Mokka mit Schlag

Yes, it’s Tuesday; but I was on a plane and then pretty jet lagged yesterday. Anyway, today’s moth is one from my Salton Sea trip two weekends ago. These moths were common on every built up surface in every campground. Best guess is that this is Perizoma custodiata, Hodges# 7328.

Mecca Beach Campground, Salton Sea, 2009-03-21

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I visited Brooklyn this past weekend. Despite jet lag, rain, and wind, I managed to spend a few hours in Prospect Park and picked up 39 species including 15 year birds:

• American Coot
• American Goldfinch
• White-throated Sparrow
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• Song Sparrow
• Ruddy Duck
• Rock Pigeon
• Ring-billed Gull
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Red-breasted Nuthatch
• American Robin
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Canada Goose
• Common Grackle
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Downy Woodpecker
• Eastern Phoebe
• European Starling
• Herring Gull
• House Finch
• House Sparrow
• Mallard
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Shoveler
• Tufted Titmouse
• Ring-necked Duck
• Northern Flicker
• Hermit Thrush
• Northern Cardinal
• Wood Duck
• Great Egret
• Fox Sparrow
• Swamp Sparrow
• Eastern Towhee
• Brown Creeper

However, I did not find the Red-necked Grebe or the White-winged Crossbills that were reported earlier in the year.

Many-spotted Angle Moth, Hodges #6395, Digrammia irrorata
William R. Mason Regional Park, 2008-03-05

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Details and pictures to follow but here’s the day list:

• Mallard
• Northern Shoveler
• Horned Grebe
• Eared Grebe
• Western Grebe
• American White Pelican
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• White-faced Ibis
• Common Moorhen
• American Coot
• Black-bellied Plover
• Killdeer
• Black-necked Stilt
• American Avocet
• Willet
• Least Sandpiper
• Bonaparte’s Gull
• Ring-billed Gull
• California Gull
• Herring Gull
• Glaucous-winged Gull
• Caspian Tern
• Forster’s Tern
• White-winged Dove
• Mourning Dove
• Black Phoebe
• Say’s Phoebe
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Violet-green Swallow
• Verdin
• Northern Mockingbird
• European Starling
• Phainopepla
• Common Yellowthroat
• Abert’s Towhee
• White-crowned Sparrow
• Brewer’s Blackbird
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• House Finch
• House Sparrow
• American Wigeon
• Cinnamon Teal
• Green-winged Teal
• Ruddy Duck
• Gambel’s Quail
• Brown Pelican
• Cattle Egret
• Northern Harrier
• American Kestrel
• Peregrine Falcon
• Long-billed Curlew
• Marbled Godwit
• Long-billed Dowitcher
• Rock Pigeon
• Common Ground-Dove
• Barn Owl
• Northern Flicker
• Western Kingbird
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Chipping Sparrow
• Red-winged Blackbird

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Pseudoschinia elautalis, Hodges#4828

I found this one in the shower at Agua Caliente County Park, which is built at hot springs in the desert. Kudos to John Lee for the ID.

• Moth Photographers Group
• BugGuide
• California Moth Specimens Database

Allegedly my Tamron zoom lens has a 1:3 macro capability. That is, at maximum telephoto and minimum focusing distance (0.49 meters) objects should be imaged on the sensor at 1/3 their actual size. Let’s check that out.

The sensor in a Canon EOS 50D is 22.3mm by 14.9mm. A U.S. quarter has a a diameter of 24.26 mm. I extend the lens to 300mm and switch it to manual focus. Then I set the focus on the lens to 0.49m (the minimum). I move the camera until the quarter comes into focus and snap.

At 1:3 the quarter should occupy 24.26/3 mm == 8.087 mm. 8.087 mm/ 22.3mm = 0.36, just a tad more than a third the width of the picture. Actually it could be a little smaller than that if I didn’t shoot it head on. The raw image is 4752 pixels wide, so the quarter should be about 1710 pixels wide. Let’s open it up in Photoshop and find out.
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