wordless Wednesday

Brandt's cormorant ~ 05/31/11 ~ Cannery Row

Brandt's cormorant
Phalacrocorax penicillatus

I've always assumed these are Brandt's cormorants that congregate every year on this remnant of a sardine factory loading dock. However, as I look it up, these birds may be mixed in with double-crested cormorants (P. auritus), which I had previously thought only nested in trees. It's a crummy picture above, because the lighting was low and a fence kept me from getting closer. The third type of cormorant that is found in the Monterey Bay is the pelagic cormorant (P. pelagicus), and I've learned to recognize it by its white butt and solitary nesting behavior. I'll have to take binoculars the next time I walk through Cannery Row.

Oh, that green stuff in the foreground is non-native sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) in the Apiaceae family. I always want to call it anise, which is an incorrect term that several lepidopterist-type like to call it due to the anise swallowtail butterfly. Towards late summer it's quite pretty here with feathery greenery and prolific yellow flowers covering the dilapidation of local history.

ps 06/22/11 - So far this year, I don't have any pictures of cormorants or sea lions from the Coast Guard Pier, because they closed it off from public access since around mid-February for repairs. I was told by Coast Guard personnel that it would only be closed for a week. Ha! While driving home the other day, I noticed the Coast Guard Pier is finally open again with a black chain link fence along the breakwall. I want to get out there to see what's up. I do know we haven't had the influx of sea lions like we did last year.

planted gull

Sometimes, I just want to post a picture without having to look up stuff. This gull gave me a good laugh today. I wondered if it had made a nest in this planter behind the historical Doc Ricketts lab on Cannery Row.

small world, big cats

Siberian linx
Felinae linx

We had a surprisingly interesting day simply walking about town to loosen up Mr. Trail Runner's post-marathon legs (he came in 7 minutes earlier than last year's Nisene Marks Marathon). We ran into several people we know, including my doctor who was kind enough to stop and chat a bit while we were having lunch. I sometimes forget what a small world we live in.

Cannery Row had its annual block party today and included this booth pictured above. I had to look up their website to figure out which cat this was. I initially heard bobcat, but Mr. Trail Runner said the ones he's seen on local trails are more grey and have shorter tails. On my wish list for Nature ID is to post a bobcat. I'll pass on taking a pic of a mountain lion in situ, because it may be the last thing I do!

I have mixed feelings about why wild cats are so often kept in captivity. Back in 2003, I stayed at a big cat refuge in Arkansas while visiting a friend and her sister who worked there. Following are a few pictures from that visit:


One last thing, here's a link to Christian the lion video. Apparently, no matter what species, we all like to see old friends.

It was a good day.

ps 07/03/10 - For an excellent post on a backyard bobcat, see Tree in the Door's Fauna and Flora.

pss 01/18/11 - For four more posts of interest:
1) http://www.felinest.com/felidae-lynx/
2) http://www.peaceriverrefuge.org/Siberian_Lynx.html
3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Lynx
4) http://othernatureid.blogspot.com/2010/09/list-o-links-of-bobcats.html

squid boat

Wait! Is it the new moon? I think I'm 'bout ready for grunion greeting. We see these massive boats in the Monterey Bay every spring, most notably for their extremely bright lights in the middle of the night - which would be beautiful and appreciated if they didn't light up our bedroom all night long. This is the first sighting since last year. I've looked with binoculars and those gulls are hovering around the boats past midnight, too. I'm searching online into this regular occurrence in our area, but I'm finding it difficult to find solid information. While we can see these boats plainly from home, this pic was taken between Cannery Row and the Plaza Hotel.

ps 04/17/10 - The boats were out Wednesday night and Thursday night. No sign of them Friday night.

happy wanderer ~ 02/05/10 ~ Cannery Row

happy wanderer
Hardenbergia sp.
Fabaceae

This picture looks similar to the one I posted January 31, 2009, but the scale is very different. This particular one, next to an antiques mall about 20 yards from the rec trail in Cannery Row, was massive - at least 10 feet tall and stretched the whole length of the parking lot! I'm actually thinking this might be H. comptoniana due to what appears to be multi-foliolate leaves, but there are many cultivars of H. violacea. The next time I walk by, I'll take a closer look at the leaves. It's a native of Australia.

pelagic cormorant ~ 01/03/10 ~ Cannery Row

pelagic cormorant
Phalacrocorax pelagicus

These birds have been all the rage at the Monterey Bay Aquarium because they nest underneath the building. Unlike the Brandt's cormorants these are a bit less social.

bougainvillea
Bougainvillea spectabilis
Nyctaginaceae

This is a very popular plant for all the hotels in the area. It's very showy. It's native to South America, which surprised me because many of the favorite garden plants around here come from South Africa.

Brewer's blackbird
Euphagus cyanocephalus

Very common bird seen along Cannery Row foraging scraps from the tourists. This fellow was very cute!