It was a snakey day in the Park today! Greg Nemes kicked off the Junior Ranger program with a session on snakes. We didn’t see any live specimens that hour, but he found a toad to show the kids.
A short time later, Ranger Allison was removing a rattler from the bridge over Stokes Creek, and throughout the afternoon at the VC, lots of visitors came in to report rattlesnake sightings. (Also seen that day: a bobcat and a mountain lion!)
Grey drizzly day. Waiting at the Park for the Girl Scout troupe to arrive, so I can lead them on a discovery hike. (We had a great time; 8 yr olds are awesome.)
The valley oaks are bare, carrying only the occasional gall. I sat among them and let myself feel my loss. But listen to all those birds!
I arrived early for my meeting, so sketched the view of the water tank-topped hill in Malibu Creek State Park. This hill was the filming location of How Green Was My Valley, which won a slew of Academy Awards in 1941. It famously beat out Citizen Kane for Best Picture, a decision that hasn’t aged well.
Now that the sycamores have dropped their leaves, it’s easy to see the parasitic plants. I wondered how mistletoe seeds can get a hold on the underside of their hosts’ branches. Turns out the seeds are sticky!
Low-flying great blue heron at Malibu Creek State Park. These large, elegant birds are a familiar sight at the Park, hunting for fish, gophers and ground squirrels. Ardea herodias is the largest heron native to North America.
I noticed a milkweed plant that was experiencing all its seasons at once. Nice!
I’m an early-to-bed kinda girl, so I’m usually fast asleep by the time the creatures of the night come out to explore and hunt. I’d really love to see a ringtail, but the last live observation recorded in iNaturalist in my area was in 2014. (There was a roadkill recorded in 2022.) So I’m thinking my chances are slim, even if I become nocturnal myself.
It was a quiet day at the MCSP Visitor Center on Sunday, so I sketched these taxidermied specimens in between chatting with visitors.
This iridescent little beetle (about 8mm long) was on a milkweed plant at the Park yesterday. So bright and metallic!
Both adult and larvae C. cobaltinus life stages eat dogbane and milkweed species. These plants contain toxic molecules known as cardenolides, which the beetle is resistant to. In fact, it stores the cardenolides in its glands, and uses them against predators.
Cobalt Mikweed Beetles are similar to click beetles in being able to launch themselves a couple of times the length of their body. Little but mighty!
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