R: Green Heron!
Today I wanted to see if Fly Agaric mushrooms were out at Sign Hill. West side. Of course. Then I had plans to try finding my owls.
The strange thing was that I didn’t find a single Fly Agaric at Sign Hill. Truly STRANGE. It HAD been a Sure Thing for me up until today. Not sure what’s going on! However, as that area under the Monterey Pines often proves, I was able to find a good amount of Fungi there anyway!
Leading up to the Pines, I found some small mushrooms in the garden area. Like perhaps a Gumtree Deceiver and what iNat thinks is a Scurfy Twiglet. And about FIVE Yellow-faced Bumble Bees scattered on the ground. Barely moving. WHA?
After noticing some gorgeous Common Sunburst Lichen (?) on a rock and the planted Lupine blooming (with lots of Baby Lupine all along the trail!), I made my way to the Pines. And while I was disheartened not to find any Fly Agarics, I managed to find a whole treasure trove of goodies!
Very old Russula was in pockets here and there. Part of a Great Horned Owl pellet was on the ground. An odd nest was above and to the East of that. POSSIBLY for the GHOs in the area??
On the hillside, I spotted what might be Western Jumbo Gym on a Pine trunk. Most of it looked covered in ANOTHER FUNGUS of some kind. Maybe just mold?
Noticed a little group of adorable Milkmaids, and then I heard A HOOT. A male. At flippin’ 3:09 in the p.m. I have found that they are quite difficult to locate in that area without seeing them fly, since that hillside slope is no joke. So I kept on my way. Hoping maybe one would fly out before I had to leave.
NOPE. Didn’t happen.
Saw a cluster of yellow mushrooms down a trail and went to investigate. Maybe Parrot Mushrooms? There were two next to each other. Same colored stipes. Vastly different colored caps! There were also small bright red caps coming out from the ground nearby. How I wish they were just a touch older to admire!
Back up on the ridge, I saw what might be Midnight Entoloma? Quite gothy. And MAYBE a newtome Amanita?? Best guess so far is Western Yellow-veiled Amanita? No other sightings in the area, so perhaps not. But AMANITA, for SURE. It was quite old and dried up. But there were FIVE babies coming up of what looked like the same kind. Wish I could come back in four or five days!
Also a BUNCH of what might be Western Amethyst Laccaria. Though, they were hardly blue/purple at all.
A big black goo blob was fun to see along the way. When mushrooms decompose, they turn into Black Holes!
What’s likely a Redhead Russula was also in the area. And I spotted what could’ve been a mature Amanita version of what I just saw, but there were baby Pacific Poison Oak leaves and branches protecting it, so I just took a photo. Safely.
Found a number of handsome mahogany-colored mushrooms. Maybe Cortinarius theirsii? Yep, it absolutely needs a common name.
Also found a cluster of what might be Pine Spikes that were huddled together in a depression in the ground under tree roots. Bizarre!
Spotted a Bonnet of some kind in the grass and a lovely San Francisco Wallflower in bloom in the garden area (likely planted there), and it was time to go. I was sad I couldn’t stay to hear and watch the GHOs there, but I had other GHOs to find. Plus, the two jerk motorbikers tearing through the forest part of the slope I had spent time at were pissing me off. So I wanted to leave anyway. ARGH.
Over at GGPark, I had time to spare before Hooting Time (aka, starting about a half hour before sunset). So I took a stroll over at the Lily Pond first.
What might be a Yellow Fieldcap about to open was in the grass on the way. And after entering via the South entrance, I delighted in seeing tons of pretty pink blooms of the Red-flowering Currant shrub there.
Saw a pair of Ring-necked Ducks sleeping and a Mallard couple eating on the pond. But there was some strange-looking gray things at the pond’s edge, North side. They were two pieces of stupid garbage (from the jerks that hang out and party there and leave their trash there). But there was ALSO A GREEN HERON THERE!
Now, there was a Green Heron here last Winter. And, according to a nice man walking his dog that stopped to chat with me about it, this one had been around for this Winter, too. He told me it was a male juvenile. That females are quite shy and wouldn’t be out like this one was. That right, Bob Toleno?
He left, and I just enjoyed watching it. Snapping photos and video of it eating (fish?) from the pond. So happy to finally see the infamous Green Heron of the Lily Pond!
A couple Ruby-crowned Kinglets were bopping about while I was there. One of which flew right in front of my face! Hummingbirds were also out, including a brilliant Allen’s Hummingbird. I wonder if the one that’s always at the little waterfall at El Polin Spring is there this Winter…
I was about to look around the Tree Fern Dell for any Fungi when I heard a distant HOOT. From the West. I booked it up the steep path, stopping eversobriefly to observe some kind of Peziza on the way. Couldn’t find any GHOs at the top there. So I headed over to where the sounds were coming from. The fakenesttree!
INDEED, a female GHO was high up in the fakenesttree. Now, I didn’t say Ma Owl. Because I’m not POSITIVE that’s who it was. Even though she was in the fakenesttree. See, the other female GHO eventually started calling from across the CAS. And at this time of year, I’d really expect Ma Owl to be in a nest. And not hooting?
A male GHO was hidden in that tall tree opposite the trail. Think it’s a Monterey Cypress? Which clearly needs a name. I could only see his feet. He was also hooting. Yes, it could very well be Ma and Pa Owl duet hooting. Just so hard to know for certain. Shouldn’t she be on a flippin’ nest right now? Does this mean no owlets this year??
Also, while keeping my eye mostly on the tree with the male (since Pa Owl almost always flies out before Ma Owl), I swear I saw a Cooper’s Hawk fly out of the same dang tree and head East. Is that possible? That it was in that same tree as the male GHO?
A group of different folks soon came to where I was to listen and see the female. And apparently, I’m not the only GHO nerd. A guy was telling a couple folks how to see where the female was. Though, he didn’t correct the couple when one of them referred to the female as a he. And later he admitted to me he couldn’t remember which had the high hoot. How can you not remember that?
Folks kept coming into the area and stopping to listen and look. Maybe because today was a holiday?
I was going to wait til they started flying off. So everyone else left, except the other GHO nerd and his friend with a camera. They were seemingly most interested in taking photos.
A bit after sunset, the female flew into the same tree as the male. Then the male flew out toward the other female across from the CAS. I followed, and he did seem to be hooting AT this other female. HM! They eventually flew a bit West. And it was time to head out, as it was getting dark.
So! Fun Fungi Finds at Sign Hill (as usual) and Green Heron + GHOs in my backyard. Full day!
