January 29

The mid-morning temperatures are in the low 60’s, under mostly cloudy skies as Caroline and I revisit Madrona Marsh, a 43-acre urban oasis in Torrance, California. It is a type of wetland called a vernal marsh. "Vernal" means spring or green. Madrona Preserve’s wetlands does not have a built-in water source. When the winter and spring rains fall, enough water accumulates to sustain the marsh and provides a resting spot for migrating birds. Soon, I come upon a gathering of crows called a “murder.” The origin of this term is based on old folk tales and superstitions about this bird being an omen of death. Just ahead, I watch some Redwing blackbirds land in a clump of tall reeds. Looking more closely, I see one of the males has a white head. This abnormal plumage, called leucism, is due to a genetic mutation, resulting in a lack of melanin pigment. Sometimes a bird like this is driven away, but this one seems to be part of the flock. Thus, it should be able to mate and the genetic mutation may be passed on to progeny. After walking next to a busy street, I pause to scan the marsh, teeming with a variety of waterfowl. Near the earthen path, I spot yellow blossoms of Telegraph weed and Bush sunflowers with a ring of tiny yellow florets within their central discs. Moving closer to the water’s edge, I notice a floating green plant with a duckweed-like appearance. Upon closer inspection, it turns out to be an aquatic liverwort, called Fringed Heartwort. On shore, I watch dozens of tiny, Thin-legged Wolf Spiders dart over the leaf litter. These arachnids hunt by waiting for prey to appear, then rushing out to capture it. Small prey are bitten immediately. Larger prey may be enclosed in a basket made by the spider’s legs and then bitten. Their diet consists mainly of insects and other, smaller wolf spiders. Continuing on a perimeter path around the wetlands, I spot a perching Hummingbird. The best I can tell, it’s a male hybrid of Anna’s and Rufous hummingbirds. On the ground, nearby, I observe a Common Inkcap mushroom. After several days these fungi decay and form a blackish slimy mass due to auto digestion (stock photo). Up ahead, I pause to examine the mottled trunk of a Tasmanian Blue Gum tree, the most common Eucalyptus tree in this area. Circling back toward the trailhead, I come upon blossoms of White Buckwheat and Wild Radish. My final stop is at a birdfeeder behind the nature center, where I catch a glimpse of a perching male House Finch. 

Surface of white

Reflecting snow

Floating duckweed

Ripples show

Shrouded by ice

Muskrats sleep

Fluid and murky

Ducks dive deep

Waters of earth

Nature’s flair

Wetlands of winter

Here and there

 

D. DeGraaf