Holy Cow! [Do people still say that? Hah!] We saw and heard so much on our trek to Mix Canyon Road today. I went with my friend and fellow naturalist Roxanne. We fueled up on coffee first, around 6:30 AM, and then were on our way. There were lots of wildflowers to see, along with ferns, and other plantlife. We ended up with a list of over 120 species!

There were Ithuriel’s Spears, Yerba Santa, Blue Dicks, yarrow, Monkeyflowers, bindweed, lots of Nightshade, Mountain Phacelia, White Nemophila, Wooly Indian Paintbrush, Indian Warriors, Chinese Houses and Poppies. We were also happy to find a large stand of Red Larkspur. I was looking for some Death Camas, but only found a meager two or three specimens of it.

Among the shrubs and trees in the forest that crowded up against both sides of the road in places, there were Mule Fat, California Ash trees, Valley-, Coast Live, Interior Live, and California Black Oak trees, and, of course, lots of Poison Oak The black oaks were just getting their new leaves for the year and were a shocking pink in color.

There were also Big Leaf Maple trees, and Goodding’s and Sand Bar willow trees.

On one of the Goodding’s willows we found samples of new and used “leaf tiers”. I’d seen some earlier this month at the Gristmill Recreation Area in Sacramento County. [Mix Canyon Road is in Solano County.]

“…Insects that construct shelters of willow leaves can be divided into two groups: species that use several leaves (tiers or bundlers), and species that use only one leaf (folders and rollers). Both of these informal groups include multiple species representing different insect groups, so species identification has to be done carefully in order to avoid making serious errors. Willow leaf bundles made of multiple leaves are constructed by moths, sawflies, and beetles, and the bundles tend to look very similar although the construction method is different in each group. In all of these groups the aim of leaf tying is to provide shelter for the growing larvae…” — Joensuu Molecular Ecology Group 

A new-to-me plant we came across was a Modesty plant. From a distance, it’s white flowers looked like small collections of soap bubbles to me. I wish I had gotten a better look at it.

I’ll have a full album of photos for you eventually, but first I have to get through this year’s four-day City Nature Challenge and then start sorting photos. Stay tuned!

On a sprig of the Sticky Mouse Ears Chickweed plant, Roxanne and I worked to save what I think was a tiny Mexican Social Spider that had gotten one of his feet stuck on the abundant glandular hairs near the plant’s flowering head. We finally got it free using some paper. [We didn’t want to use our fingers to pluck it off because it was so small, and we worried we might crush it.]

“…Sticky sections of stem which prevent ants climbing up and stealing nectar or pollen without pollenating the flowers. Some suggest that these sticky areas are an early evolutionary step towards becoming carnivorous…” Cape May Plants.

There were a lot of California Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies flitting about, but because they were flying around so quickly, it was hard to get any kind of still shot of them. We also saw the butterflies “puddling”, sucking up water and minerals from a puddle in the road.

“…Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behavior most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck up the fluid…Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) are diverse in their strategies to gather liquid nutrients. Typically, mud-puddling behavior takes place on wet soil. But even sweat on human skin may be attractive to butterflies…In many species puddling is more commonly seen in males… The presence of an assembly of butterflies on the ground acts on Battus philenor, for example, as a stimulus to join the presumptive mud-puddling flock…” Wikipedia.

I’ve seen these butterflies puddling on the remains of a deer carcass. Here’s a video from 2022 of that:

We heard and caught glimpses of several species of bird, but weren’t able to photograph them because they either went by too fast or were buried behind bars of branches and twiglets. The favorite bird sighting for me was to be able to see a female Black Grosbeak,

My favorite photo of the day? It was hard to choose but I picked this one I took of a pair of California Ground Squirrels next to their burrow. How cute are they?

By the time we got back into Winters and the Putah Creek Café, it was getting warm outside, around 91º . That’s too hot for me to go exploring, so we opted for Raspberry Mimosas and lunch. This was walk #21 of my #52HikeChallenge.

Species List:

1. Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus [heard]
2. Arracacias, Arracacia sp.
3. Arundo, Giant Reed, Arundo donax
4. Ash Tree, California Ash, Fraxinus dipetala
5. Ash-Throated Flycatcher, Myiarchus cinerascens
6. Bay Laurel, California Bay, Umbellularia californica
7. Bedstraw, Catchweed Bedstraw, Velcro Grass, Galium aparine
8. Bee, European Honeybee, Western Honeybee, Apis mellifera
9. Bindweed, Hillside False Bindweed, Calystegia subacaulis
10. Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany, Cercocarpus betuloides
11. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans [heard]
12. Blackberry, Armenian Blackberry, Rubus armeniacus [red canes]
13. Black-Headed Grosbeak, Pheucticus melanocephalus
14. Blue Dicks, Dipterostemon capitatus ssp. capitatus
15. Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra cerulea
16. Buttercup, California Buttercup, Ranunculus californicus
17. Cabbage White Butterfly, Pieris rapae
18. California Bee Plant, Scrophularia californica [tiny red flowers]
19. California Buckeye Chestnut Tree, Aesculus californica
20. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
21. California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana
22. California Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly, Battus philenor hirsuta
23. California Pipevine, Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica
24. California Quail, Callipepla californica [heard]
25. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
26. California Wild Grape, Vitis californica
27. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
28. Cattle, Domestic Cattle, Bos taurus
29. Chamise, Adenostoma fasciculatum
30. Checker Lily, Fritillaria affinis
31. Chicken, Domestic Chicken, Gallus gallus var. domesticus
32. Chinese Houses, Purple Chinese Houses, Collinsia heterophylla
33. Clover, Tomcat Clover, Trifolium willdenovii
34. Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis
35. Crow, American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
36. Death Camas, Common Star Lily, Toxicoscordion fremontii
37. Dudleya, Canyon Liveforever, Dudleya cymosa
38. Duskywing Butterfly, Persius Duskywing, Erynnis persius
39. Erodium, Redstem Stork’s-Bill, Erodium cicutarium
40. Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto [heard]
41. Fennel, Sweet Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare
42. Fern, Black Maidenhair Fern, Adiantum capillus-veneris
43. Fern, California Polypody, Polypodium californicum
44. Fern, Goldback Fern, Pentagramma triangularis
45. Fiddleneck, Common Fiddleneck, Amsinckia menziesii
46. Fremont’s Cottonwood, Populus fremontii
47. Fringepod, Sand Fringepod, Thysanocarpus curvipes
48. Globe Lily, Diogenes’ Lantern, Calochortus amabilis [yellow]
49. Gnats, Suborder: Nematocera
50. Goat, Domestic Goat, Capra aegagrus hircus
51. Grasses, Common Soft Brome, Bromus hordeaceus
52. Grasses, Greater Quaking Grass, Rattlesnake Grass, Briza maxima
53. Grasses, Ripgut Brome, Bromus diandrus
54. Grasses, Wall Barley, Hordeum murinum
55. Grasses, Wild Oat, Avena fatua
56. Hillside Woodland Star, Lithophragma heterophyllum
57. House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus [heard]
58. Italian Thistle, Carduus pycnocephalus
59. Ithuriel’s Spear, Triteleia laxa
60. Larkspur, Red Larkspur, Delphinium nudicaule
61. Larkspur, Royal Larkspur, Delphinium variegatum [deep purple-blue]
62. Locust Tree, Black Locust, Robinia pseudoacacia [white]
63. Locust Tree, Bristly Locust, Robinia hispida [pink]
64. Lomatium, California Lomatium, Lomatium californicum
65. Longhorn Seablush, Plectritis macrocera [white]
66. Manroot, Taw Man-Root, Marah watsonii
67. Manzanita, Common Manzanita, Arctostaphylos manzanita
68. Maple, Bigleaf Maple, Acer macrophyllum
69. Mexican Social Spider, Mallos sp. [tiny, body like an Orbweaver]
70. Milkmaids, Cardamine californica
71. Miner’s Lettuce, Claytonia perfoliate [different sizes]
72. Mirid Bug, Irbisia sp.
73. Modesty, Whipplea modesta [white flowers, “bubbly” looking from a distance]
74. Monkeyflower, Orange Bush Monkeyflower, Diplacus aurantiacus
75. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura [along the road]
76. Mouse-Ear, Sticky Mouse Ears Chickweed, Cerastium glomeratum
77. Mule Fat, Baccharis salicifolia
78. Mule’s Ears, Smooth Mule-Ears, Wyethia glabra
79. Mustard, Field Mustard, Brassica rapa
80. Nightshade, Bluewitch Nightshade, Solanum umbelliferum
81. Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
82. Oak, California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii
83. Oak, Coast Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia
84. Oak, Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni
85. Oak, Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
86. Oxalis, Bermuda Buttercup, Oxalis pes-caprae
87. Paintbrush, Woolly Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja foliolosa
88. Pea, Pacific Pea, Lathyrus vestitus
89. Peafowl, Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus [heard]
90. Phacelia, Mountain Phacelia, Phacelia imbricata [white]
91. Pineappleweed, Chamomilla suaveolens
92. Pipestem Clematis, Old Man’s Beard, Clematis lasiantha
93. Plantain, Ribwort, Plantago lanceolata
94. Poison Oak, Pacific Poison Oak, Western Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum
95. Poppy, California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica
96. Poppy, Tufted Poppy, Eschscholzia caespitosa
97. Raven, Corvus corax
98. Red-Shouldered Hawk, California Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus elegans [2, one on the road, one heard]
99. Red-Tailed Hawk, Western Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis calurus [7, along the road]
100. Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
101. Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
102. Sage, Hummingbird Sage, Salvia spathacea
103. Silverpuffs, Uropappus lindleyi [pointed tips]
104. Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
105. Sunflower, California Dwarf Sunflower, Helianthella californica
106. Sunflower, Common Woolly Sunflower, Eriophyllum lanatum
107. Swainson’s Hawk, Buteo swainsoni [4, along the road]
108. Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
109. Thistle, Bull Thistle, Cirsium vulgare
110. Thistle, Italian Thistle, Carduus pycnocephalus
111. Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus
112. Toyon, Heteromeles arbutifolia
113. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
114. Twining Snakelily, Dichelostemma volubile
115. Vetch, Big Deervetch, Hosackia crassifolia
116. Vetch, Hairy Vetch, Vicia villosa
117. Warrior’s Plume, Pedicularis densiflora
118. Wavy-Leafed Soap Plant, Chlorogalum pomeridianum
119. Western Morning Glory, Calystegia occidentalis
120. Western Wallflower, Erysimum capitatum
121. White Nemophila, Nemophila heterophylla
122. Willow Leaf tiers, bundles: www.jmeg.fi/IOWleaftiers.htm
123. Willow, Goodding’s Willow, Black Willow, Salix gooddingii
124. Willow, Narrowleaf Willow, Sandbar Willow, Salix exigua
125. Wisteria, American Wisteria, Wisteria frutescens [purple]
126. Wisteria, Silky Wisteria, Wisteria brachybotrys [white]
127. Yarrow, Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium
128. Yerba Santa, California Yerba Santa, Eriodictyon californicum