Journal archives for July 2021

July 10, 2021

Monitoring the Spread of Fumaria muralis in the US

It's interesting to watch the spread of this introduced species in the United States. The first occurrence was posted to iNaturalist in April 2012 from Moss Landing, CA. Since then, the number of reported observations has grown exponentially. It can now be found throughout California and 9 other states.

It started appearing on the West Coast, then several years later it was found along the southern coastline in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

Fmuralis-charts

Fmuralis-States

Fmuralis-US-map

Posted on July 10, 2021 12:14 AM by truthseqr truthseqr | 1 comment | Leave a comment

Monitoring the Spread of Fumaria capreolata in the US

It's interesting to watch the spread of this introduced species in the United States. The first occurrence was posted to iNaturalist in June 2002 in California. Since then (19 years ago), F. capreolata has spread along the entire West Coast of California and it can now be found in 4 other states.

Compare these growth charts with Fumaria muralis, which occurs in 10 states after its introduction in June 2012 (9 years ago).

Fcapreolata-chart

F.capreolata-states

Posted on July 10, 2021 08:14 PM by truthseqr truthseqr | 2 comments | Leave a comment

July 16, 2021

Feather Day at Joseph D. Grant Park

I found more than 27 feathers at Joseph D. Grant Park today. There was one section on Lower San Felipe Trail, in particular, that was a treasure trove of feathers. What a cool find! It appeared that one or more turkeys were killed, based on the number of turkey feathers in the area, and many birds and animals feasted on the remains. There were two species of owl (Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl), two species of hawk (Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk), and crow feathers. There were so many barn owl feathers and droppings, it appeared as though an owl must've been roosting in the grand oak tree overlooking this spot. There was also bobcat and coyote scat, which suggest they feasted there as well. Such a cool place!

In addition to the above feathers, I found an Acorn Woodpecker feather and one from a Collared Dove.

Posted on July 16, 2021 12:20 AM by truthseqr truthseqr | 0 comments | Leave a comment