People ask me, "What's new?" and I find it hard to answer. Lately I find myself just answering, "Nothing". This is not very good for idle conversation. I find I ask this question too, out of social custom. I think I need to find a better way to address this. I know some people have no trouble telling me in vivid detail what is new with them, but I'm just not good at small talk. My chronic personal struggles bore me or pain me, and I don't want to talk about them. They are not new, and I don't want to dwell on them. The new things for me are minor. I don't think the average person wants me to respond, "I've been doing a deep analysis of butterfly data from 9 years of surveys and teaching myself how to create charts in Excel. Do you want me to go into detail?" That's what's new with me. Is it new that Western Sandpipers were on the river today?  They start to show up every July. A Solitary Sandpiper showed up. They are less common, but are not totally unusual this time of year. I would share that as something new with some of my birding buddies, but then again, when responding to a friend or acquaintance I haven't seen in a while, I don't think this is what they are asking for. The fact that I got up, watched some news, ate breakfast, responded to emails, texted a few people, stayed in my pajamas until late, took a walk, did some art, watched Netflix.... doesn't sound like much new. This has been going on for decades. I solved Wordle in three. Is that new? I find my daily life of great interest to me, but I can't imagine that it is of interest to everyone (or anyone?) else. I suppose I will just have to continue some social custom and try to prepare a better response to that question.  I write my blog to say what is new. So now I will share with you, on the assumption that you are interested because you are still reading, everything new for me for the month with regard to my nature adventures.

I started the month helping to document a group of nesting herons before and after the 4th of July fireworks. I was merely a small part in a large effort to monitor the birds. I had visited the heron rookery in the end of June so I had some idea of where the birds were. In the morning before the event, I noted several nests with small chicks, and some larger young either already fledged or soon to be. Unfortunately one of the young Great Egrets was already quite weak. The parents didn't seem to be feeding it, while investing in the larger healthier sibling. Nature can seem cruel that way. The next morning, although I am sure they were disturbed by the show, all were accounted for. I didn't stick around long enough to see the parent feeding the Great Egrets, but I did see an adult Great Blue Heron harassing them. The following day, the smaller young Great Egret was found on the ground and taken by a friend of mine to International Bird Rescue. It was found to be very thin and weak and ultimately did not survive. Whether it fell out of the nest because it was already weak, or was pushed out by a sibling (as happens), or possibly fell out because of the Great Blues, I'm sure the fireworks did not help. I am glad that all the healthy herons seemed to get through any trauma the fireworks may have caused. I wonder how the fireworks seemed compared to the thunderstorm last month. I went back a few days later and saw the surviving Great Egret doing quite well, evidence that the parents had not abandoned it. After monitoring these herons just for a short period, I did feel invested in their well being. I think when people engage with nature in a positive and curious way, they naturally want to help with its survival.

This month I helped with TWO back-to-back butterfly surveys. The first, was the annual survey conducted by Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon. The data is collected for NABA (North American Butterfly Association). This annual count for butterflies is the equivalent of the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The group I was with went to Harbor Lake. We also count dragonflies for fun. Butterflies and dragonflies do not like to pose. Sometimes we just have to count them at the family level. Butterflies were plentiful, but there were few dragonflies. The highlights though, were a very long gopher snake and a mom and baby raccoons. The young raccoons had trouble navigating the world, learning to climb branches. At times, the mom raccoon struggled to move her children along.

The next day I went out on my monthly survey with Irvine Ranch Conservancy. It was very hot and getting hotter, so we maintained a faster pace than usual to get back to base before the temperature rose to unbearable. One can see potential threats along the way, but if one is just aware, they pose little threat and caused me no worry. I was far more worried about the heat. People who know me, know that I can be a wimp. There were large swarms of harvester ants. We simply danced around them quickly, trying not to squish them and also trying to avoid their checking out our legs. I still have a small scar where one bit me last month. We saw two species of Tarantula Hawks. I am told they have a fiercesome sting. Fortunately they were happy nectaring on Narrow Leaf Milkweed and allowed me to get close for photos. There was Mountain Lion scat on the trail. At least I think it was. It could be large coyote, but in my mind it is mountain lion. It wasn't very fresh so I didn't worry this time. It was well worth getting out. There was a steady flow of butterflies and a nice variety. A Sylvan Hairstreak was the highlight butterfly.

On the last night of the month, I went back to the same area for a night of blacklighting. It was a lovely evening with nice people, and several really cool insects. Identifying some of them is a challenge and an on-going process.

It was rather quiet on the Los Cerritos Wetlands bird survey this month. So instead of birds, I got excited by a few insects. Wetsalts Tiger Beetles and a Wandering Skipper are residents of wetlands and remind me of the fragile habitat I am walking through. I always watch my feet and stick to the trail. A Steel-blue Cricket Hunter is a very striking wasp. They are not strictly associated with the wetlands, but they are beautiful.

I got a trail camera for my backyard. I have moved the camera to different locations each day, and found something on it almost every night. Although the photo quality is poor, I was not disappointed. It is fun to know what happens while I sleep. I have smelled skunks at night on and off for years, but never saw them in my yard, but my trail cam did! It even found out that the skunk is a male. It is these small things that bring me joy (LOL). The skunk comes back every few days for a short visit. I don't know where they come from or go to. Apparently I do get raccoons, but infrequently. The Opossum visits more regularly, as do a black cat and tortoiseshell cat. 

Locally, things are about as expected. Fledgling resident birds are fun to watch. A Young Cooper's Hawk played with his food. A young Mockingbird stomped his feet and begged to be fed. Then finally towards the middle of the month, on cue, the shorebirds are returning and so are the birders at the LA River. I saw three birds new to me, a Bank Swallow, a Stilt Sandpiper, and a Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Oh yes, I also did some artwork. Playing with colors and layers.

So what's new with you?

Happy Nature Walks.

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimMooreNaturalist/

Watch the slideshows or click on the links to look through at your own pace. Links open in a new tab.

Local Stuff:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/new_jul-2022   

My Trail Cam in my yard:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/mytrailcam

Egret/Heron Roost Survey:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/heron_roost-2022

PV/South Bay Butterfly Survey:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/pv_butterfly_count_2022

Irvine Ranch Conservancy Butterfly Survey:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/irc_jul-2022

Irvine Ranch Conservancy Blacklighting:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/irc_night_jul_2022

Los Cerritos Wetlands Bird Survey:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/hellman_jul_2022