KEITH:
Well, Birdathon ends today, but we're not finished yet. Still we came a long way toward identifying many living things that live in our Tucson, AZ and Redondo Beach, CA yards ... I really like the idea of identifying EVERY living thing, or MOST living things, but for now we have to settle for MANY. Our grand total, when we combine our yards and remove any duplicates (like Anna’s Hummingbirds and Mexican Limes), is 249. Higher than our prediction, but definitely lower than the actual number -- these are just the living things we could give names to, be they common names or scientific names. In other words: our BIOBLITZ quest has just begun! Here is a breakdown of that number: Birds = 52 Native Plants = 65 Non-native Plants = 80 Food Plants = 24 Animals = 8 Reptiles = 4 Insects = 16 So obviously there are more than 16 species of insects in our combined yards. In fact, I think I must have at least five species of native bees – but, geez, talk about challenging to get a good look at, and then to identify. We’ve just begun exploring tools like i-naturalist to help us with these trickier critters. Our Bird List, since that’s of high interest for Birdathon is as follows: Redondo Beach, CA: Allen’s Hummingbird American Crow Anna’s Hummingbird Black Phoebe Black-headed Grosbeak California Towhee Coopers Hawk Hermit Thrush Hooded Oriole House Finch Lesser Goldfinch Mallard Mourning Dove Nashville Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Scrub Jay Townsend's Warbler Western Tanager White-crowned Sparrow Yellow-rumped Warbler Tucson, AZ: Abert’s Towhee American Kestrel Anna’s Hummingbird Ash-throated Flycatcher Bell’s Vireo Black-crowned Nightheron Black-tailed Gnatcatcher Broad-billed Hummingbird Bronzed Cowbird Brown-crested Flycatcher Cactus Wren Cooper’s Hawk Costa’s Hummingbird Curve-billed Thrasher English House Sparrow Eurasian Collared Dove Gambel’s Quail Gila Woodpecker Hooded Oriole House Finch Ladder-backed Woodpecker Lesser Goldfinch Lesser Nighthawk Lucy’s Warbler Mourning Dove Northern Mockingbird Nothern Cardinal Phainopepla Pyrrhuloxia Raven Red-tailed Hawk Roadrunner Rock Dove Turkey Vulture Verdin Western Screech Owl White-faced Ibis White-winged Dove
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KEITH: Has Mama Mourning Dove built her nest here in the cradling embrace of the plant called Mother of Millions, or is she taunting fate by raising her chicks on the Devil's Backbone? Well, that's the problem with the common names for plants. It all depends on whom you ask. She's done both! In this case the situation doesn't improve when you look to the scientific name for this species. Is this Kalanchoe daigremontiana or Brophyllum daigremontianum. And either way, why do scientists feel the need to torture the rest of us with these unpronounceable names -- job security? This is just one of the 30+ non-natives plants I've managed to identify so far around my house. I am now familiar with all four of its names ... wait, it's also called Alligator Plant and Mexican Hat. Last year another dove (the same dove?) built a nest and laid eggs in this same spot, but the eggs mysteriously disappeared before ever hatching .... no sign of eggshells .... they were just gone one day. Maybe a snake got them? (This makes me think they found themselves on the Devil's Backbone...). Hopefully this year's chicks face a brighter future.
Of course the scientists among us are also changing bird names from time to time. Let it be known that I will never call the Magnificent Hummingbird by it's new name (which is also its old name) Rivoli's Hummingbird. I've read that when they split this species into two, one of the sub-species was named Rivoli's and the other Talamanca (in Spanish) but in English: the Admirable Hummingbird. Can you imagine being demoted from the dazzling heights of Magnificent to the mediocre mid-elevations of Admirable?
During this challenging time I couldn't be more grateful to share the world (aka my yard) with all of my BIOBLITZ buddies. Cheers to rabbits, mushrooms, sunflowers, and beer!
4-23 BIOBLITZ TOTAL: 128 Species ROBIN: I couldn't believe it when I first saw this Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) captured on my security camera as s(he) snuck across the driveway. Maybe it's a coyote, I thought. Do we even have foxes in Los Angeles? We do! And I've spotted this one two more times in the last weeks.
The Red Fox was introduced decades ago for hunting and fur farming, and this young one is full of life and curiosity. S(he) is known to eat rodents, insects, fruits, worms, eggs, and birds. And, by the way, there are 3 other foxes in the Southern California coastal area.
4-23 BIOBLITZ TOTAL: 126 Species Everything starts at home. All politics are local. What goes around, comes around. All things are related. Especially in your yard... When Keith first moved into his Tucson home, almost every plant on the property was a Sonoran Desert native. He immediately started introducing exotics and food plants: South American pipevines (good for the butterflies), arugula (good for Keith), and a lime tree (good for margaritas!).
When Robin moved into her house in Redondo, every single plant on the property was an exotic or a food plant (avocados, apples, pears, oranges, limes). Welcome to Southern California! Recently, she has been introducing plants native to the endangered California Coastal Sage and Chaparral biome: Coyote Brush, California Sagebrush, Needle Grass. This weekend we launched the plant portion of our BIOBLITZ counting our natives. While these plants are certainly the most important for supporting local birds, insects, and animals, they aren’t the only players in the yard game! We both see our birds (and ourselves) benefiting from a variety of non-natives and food plants, which we will catalogue next... NATIVE PLANT TOTALS: Keith came up with 38 natives and Robin listed 9 -- which is probably about 9 more than most of her neighbors have. BIRD TOTALS: Since April 7, Robin has listed 13 for her yard (including the resident superstar Allen's Hummingbirds and a Townsend's Warbler that's been hanging around for the last few weeks). Keith has listed 19 (with Hooded Orioles visiting every day, which is a huge surprise). 4-16 BIOBLITZ TOTAL: 98 Species
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Robin & KeithThis year, April 7 to May 7, Robin and Keith are taking a crash course in learning to identify every living thing found in their home patches: Redondo Beach, CA, and Tucson, AZ. We will each be identifying and cataloguing every bug, bush, reptile, furry critter, and yes, of course, every bird! You can keep up with our efforts here at the Bird-in-Place BIOBLITZ blog (say that three times real fast). ArchivesCategories |