I got up around 6:00 this morning and headed out to William Land Park and the WPA Rock Garden. I was hoping to see lots of bugs, but it was still too early for that, I guess. Instead, I focused on the flowers which were in abundance, and also got to see some ducklings and goslings, and a Green Heron, too.
CLICK HERE for the album of photos.
There were two Mallard mamas with babies. One had three ducklings, and another one had five. In that group of five there were two that looked like Swedish Blue ducklings. I guess the Mallards don’t care. There were 15 goslings in one of the groups, called a crèche, that was being overseen by two pairs of adults. All the fuzz. Soooo cute!
I wanted to go through the garden, then around both the middle pond and the larger pond further on in the park. But there was some event happening in that end of the park – I think it was the Doggie Dash — so access to the larger pond was completely blocked off. So, when I was done at the middle pond and garden, I went to the store and picked up some groceries. I walked for about 2 hours at the park, and another half hour in the store, so I got my exercise in for the day. I was back home before 10:00 am.
I spent part of the afternoon trying to identify all of the flowers I’d seen at the garden. I totally suck when it comes to ID-ing cultivated garden flowers (because there are so many varieties, and so many weird things thrown in from other countries), so I tried using the iNaturalist app and Calflora.org to help me. Between the two of them, I was able to identify most of the things (but I might be way off on some of them). I had to laugh, though, when iNaturalist identified a seed pod as a “Dwarf Mexican Tree Frog”. Hah! Apparently, face-recognition doesn’t work well on plants and seeds.
Species List:
1. Albanian Spurge, Euphorbia characias,
2. Aloe, Aloe maculata,
3. Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna,
4. Autumn Sage (red), Salvia greggii,
5. Beaver Tail Cactus, Prickly Pear, Opuntia basilaris.
6. Birch Tree, Betula sp.,
7. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans,
8. Brass Buttons, Cotula coronopifolia,
9. Brazil Raintree, Brunfelsia pauciflora,
10. Bronze Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare,
11. California Buckeye, Aesculus californica,
12. California Pipevine, Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica,
13. Calla Lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica,
14. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis,
15. Cleveland Sage, Salvia clevelandii,
16. Coast Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens,
17. Columbine, Aquilegia sp.,
18. Common Borage, Borago officinalis,
19. Common Bracken, Pteridium aquilinum,
20. Common Hibiscus, Hibiscus syriacus,
21. Creeping Lantana, Lantana montevidensis,
22. Crevice Alumroot, Heuchera micranthai,
23. Crevice Alumroot, Heuchera micrantha,
24. Dwarf Morning Glory, Convolvulus tricolor,
25. Egg Leaf Spurge, Euphorbia oblongata,
26. Elegant Clarkia, Clarkia unguiculata,
27. Firethorn, Pyracantha, Pyracantha coccinea,
28. Fleabane, Seaside Daisy, Erigeron glaucus,
29. Fountain Grass, Pennisetum setaceum,
30. Freshwater Snail, unidentified,
31. Garden Geranium, Pelargonium ×hortorum,
32. Garden Snail, Cornu aspersum,
33. Giant Fennel, Ferula communis,
34. Greater Honeywort (orange), Cerinthe major,
35. Greater Honeywort (purple), Cerinthe major,
36. Green Heron, Butorides virescens,
37. Hooker’s Evening Primrose, Oenothera elata,
38. Hummingbird Sage, Salvia spathacea,
39. Iceplant, Carpobrotus edulis,
40. Introduced Sage, Salvia pratensis,
41. Iris, Iris sp.,
42. Jerusalem Sage, Phlomis fruticosa,
43. Lacy Phacelia, Phacelia tanacetifolia,
44. Lamb’s Ear Hedgenettle, Stachys byzantina,
45. Love-in-a-Mist, Nigella damascene,
46. Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos,
47. Many Flowered Tobacco, Nicotiana acuminata var. multiflora,
48. Mediterranean Catchfly, Silene colorata,
49. Mediterranean Sage, Salvia aethiopis,
50. Money Plant, Silver Dollar Plant, Lunaria annua,
51. Nightshade, New Zealand Nightshade, Solanum aviculare,
52. Pacific Bleeding Heart, Dicentra Formosa,
53. Pekin Duck, Anas platyrhynchos domesticus var. Pekin,
54. Peruvian Lily, Alstroemeria aurea,
55. Pincushion Flower, Scabiosa atropurpurea,
56. Red Hot Poker, Kniphofia uvaria,
57. Red Poppy of Flanders, Corn Poppy, Papaver rhoeas,
58. Red Valerian, Jupiter’s Beard, Centranthus ruber,
59. Red-Eared Slider Turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans,
60. Rocket Larkspur (purple), Consolida ajacis,
61. Rocket Larkspur (white), Consolida ajacis,
62. Rose, Rosa sp.,
63. Sacred Lotus, Nelumbo nucifera,
64. Sage, Salvia officinalis,
65. Silver Sage, Salvia argentea,
66. Smokebush, Cotinus coggygria,
67. Spice Bush, Calycanthus occidentalis,
68. Spittlebug, Meadow Spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius,
69. Swedish Blue duck, Anas platyrhynchos domesticus var. Swedish,
70. Sweet William, Dianthus barbatus,
71. Tasmanian Flax-Lily, Dianella tasmanica,
72. Toadflax, Linaria sp.,
73. Tower of Jewels, Echium wildpretii,
74. Trailing Abutilon, Callianthe megapotamica,
75. Unidentified Fern, possibly Polystichum sp.,
76. Unidentified Plantain, Plantago sp.,
77. Western Bluebird, Sialia mexicana,
78. Western Columbine, Aquilegia Formosa,
79. Western Redbud, Cercis occidentalis,
80. White Valerian, Centranthus sp.,
81. Wood Duck, Aix sponsa,
82. Wood Pink (white variation), Dianthus sylvestris,
