The natural world has work to do in January and February. But it can go unheralded by those of us who hunker down in stasis during winter.
JAN-FEB, Northern elephant seals: Imagine: a once-tranquil beach now covered in massive marine mammals with cartoonishly elongated noses, chortling and bellowing, lounging and lurching and sometimes, in the case o the two-ton males, lunging and lashing. From Año Nuevo further south to Point Reyes to our own Goat Rock State Beach, it’s elephant seal mating season. (The Press Democrat)
JAN-FEB, Red-legged frogs: California’s most famously threatened frog (and its largest, at up to 5 inches long) also breeds during January and February, to considerably less fanfare. Triggered by rainfall, males gather at ponds, marshes, and creeks with still water, then call and await females, before pairing off. (Shutterstock)
JAN-FEB, Anna’s hummingbird: Only one hummingbird normally overwinters in Sonoma County, both inland and near the coast: the adaptable Anna’s. At home in urban, suburban, and wildland settings, this resourceful flyweight has relied on backyard feeders and exotic species like eucalyptus to expand its range dramatically over the last century. (John Burgess / The Press Democrat)
JAN-FEB, Steelhead trout: Just below Warm Springs Dam at Lake Sonoma’s eastern edge, the Warm Springs Hatchery intercepts steelhead swimming up Dry Creek via the Russian River from the Pacific Ocean, more than 50 miles away. The eggs are collected, the adults released, and their offspring incubated, hatched, reared, and returned to the river a year later. (Shutterstock)
FEB, California buckeye: Perennially premature (or are they right on time?), our native buckeyes precede most other Sonoma County trees, endemic and imported alike, in responding to the changing of the seasons. When other deciduous species are still skeletons, our buckeyes start to leaf out, with bright-green buds punctuating silvery branches. (Shutterstock)
The natural world has work to do in January and February. But it can go unheralded by those of us who take the black bear’s view of winter: a time to hunker down in stasis. In any case these months represent — and hopefully deliver — the depths of winter, when creeks and aquifers fill, and plants and animals recharge for spring’s explosion. Click through the above gallery for details.
