tortoise-shell butterflies & dead gray whale calf

Tortoise-shell Butterflies

One single butterfly fluttering about can captivate most anyone at anytime. Thousands of them skittering among your midst, can mystically transport your mind to another cosmos. I have seen an array of butterflies this spring in West Marin; Pale and Tiger Swallowtails, Lorquin’s Admiral, California Sister, and most notably the gentle explosion of the California Tortoiseshell butterfly. Thousands are lining the Inverness Ridge Trail west of the top of Drake’s View Drive. The bloom is probably due to the abundance of the shrub Ceanothus, a direct regenerative expression of the destructive Mt. Vision fire (10/95.) What was once barren soil is now providing the host plant for the tortoiseshell’s larvae. Local biologist Jules Evans knocked on our door and exclaimed, “There are tortoiseshells all over the Ridge trail!” (I imagined a bunch of naked turtles huddling in tree hollows.) Jules witnessed ravens, crows and starlings flying off with this rusty orange and black-spotted insect in their beaks. We went to investigate this marvel and witnessed countless cold-blooded beauties basking quietly in the sun, while the cool ocean air noisily swooped over the hill. We found ourselves immersed in an irresistible fairyland-like atmosphere.

Discovery of California Gray Whale Calf

On June 25, a tranquil jaunt to Drake’s Bay turned our mood pensive by the discovery of a lifeless California gray whale calf. The newly arrived four-to-five month old cetacean was floating near the Fish Docks, conspicuous, against the blue-green hue of the water. The handyman giving the pier housing a fresh coat of white paint did not seem to notice the large creature floating near by. The calf died on its’ northbound migration back from it’s birthing lagoons in Baja California, Mexico. The gray whale mother, dubbed “Devilfish” by early whalers, is ferociously protective of its’ offspring. Is it improbable the two were separated without harm to her? I anguished over mom’s tragically disrupted journey. Her gestation was close to 13 months and she still would have been nursing the little 4-ton tyke. If she is alive, she cannot have another calf for two years. What happened to separate the two? Was the mom killed; perhaps by Orcas or, collide with a ship? Did the calf starve to death? Sad questions to ponder.