I got up around 6:00 AM and headed over to the Sailor Bar County Park to check out the oak trees there for galls. I also wanted to see the pond there. My insides had been acting up this morning. I had to go to the bathroom around 5:00 AM, then again at 6:00 when I got up, and as soon as I got to the park, I had to go again. It was a rush to the porta-potty, but I made it. After that, things seemed to settle down a lot. I don’t know what that was about, but I was glad when it was over. [TMI, I know. Hah! Sorry about that.]  It was partly cloudy and about 60º when I got to the park and started inspecting the trees.

The park has a mix of blue oaks, valley oaks, and both interior and coast live oak trees. I was happy to see all of the young blue oak saplings around, many of them protected by fencing.

I spent all of my time at the park looking for galls and walking partway around the pond. I couldn’t do the whole route around the water because I didn’t have my cane with me, and the trail was really narrow and slanted toward the water in parts.

I found a few galls on the blue oaks here that I didn’t find on Old Blue including: Clustered galls, a Gray Midrib gall, Striped Volcano galls, and a single Disc Gall which was sitting underneath a Urchin gall.

On the live oak trees had some Live Oak Apple galls, a few Two-Horned galls, and a few Kernel Flower galls. So, I was happy with my excursion.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

Oh, and as I was poking through the branches of one of the trees, a tan praying mantis jumped down onto my hand! So, I was able to get some photos of it, including some facial close-ups. Yay!

I walked for about 3 hours and then headed back home. This was hike #45 of my #52HikeChallenge for the year; and for the Summer Series, this was 3 more hours of a required 20 hours for the challenge.  So I made it to 23½ hours. Woot!

Species List:

1. Acorn Gall Wasp, Andricus chrysobalani [stunted growth, acorn may look pushed in or sideways]
2. American Frogbit, Limnobium spongia [floating water plant]
3. Ash-Throated Flycatcher, Myiarchus cinerascens
4. Azolla, Water Fern, Azolla filiculoides
5. Beaver, American, Beaver, Castor canadensis [sign on trees, den]
6. Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon [flyover]
7. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
8. Blackberry, Armenian Blackberry, Rubus armeniacus [red canes]
9. California Jumping Spider, Phidippus californicus [light rust, white and black on abdomen]
10. Cattail, Broad-Leaved Cattail, Typha latifolia
11. Club Gall Wasp, Atrusca clavuloides
12. Clustered Gall Wasp, Andricus brunneus
13. Common Madia, Madia elegans elegans
14. Crown Whitefly, Aleuroplatus coronata
15. Crystalline Gall Wasp, Andricus crystallinus
16. Disc Gall Wasp, Andricus parmula [round flat, “spangle gall”]
17. Dotted Knotweed, Persicaria punctata [white flowers]
18. Downy Thornapple, Jimsonweed, Datura innoxia
19. Duckweed, Common Duckweed, Lemna minor
20. Flat-Topped Honeydew Gall Wasp, Disholcaspis eldoradensis
21. Grasses, Dallis Grass, Paspalum dilatatum
22. Gray Midrib Gall Wasp, Cynips multipunctata
23. Green Lacewing, Chrysopa coloradensis
24. Hair Stalk Gall Wasp, Andricus pedicellatus [thread gall on blue oak]
25. House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus
26. Iris, Yellow Iris, Iris pseudacorus
27. Irregular Spindle Gall Wasp, Andricus chrysolepidicola [on white oaks, Blue, Valley, etc.]
28. Kernel Flower Gall Wasp, Callirhytis serricornis
29. Live Oak Apple Gall Wasp, Summer Generation, Amphibolips quercuspomiformis [spiky ball]
30. Live Oak Erineum Mite Gall, Aceria mackiei
31. Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos
32. Mantis, Arizona Mantis, Stagmomantis limbata [large ootheca]
33. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
34. Oak, Blue Oak, Quercus douglasii
35. Oak, California Scrub Oak, Quercus berberidifolia
36. Oak, Coast Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia
37. Oak, Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni
38. Oak, Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
39. Pacific Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum
40. Plate Gall Wasp, Andricus pattersonae
41. Pokeweed, American Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana
42. Purpletop Vervain, Verbena incompta
43. Red Cone Gall Wasp, Andricus kingi
44. Ruptured Twig Gall Wasp, Callirhytis perdens [on live oaks]
45. Saucer Gall Wasp, Andricus gigas
46. Spanish Clover, Acmispon americanus [looks like baby lotus]
47. Spined Turban Gall Wasp, Cynips douglasii [summer gall, pink, spikey top]
48. Striped Volcano Gall Wasp, Andricus atrimentus, Summer generation [looks like a tiny volcano]
49. Towhee, California Towhee, Melozone crissalis
50. Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus [heard]
51. Two-Horned Gall Wasp, unisexual gall, summer generation,  Dryocosmus dubiosus [small, green or mottled, on back of leaf along the midvein]
52. Urchin Gall Wasp, Cynips quercusechinus
53. Wood Duck, Aix sponsa
54. Yellow Star-Thistle, Centaurea solstitialis