Coyote Hills

Yesterday, Feb 14, I went to Coyote Hills with my class to do some vertebrate observations. The weather was actually much nicer than I expected (especially b/c it hailed the day prior). The temperature was in the mid to low 40's with somewhat cloudy skies. The tiny droplets felt like someone was spitting while speaking. It was somewhat windy which may explain why we didn't see as many animals as the the Friday field section.

Coyote Hills has a habitat that is characterized mainly by marsh vegetation and some scrubby oak woodlands.

Some of the things that I was excited to see include:
1) Loggerhead Shrike which is a predatory passerine bird which will impale it's prey on thorns and barbed wire fences
2) Northern Harriers! the males and females look so different
3) Blue-Winged Teal < I was told this was exciting... pretty duck w/ a half moon on its head
4) GREAT HORNED OWL!! I saw this guy chillin' in its nest. All I could make out were its little ear tufts. This is a monster bird! We dissected an owl pellet we found nearby and there were some rather large vertebra in there.

Publicado el 16 de febrero de 2009 por ap2il