Owl Pellets

This is what greeted me this morning at the training course. A Styrofoam plate, toothpicks and some sort of bone chart.

We were given Owl Pellets which had been sterilized in aluminum foil. The toothpicks were used to help dissect the contents and tease out the remains.

I found a rodent's skull in the mix. Obviously, I didn't take the time to clean out the fur from its eye sockets; we were in a rush to uncover the other remains. It would have been best to treat the pellet with warm water before dissecting, though.

...more bone remains.

An Owl pellet contains the remains of rodents, baby rabbits, shrews, moles, insects, baby kittens and/or birds that the Owl has swallowed, digested and then regurgitated. The remains are bones, fur, feathers and, in the case of insects, exoskeletons.

Aphids

Aphids always provide an interesting shot with the use of a macro lens. I found these in the backyard on the "Napoleon's cap" succulent. They are fascinating to watch as they perform a coordinated twisting motion with their bodies while sucking up the juices of this plant.

Trail Guide's Book of Wonders

One of the rangers guessed best what we had in our heads this morning with "what did I get myself into?" after a quick perusal through the Trail Guide's Book. It revealed enough information to complete a college degree or two! Not to worry, they said; you'll learn it all. Ha! Actually, they meant to provide this as a reference tool for the Ecology, Botany, Mammals, Reptiles, Birds, History, Geology, Arthropoda and Native Americans of the park. (What? No Algae, Fungi, Marine Biology or GPS navigation?)

The course will take up the next 12 weeks worth of Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Most people live locally around Mission Gorge. On average, only 10% of the people who take the course decide to stick around and volunteer as trail guides. That means this group might provide 3 or 4 this year.

I created a simple Photosynth of Mission Gorge right outside the visitor's center. Photosynth is a service that combines several pictures to create one that you can navigate through.

One of the rangers led us on an orientation of the visitor's center.

Cowles Mountain During Early Morning Fog

This morning around 8 A.M., I went for a hike up a foggy Cowles (pronounced locally as "coals") Mountain. I thought that I would get a clear picture at the top, but I decided not to wait for the fog to burn off.

The sun is just beginning to pierce through the fog as I blog at noon time.

I tried snapping some shots of spider webs with dew drops. It's quite tricky getting the webs in focus. I came across a dragonfly covered in dew in the chaparral. I couldn't tell if it was still alive.

I'll provide a clear view from the top someday. Until then, here are a few sample pictures (click the image below and activate the slide show):

Cowles Mountain