Local Wildlife

We have Muscovy ducks in our neighborhood that regularly try to nest and raise young. Unfortunately, we rarely see them succeed. Even when eggs hatch, predators often pick off the ducklings before they reach adulthood. This year, however, we have watched a group of ducklings defy the odds and grow to a size where they have a much better chance of surviving. We are rooting for them.

One of our neighbors owns an old El Camino, and a Muscovy duck decided the bed of the vehicle would make an excellent nesting site. Fortunately for the duck, the owner has allowed her to take over his vehicle and has not driven it since she built the nest. As far as we can tell, she is sitting on four eggs. The owner doesn’t have another vehicle, so he is making quite a sacrifice in hopes that the duck will be successful.

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that I led an iNaturalist project for the Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve. The goal was to photograph and document as many life forms as possible within the GTM watershed. Forty-four participants submitted nearly 7,000 observations representing almost 1,300 species during the month-long project.

One of the most rewarding outcomes was seeing how the project changed the way people observe the world around them. Participants began paying closer attention to the small details of nature that are easy to overlook. Regis and I walk our two dogs, Raven and Clover, three times a day. Since the project, I rarely leave home without my phone camera. During our walks, I stop whenever I spot an interesting plant, insect, fungus, or other life form so I can photograph it and submit the observation to iNaturalist.

Some examples are noticing the large number red-shouldered bugs gathered on a fence. Because I photographed them, I was able to notice that two of the insects look different (sex, age, ?) than the others. Clover was particularly interested in a section of our garden covered with leaves. Upon closer inspection, I saw a box turtle. I consider myself someone who usually pays attention to the wildlife around me, but I feel even more focused now.

With the completion of the iNaturalist project and some other volunteer commitments, I recently found extra time to focus on personal interests. One of the things I have been enjoying is creating additional felting projects. I choose some of my favorite photos and use them as a reference. The photos I used for the following projects were taken in Port Townsend, Washington. We will be visiting the area again later this summer.