Gleanings of the Week Ending June 17, 2017

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Lost ecosystem found buried in mud of southern California coastal waters – An ecosystem that had existed for 4000 years died off in the early 1900s – destroyed by sedimentation from coastal land use practices from 1769 onward.

Gigantic Aztec Temple Unearthed in Mexico City – Built to look like a coiled snake. A hotel owns the site.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week # 91 – Do you have a favorite from the bird images this week? I liked the cormorant catching the fish.

Prairie Ecologist Photo of the Week – Poppy mallows and yarrow…and the bug drama on them (Hint: it involves a crab spiders and a fly)

The Chemistry Behind the Opioid Epidemic – It’s not just about heroin any more. Many people became addicts from drugs prescribed by their doctors for pain. I listen to stories on this topic trying to understand why the medical establishment in not doing more to keep people from becoming addicted.

Sounds of Nature in National Parks are being Trampled by Noise – Modern conveniences are noisy. Now that I have a car that operates as an EV most of the time, I am realizing how much car noise is almost everywhere. At least there are beginning to be EV options. In my neighborhood, lawn mowers and leave blowers are big nose emitters.

Art History: The evolution of landscape painting and how contemporary artists keep it alive – Eye candy….I like landscapes in general and appreciated the bit of history….also the artists producing landscapes today.

Climate change could make cities 8C hotter – Wow – the urban heat island effect already makes cities a little hotter than countryside….it gets worse as the countryside gets warmer.

Reading the Neandertal Smile – A study of the dental calculus (calcified dental plaque) of 5 European Neandertal specimens revealed that some were meat eaters, others vegetarians depending on whether they lived in a steppe or forest environment.

The Celiac Surge – This article discusses the rapid increase in celiac disease…and potential causes.

Conowingo – May 2017

We had more success at Conowingo in May than we did back in April although we first got there – all I saw were cormorants in the water.

There were no vultures on the high reaches of the dam or birds sitting on the big towers.  It was very windy and I eventually started looking lower on the rocks across the river from our vantage point. It’s a little far away for pictures…but that’s where the birds were. The first group I saw included a Great Blue Heron and some pigeons (the pigeons are usually all over the dam but seemed to prefer the rocks on the windy day).

I started taking pictures of all the rocks. How many eagles do you see in this pictures (remember the immature eagles don’t have white heads and tail feather yet)?

I count 7 Bald Eagles…and a Great Blue Heron and a Cormorant.

Eventually I saw an eagle on one of the towers

And then thought to zoom in to the platform of the tower after remembering someone commenting last month that there was a nest on one of the towers. Sure enough – it looks like there is. Hopefully no one will have to go up there until the eagles are done with the nest for the season.

I took a few none bird pictures as well. This spider web was somewhat damaged by the wind but I was pleased my camera would focus on it. The spider jumped from the web to me while it got the picture! Fortunately, I noticed and managed to get the critter to the ground somewhat close to the web.

I photographed the flowers of the Princess Tree that is growing on the cliff that is across the parking lot from the bird viewing area. These invasive trees are easy to spot this time of year because of the color of the flowers. They grow very fast….and the seeds are dispersed so I seem to see more of them every year.

Disappointment at Conowingo

The weather was a little warmer than usual when we made our trek to Conowingo last week. The weather turned out to be the best part. The eagles must have finished their breakfast by the time we got there and were not very active; this was the best picture I got – from all the way across the river. You can tell that those rocks are favorite perches (all the ‘white’).

The black vultures were not very photogenic either. The big grouping that usually eyeballs cars going over the dam from a fence only numbered three birds. The others must have been out and about – maybe at some substantial carrion site.

At first I thought the cormorants would redeem the trip. There were at least two of them and they were within photographic range. But then I realized that the reason they were staying in one location was a tangled (and trashed) fishing lure rather than a fish (you can see it (light green) and the line that evidently snagged it to the rocky bottom in the middle picture below).

There were a few gulls about. I tried taking pictures of them as they landed or flew up from the water. The one with the orange spot on the bill is a Herring Gull. The other one could be a Ring-billed Gull since the beak looks like it has black instead of orange toward the end.

There were two Canadian Geese in the shallows on the other side of the dam abutment – almost out of camera range.

The same was true for a flock of pigeons. They usual are on the dam structure but they must have been startled by something because a large number left the dam at the same time and moved to the rocks.

On a botanical note – the Princess tree buds still look the same as they did last time we were at Conowingo. The buds on the tulip poplars (at the end of the twigs) seem to be getting larger.

On the way home, I took a picture of the mounds of salt along I-95 near the tunnel (through a dirty window). Generally the salt piles are significantly reduced by this time of year….but not this season. I wonder what will happen to it since the salt storage buildings are probably already full.

Josey Ranch Lake – January 2017

I saw some of the same kinds of birds I saw back in February 2015 when I walked around the lake last week. It was cold --- and the wind made it feel colder. We did not dawdle but I did manage to take a few pictures. As if 2015: There were lots of Lesser Scaup (the first picture is of 3 males and 1 female) but they were all over the lake with their oddly shaped heads. These birds are only in Texas for the winter.

The Northern Shoveler is also a winter bird.

The swans were still around too. They stay on the lake all through the years.

This time I also noticed American Coots. All About Birds says they are in the area throughout the year but I don’t remember seeing as many of them as I did this year.

There were the Mallards too – another year round resident.

I spotted a Cormorant too.

Finally – the tail and back feathers on this duck seem to glow. It was such a gray day that the feathers stood out. There are also water droplets on the head and breast. I don’t know what kind of duck it is.