An Orange-crowned Warbler was singing about 4:30 pm in oaks in area between Arana Gulch and Frederick Street Park.
There were quite a few of these resting on blades of grass, some in what appeared to be threesomes. I could never get a photo of these, but I was able to capture one of these clusters. It appeared to be two live flies and one dead one. A mating pair of dance flies with a nuptial gift? I had misidentified these as robber flies, but just read Loarie's and Kueda's comments to curiousgeorge and reconsidered my identification.
Just the basal rosette of leaves at this time of year. Doesn't bloom until later
Copious amounts of "Spanish moss" or lace lichen, Ramalina menziesii, hangs from every coast live oak at Fort Ord.
This small insect has the long antennae and twitchy behavior of a wasp in the family Pompilidae.
Saw the blue fiesta flower today, but a few weeks ago white fiesta flower, Pholistoma membranaceum, was also blooming in this same area.
This western black-legged tick was in the questing position. Ticks wait on vegetation with their front legs extended, ready to latch on to your pants leg.
This area of Fort Ord has one of the highest concentration of woodrat nests I have ever seen.
I see that the Monterey Bay California Native Plant Society lists two species of Calandrinia in this area, C. breweri and C. ciliata. Not sure what I have here but now I know I have to look closely before leaving the field.
In area with scattered Coast Live Oaks and grassy understory.
I have no mushroom books handy but my guess is this is either an Amanita or a Volariella. Cany anyone help?
White crab spider with honeybee on borage.
In grass along San Lorenzo River levee. I think this could be Arachnis picta,painted tiger moth.
These caterpillars hatched Friday, March 4 from eggs laid by a Hyalophora euryalis moth on March 18.
Working the trunk and limbs of several cottonwoods. Two other trunk creepers were present in these same trees and from time to time one would chase the other. There was a Red-breasted Nuthatch and a Brown Creeper.
This bird was going after insects the way a flycatcher should in the mid to upper conopy of cottonwoods on east bank of San Lorenzo River. I don't think I would have been confident identifying this bird if I had been alone, but I was with members of the Santa Cruz Bird Club, including Steve Gerow, who are reliable at identifying species like this.
The following birds were also seen nearby:
Black-and-White Warbler
Eastern Phoebe
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Glaucous-winged Gull
