Category Archives: nature|wildlife

nature, nature|wildlife, photography, photography|still life, running, trails, trails|smmc open space

Feather Along the Secret Trail

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Semiplume feather along the Secret Trail in Calabasas, California.

This intricate feather was caught on a bristly stalk along the Secret Trail (Calabasas – Cold Creek Trail). The slightest breath of wind would jostle its branches and branchlets. I found I was holding my breath, waiting for the still moments when I could take a photograph. The feather is smaller than the photograph suggests, perhaps 1.50″-1.75″ in length.

There are several types of bird feathers, the most familiar of which is probably the contour feather. The Feather on the Modelo Trail is a contour feather. In a sense contour feathers form the outer shell of a bird, defining its form and coloration. Wing and tail feathers are contour feathers. The fluffy feather with a familiar name — the down feather — provides insulation.



The feather found along the Secret Trail is a semiplume feather. A semiplume feather looks like it is a blend of a contour feather and a down feather, and has some of the characteristics of both. Like a contour feather it has a supportive shaft, but like a down feather it has filamentary branches (barbs) and branchlets (barbules). This combination helps to fill out the bird’s shape, and also provides additional insulation.

The barbules of contour feathers have hooks (barbicels) which join adjacent barbs to form the blade-like vanes of the feather. The barbules of semiplume and down feathers do not have hooks. This allows the barbs of the feather to spread in three dimensions and more easily fill a space. Here’s a closer view of the barbs and barbules of the Secret Trail feather.

To see how the Secret Trail feather compares to other semiplume feathers, I asked long-time climbing, kayaking, and running partner Gary Gunder — now living the good life on the North Shore — if he could take some photos of feathers from some of the birds at Tin Roof Ranch. Courtesy of Gary, here are photos of semiplume feathers from a chicken, turkey, and goose.

For more about feathers and birds see Feather Structure on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds web site.

P.S. I asked Gary how his running is going, and he replied, “I run every day… across the Kamehameha highway to go surfing!”

nature, nature|wildlife, photography, photography|wildlife, running, running|adventures

Coyote Tag

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coyote that ran with me

I was deep in thought, but have no idea what those thoughts might have been. It was at that point in a run when miles, and thoughts, flow freely. The afternoon was warm and calm and the settling sun cast a golden hue on the blond, oak-studded hills. My footfalls ticked out a steady rhythm on the dirt road, and my mind was at ease.

My reverie was suddenly broken by the realization that a coyote was running with me. Not running yards in the distance, or in the brush off to the side, but five or six feet in front of me, as if restrained by an invisible lead!

It must have come from the tall grass along the margin of the road, but from my daydream-warped perspective had just suddenly appeared. I’m surprised I didn’t stumble or start. But there was no hint of aggression or malice — just a mischievous glance backward to see how I was going to react.

I didn’t. I’ve had numerous encounters with coyotes, but this went so far beyond my other experiences, I didn’t know how to react.

For more than 50 yards the coyote ran with me, keeping pace in lead along the deserted dirt road.

At some point I started to try and retrieve my camera from the small pack on my waist. The out of synch movement disturbed the delicate balance of this improbable scene, and I could see the change in the animal’s demeanor.

Before disappearing into the cover, the coyote looked back a final time, and in so many words seemed to be saying “gotcha, you’re it!”

(From a run Tuesday at Ahmanson Ranch, now Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.)

Some related posts:
– Trickster
– Coyote Tag II

nature, nature|wildlife, photography, photography|landscape, photography|quirky, running, trails, trails|smmc open space

Owl Feather on the Modelo Trail

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A feather — probably from a barn owl — on the Modelo Trail between Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons.

A little further along the trail I was surprised to see the diminutive “Felix the Cat” like face of a long-tailed weasel briefly pop up from a burrow.

From today’s run of the Modelo – Palo Comado Canyon – Cheeseboro Canyon loop. This Park Service PDF includes a map of the area, and this interactive Cesium browser View shows a GPS trace of the run.

nature, nature|wildflowers, nature|wildlife, photography, photography|wildflowers

May Day Morning

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Canyon sunflowers in upper Las Virgenes Canyon

These canyon sunflowers were along the trail in a pretty oak woodland area of upper Las Virgenes Canyon.

I had been kneeling when I took the photo, and as I stood up, turned off the camera and started to take a couple of strides up the trail, was startled to see the large white face of a barn owl headed toward me. The bird wheeled and turned in a patch of sunlight, showing its broad wings and exquisite apricot-orange coloration. Silently, it flew to a nearby tree.

I was a little surprised it had not flown farther away and looked to see if I could get a photo. Nope — the owl had had enough, and flew to a more distant tree. At that instant a small squirrel came scrambling down the oak branch from where I had first seen the owl fly.

I apologized to the owl, told the squirrel he owed me one, and continued up the trail.

Related post: Hawk, Bobcat, and Rabbit

nature, nature|wildlife, photography, photography|quirky, photography|wildlife, trails, trails|smmc open space

Category Is: Things Found on the Chumash Trail

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Things Found on the Chumash Trail

What the… Until I saw the water bottle and that the person was talking on a cell phone, I wasn’t sure what I was seeing.

Then there was the rattlesnake — well actually, the two rattlesnakes! Here’s an video snapshot of one of the rattlesnakes. This is an average size Southern Pacific rattlesnake. Because of our cool Spring weather they’ve been slow to appear, but are now out and about.

Some related posts: Big Southern Pacific Rattlesnake at Ahmanson Ranch, It was So Muddy That…, Overcoming Obstacles on the Trail

nature, nature|wildlife, photography

Southern Alligator Lizard

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alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata)

An alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata) sunning itself on a grassland or chaparral trail isn’t about to move unless it positively, absolutely, for sure, without question has to.

I’ve encountered (and jumped over) a number of alligator lizards while running Southern California trails, and don’t recall one ever being in a hurry to move. It’s a case of fight or flight — or just sit there. Putting the camera a few inches from its nose resulted in only an almost imperceptible tilt of the head. I can never decide if they’re playing possum, or maybe trying to decide if I’m too big to eat. And they will bite.

Because of their small limbs and long body, at first glance they are sometimes mistaken for a snake. When they finally do decide to move, they do so  using a rapid lateral undulation of their body, with little apparent involvement of their limbs. Some research has concluded that this form of locomotion is more energetically efficient (Gans, 1975), while other research (Walton et al.,1990) suggests that limbed and limbless locomotion may have similar energetic costs.

The alligator lizard appears to be part way through a transition from a fully limbed lizard to a more snake-like body with reduced limbs. This change in form has occurred in a number of species, and in a paper published in 2006 (Wiens, Brandly & Reeder) the question was posed why this trait repeatedly evolves in lizards and snakes. They postulate that in addition to more traditional explanations, that biogeographic isolation and competition may play important roles.

For more info about the alligator lizard, see this San Diego Zoo fact sheet.