Bobcat Turkey Kill: The Aftermath

The day after we saw the resident Bobcat kill a Wild Turkey, we looked around for signs of the turkey carcass.

Before systematically searching, Gary decided to water the two baby Incense Cedar trees that we recently planted on the property. After watering the first one, he noticed that the little berm around the second one was disturbed and the dirt pushed over to one side of the tree. A little prodding revealed...a fresh turkey leg!

Turkey leg unearthed from its cache.

Bobcats are known to cache excess food for future consumption, so this seems likely to be a snack stored for later.

Then we walked over to the area that we saw the cat with the turkey. There was a mass of feathers at what must have been the initial attack site. We did not witness that event the other evening.

Turkey feathers of all kinds.

Then we checked out the spots where we saw the bobcat with the turkey in its mouth, and saw more feathers.

At one point we saw the cat spit a bunch of smaller feathers out, in the spot shown above.

Then we followed the trail of feathers to the edge of a thick area of vegetation which would be almost impossible to penetrate (for a human), so we gave up.

The leg was several hundred yards downslope from these feather areas, so the cat was busy during the night (if it indeed was responsible for caching it).

The Bobcat Vanquishes a TURKEY!

This evening in the last moments of daylight, we were sitting out on our patio, and heard a swishing of leaves on the neighboring property. Looking that way, we saw one of the resident bobcats with a wild turkey in its grip. The turkey was alive and thrashing around a bit; thus the noise. The bobcat proceeded to drag the turkey a short distance away, and at times paused to look at US with feathers in its mouth. Eventually it dragged the turkey upslope out of sight.

Within minutes, many crows gathered and made a massive ruckus of cawing -- typical behavior around the bobcat, as in the past the bobcat's movements through the landscape was trackable by following the noise of the jays and other birds.

Tomorrow we'll look around to see if the turkey carcass is still in the area.

Deer Bot Flies at Lake Morena

After reading Margarethe Brummermann's blog post yesterday about bot flies, I became intrigued by the fuzzy, bumblebee-mimic deer bot fly pictured in the post:

http://arizonabeetlesbugsbirdsandmore.blogspot.com/2013/04/it-always-pays-to-watch-competition.html

Then I consulted Lynn Monroe's new book: "Desert Insects and Kin of Southern California: A Photographic Survey and Natural History - Anza Borrego Desert State Park" and became convinced that these bot flies might not only exist in the region, but that they might be out and about at this time of year.

So after meeting Gary's son Ted at the Mexican border to see him off on his Pacific Crest Trail adventure, Gary and I decided to take a hike at Lake Morena, convenient and close by. I did not really expect perfect "hill top" conditions (hill-topping is the habit of some insects of congregating at a high point like the top of a hill or mountain and often establishing territories, in an attempt to intercept passing potential mates). Bot flies are known for this behavior, and amazingly, after a false alarm, in which I thought a smaller carpenter bee was a bot fly (!), we actually FOUND deer bot flies perched and periodically flying about at a high point in the chaparral overlooking the lake!

Cephenemyia jellisoni, a Deer Bot Fly. This specimen was captured at Lake Morena, southern San Diego County, on April 20, 2013. 

Dorsal view of Cephenemyia jellisoni, deer bot fly. Lake Morena, April 20, 2013.

These flies do not feed as adults, but after mating, females will deposit tiny larvae in the nasal cavities of Mule Deer. The maggots can reach as much as an inch in length, and will develop inside the respiratory passages of the deer.  Later the maggots will be sneezed out, to eventually pupate in the ground and emerge as an adult fly. Apparently this does little harm to the deer, despite its repulsiveness to humans.

The "hill top" at Lake Morena. Rich chaparral habitat. 

Lake Morena, San Diego County, California.

A Diversion to the Algodones Dunes in Imperial County, California

The dunes were somewhat dry today, as the whole region has had so little rain since the beginning of the year, but the Palo Verdes were flowering in a massive display the likes of which I've never seen before in many springs of visiting them.

The Palo Verde forest about 2 miles north of Glamis, at the edge of the dunes. 

One of the blooming trees along Ted Kipf Road.

Seven-spotted Lady Beetle (Coccinella septempunctata) on Palo Verde.

A little dried mushroom, probably dating back to last summer after the heavy monsoonal rains.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox). This medium-sized individual was sunning itself on the east side of a stand of shrubbery. Gave me a scare when I first spotted it!

Another Desert Diversion: Coyote Canyon in Anza Borrego Desert State Park

March 25 and 26, 2013: For many years I've been curious about what lies about 5 miles up Coyote Canyon and beyond, north of Borrego Springs. I had read and heard that there was a stream with water in it, and natural springs, but the descriptions of the road conditions with the big, jagged rocks, and all together too much sand scared me...until we got the new truck. So Gary and I braved the road and drove up 5.6 miles (to the REALLY intimidating steep rocky portion of the road, which still is too much for us, at least at the moment). But our visit to the lower portion of Lower Willows was amazingly rewarding, with Coyote Creek wet and flowing nicely, luxuriously leafed-out and flowering mesquite, and rich willow tree habitat resounding to the sounds of the Least Bell's Vireo, as well as many other bird species. Brittlebush, Chuparosa, Desert Lavender, Indigo Bush, Ocotillo and other desert species were also in bloom, despite the dry conditions overall. At night, the frogs filled the air with their mating calls -- one of my favorite sounds in nature!

This is just the lower end of the green strip, which was much richer to the north (beyond our reach without hiking in until we muster up courage to tackle the rocky road). A few native palm trees were visible in the sea of green willows beyond this point.

End of the line for what looks like a Mule Deer.

White-winged Dove in Ocotillo.

A RACCOON WAS HERE! Bobcat, deer (or Desert Bighorn Sheep) and coyote tracks were also abundant in the dried mud.

What I realized was a Chuckwalla, Sauromalus ater (a small individual) after looking at the photos later at home. Two were lounging on the rocks along the steeper section of rocky road.

Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis), in the dappled sunlight.

American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana). There were quite a lot of these in the creek bed area.

A Bombyliid (bee fly) visiting Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa).

Indigo Bush (a macro -- these are very small flowers).

Lush mesquite in flower. The other mesquites further from water have not even leafed out yet.

Mystery red blister beetle. To be determined. In Nemognathinae.

Lytta auriculata pair.

Trichodes ornatus (a checkered beetle).

Eurybunus sp., a harvestman. It was out after dark on the sand. 

Looks like Tomarus gibbosus. 

A small (and unhappy) solifuge which was under the tent when we took it down in the morning.

A Diversion to Indian Gorge, Anza Borrego State Park

We took a little trip to the local desert for an overnight stay in Indian Gorge, one of the more remote little canyons in the southern region of the park. It was around 97 degrees F when we arrived in the late afternoon on Friday, and quickly reached that temperature again on Saturday, after a pleasant morning.

This locale has canyons and side canyons, and a great deal of pale, whitish granite scattered all around.

An Ocotillo (with its cholla friend) clinging to the rocky canyon wall.

Last light in Torote Canyon, just off Indian Gorge.

Many desert bird species were seen and/or heard, including Sage Thrasher, Cactus Wren, Rock Wren, Black-throated Sparrow, Verdin, White-winged Dove, Bullock's Oriole, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher...and a special view of a Great Horned Owl near dusk in Torote Canyon, just off Indian Gorge. It flew low several hundred yards, and then perched for a few minutes on a rock on the boulder-strewn hillside. It was barely photographable, but I tried anyway.

Not my best owl photo, but ALMOST recognizable, even down to the "ears".

Phainopeplas were also very common, in pairs. At least one nest was observed. Many Desert Mistletoe berries were present in the gorge, and masses of berries that looked either regurgitated (or passed through the bird's GI tract) were sticking to branches here and there. Apparently this is the typical mode of dispersal of Desert Mistletoe seeds, as Phainopeplas eat great quantities of them.

Desert Mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum) berries.

Torote Canyon does have a lot of Elephant Trees (AKA Torotes) scattered on its slopes, some just "babies".

Elephant Tree at dusk (Torote Canyon) .

An Elephant Tree with its barrel cactus companion.

Overall, flowering was fairly minimal compared to wet springs, but Desert Lavender, Chuparosa, Ocotillo, several cactus species and a variety of tiny flowering species were putting on a modest show. Cooler temps should make their lives easier in the next few days.

Snowy Tracks

We had about three inches of soft snow from the latest storm, and many creatures were out and about in it, leaving their marks.

Almost certainly a quail track (but California or Mountain Quail?).

More tracks of possible quail.

Another raccoon snuck by without being seen (on its way to the pond at the foot of Sandy Creek Road).

These were LARGE squirrel-like tracks, so must be from the Western Gray Squirrel.

A small bird of some sort, leaving odd scratches.

Wild turkey (there were no lack of these).

More turkey tracks.

Rabbit.

Here's where a cat bunched itself before jumping up into this tree...

...and the tell-tale signs IN the tree (claw marks).

Even little mice were out in the snow.

This snow-traveler was too small too leave much of a track, but was a surprise to find crawling around out in the open on the snow. An aphodiine beetle of some sort.