I got up around 6:00 this morning and headed over to the Effie Yeaw Nature Center/Preserve for a walk. It was chilly and very foggy outside after having rained a bit yesterday.
I was hoping the rain would have started to wake up the lichen on the rocks and trees in the preserve, and I did get to see quite a few nice specimens of common lichens. There was lots of Green Shield Lichen, Hoary Lichen, Gold Dust, Bark Rim Lichen, California Camouflage Lichen, Candleflame Lichen, Farinose Cartilage Lichen, Oakmoss, Shrubby Sunburst Lichen and others. Most often, there were several different ones on the same tree or stem. I’m looking forward to seeing some new and different ones as the season goes forward.




There were a lot of deer out and about, including several bucks, everything from a young spike buck to an older 4-pointer. There was also one with thick malformed antlers, and I got the impression that they had been broken off during the velvet stage when they were trying to grow. The buck looked pretty solid and the girth of the base of his antlers made me think he was probably a very mature guy. I wondered what happened to his rack.

CLICK HERE for an article I wrote on antlers.
CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.
I saw several of the bucks do the Flehman sniff thing, but couldn’t get photos of them doing that.
I could hear all kinds of songbirds, but most of them were very good at avoiding the camera. I did get photos of Spotted Towhees and a Bewick’s Wren.
At one spot along the River Trail, I could hear a Kestrel calling. It took me a while to find her; she was sitting on the top of a tree. A little – but loud – female. I also saw a couple of Red-Shouldered Hawks in the trees along the trails.


I was kind of surprised of the amount of coyote scat on the trails… but I didn’t see any of the coyotes.

At the bee tree, I saw only a single bee sitting at the opening of the hive. The sentry. I guessed the other bees were all inside the tree trying to keep the queen warm from the chilly morning weather.
I walked for about 3 hours and headed back home.
Species List:
- Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus
- American Kestrel, Falco sparverius
- Bark Rim Lichen, Lecanora chlarotera [looks like Whitewash Lichen but has apothecia]
- Bewick’s Wren, Thryomanes bewickii
- Black-Tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus
- Brown Jelly Fungus, Jelly Leaf, Tremella foliacea
- California Camouflage Lichen, Melanelixia californica [dark green with brown apothecia, on trees]
- California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana
- California Pipevine, Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica
- California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
- California Towhee, Melozone crissalis
- California Wild Grape, Vitis californica
- Candleflame Lichen, Candelaria concolor [bright yellow, crumbly-looking]
- Ceramic Parchment Lichen, Xylobolus frustulatus [hoary or pale brown, flat like parchment]
- Chinese Pistache, Pistacia chinensis
- Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
- Common Snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus
- Coyote, Canis latrans [scat]
- Creeping Moss, Conardia compacta
- Cushion Moss, Leucobryum sp.
- False Turkey Tail fungus, Crowded Parchment Fungus, Stereum complicatum
- Farinose Cartilage Lichen, Ramalina farinacea [like Oakmoss but very thin branches]
- Feral European Honeybee, Apis mellifera
- Fremont’s Cottonwood, Populus fremontii
- Gold Dust Lichen, Chrysothrix candelaris
- Golden Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla
- Green Shield Lichen, Flavoparmelia caperata
- Himalayan Blackberry, Rubus bifrons
- Hoary Lichen, Hoary Rosette, Physcia aipolia
- Hooded Rosette Lichen, Physcia adscendens [hairs/eyelashes on the tips of the lobes]
- Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni
- Lace Lichen, Ramalina menziesii
- Oakmoss Lichen, Evernia prunastri [with soredia]
- Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus
- Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
- Shrubby Sunburst Lichen, Polycauliona candelaria
- Soap Plant, Wavy Leafed Soaproot, Chlorogalum pomeridianum
- Split Porecrust, Schizopora paradoxa
- Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus
- Strap Lichen, Western Strap Lichen, Ramalina leptocarpha [without soredia]
- Sulphur Shelf Fungus, Western Hardwood Sulphur Shelf, Laetiporus gilbertsonii
- Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
- Western Gray Squirrel, Sciurus griseus
- White-Breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis
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