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SCV Outdoor Report

Santa Clarita Outdoor Report: The “Day Tripper” Wolf

In this week’s Santa Clarita Outdoor Report, Wendy Langhans tells us more on the extirpation or local extinction of Gray Wolves in California, and the possible comeback with a “Day Tripper Wolf” known as OR7. Last week, we spoke about the “extirpation” (local extinction) of Gray Wolves in California.  We have anecdotal evidence that they once lived here in Southern ...

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SCV Outdoor Report: Extinct or Extirpated?

This week’s SCV Outdoor Report by Wendy Langhans tells us the difference between extinct and extirpated.  Passenger pigeons, dinosaurs, gray wolves: vanished from earth or gone from a region? What is the difference between extinction and extirpation?  My first thought would be – that depends on “how long ago” it happened.  After all, dinosaurs became extinct about 65.95 million years ...

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Santa Clarita Valley Outdoor Report: Eggs-cetera

  Earlier this week, as I was watering my potted plants on the front porch, I discovered a new resident had moved in.  There, smack dab in the middle of my sage plant, I spotted a nest with two small eggs.  Later, I saw a Mourning Dove sitting on the nest, her two brown eyes carefully watching my every move. ...

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SCV Outdoor Report: The Ants Go Marching, Part II

Wendy Langhans’ Santa Clarita Valley Outdoor Report, “The Ants Go Marching,” answers questions about flower pollination.  In part II, Wendy answers the “why” ants go marching. Two weeks ago, we took a closer lookat the pollination of flowering plants by ants.  We explored three reasons why it rarely occurs.  This week, I’d like to address the follow-up question – if ...

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SCV Outdoor Report: Put ‘Em Up, Put ‘Em Up!

This is a Best of  Wendy Langhans Report. One of my favorite characters in “The Wizard of OZ” is the Cowardly Lion.  I especially liked the forest scene where he successfully intimidated the Scarecrow and Tin Man, only to be slapped down by Dorothy when he chased after Toto.  Obviously, the Cowardly Lion did not know when (and when not) to ...

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Santa Clarita Outdoor Report: The Ants Go Marching (Part I)

Last Saturday, as I was teaching a class of volunteer docents about our local wildflowers, one of the docents asked, “What about ants?  I see them on flowers all the time. Do they pollinate flowers?”  I smiled (a bit sheepishly, I might add) and said I would get back to her.  And here is what I found…. In the natural ...

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Santa Clarita Valley Outdoor Report: Curve Ball

Nature comes in various shapes – some straight and some curved.  We all know how to create a curved shape.  Children use the palms of their hands to shape cookie dough into round balls.  Pastry chefs use a rolling pin to shape a round and flaky pie crust.  And pitchers put a “topspin” on a baseball to throw a curve ...

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Santa Clarita Outdoor Report: Tales From The Vienna Woods

Johann Strauss II composed his famous waltz, “Tales from the Vienna Woods” in 1868.  However, our “tale” for this week has little to do with waltzing or the Strauss family.  But it does have to do with music…specifically bird song…and research from the city of Vienna and its nearby Vienna Woods. As anyone who’s ever walked along a city street ...

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Santa Clarita Outdoor Report: Studying For An Exam

This week’s SCV Outdoor Report is a “Best of Wendy Langhan’s” report:  When it comes to studying for exams, I think most of us fall into one of two catagories:  either we study together in groups or we study alone.  And whether we’re together or alone, we often rely on caffeine to help keep us alert and focused while we ...

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Santa Clarita Outdoor Report: Beetle Voicemail

Thirty years ago, I was working in Silicon Valley for ROLM Corporation, one of the pioneers in voicemail telecommunications.  But recently, I learned that insects have been communicating with their version of “voicemail” for much longer than 30 years – more like millions of years. To leave a voicemail, you first need a telephone.   In 2008, researchers from Netherlands Institute ...

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