A continuing study....

I have been watching this female Marbled Cellar Spider for some time. On May 15, 2020 I photographed her in her maternity web with a bundle of eggs in her jaws.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46192760

By May 27, 2020 her eggs had hatched and there were quite a few spiderlings hanging in her web:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/47536239

A few days later, the spiderlings had dispersed and I noticed a male staying in close proximity to her. On June 26, 2020 she was back in her maternity web with another egg bundle in her jaws and the male occupying a space just outside the web

These little guys have carved up and made a nest inside an old log in my front yard. The females move extremely quick, so it's hard to get a clear picture of them. They seem unbothered by my presence.
To clarify: I did not remove the bee I'm holding on my finger. I actually almost stepped on him so I picked him up and moved him away from foot traffic.

Santa Ynez Canyon
Definitely the find of the day.. or the month! Unfortunately, he slithered away before I could get any kind of decent photo. I was actually standing taking a photo of an insect when I heard a noise below me. I immediately thought "rattlesnake" and quickly moved back. Then I looked down and saw this guy and I was so excited. My first sighting in the SM Mountains area. And considering the current limitations on going out due to the coronavirus, it was really a wonderful moment.

Roadkill Cottontail. Note the long thin toes. I thought they would be curled more but they were mostly straight. No trace of digit or meta pads. It looks like they depend entirely on fur to cushion their feet.

This male Hooded Merganser had just settled onto a large rock (This is the same individual that I had been observing asleep for over an hour on a different rock), when what I believe is a female Merganser decided to stake a claim. It was an interesting dispute to watch and its resolution can be seen in the final photos. Did you really expect anything else? Perhaps she was simply encouraging this weary waterfowl to get off the couch and get out and get some exercise. In any case, his refuge (shown in the final photo) seems noticeably less comfortable.

This latest chapter of "Dinner at the Narrows" features an unusual guest star... a Turkey Vulture. And believe it or not, he also was here for the fish! But as I discovered, it was a discarded fish that he had spotted from on high. He was very polite... and looked around until he was certain that it had been abandoned.

Green Lynx female living on milkweed in our yard. She has produced 2-3 egg sacs. Photo is of spiderlings recently hatched the first egg sac. She remains on guard over her young; will add a second observation.

I observed a female peregrine falcon carrying what looks to be a collared dove. A few moments earlier the male of the falcon pair struck the dove from a several hundred foot stoop. The second picture shows, from left to right, the dove, male, female, and feather puff from the initial strike.

Foto 1: Calandria Dorso Negro Menor alimentando a un polluelo de Tordo Ojos Rojos.
.Fotos 2 y 3: hembra y macho se turnan para acarrear alimento a los insaciables polluelos.
Fotos 4 y 5: comparar el tamaño pequeño de los polluelos propios con el enorme polluelo del tordo invasor.