November 23-29, 2025
Waiting on winter's doorstep
We finally got a break in the gloomy monotony of the past month. Snow in the valley, and not one, but two, days of sun!
Week in Review
Without a doubt, the story of the week was the arrival of snow! Although we only received a few inches, and much of it started to melt, it was enough to turn the valley white and leave up to four inches on some of the higher hills.
In terms of the amounts and timing of snow, there's no "normal," but it's interesting to note that snow arrived on November 4 last year and on November 25 this year.
Earlier in the week, before snow covered everything up, I was noticing that all the autumn leaves had fallen and were thickly carpeting the ground (photo at the top of the page). These leaves provide homes and an abundant source of food for soil microorganisms that are now racing to devour the most easily accessible nutrients stored in these leaves. This race will soon turn leaves into skeletons of veins that take much longer to decompose.
While looking at leaves, I noticed a group of about six egg masses under a rotting log. I posted a picture on the Nature Notes Facebook group, and despite many comments and suggestions, I don't think we've figured out what they are yet. Let me know if you have an answer.
After mentioning in last week's newsletter that the big groups of Canada geese that had been hanging around seemed to have left, a large group of geese with distinctively short necks stopped briefly at Big Twin Lake on November 23. These were likely cackling geese (the smaller, short-necked cousin of Canada geese), but there is a subspecies of Canada geese ("lesser" Canada geese) that also has a short neck so I can't be sure.
Other evidence that waterfowl are still migrating included a brief visit by an immature trumpeter swan that likely arrived with its parents to join the group of adults that's been hanging out for the last couple of weeks. The same day, five tundra swans (with another young bird) also joined the group.
A handful of Barrow's goldeneyes have been at Big Twin Lake, and on November 26, a tight, nervous group of common goldeneyes stopped on the lake. Goldeneyes will remain our most common duck through the winter, and large numbers of them can be spotted on Big Twin Lake after other lakes in the valley ice over.
Some other birds were also notable for their numbers this week, including huge groups of American crows and European starlings that were milling around, and the only large flocks of dark-eyed juncos I've seen all year. I also spotted big groups of California quail, and the first house finch I've seen in months.
Snapshots of American crow (left) and European starling flocks (right) that were too big to fit into a single image. Photos by David Lukas
Finally, in celebration of Thanksgiving, it was hilarious to find a couple turkeys taking advantage of easy pickings in front of a restaurant that features vegetarian and vegan meals 😄
Observation of the Week: Wolf Spiders
It doesn't seem like this would be a season for spiders but wolf spiders were abundant among rocks along the Methow River on a sunny day this week. Rather than building webs where they sit and wait for prey, wolf spiders roam widely in search of food.
Because they are such active hunters, wolf spiders have well-developed eyes and excellent eyesight. One of the reasons why their eyesight is so good, especially at night, is because they have a tapetum lucidum, a reflective surface on the back of their eye that reflects incoming light back through the eye. If you go out at night with a flashlight or headlight you will see the shining eyes of wolf spiders sparkling on the ground everywhere you look.
Wolf spiders are also highly attuned to vibrations, which they use to detect the footsteps of animals they're hunting. They also use vibrations in their courtship displays as males drum courtship songs to females with their palps (the front pair of legs on either side of their mouth).
All of the wolf spiders that I looked closely at this week were males and, if I were to anthropomorphize for a moment, I would say that they were all lonely bachelors roaming around hoping for one last shot at love before winter sets in.
A Note on Subscriptions: I want to acknowledge that asking for paid subscriptions every week is annoying and I wish I didn't have to do this. Unfortunately, it's a necessity of running a subscription-based service and I don't see any way around it. Please forgive me for these reminders, but the work of writing this newsletters is covered entirely by your paid subscriptions and generous donations. I am thankful for your support, and for being part of this journey with me.
