To date, we have only had a single species of mouse at Leaning Oaks. Fortunately we have not had the introduced House Mouse here, only the native Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). From time to time we have them enter the house and we need to break out the traps when they do. Their ability to increase in numbers quickly makes rapid response essential. They breed at a very young age (at less than two month old) and have three or four litters in a year of 1 to 9 young. In captivity they have been recorded having as many as 14 litters in a year and the females coming into breeding condition in as little as 23 days. In the house they seem to eat almost anything, we've seen them eat such unappetizing items as hand soap and leather. They are a rather attractive rodent, with large eyes and ears, soft fur and white bellies and feet and a bicolour tail.
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Ever moving, ever circling, ever probing - the wee Brown Creeper is more often heard than seen although they frequent the Garry Oaks and Douglas-fir on Leaning Oaks. The lower photo really shows how they do blend into the bark. They build their hammock like nests beneath loose flaps of bark that are found on the larger trees. It is hard to imagine what the landscape was like more than 400 years ago before the earthworm was introduced to North America. The first English colony of Jamestown, Virginia is assumed to be where Lumbricus terrestris and L. rubellus first crawled. When the ships were coming to load up with tobacco from the new world, they would unload the cargo load of dirt and rocks that were in as ballast and these loads undoubtedly had both common species of worms. The change that the earthworms have wrought to the land is huge; where there was litter that provides food for the plants and hold in moisture, the worms would eat it all. The only native Canadian earthworms are found in glacial refugia such as the Brook's Peninsula and Haida Gwaii, or as our friend Joanne Lawrence discovered, the top of some of the mountains on Vancouver Island - her discovery was named Bimastos lawrenceae.
Here is a link to a key to the earthworms of Canada: https://www.naturewatch.ca/english/wormwatch/ Bald Eagles are very active right now at Leaning Oaks especially with courtship and nest building activities. We don't have a nest on the property, but there must be one being built nearby as we have been seeing stick gathering again this spring. Most of the rest of the year we see Bald Eagles soaring overhead. They largely disappear in September and October, likely to take advantage of early salmon runs further north on the island or on the mainland. This weed was introduced from India via England into North America in 1855 and was first found in BC in the early 1970's. It is hard to believe that it hasn't been that long given the dense, ecology altering thickets that it can form. The tough poky vines make it difficult to control. It spreads by root and stem fragments as well as birds and omnivorous mammals. Most of the issues that we have with this species (Rubus armeniacus) is around the garden. The berries are yummy but not worth it for the stranglehold that it puts on the native vegetation, garden plants and our ankles. Cooper's Hawks are the commonest of the three accipiters that we have recorded at Leaning Oaks, and sightings occur frequently. We rather suspect that this species cruises the property several times a day. Accipiters are bird specialists and I'm afraid that they have a rather different interpretation of what a "bird feeder" is for. Predation attempts are frequent, and often the high drama of the day. In late August of 2012 a family group of three young and two adults moved into the yard for almost a month. Bird use of the property plummeted and we went from using four gallons of bird seed a week to less than one for the entire month. When they finally moved on, bird numbers rebounded. Separating Cooper's from Sharp-shinned Hawks can be difficult with some birds. A couple of websites that are very helpful are: http://static.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/accipiterIDtable.htm https://www.carolinabirdclub.org/misc/id/accipiters.html Other English names for Cladonia furcata were Cup Lichen and Many-forked Cladonia - luckily the one that was the most fun is also from BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer (http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/search.do); the provincial source for taxonomy! This plant was found growing on a rock amongst a moss (that will be the subject of another day, no doubt). The range is thought to be partly circumpolar and is found through western North America. It is found at lower elevations and in either open or shaded forests.
This is a very common moss here, growing on rocks, roots, logs and stumps. It is distinguished by it feather like appearance with its regularly once pinnate branches. Sporophytes of this moss grow from the side of the stem, and the smooth,curved capsules have a elongated beak (hence the common name). The latin name of this moss has been moved about quite a bit. I first learned it at Eurynchium oreganum then it changed to either Stokesiella oreganum and then Kindbergia oreganum (or vice versa I can't remember) and now it is apparently, back to Eurynchium. This member of the rose family is the earliest blooming native shrub we have on the property. In most years it starts to bloom in February, although this year the first flowers are starting to open now. Indian Plum usually has separate male and female plants, and although we only have a few on the property, we have some of each. The female plants bear orange drupes (plum-like fruits) that eventually turn deep blue - although they seldom last that way for very long as they are usually eaten by American Robins very quickly. Indian Plum is useful in the garden because of it's early bloom. Plants are easily propagated from hard wood cuttings taken in the fall. Hylocomium splendens is one of those latin names that rolls off the tongue so wonderfully that its a shame that there is a perfectly sensible, descriptive common name. This moss competes with others on the forest floor by growing its new growth out of the middle of the previous season's frond. The resulting "steps" make this moss easy to identify. This moss grows on rocks, logs and mineral soil here at Leaning Oaks. It almost always grows in shade. Other common names are Glittering Wood-moss and Mountain Fern Moss, but neither of these are as spendid as the latin name, nor as descriptive as the common name used here. |
AuthorsTwo biologists on a beautiful property armed with cameras, smart phones and a marginal knowledge of websites took up the challenge of documenting one species a day on that property. Join along! Posts and photographs by Leah Ramsay and David Fraser (unless otherwise stated); started January 1, 2014. Categories
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