Journal #5

Date: 5/16/20
Time: 5:07pm
Location: Edgewood Park, CA
Temperature: 71 degrees F
Weather;: Blue skies, windy

Today was an exciting day. I saw and heard many birds, which is different from my last journal as I only heard them. In fact, I saw upwards of 10 birds today which was super exciting! I couldn't get a good enough look to identify any, but a few swooped into the Coyote Brush right beside me, and I could hear them scrambling around. I saw two greys, small birds chasing after each other by the redwoods. I wonder if this is a mating ritual or if they are just playing. Their chirps were very high pitched and evenly spaced out. I notice a lot of holes in the ground which I haven't noticed before. I'm not sure if they're gopher holes or snake holes, but they are covered with a layer of dirt and there are a bunch right next to where I'm sitting. The grass is a lot drier today than two weeks ago. While the trees and Coyote Brush seem to have gotten greener, the grasses look browner and are brittle to the touch. As I search for invertebrates, I notice so many lizards! One is hiding right under the rock I'm sitting on, and we stare at each other awkwardly for 5 seconds before it scurries off swiftly. Part of its tail was missing, making me wonder how that happened. I just hope it wasn't a human. Its tail is very long and fat and has small little scales that stand up all over its body. It has beautiful brown and black stripes running horizontally across its body, and cute, tiny eyes. The Pacific Redwoods haven't changed at all - they remain calm, stiff, and wise, moving only when the wind hits them.

1. Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)
2. Bumblebee (Bombus)
3. Ladybug (Coccinellidae)

The first invertebrate I saw today was the beautiful Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). I followed this butterfly for as long as I could before it flew away; I first spotted it perched on a leaf of a nearby California Bay. It was easy to spot due to its bright yellow wings and black stripes. It quickly departs the leaf and to flies to a nearby pink flower. The butterfly wraps its legs around the flower petals and sticks its tongue into the nectar, pulsing forward and backwards. It moves quickly but remains calm on the flower, only flapping its wings to assume a new position or get a better balance. As it hangs onto the flower, its wings remain at a 45-degree angle. The wind offers some difficulty for the butterfly and intermittently knocks it off the flower, but it finds its way back. After a minute or so, it flies off. In the Coyote bush, I hear the distinct buzz of a Bumblebee (Bombus). At first, I struggle to follow it as it flies around the coyote bush, but it luckily lands on a orange flower by my sitting rock. To my surprise, I witnessed this bumblebee conducting buzz pollination! It begins by wrapping its legs around the flower (similar to how the Western Tiger Swallowtail did). It looks as if the bumblebee is almost biting the flower's anthers, searching for pollen. After a while, its wings being to flap very hard and fast; the bumblebee looks like its vibrating. As the bumblebee accesses the pollen, it wipes the pollen onto its legs. It amazes me how much pollen is on its legs. The bumblebee is moving fast and doesn't lose focus on the pollen. After a minute, it flies away, perhaps in search of other flowers or for its hive. This was the first time I've seen buzz pollination up close and intimately, so I was very excited!

Poem #1: You are weighed down with pollen, but you fly as if you're weightless. Your fierceness resembles a tiger, yet you are tiny. Your body is round, but you are agile. You are meticulous but ever so clumsy. So many dichotomies that defy natures law, but somehow you are here, providing us resources so valuable that our land, jobs and life depend on it. Do you know how valuable you are? Do you know your worth? You might not realize your importance in this vast world, but I do. What have we done to deserve you?
     *Bumblebee (Bombus)

Poem #2
Twin redwoods stand mighty in the distance,
Swaying in the wind as she listens,
You are easily forgotten,
But you are responsible for our existence.

50 sq m

1 sq m

Bumblebee (Bombus)

Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)

Ladybug (Coccinellidae)