Running Consensus:
One map. Millions of workouts.
Collective Wisdom.
Last week, my wonderful mother sent me an article that was about favorite places to run in Philadelphia; being a runner and from the greater Philly area, I was naturally intrigued. The map was similar to ones I had seen before with thicker/brighter lines indicating higher usage, but what is special about this map is that it is not limited to Philadelphia – instead, you can see the whole United States!
Six plus hours birding.
This is what I have to show.
(Hashtag) Worst Bird Pic
On Sunday, January 25, Laura B. and I “Bird[ed] the Shores of Black Butte Lake” as part of the 16th Annual Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway. It was great fun, and I will include a full species list as well as some commentary below, but in this very moment, I would like to celebrate my talent for #WorstBirdPics.
On Wednesday, January 21, my intern partner, Corey B., and I were on a snail hunt along a partially constructed trail just outside of the city of Redding.** During a pause on the trail, I heard what sounded like a small helicopter come whirring in past my left side. The proximity and sudden arrival of the sound startled me. It’s volume told me the critter was far too large to be a bee, which were also in the area, but then what could it be? I glanced up just in time to see the outline of a hummingbird before it disappeared among the manzanita. Even now, I find the experience a little surreal; the abrupt arrival and departure of such a small, beautiful thing accompanied by an almost unreal sound. My thought as the bird departed: ‘I am in paradise.’
Helminthoglypta hertleini – this is what we are seeking.
**Our assigned task was to relocate survey sites from 2014 and to establish whether snails – or to be more formal “terrestrial mollusks” – were still occupying the sites. In particular, we were interested in finding Helminthoglypta hertleini, a California BLM sensitive species, and we had to be careful not to confuse it with Monadenia churchi, another species of very similar appearance, but not considered sensitive. The snail hunt came with mixed success, and in the process, we found this really cool lizard!
Sagebrush lizard faceDistinctive sagebrush lizard underbelly; they are also known as “blue bellies”
