jstraka's Favorites

Serendipitous encounter this evening. I was planning on camping in the area but the road in was muddy from recent rains, and I was worried my car might get stuck in the half mile before the first rec area pullout. I decided to walk the last stretch of road first to assess the sketchiness, travelling mostly along the grassy fenceline. Right at the end before I turned to head back to the car, the owl erupted up from the grass and began flopping around, bill clacking. Busted wing - looked broken and a bit bloody, I suspect from an encounter with the barbed wire fence. I caught it and walked it back to the car, made a couple phone calls, and learned that the closest facility open to taking wildlife at the time was 2 hours away in San Jose, so off we went. If the road had been fine I would have driven the whole stretch and probably not seen the owl at all. I'm not sure how long it has been injured but hopefully it is repairable.

My car likely would have made it regardless. But I’ve rewarded myself with a hotel in San Jose.

UID 30 1870

Habitat: on trunk; Bark texture: rough; Height above ground(m): 0.64

Notes: Leaves longer >2x longer than wide, cells <2x longer than wide (rules out aerea), no peppermint smell, leaves ventrad

Edited: Grey Willow (Salix glauca). See important field ID criteria offered by Bruce Bennett. I initially suggested possible Bebb's Willow (Salix bebbiana), growing on knoll in the middle of an hydromagnesite alkali flat, Atlin, BC, July 17/19.

Holy shit this is so cool, what on earth!!! Please correct me if I'm wrong but everything I read online led me to this ID

https://inverts.wallawalla.edu/Arthropoda/Crustacea/Maxillopoda/Cirripedia/Coronula_diadema.html

Well known population on east side of river near Yale. Previously reported tree on west side of river, visible right next to Hwy 1 at top of road cut. For bonus points, you can also see it reasonably well in the current Google Streetview imagery from Oct/18.