Favoritos de cadecampbell

We heard a noise from within this beer can stuffed down in a stump. It was stuffed vertically into the stump, so when these little guys fell in, they were unable to get out. One had perished, but this one was alive and we dumped it into a container for photos and then released.

It was asked in a local group of mine about whether or not Morels are fluorescent. They specifically asked about with the Convoy C8 365nm UV flashlight, which I happened to own.

Do Morchella americana/ulmaria fluoresce with a Convoy C8 365nm UV flashlight? Yes.

Does it stand out from the rest of the forest? Kind of a little.

Is it worth dropping $35-$100 on a 365nm UV light? I'm not sure. The fluorescence was pretty close to the same color of wood affected by white rot fungi and some decaying leaves. It's like a pale blue-white fluorescence. So it camouflaged some.

It's hard to say if it helped me or not last night since I knew where these four already were and my light kept dying on me, preventing me from looking extensively for any that I hadn't spotted previously in the day. I also have no idea how Morchella punctipes, Morchella angusticeps, Morchella diminutiva, or Morchella sceptriformis fluoresce at this point.

The bottom line: yes they fluoresce but not in a big way. It might help some, but my data has limitations.

Harmless eastern ratsnake (Pantherophis allegeniensis) constricting a young red tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

I saw the hawk fall out of a tree and went over to inspect it; it took me a moment to register that it was being predated on by the snake as it’s usually vice versa. The hawk appeared to have an eye injury or infection which could have contributed to its unfortunate predicament.

The last two photos were taken about a half hour later at which point the hawk was deceased (I left the snake alone to finish his lucky meal, that ought to last him quite some time lol)

Baby hummingbird found on the ground by kids. Unfortunately, could not locate nest and too much human and animal traffic to safely leave it there. Luckily Silicon Valley Wildlife rehab was able to take it in.

Parasitized millipede found on a forested trail. I kept it in a plastic baggie and it bloomed into this.

See the original observation (where it was found in situ):
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/108790617