savethevaquita's Favorites

Killing (or had killed) a river otter due to territorial dispute, pics 1-3 show it with the river otter. Victim ID confirmed by professional naturalist on whale watching tour. River Otter observation here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/184795515

A truly massive big berry manzanita found in the Figueroa Mountain area. The human pictured for scale is 1.6 meters tall. Estimated height is approximately 8 meters tall. Growing in relatively open chaparral, intermixed with grassland. This individual and another immediately next to it are of this massive stature. It appears that these individuals are the result of some unusual set of circumstances, that allowed the plants to survive multiple fires. Individuals of the same species in the surrounding area are of a non-remarkable stature, so likely germinated after the most recent fire in the area. Unfortunately, I did not grab a closeup photo of leaf morphology, but the leaves were large, roundish, glabrous, and markedly glaucous-white. Plant was clearly an Arctostaphylos glauca, just huge.

This individual named "Hyperbolon".

Update (2 September 2022): Found some preserved material of this guy, and added some new photos (photos # 2-5). Also, adding note that the plant was in fruit, with typical A. glauca fruits, glandular/viscid, large, spherical, lacking any mesocarp, with a woody, marble-like "stone". Nascent inflorescences also typical of A. glauca, if maybe somewhat unusually fuzzy. Coin used for scale is a US quarter dollar (¢25 piece), 24.26 mm, 0.955 inch in diameter. Each line on the edge of the coin is approximately 0.64 mm apart. Photo # 2 photographed on a black background and manually cleaned up to have a solid black background.

My mirror failed to fully retract on one shot (I think), making a false "ground" right where it should be for a chaparral yucca. This (hespero)yucca also afforded me a glimpse of two yucca moths! Previously observed. Initial observation Follow-up observation showing habitat and height scale

Trifecta!! Competing in tug-o-war with a common garter snake for adult female cascades frog prey. Amazing rare observation!
Published observation in Herpetological Review as a note:
Garwood, J., and N. Garwood. 2020. Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi (Valley Garter Snake) and Thamnophis atratus hydrophilus (Oregon Aquatic Garter Snake). Foraging Competition. Herpetological Review 51:881-881.

Follow-up observation of same specimen

Later observation by @elizabeth_lockhart with the specimen in flower

My third look at the same specimen, with closeups of flowers

Burned, but what else? Why so tall?