both humans and the natural predators found here. They are always in a group for protection, and very fast fliers when needed.

Robins will be in our forest for the winter. They are generalist feeders that are good at adjusting quickly to current conditions. They adapt to almost anything around them, especially humans. Their Latin name is Turdus Migratorius and that name describes them very aptly.

This phoebe and other flycatchers like it, are usually much more solitary and quiet. They spend a lot of time right over the water catching small winged insects. When they squabble it is usually silent, but more physical.

The hunter's moon is a weird misnomer. In the autumn, this bright moon at night encourages elk to feed in the meadows for longer and this makes human hunting easier. In the bosque, the predators are often out hunting more on windy or rainy, dark nights when their prey have a much harder time hearing and seeing them. On bright, still, full moon nights, most hunters stay home.

Birds are feasting in the bosque because many insects are easy to catch in the cold and damp mornings. It is unusual to be able to pick up insects like this cabbage white. This butterfly, though, is much more cold tolerant than other butterfly species.

This owlet butterfly is another genus of the brush footed butterfly family. They appear to have only four legs because the first set have evolved into small "brushes."

I have only just found out about the weird tree cricket insects. They are a cricket species. The males entice females to mate using a glandular secretion from their bodies as a snack incentive. The chirping is usually much quieter that the field crickets, so some species create a megaphone from leaves. One particular species can be used as a thermometer "Dolbear's law"

 

Field crickets are amazingly versatile.They live anywhere and will eat anything.This one was part of a group eating the bindings of the books in the tiny free library on Andrew's Lane. They are so easy to raise that people are looking to replace cattle ranching with cricket ranching to feed the world. Because they are so simple to keep, we know a lot about this species.

People who study fungi will talk forever about how important fungi are to humans. Indeed, we are more closely related to these mycelium threads that we are to plants. The fruiting body is the mushroom, which has quite a lot of myths associated with them. This picture  shows most of the typical parts of a standard model mushroom.

The jelly fungus is a little more interesting. While most in this group are not poisonous, most do not exactly taste great. This species from fourth of July Canyon is reported to be gelatinous and tasteless. But I would never try any mushroom I hadn't bought from a store.

 

This fungus is related to the common puffballs and uses its fruit body to blow the spores into the air. The "petals" peel open to allow the body to rise above the leaf litter so the spores can travel further in the damp air.

The bosque has a  small collection of new mushrooms from the wet weather we have had. These organisms are just about the only thing that will digest the huge amounts of fallen wood we have accumulated.

Dog vomit fungus is very common at certain times of the year. This is a dense collection of the the threads that actually make up the fungi in the soils. Fungi are very import to many plants, especially for taking up phosphorus in plants.

Autumn mornings are a great time for photographers. Not only is there the "golden light" that makes pictures pop, but most insects are slow and sluggish, allowing very close pictures. This is a bristle fly, usually found in the mountains

This colorful caterpillar in a mountain meadow is a hooded owlet . Because they are insects, the caterpillar only has six legs. All those other ones are actually just anchors to help movement. These have no segments and cannot "walk"

Predator and prey dynamics change pretty profoundly in the fall. While prey is often easier to find, the cold temperatures and short days can make things more complicated for predators like this red tailed hawk.

This squirrel is well established in this tree. Grey squirrels in the southwest do not often need hordes of acorns like those in the north do. But if you look closely you will see the ears are very ragged from frequent fights over ownership of this particular tree. Still , the view from the veranda seems good.

The iconic bird species for Corrales are these Sandhill cranes. They are large, graceful and colorful. These sound different than Canada geese and they fly with their legs stuck out behind them, which is pretty distinctive.

Most of the flocks of cranes are navigating south along the Rio Grande but so far are bypassing Corrales and heading to Sevietta and the wetlands around San Acacia. These birds value quiet and privacy, especially as they are planning on pairing up later in the year as their numbers swell.

Corrales used to grow a lot more fruit than it does now. There are still a few apple orchards around and some places such as Alary farms and more touristy Wagner farm are open to the public when staffing and the harvest allows. The waste apples are quite attractive to all wildlife except the cat species, but especially to the sandhill cranes. 

Spiders and October are synonymous. This might be because the large ground webs of the wolf spiders are clearly visible each moring as they glisten with dew. Most people don't give them a second thought. This seems odd considering how most people feel about spiders

In the dark, central hole of these webs sits a pretty large yet nervous spider. The silk is not especially sticky, it is really a protective covering, rather than a net for catching prey. The vibrations are sensed by the nearly blind spider using its sensitive leg hairs.

Bristle flies are actually parasitoids that lay their eggs inside beetles and other insects and can be important for insect control. However, when those moving egg carriers aren't around, the adults are usually harvesting pollen and being important late season pollinators for the hardy aster species that are still blooming.

Personally, I have been to too many balloon fiestas. But here is the obligatory picture of a balloon dipping into the river. It is pretty astounding how those pilots can have such flight control over a bunch of bottled hot air.

Humans always find a use for things. Kayaking on the shallow Rio Grande is pretty foolhardy for most of the year. This year we have done pretty well water wise, so these is enough depth to float...barely. There is so much sediment in the water that it likely takes a while to clean up everything after a paddling session.

The river is why the Corrales banks are so fertile. The soil is a fine well fertilized silt, and grows many plants. This gopher has plugged a new hole with back fill. You will soon notice many more holes like this as the usually solitary gophers begin to build tunnels looking for the females. Gophers rely on the trees to protect the soil they live in, as we all do really. A healthy forest relies on all things being in balance. The role humans play, with their huge machines, their well organised teams of boy scouts, or even those bags of hot air seems yet to be determined. Knowledge is an important first step to learning. Story-telling, like this blog, might hold the key to making learning just a little easier to pass along.