# Today in nature I saw **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854 "2020-07-20T18:22:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 156
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3104 "2024-05-23T18:36:57Z")
At Point Reyes National Seashore today: [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMRIJAikP7tsIm4cfghHwDZBFYjJTX0oSJKRirMiwg8uxdpts6-OOq1aSUdmI-XbJPUVBemUnV-8Od0zqQrDbv-XDjVgojPw6DFsTpBs-7EW45d5x_b=w600-h315-p-k "New item by Dave Carter") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/eW2nDJc5X7J6PSyN8) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3105 "2024-05-23T18:44:20Z")
For a moment I thought I was getting mooned by the one on the right! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3106 "2024-05-24T12:19:15Z")
Last week drove from Chicago to Denver and back through South Dakota. Saw pronghorn, bison and prairie dogs, and added 5 birds to my mediocre life list. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3107 "2024-05-25T00:49:05Z")
Another one from Point Reyes. At Drake’s Beach, a jellyfish stranded in a tidepool: [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOk_rCWNRNrPeThIu_NNKW6OzNt89rFUVXJydeQtaTF38UA4g2qQzOJUnVH6AAR0lG_pSHvro32t5IakBCM6SUOiBpABd5T7V1Mr08WBZIugYTRNVJo=w600-h315-p-k "New item by Dave Carter") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/9So7UBJ9J8fhW1vE7) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3108 "2024-05-25T07:13:56Z")
Beautiful! Is that a simple rock or might it be a [stromatolite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stromatolite)? That would make it really cool! I don’t believe I have ever seen one in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3109 "2024-05-25T07:22:46Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > At Drake’s Beach, a jellyfish stranded in a tidepool I really love that shot. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3110 "2024-05-25T15:38:57Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Is that a simple rock or might it be a [stromatolite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stromatolite)? Don’t think so. I’ve been to Hamelin Bay and it doesn’t look like the formations there. I’m not a geologist (or a marine biologist, for that matter 🙃) but I think it’s more like a [concretion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concretion) like the ones found further up the coast at [Bowling Ball Beach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Ball_Beach). It kind of reminded me of the [Moeraki Boulders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moeraki_Boulders) I saw in New Zealand, but they seem to be made of a different type of rock. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3111 "2024-05-25T16:03:39Z")
Interesting, thanks. I’ve seen bluebirds at this location in the past, but this year it’s been all swallows. I’ll add that both species are suffering from competition with invasive sparrows and starlings. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3112 "2024-05-25T16:16:08Z")
Walking around our pond, there are tadpoles everywhere. This happens every year. [![](https://i.imgur.com/2g31lY8.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/2g31lY8.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3113 "2024-05-25T21:51:43Z")
Last one from Point Reyes: long tailed weasel on a fence post: [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53745181357_7e6e7253c9.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53745181357_7e6e7253c9.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3114 "2024-05-25T22:02:40Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Last one from Point Reyes: long tailed weasel on a fence post: Oh, man - I’m absolutely jealous. The only two weasels I’ve ever seen have (one at Pt. Reyes) have scuttled out of view almost instantly, just popping up long enough for me to say “hey, is that a wea…”. Great, great picture. Was this on the road up by Abbot’s Lagoon? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3115 "2024-05-25T22:15:43Z")
Yes, on the trail out to the lagoon. I was out there hoping to see some river otters–no such luck–but the weasel was a good consolation prize. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3116 "2024-05-26T02:55:46Z")
I need to get out to the west coast more. It’s almost like another country mammal-wise. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3117 "2024-05-26T03:24:26Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I was out there hoping to see some river otters The Las Gallinas wastewater treatment ponds next to San Rafael are IMHO probably the easiest place to see river otters in the immediate Bay Area. I probably run across them in 80-90% of my trips out there (granted I am usually there pretty early, like 6-10 a.m.). It’s a pleasant walk, but the views aren’t quite as expansive as Pt. Reyes 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3118 "2024-05-26T18:49:18Z")
I just saw a Baltimore oriole for the first time in my life! No pic, sorry, but … what a gorgeous little thing. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3119 "2024-05-26T19:24:52Z")
That’s awesome. I think they look pretty sharp also. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3120 "2024-05-26T23:08:36Z")
If you slice an orange in half and secure it to a platform feeder, they’ll love you. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3121 "2024-05-31T19:45:57Z")
I saw three deer, all does, walk across a neighborhood tot lot. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2024, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3122 "2024-06-01T12:15:12Z")
I served dinner in our sunroom last night. Sitting there eating, I saw movement in my peripheral vision. A rabbit hopped up to the door and looked at us! [![](https://i.imgur.com/1FAvnWG.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/1FAvnWG.jpeg) I took a picture and went back to eating. Then I noticed Simi looking at what I thought was a piece of yarn on the floor. Turns out it’s a little neonate garter snake. I swept it outside and took a picture. [![](https://i.imgur.com/HDNow3U.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/HDNow3U.jpeg) Wish I’d thought to put down a banana for scale. It was tiny! I assume it got into our house somehow, but garter snakes are viviparous with litter sizes of 5-40. (did not tell my gf this) Yay, nature! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2024, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/3123 "2024-06-01T12:30:25Z")
Oh my gosh, both cuties! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=155) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=157)