We had an election. Election day turned into election weeks, but now I hope civility is back in style. Meanwhile, Covid-19 continues to rage. Despite an abundance of social distancing on my part, I caught a cold that laid me low for about five days. Although I really didn't think it was Covid, I got tested for peace of mind. The results were negative as expected. I realize how easily these things can spread. My best guess on where I caught my simple cold was from limited interaction with family members. On the bright side, I spent the last week of November resting and getting caught up with binge-watching Netflix. I shall be extra vigilant in the months ahead.

After a brief warm start to the month, it got blustery and cold. We even had our first rain in a long time. But that was short lived, and by the end of the month, it was again unseasonably warm and dry. At least the evenings have been cool, which has made for pleasant weather.

My husband and I drove to Malibu one day, just to get away. This is the furthest we've been from home since the beginning of the year. We enjoyed outdoor dining in the parking lot, and I got to go birding at Legacy Park and at Malibu Lagoon. I saw a Wilson's Snipe at much closer range than usual. When I have seen them before, they are very elusive and hide in the reeds. 

I enjoy Bolsa Chica, but had been frightened off by recent reports of car break-ins and follow-home robberies. It is a shame you go somewhere for peace and have these things in the back of your mind. But I was very glad I went. I saw my first Short-eared Owl, wintering birds are coming back, and all was safe when I got back to my car. A second trip, coming in from the back trails, got me a photo op of a resident Peregrine Falcon. 

Vermillion Flycatchers were once rare in our area, but now have been breeding locally, and are more regularly found in certain places. They are beautiful birds. The males are bright red and can't be missed. The young and females are still beautiful, but the colors are more subtle. I was with two friends when we saw a male thrashing a caterpillar until it turned it into limp green pulp. We love our sweet little birds, but they can be quite vicious.

My own yard blooms bright yellow flowers of Mexican Marigold. They become magnets for native bees and flower flies. I saw several sweat bees (Halictus ligatus) mating. The females were laden with pollen sitting on flowers when a male would pounce on one and they would tumble to the ground. This repeated several times with several bees. It was interesting to watch, but hard to catch on camera. An interesting moth appeared, Metalmark moth (Choreutis emplecta). This is a non-native species that feeds on fig trees. It has only recently popped up in our area. I had not seen one before, but knew what it was as soon as I saw it from recent observations and discussions on iNaturalist. My favorite syrphid fly, Stripe-eyed flower fly (Eristalinus taeniops), always loves these flowers. They have crazy eyes. Just look at the photos.  I continued night surveys of my yard for the Natural History Museum project. I found a spider I had never previously seen, Leafcurling Sac Spider (Clubiona sp.). Finding something new is always cool.

Wishing you all safe and happy adventures, and happy holidays. 

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