Dove Eggs Hatch

The dove eggs in the potted plant have at long last hatched!!  They were first spotted on Mother's Day, a suitable date!

Birdsong

Nesting Dove

The nursery has also drawn this drove to it -- a potted box elder seemed like a nice place for a nest.  She/he has two eggs in there;  the volunteers who come to hand-water the plants are tip-toeing around, trying not to unduly ruffle her feathers.

King Snake

This has been a good spring for King Snake sightings.  This snake was out in the field, stretched out and so relaxed it let us circle around taking photos for at least 3 mninutes.  Then it slowly went away.

In the bottom photo, this larger snake was in the nursery but has been seen inside the nearby sea train where we store equipment.  Mice have also been spotted inside the sea train.  Hmmmm.

Bee Colony Gone

We first photographed this bee hive, located high up on a dead tree, in 2011 but it may have been there some time before. It was still active in April of 2013 but it is dead and falling apart as of April 2014. We hope the bees might simply have migrated elsewhere and not fallen victim to Colony Collapse Disorder.  A beekeeper friend says new bees may eventually take up residence.  We will be keeping an eye out.

Native Plant Propagation at the Preserve

People sometimes wonder where the plants being raised in Panorama Vista's native plant nursery come from. With few exceptions, stock (such as these potted willows) have been propagated from cuttings or seeds collected on Preserve property. Volunteers hand-water them in the nursery so they will be ready to plant. Many thanks to these volunteers!