I Like Pigeons Because Nobody Else Does

I Like Pigeons Because Nobody Else Does

My life after Japan

I Like Pigeons Because Nobody Else Does RSS Feed
 
 
 
 

Lake Hemet: Invertebrates

I’m having a hell of an annoying time trying to find a decent set-up for this blog that will accommodate tables and photos. If you don’t have your browser window maximized, the photos will be all bunched up. I bought textbooks for the Pattern Making and French classes that I’m taking next week. Imagine the look on my face upon discovering that the French textbook cost $182. Unbelievable. Enough bitching…

In addition to being camp cook, I handled invertebrate collection by means of pitfall trap. Pitfall trap equates to nothing more than plastic cup sunk in a hole in the ground. It’s a cheap and convenient way to sample an area for neat creepy crawlies and other ground-dwelling creatures. A pitfall trap can be any size including five-gallon buckets that yield some really impressive animals like larger lizards and mammals. In this case we used plastic cups that someone scored from a convenience store.

Upon arrival on Monday we dug twenty holes in four different sites and inserted cups for a total of 80 traps. Each trap was checked every morning and representative animals assessed. The 1908 expedition didn’t bother with invertebrates so we don’t have any comparison data. I am hoping that on the next trip I’ll be able to do a little more with collection methods.

In addition to insects, we trapped scorpions, spiders and lizards. We were hoping for a shrew in one of the sites, but there are either no shrews or they’re too smart to blunder into our traps.

A ubiquitous beetle that we found in great numbers is this:

 

Eleodes in defensive posture

Eleodes in defensive posture

a darkling beetle of the family Tenebrionidae, species Eleodes. These beetles are found in desert settings throughout the western part of the US and are active most often at dusk and dawn. One would think that this crepuscular habit of foraging would be to their great disadvantage - a jet black beetle against a light-colored sandy background is quite conspicuous to the keen eyes of nocturnal predators.

When this beetle is disturbed, it assumes the defensive rear-up posture that you see pictured above and readies itself to unleash a rank cocktail of offensive chemicals. It’s foul-smelling and irritating defensive fluid is highly effective against most attackers, especially ants, and is composed of 1,4-benzoquinones, several hydrocarbons and caprylic acid. What is all this stuff, you ask. It doesn’t matter, but trust me when I say you don’t want to know. It positively reeks.

 

 

This species is capable of only a mild sting

This species is capable of only a mild sting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lake Hemet Comparison Table

We returned from the expedition Friday afternoon after having had a productive trip. I had an absolute blast. I have many photos to process, so I’ll post those in the coming days. Phil sent out a comparison table showing the 1908 results as comared to a trip he made in June to the same location and our results last week. We had 100 species of birds, the 1908 expedition 89. Don’t interpret that to mean that there’s been an increase in diversity. They didn’t have the quality of optics in 1908 that we have a century later, so I am not sure we can make that assumption.

 

  6-16 Aug 1908 20-Jun-2008 10-15 Aug 2008
AMPHIBIANS      
Western Toad Bufo boreas     x
REPTILES      
Western Fence Lizard Sceloporus occidentalis x   x
Granite Spiny Lizard Sceloporus orcutti x   x
Tiger Whiptail Aspidoscelis tigris      
California Kingsnake Lampropeltis getula x   x
BIRDS 89 species   100 species
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps x    
Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis x    
Western/Clark’s Grebe Aechmophorus sp.   x  
Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus x x x
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias x x x
Great Egret Ardea alba     x
Green Heron Butorides virescens x    
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax x   x
White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi     x
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura x x x
Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis x    
Canada Goose Branta canadensis   x x
Gadwall Anas strepera   x x
Green-winged Teal Anas crecca      
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos x x x
Northern Pintail Anas acuta x    
Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera x    
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata     x
Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis x    
Osprey Pandion haliaetus     x
Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus   x x
Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii x   x
Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus     x
Swainson’s Hawk Buteo swainsoni x    
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis x x x
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos x    
American Kestrel Falco sparverius x    
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus x   x
Mountain Quail Oreortyx pictus x   x
California Quail Callipepla californica x x x
American Coot Fulica americana x x x
Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata x   x
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca     x
Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria x    
Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius x   x
Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus     x
Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla x   x
Wilson’s Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor x    
Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus     x
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus x x x
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus x   x
American Avocet Recurvirostra americana x    
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis     x
California Gull Larus californicus     x
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia   x x
Band-tailed Pigeon Patagioenas fasciata     x
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura x x x
Barn Owl Tyto alba x    
Western Screech Owl Megascops kennicottii x    
Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus x   x
Poorwill Phalaenoptilus nuttallii x    
White-throated Swift Aeronautes saxatalis x x x
Black-chinned Hummingbird Archilochus alexandri x   x
Anna’s Hummingbird Calypte anna x x x
Acorn Woodpecker Melanerpes formicivorus x x x
Red-breasted Sapsucker Sphyrapicus ruber   x x
Nuttall’s Woodpecker Picoides nuttallii x x x
Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus x x x
Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus x x x
Olive-sided Flycatcher Contopus cooperi x   x
Western Wood Pewee Contopus sordidulus x x x
Willow Flycatcher Empidonax traillii x    
Western Flycatcher Empidonax difficilis     x
Say’s Phoebe Sayornis saya x x  
Black Phoebe Sayornis nigricans x x x
Ash-throated Flycatcher Myiarchus cinerascens x x x
Western Kingbird Tyrannus verticalis x x x
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus x    
Hutton’s Vireo Vireo huttoni     x
Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus x   x
Pinyon Jay Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus x    
Steller’s Jay Cyanocitta stelleri x x x
Western Scrub Jay Aphelocoma californica x x x
American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos   x x
Common Raven Corvus corax   x x
Phainopepla Phainopepla nitens     x
Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum x    
Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana x x x
American Robin Turdus migratorius   x x
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris   x x
California Thrasher Toxostoma redivivum     x
Pygmy Nuthatch Sitta pygmaea x