I got up around 6:00 this morning and headed over to the Cosumnes River Preserve. It was sunny and a lovely 49° when I got there. The wind picked up around 11:00 am and it was about 66° there when I left.
I was glad I’d put on some insect repellent because the midges and mosquitoes were everywhere. But on the other hand, the butterflies were out, too. I saw Cabbage Whites, some Western Tiger Swallowtails and some Anise Swallowtails.
Anise Swallowtail Butterfly, Papilio zelicaon
I took the route around Bruceville and Desmond Roads, and in one spot, I found a large flock of California Quails, several males and females together. I also saw two Northern Harriers on the ground. One flew off, but the other remained, finishing off a carcass. When it stepped back and walked around for a little bit, I could see that its crop was VERY full. Still, it went back to the carcass to eat some more. It’s feast or famine in the raptor world.
The wild radish (Charlock) plants were in bloom everywhere: pink, white, yellow and pastel orange, and there was mustard blooming in the fields along with tules and rushes. Fiddleneck and buttercups were growing in small patches, and the valley oak and ash trees were starting to get their new leaves.
On the valley oaks, the Oak Apple galls were starting to appear for the season, and I also found some I’d never seen before. They were little “blister-like” galls near the base of some of the new leaves on the trees. I’m looking forward to receiving Russo’s newest book on galls and hope these are included in it. [The book is supposed to be available on April 20th.]
Unknown galls on the newly forming leaves of Valley Oaks
I also found some little red-and-black striped beetles that I’d not seen before. They’re a kind of Calligraphy Beetle, and were quite near a Seven-Spotted Ladybeetle.
Seven-Spotted Lady Beetle, Coccinella septempunctata
There were sparrows, Meadowlarks and Red-Winged Blackbirds singing from the trees and rushes. On the water, there were occasional Coots, Northern Shovelers, Green-Winged Teals and other ducks, Black-Necked Stilts and Greater Yellowlegs. The usual suspects. There were Tree Swallows everywhere, vying for nesting spots. Some were eyeing a nesting box right near the entrance gate to the preserve’s boardwalk area, but it was already being occupied by a pair of Western Bluebirds. Mama bluebird was making short trips to bring bits of soft grass to line the nest inside.
A female Western Bluebird, Sialia Mexicana, bringing soft grass to her next box.
At the end of the boardwalk, a pair of Phoebes were building a nest underneath the wooden planks. And there were two others building nests under the eaves of the restroom facility there.
The nest of a Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans under the eaves at the restroom facility
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans, bringing soft grasses to her nest under the boardwalk
There were also quite a few cottontail rabbits out and about. In one spot, I saw three of them together.
I walked for about 3½ hours and then headed back home. This was hike 31 of my #52HikeChallenge.
I got up a little before 6:00 am so I could head out with my friend Roxanne to go to the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve in Oroville, about a 90-minute drive from Sacramento right up Highway 70. We had never been there before, but we’d seen photos from other people who had been up there, so we were excited to see what we could see. Some words of warning if you go up there yourself: don’t go on a weekend, and try to get there as early as you can.
When we got there, one of the parking lots was already full, and by the time we left both parking lots were overflowing with cars, more cars were coming in, and other cars were parked on both sides of the road for about a MILE. Rox and I figured that by the time we left there were about 1000 people at the site. Now, Table Mountain is huge, but still… gad.
After we walked for several hours, we went back to the car to sit and have some lunch. It was our original intention to go out and walk some more after lunch, but after realizing how many people were there and how the cars were stacking up, we decided to leave.
Weatherwise, it was a gorgeous day to be out walking: in the 60’s and 70’s,sunny, with a slight breeze. Just beautiful.
Sky Lupine, Pan Poppies, and Goldfields
Rox found an excellent parking space right near the front entrance to the parking lot. And right outside the doors of the car were Blue Dicks, Popcorn Flowers, Goldfields, Fiddleneck, and Sky Lupines! So pretty…and such a great start to our flower-search day.
The area is also home to free-range cattle. Signage tells you to stay at least 300 feet from the cows, but that wasn’t always possible because several of the cattle walked right up to within arm’s length of us. Sometimes they were so close, you could hear the crunch of their teeth as they browsed among the wildflowers.
Domestic Cattle, Bos Taurus
I was watching one Black Angus who was watching Rox as she checked out the various flowers on the ground below her. When she would bend down to get a picture, the cow would dip its head down like it was trying to see what she was interested in. Hah!
We avoided the heavily trafficked trails (too many people making too much noise), and just perused the top of the plateau and some of the seep areas. Everywhere you stepped there were flowers, including several I hadn’t seen before, like the glorious pink Bitterroots and white Table Mountain Meadowfoam (which are endemic to that region; found there and nowhere else on earth).
Goldfields, California Goldfields, Lasthenia californica
The broad landscapes were as interesting and beautiful as the close-up flowers themselves. Waves of blue lupines, yellow goldfields, orange poppies, white popcorn flowers. Just breath taking.
Sky Lupine, Popcorn Flowers and Goldfields
We spent about 3½ combing the area, and were happy when we discovered a tiny Sierra Chorus Frog in one of the seep areas. I was able to catch him, so we could get some close up photos before releasing him back into the water.
As we drove out, heading eventually back to Sacramento via Colusa, we stopped occasionally along the way to get photos of other flowering plants we saw along the way. We saw some Virgin Bower (“Old Man’s Beard”) in the treetops, but also found a whole bankside along the road covered with phacelia.
We’re anxious to check out more wildflower spots in the region. During one of those stops we also got to see a lovely Lark Sparrow sitting on a barbed wire fence line.
Lark Sparrow, Chondestes grammacus
After driving through the city of Colusa, we stopped briefly at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge so I could show Rox where one of the Great Horned Owls were.
The mama owl wasn’t in her nest, but she was up in the trees near it. The afternoon sun was really beating down on the tree where her nest was, and she was panting like she was overheated.
The heat no doubt kept her eggs warm (if she had any; and I’m assuming she did, or she wouldn’t have stuck so close to that same nesting tree). We took a few distant photos of her and headed back to the car.
By then it was almost 80° outside and we were getting overheated ourselves. We headed home, stopping off to get a cold drink along the way.
We were out for a little over 10 hours. Phew! This counted as hike #30 in my #52HikeChallenge.
I got up about 5:30 this morning — (Ugh!) — and was ready to head out the door with my dog Esteban to drive over to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and Colusa National Wildlife Refuge. As I mentioned before, I wanted to take the car on a long jog to see how well it ran after its repairs last week, and I wanted to see how things were going at the refuge.
Esteban usually fusses in the car. The last time I took him with us to the refuge, he whined all the way (wanting to get up in the front seat with me). This time, he whined for about a half an hour, then settled down on my coat in the back seat and fell asleep. He was great for the rest of the trip. I was so proud of him. Occasionally, he’d stand up with his paws on the arm rest and look out the window. I wonder how his little brain processes what he sees…
I stopped off in Woodland to get a coffee before going further, and there were so many blackbirds singing in one of the trees that their sound was almost deafening.
Every “black dot” is a blackbird singing away just before sun up.
It was about 46° when I headed out, and was a lot windier during the day than I was expecting. Rough winds interfere with birding — everyone tends to hunker down. But I did okay in that department — even though I totally missed getting close up photos of an American White Pelican and a Bald Eagle. (They flew off before I could get near enough. *Sigh*)
I decided to go first to the Colusa refugefirst, and the first thing I saw were small flocks of Greater White-Fronted Geese and Snow Geese. There was also a Red-Tailed Hawk sitting in a nearby tree and a White-Tailed Kite kiting in the air over the field.
Greater White-Fronted Geese, Anser albifrons
A White Tailed Kite, Elanus leucurus, watching a Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
I was the only person on the refuge for about the first hour or so, so I had the whole place to myself and could go at whatever speed I wanted along the auto tour route. Several of the wetland areas were still dry, which kind of surprised me. I thought it would be all full with a least some measure of water everywhere. There weren’t very many birds near the viewing platform, which was also kind of a surprise. There are usually lots of geese and ducks around there.
Snowy Egret, Egretta thula, with White-Faced Ibises, Plegadis chihi
At the beginning of the route, there were Wild Turkeys jogging along. They ran out into the field and I could see the males were doing their strutting thing for the females. In another area, I saw a flock of female turkeys all gathered together (avoiding the boys).
There were Coots were everywhere, and Marsh Wrens were teasing me from the tules. I could see of their nests; the males are working hard to impress the females with their construction work.
Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris
There were lots and lots of Ibises. Some of the adults are getting their full breeding colors now and are so handsome. I didn’t see any with their white faces yet, however.
There weren’t any more large flocks of ducks, but I did see a wide variety of species: American Wigeons, Northern Shovelers, Gadwalls, Cinnamon and Green-Winged Teals, and Buffleheads. I was surprised to see a little female Hooded Merganser in one of the ponds. I couldn’t see any male around, though.
There were handfuls of Snowy Egrets and the occasional Great Egret, and of course there was the huge flock of Black-Crowned Night Herons day-roosting in the trees at the end of the route.
The sightings of the day were two different Great Horned Owls hunkered down in their nesting spots. There was also supposed to be a Barn Owl out there, but I didn’t see that one. What I DID see was owl poop around the informational kiosk — along with a few pellets. Yay!
Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus
I then headed over to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, and the first thing I saw there was a Black-Tailed Jackrabbit. This is baby season for the jack’s and I saw a lot of the adults around, chasing one another.
Black-Tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus
Black-Tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus
The wildflowers are just starting to pop up around there even though the vernal pools are empty. It seemed all the “yellows” are coming out first. I saw outcrops of Fiddlenecks, Bird’s-foot Trefoil, amid Brass Buttons, along with fields of Goldfields.
Brass Buttons, Cotula coronopifolia
Goldfields, California Goldfields, Lasthenia californica [6-8 petals, rounded mound-like center]
The extra loop to the permanent wetland area is now open, and they’ve done a lot of “remodeling” around it. Most of the taller tules and weeds have been mowed down, so areas around the main pond are more visible. I was hoping to see some Bitterns around here, but had no luck. Of course, I’d gotten here “late” in the morning today (it was a little after 10:00 am. When I usually go here, I go around 6:30 or 7:00 when the sun is coming up.) Here, too, there are huge areas that have no water in them… which alters the kind of species you see (from “wet” to “dry”).
There was the normal cadre of sparrows everywhere, and a smattering of Western Meadowlarks. One let me get close enough to photograph it and video it singing.
Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta
There were lots and lots of Ibises here, too, many of them fishing for crayfish. I was getting some cool video of one of them, just as the battery died in the camera. By the time I got it reloaded and focused on the bird again, the Ibis was swallowing down its meal. Dang it!
I watched some male Northern Shoveler ducks trying to do some of their courtship movements for a female. There was the “Head Dip and Up-end” that looked like a mini-bath, the “Wing Flap” and “Precopulatory Head Pumping”… but the gal just wasn’t into them. D’oh! She just swam by with her face in the water looking for food.
I also watched a male Canvasback as he was feeding. They’re actually diving ducks, but here the water was exceedingly shallow, so the male rose up and stirred up the bottom of the marsh with his feet, then dipped forward to eat what he’d kicked up.
When a female Mallard got too close to him and his meal, he attacked her and chased her until her boyfriend showed up. The Canvasback turned away then, and let the Mallards depart together.
A male Canvasback Duck, Aythya valisineria, attacked a female Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos, when she got too close to where he was foraging for food.
In that same pond area there were Clark’s and Western Grebes checking out spots to build their nests (which they’ll be sitting on in the summer). There were also some Pied-Billed Grebes singing to one another.
Western Grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis [black below the eye]
Clark’s Grebe, Aechmophorus clarkii [black above the eye]
Along the end of the auto tour route, several Ground Squirrels popped up, and one came out onto the road and gave itself a dust bath right next to the car. Hah! They’re such cute little things. I’d love to have a colony of them in the yard just so I could watch them.
California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
Around this same area, I saw another Great Horned Owl sitting on a nest in a tree. It was pretty distant, so I couldn’t get any close ups.
Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus,in its nest
All together Esteban and I were in the car for about 10 hours! The walking I did at each of the refuges combined counted as the 29th hike in my #52HikeChallenge. Woot!
Pacific Pond Turtle, Western Pond Turtle, Actinemys marorata
Pied-Billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps
Poison Hemlock, Conium maculatum
Poison Oak, Pacific Poison Oak, Western Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum
Prickly Sowthistle, Pigweed, Sonchus asper
Red Swamp Crayfish, Crawdad, Procambarus clarkii
Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
Ring-Necked Duck, Aythya collaris
Ring-Necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus
Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula
Ruddy Duck, Oxyura jamaicensis
Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens
Snowy Egret, Egretta thula
Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor
Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
Western Fence Lizard, Blue Belly, Sceloporus occidentalis
Western Grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis [black below the eye]
Western Kingbird, Tyrant Flycatcher, Tyrannus verticalis [nest]
Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta
White Horehound, Marrubium vulgare
White Tailed Kite, Elanus leucurus
White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
White-Faced Ibis, Plegadis chihi
As an Aside
Wow. Some bee-otch on the Birding California group complained about my adding scientific names to the species photos I post. (Which I do as a naturalist to be specific with my IDs and to help others learn.) She wrote: “Does listing the ‘official name’ of each bird make you feel superior? No just egotistical.”
Geez, cranky much? I consider this harassment (as it’s personally denigrating and inaccurate.) I reported her to the admin of the group, reported her to Facebook, and blocked her. No one has to take harassment and bullying from any troll — ever, anywhere.
It was nice to see others in the group stand up for me. One person wrote: “…Keep doing it. Great photos. Ignore the trolls.” and another wrote: “Great posting for us newbies. I used your photos as “flash cards” to see if I could correctly identify each bird before reading your label. Thanks teach!”
I got up at 6:30 this morning, so I could head out with my friend Roxanne to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. We had heard online that the Yellow-Headed Blackbirds (YHB) were starting to show up at the bypass again.
I’ve seen some juvenile and female YHBs, but they were individuals, here and there. I’ve never seen the fully mature males, which have vibrant yellow heads, and I’ve never them in flocks before. So, Rox and I decided we’d go to look for them. Then some of our naturalist friends Rachael and Karlyn said they wanted to go, too, so we told them we’d meet them over at the bypass around 8:00 am.
Rox met me at the house around 7:00 and we headed in toward Davis, stopping briefly to get some coffee and then trying to see if the Burrowing Owls were out by the ag fields. We didn’t see any owls — the fact that a woman went jogging right by where it was didn’t help –but I did catch a glimpse of a Yellowthroat and I saw my first ever Horned Lark. It was a young female, and wasn’t showing any horns (which can be raised or lowered), but, hey, it was a “lifer” for me!
Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris
We then went to the Yolo Bypass and met up with Karlyn and Rachael at the parking lot in front of the start of the auto tour route. Rox and I went in one car, and Rachael and Karlyn went in another. Rachael couldn’t stay for the whole day, so we tried to keep an eye on the clock as we went along.
We were seeing a lot of the usual suspects: sparrows, egrets, some ibises, but also saw a handsome Raven sitting on top of a post. He posed for a while before taking off.
As we went along, though, Roxanne spotted some dark forms galloping across the road in the distance. We realized right away that they were North American River Otters, Lontra canadensis, and saw them go into a slough/ditch area by a bridge. It was hard not to just SPEED to the spot, but we didn’t want to startle the otters, so Rox drove toward them at a moderated speed.
Our sort of stealth was rewarded when we got to the bridge and found a whole raft of otters in the water. As we watched them, the otters used the large drainage pipe adjacent to bridge to move from one side of it to another; sometimes hiding from us by piling up inside the pipe. Sometimes all we saw with the rippling effect they had on the water, or the bubbles they released when they were submerged.
Eventually, the otters felt comfortable enough to come out and climb onto the levee on the side opposite from us where they shook their fur, did some grooming, greeted and rolled over one another, and even did their “poopy dance”. All the while, one or more of them would be snorting at us; low sounds, like they were grumbling about us under their breath.
We counted SIX of them for sure, and then thought we’d spotted a SEVENTH in the water… but it was hard to keep track of everyone because they were all moving about.
I tried getting single shots of each one of them, which again wasn’t easy, in the hopes that I could maybe identify individuals later from their photos but… sorry to say, they all look pretty much the same to me. Trying to get group shots was hilarious. It was like trying to find a family photo for a Christmas card when not all of the subjects are cooperating. Some would look this way, while others looked that way, or fell out of the frame, or decided to shake their head just as the picture was snapped… Hah!
Still, what a wonderful treat! Those little guys made my day. At that was the largest group of otters I’ve ever seen. Karlyn and Rachael were equally impressed. Of course, I reminded all of them to log their sighting at the River Otter Ecology Project’s “Otter Spotter” site.
The other unexpected sighting was seeing some Black Crowned Night Herons day-roosting in one of the fields. There’s supposed to be a large colony of them there, but we couldn’t find them on our drive or our walk. I saw a pair of otters in the water in a field as we were going along, but they disappeared into the tules.
Black-Crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax
We never did see any of the Yellow-Headed Blackbirds, but figured that they might be foraging in another field or something. We DID get to see a Black Phoebe near a little viewing platform gathering nesting materials. They build mud nests then line the nest with fine twigs and feathers and other soft stuff. Rox and I kind of consider the phoebes “our” birds because we see them almost everywhere we go. This one’s nest was UNDERNEATH the platform we were standing on. As long as the water level of the pond doesn’t rise too much, it should be fine there.
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
At that same spot, we got a glimpse of two more otters. They were fussing along the edges of the stands of tules, and then disappeared. We wondered if they had a holt in there somewhere.
As we were driving out, we flushed an American Bittern which took off flying tour left across the marsh. We had been keeping an eye out for bitterns, but didn’t see any until this one surprised us. Of course, it all happened so fast, we didn’t get any photos of it.
Between the driving and the walking out at the bypass, we were out for almost five hours! The weather was gorgeous, the company was fun, and the animal sightings were enjoyable… A good morning all around.
Got up around 6:00 am and headed over to the Mather Lake Regional Park for a walk. On the way there, I saw a White-Tailed Kite “kiting” in the air; and later, when I left, I saw a Say’s Phoebe “kiting” in the air. Like bookends.
It was about 39°F when I got to the park, and remained relatively cool (under 60°) all day. A lot of the willows are now starting to get their leaves, the wild plum trees were in blossom, and some of the other trees were just starting to bud new leaves and catkins. Here and there, the Jointed Charlock plants were blossoming. They’re basically “weeds” but I think the flowers are pretty, especially in their variety of colors.
Clouds over the lake.
Among the sparrows, I also saw a couple of chubby Robins. One of them, seemingly, had lost an eye, but it was still able to get around all right. Robins hunt by sound, listening for worms under the surface of the ground…so losing an eye wouldn’t be too much of a disadvantage as far as finding food goes.
American Robin, Turdus migratorius. This one was missing an eye.
There were both Mourning Doves and Eurasian Collared Doves cooing from the trees and telephone lines. The Great-Tailed Grackles and House Wrens were out singing, too. So much birdsong!
The real standouts of the day, though, were the Tree Swallows. They were everywhere, foraging for bugs, chasing one another, singing their gurgly songs, looking for nesting cavities. One of the folks in the Birding California Facebook group suggested I read “White Feathers: The Nesting Lives of Tree Swallows” by Bernd Heinrich… so that’s on my wish list right now. Heinrich noted that the Tree Swallows line their nests with only white feathers.
There were lots of Coots and some Pied-Billed Grebes swimming and foraging around the edges of the lake. One of the grebes caught a little fish, and swallowed it down whole. I got a video snippet, but the bird turned its back to me for most of it. Hah!
I also got some really bad, really fuzzy video of a muskrat as it swam its way across the lake. It was headed toward shore, but I can’t move very fast with my cane. When I got to the place where I thought it might have landed, it was already gone. Sigh.
One of the last bits of video I got was of a pair of Canada Geese. I’ve seen this species of geese all over the place, in forested areas, along the river, lakes and ponds, and in urban areas. But I’d never seen them mating before. The geese form pair bonds that last throughout their lives, but they won’t form a bond or start mating until they’re about three years old.
A lot of the display I watched, before I started filming, was the typical “Triumph Display” where the pair approach one another honking loudly. The honking is followed by a sort of “snorting” or “snoring” sound and the threat of a bite. Once in the water, the pair I was watching did the “head-dipping” routine — like they were bathing, dipping their heads into the water and then lifting the head so the water flowed over their neck and body. Then the male mounted the female. She was bouncing like a bobber, and he had trouble staying on top, so I don’t know if he actually accomplished anything. Poor dude.
As I mentioned before, on my way out of the park, I saw a brown bird “kiting” in the air over a field. I didn’t recognize what it was at first, so I took some video of it.
Luckily, the bird flew in closer to the edge of the road and landed briefly on the fencepost, so I was able to get a few clear shots of it. I was surprised to realize it was a Say’s Phoebe.
Say’s Phoebe, Sayornis saya
According to Cornell, these phoebes kite when they’re foraging and when the male is displaying around a nesting site to show the female where it is. Say’s Phoebes, unlike the Black Phoebes, don’t make mud nests to they don’t need to nest near a water site. They can sometimes use old nests of Black Phoebes, but otherwise build their nest of a variety of materials, like weeds, wood and other plant fibers, rocks, cocoons and spiderwebs, hair, paper, basically whatever is readily available and can be easily manipulated.
Like the Black Phoebes, the Say’s nest in or around ledges, where the nest can be partially or wholly covered to protect it from the weather, like on rafters, shelves, ledges, drainpipes, eaves, etc. I’ve never found one, but now, at least, I know what I’m looking for.
I walked for about 3½ hours and then headed back home. This was hike #27 in my #52HikeChallenge.
It was still cold (around 34°F) this morning, and there were still hail stones in piles on the ground in the shadier places; nonetheless, around 6:30 am I headed out to the American River Bend Parkfor a walk. When I arrived there, I could hear a pack of coyotes yip-yowling at one another. I tried recording their calls but there was too much other outdoor noise — wind, cars, etc. — to really hear the ‘yotes.
Inside the park, I stopped off to take a look at mama Great Horned Owl first. She was sitting toward the back of her nest, and was dozing. [I wondered what she did when it was hailing yesterday.] I looked for papa in the surrounding trees, but never caught sight of him. He might have been out hunting.
While I was looking for him, I could hear a Wild Turkey giving an alarm call to my left, so I looked over there. The turkey came up over a rise, running, and behind it was a coyote! As soon as the coyote saw me, it stopped, and then loped off down the drive and into the woods. An owl and a coyote in the first five minutes of arriving! That was an auspicious start to my walk.
Coyote, Canis latrans
At one point, I thought I’d spotted papa Great Horned Owl in a tree, but on close inspection realized it was just Fox Squirrel that was curled up and grooming itself in the tree top. The way the sunlight was hitting it made it almost “glow”.
I stopped to take some photos of a beautiful outcropping of flowering manroot vines before moving on to another part of the park. I didn’t have anything specific in mind to look for, so I just enjoyed the walk and had fun viewing whatever Nature wanted to show me. The water in the river was higher than I’ve seen it recently, and was flowing very quickly. Lots of logs floating in the water faked me out — thought they were beavers.
In and around the water, I saw Common Mergansers, Snowy Egrets and Canada Geese. I also came across a Double-Crested Cormorant who was sporting his crests (that look like bushy eyebrows). The crests of this guy were white, which indicates he probably migrated from Alaska.
Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auratus
I also saw a Spotted Sandpiper (that didn’t have her spots yet), and a male/female pair of Wood Ducks.
I saw some Lesser Goldfinches, Bewick’s Wrens, Oak Titmice, and California Towhees in the wooded areas. One kind of humorous sighting was seeing a troupe of Turkey Vultures sitting in the top of a tree over a fancy house doing their “heraldic” pose. Looked very “ominous” and “foreboding”.
Turkey Vultures, Cathartes aura, in the “heraldic” pose which allows them to soak up more heat from the sun more efficiently.
Lots of pipevine plants are now coming up, just in time for spring, but the plants here are kind of “behind” the same plants in other areas. They’re just sporting their flowers. Lots of Mugwort and Bedstraw everywhere; and the clarkia are just starting to emerge. No flowers on them yet.
I watched a hummingbird flitting around the outdoor arena along the trail, and it flew up in front of my face a couple of times. I think it was attracted to the colors in my scarf. It then flew down into the fire pit and was eating (or at least licking) something inside the rim of that. It wasn’t gathering spider webs, because it was flicking its tongue in and out. After it left, I looked down into the pit, but I couldn’t see anything it might have wanted to feast on. Weird.
The rains and hail of yesterday helped to fluff up all of the mosses and lichen, so I took a few photos of the most impressive ones of those I found.
Green Shield Lichen, Flavoparmelia caperata; Shrubby Sunburst Lichen, Polycauliona candelaria; and Shield Lichen, Parmelia sulcata [greyish,veined]
Oakmoss Lichen, Evernia prunastri [like strap but with soredia]
In one of the puddles there was a Hairworm. When I first saw it, it wasn’t moving, so I thought it was dead. I went to the puddle again on my way back to the car, and it was moving then, albeit very slowly. Based on the “ends” of the worm, I assumed this one was a male. It was about 14 inches long.
On my way out of the park, I saw a pair of ground squirrels, and then went back to get a parting look at mama Great Horned Owl. Altogether, I walked for about 3½ hours. This was hike #26 of my #52HikeChallenge. When I got back to the house, I rested with the dogs for a while.
Species List:
Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus
Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna
Bark Rim Lichen, Lecanora chlarotera [looks like Whitewash Lichen but has apothecia]
Bedstraw, Velcro Grass, Cleavers, Galium aparine
Bewick’s Wren, Thryomanes bewickii
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
Boreal Button Lichen, Buellia disciformis [pale gray to bluish with black apothecia on wood]
Brown Jelly Fungus, Leafy Brain, Phaeotremella foliacea
Bushtit, American Bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus
California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii
California Camouflage Lichen, Melanelixia californica [dark green with brown apothecia, on trees]
California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
California Manroot, Bigroot, Marah fabaceus
California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana
California Pipevine, Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica
California Towhee, Melozone crissalis
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
Common Merganser, Mergus merganser
Common Sunburst Lichen, Golden Shield Lichen, Xanthoria parietina [yellow-orange,on wood/trees]
Coyote Brush Rust, Puccinia evadens
Coyote Brush Stem Gall Moth, Gnorimoschema baccharisella
Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis
Coyote, Canis latrans
Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auratus
Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger
Elegant Clarkia, Clarkia unguiculata [red line on leaves]
False Turkey-Tail, Stereum hirsutum [thin, flattish, brown underside]
