I got up around 6:00 AM, got the dogs fed and pottied, and then headed over to theStone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. This is a 18,000 acre site of protected land in the southern portion of the county near Elk Grove, one of the few urban refuges in the nation. Grasslands, vernal pools and diverse wildlife and plant life can be found here, but most of it can only be seen through guided tours that go past the paved Blue Heron loop trails.
Pond which is circled by the paved Blue Heron Loop trail
I seldom see any wildlife there to speak of when I’m there, and more recently I found the place to be a horrible mess: very neglected and unkempt. Today, I was happy to see that they cleaned the place up a lot since the last time I was out there. I went there because I knew they had a great collection of the native California Wild Rose plants there, and this is rose gall season. I saw two species: the galls of the Spiny Leaf Gall Wasp, Diplolepis polita, and galls of the Leafy Bract Gall Wasp, Diplolepis californica. So cool!
The only birds I saw there were the usual suspects: a few Red-Winged Blackbirds, House Finches, some tree Swallows and Mourning Doves, and a Song Sparrow. I could hear Killdeer, but didn’t see them.
The only other creature I saw there was a very pregnant Western Fence Lizard. Her coloration was so bold and bright, you couldn’t miss her. I’ve never seen one colored like that.
I found a few different kinds of lichen on the wood and metal spurs of one of the bridges on the property, including one I’d never seen before.
I walked there for about 2 hours. This was hike #24 in my #52hikeChallenge for the year.
Because it was so close, I drove over toward the Cosumnes River Preserve. I didn’t go into the preserve itself, but drove around Franklin, Desmond and Bruceville Roads to see if I came across anything interesting.
There were cattle in some of the ag fields. And across from them were quite a few Purple Salsify. Chicory, and Bristly Oxtongue plants. Along Franklin Road, across from the entrance to the preserve there was a row of fennel plants.
I always check out fennel plants when I find them during this time of the year because they are a host plant for the caterpillars of the Anise Swallowtail Butterfly, Papilio zelicaon. They go through 5 instars (molts) changing in color and size as they mature. They start out looking like bird poop, and end up banded in glorious colors. I found specimens in the first, third, fourth and fifth instars. So cool.
A little bit further on the road was a pond filled with Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets. I assumed they were eating crayfish, which a common inhabitants of the pond.
I was out for about 4 hours and headed back home.
Species List:
Anise Swallowtail Butterfly, Papilio zelicaon
Baccharis Stem Gall Midge, Rhopalomyia baccharis [creates twisting stems on coyote brush]
Bee, European Honeybee, Western Honeybee, Apis mellifera
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
Blessed Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum
Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra cerulea
Boxelder, Box Elder Tree, Acer negundo
Bristle Fly, Family: Tachinidae
Bristly Oxtongue, Helminthotheca echioides
California Blackberry, Trailing Blackberry, Rubus ursinus
California Sycamore, Western Sycamore, Platanus racemose
Spiny Leaf Gall Wasp, Diplolepis polita [on rose leaves]
Swallow, Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor
Torrent Sedge, Carex nudata
Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
Western Fence Lizard, Blue Belly, Sceloporus occidentalis
Western Kingbird, Tyrannus verticalis
Willow, Arroyo Willow, Salix lasiolepis
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We were overjoyed to see several Yellow-Headed Blackbirds in the high grass outside the entrance of the bypass. We’d gone to the bypass several times before to try to find them, and they eluded us. Today, we weren’t looking for them – and there they were. They were “lifer” birds for me; so exciting.
A few other cool bird sightings followed. We saw a Great Egret chowing down on what I think was a vole. Of course, the bird was behind a blind of high grass and mustard plants, so I couldn’t get my camera to focus properly on it. We also found a handful of Brown-Headed Cowbirds, males and females together. The males were doing their dominance “bowing” behavior for the females.
According to Cornell: “…Bow: feathers on back, chest raised, wings lifted and spread, tail spread and bowing forward, followed by Bill Wipe, always given with Song. Intensity varies greatly, from slight bow and feather ruffle to full elaborate bow ending with Bill Wipe. Intensity greater when directed to other males than to females; little or no bow given with song if no other cowbirds within 1–2 m (S. Rothstein pers. comm.). A group of males may together perform this ceremony. Male-male bowing displays associated with other agonistic displays…”
I chased a male American Goldfinch around, up and down the auto tour road, then gave up in frustration. Later, I spotted it sitting high in a tree further down the road, and got a few long-distance photos of him.
We saw hardly any raptors on the drive, besides a Swainson’s Hawk sitting on the ground in a plowed field. I was hoping to see the Great Horned Owl’s babies, but it was chilly and windy outside, and she had them snuggled down in the nest under her. I’ll try going back later to see if I can get a shot of the owlets.
We were surprised to find a pond that was hosting a small group of Cinnamon Teals and Blue-Winged Teals. I seldom see the Blue-Winged ones, so it’s always a treat when we can find them.
We were also surprised by the huge swaths of Flatface Calicoflowers (downingia) that we could see from various vantage points along the auto tour route. Charlie Russell, one of our favorite botanists, had told us the flowers were there, but that was several weeks ago, so we thought they’d all be dried up and gone by now.
One of the really fun finds for me was a new-to-me gall on one of the Goodding’s Willow trees near a parking area along the route. It was listed in Russo as the gall Willow Bud Gall Mite, Aculops aenigma. The mites cause the tree to create crenulated bunches of plant material on its leaves, catkins and stems. [They kind of look like ash flower galls to me.]
In that same area, I saw several damselflies: Tule Bluets and Pacific Forktails.
We then headed over to the Ibis Rookery in Woodland. The pond was flooded, and there were no ibises there yet [they usually nest in the summer months.] It was hard to get close-ups of anyone because what birds there were, were mostly in the ponds and furthest from the edge of the driving route. There were some of the usual suspects including Canada Geese, Ruddy Ducks, and Black-Necked Stilts, but a big surprise for us was spotting a solitary Eared Grebe in full breeding plumage.
I’ve seen the grebe before in their dull, gray non-breeding plumage, but not in the breeding plumage which is spectacular. Cornell describes it as: “[having] a black head, neck, breast, and upperparts, cinnamon-brown sides and flanks, white belly, and head with black crest and bright golden ear tufts (elongated feathers extending distally from around rear eye); foreneck sometimes largely tinged brownish; crown feathers erectile, usually forming peaked profile, sometimes crest…”
On our way out of the area, in a drainage ditch on the side of the road, we were looking for turtles or maybe a Green Heron… but instead saw something moving slowly just under the surface of the water! We waited for it to show itself but it disappeared into the tight collection of plant life near the end of the ditch. Dang! We speculated that it might have been a mink, or a small muskrat or maybe a big-ass snake… but we didn’t see enough of it to know for sure. Very creepy.
We were out for about 6 hours. It was a very productive day.
Species List:
Alkali Heliotrope, Heliotropium curassavicum
American Coot, Fulica americana
American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis
Bee, European Honeybee, Western Honeybee, Apis mellifera
Bisnaga, Visnaga daucoides
Black Mustard, Brassica nigra
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
Black-Necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus
Black-Tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus
Blessed Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum
Blue-Winged Teal, Spatula discors
Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
Broadleaved Pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium
Brown-Headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater
Bullfrog, American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus [tadpoles breathing]
Cabbage White Butterfly, Pieris rapae
California Bulrush, Schoenoplectus californicus
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
Caterpillar Hunter Beetle, Calosoma cancellatum [like a Darkling with a sculpted carapace]
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It’s the City Nature Challenge Day #3and my friend Roxanne and I went over to the American River Bend Park with my dog Esteban to look for more species to add to our totals. Esteban walked the whole trail along with us and never complained or asked to be picked up and held. I was very proud of him. The weather was lovely: cool and breezy. It was so nice.
There were so-so many California Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars everywhere. We even found one that was just starting to go into it’s metamorphosis. CLICK HEREfor an excellent video (not mine) about the butterfly’s life cycle.
At one spot, we noticed that a White-Breasted Nuthatch was whizzing back and forth with food for its babies, and followed it back to its nest: a hole at the end of a downed log in the grass. It’s usually really difficult to get clear photos of this species of bird because it’s small, moves a lot, and usually has its back to you. But at this particular nesting site, we were able to get quite a few face and full body photos of the birds.
There were a lot of tiny House Wrens singing from various trees all around us, but it took a while before we were able to find one that was within photographing range.
Roxanne had really wanted to see some of the Rough-Winged Swallows I saw the last time I was at the park, but they were being shy today. We finally did see a few in flight, and one landed on a tree nearby, so at least she was able to get pictures of that one.
In the river, we saw a pair (male and female) of Common Mergansers. In this species, the males don’t look anything like the females (sexual dimorphism). According to Cornell: “…Adult sexes strongly dimorphic in size and plumage most of year. Male has iridescent, greenish-black head with rounded crest, brilliant white neck, underparts, and secondaries contrasting with black upperwings, gray back and tail, and long narrow scarlet-orange bill. Female plumage has rusty-brown head with long crest and distinct white chin patch, slaty-gray breast, back, wings and tail, white flanks and belly, and scarlet-orange bill; brown of head and upper neck sharply demarcated from white lower neck..” I’m looking forward to them having lots of red-headed ducklings.
A big surprise, for me, was seeing my first Townsend’s Warbler: a little yellow guy with thick black eyeliner. So cute. This species is migrating through right now, and flies between because Alaska and Central America each year. The species hasn’t been studied very much, so most of the information on it is anecdotal.
Throughout the park, we found several different kinds of lichen, and also were able to find an identify a few species of grasses.
On our way out, we spotted a mama Wild Turkey with about four or five little poults. As soon as she realized we were trying to get photos of the babies, she hurried them into the long grass where they were all but invisible – except for the grass-tops moving over them.
We were out for about 3½ hours and then headed home. This was hike #23 in my #52Hike Challenge for the year.
Species List:
Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus
Alder, White Alder, Alnus rhombifolia
Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna
Ash-Throated Flycatcher, Myiarchus cinerascens
Bark Rim Lichen, Lecanora chlarotera [looks like Whitewash Lichen but has apothecia]
Bee, Leafcutter Bee, Megachile sp.
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
Blessed Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum
Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra cerulea
Bur Parsley, Anthriscus caucalis
Bushtit, American Bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus
California Black Walnut Pouch Gall Mite, Aceria brachytarsa
California Buckeye Chestnut Tree, Aesculus californica
California Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly, Battus philenor hirsuta
California Pipevine, Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica
Two-Horned Gall Wasp, unisexual gall, summer generation, Dryocosmus dubiosus [small, green or mottled, on back of leaf along the midvein]
Vetch, Hairy Vetch, Vicia villosa
Wax-Leaf Ligustrum, Ligustrum japonicum
Western Fence Lizard, Blue Belly, Sceloporus occidentalis [pregnant female]
Western Hoptree, Ptelea crenulata
Western Redbud, Cercis occidentalis
Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Papilio rutulus
White-Breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis
Wren, House Wren, Troglodytes aedon
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This was the City Nature Challenge Day #1 and I got up at 5:30 AM to get the dogs all fed and pottied, and to get myself and Esteban ready for a day out in the field with my friend and fellow naturalist Roxanne. We went into Placer County and up along the length of Drum Powerhouse Road. My right arm still hurt from the COVID booster, all the way down to my wrist. I pretty much tried to ignore it, but sometimes I had to change which hand I held my camera/cellphone in.
On the way up into the foothills, Roxanne took a short detour to show me a spot where there were white globe lilies blooming along the road side. Such pretty things.
Next we stopped at a rest stop along the highway to use the restroom, get Esteban walked and pottied, and check out the colony of Cliff Swallows there. I could watch those little guys all day. They’re so entertaining.
Once we got going, we got confused by some of the road signs, and ended up going down a road we didn’t mean to, but at an intersection there we saw more Cliff Swallows. They were on the ground near a puddle collecting mud for their nests. We noted that the birds were flapping their wings all the while they were on the ground.
I suggested it might be to confuse and ward-off predators, but according to bird-photographer expert Ron Dudley it has a different purpose. He writes: “…It’s thought to be a defensive posture used by both sexes and meant to prevent extra-pair copulations (EPCs). At almost any opportunity males try to copulate with swallows other than their own mates and those sexually aggressive males often mistake other males for females. So swallows on the ground, both males and females, typically raise and flutter their wings in an effort to prevent those unwelcome matings while their gathering behavior makes them more vulnerable. As a result, vicious fights often break out…”
So, the wing-flapping is sort of like the swallows’ version of birth control. Hah!
The drive took us up through the foothills, past huge outcroppings of serpentinite, seeps and small waterfalls, and one spot where water (from melting snow above) was actually trickling through the rocks and mosses. It seemed that everywhere we stopped along the road, we saw a generous variety of species.
The first spot was one we’d gone to a year or so ago where we saw giant trillium, Bleeding Hearts, and Mountain Misery among other things. And we found some Trumpet Lichen among the moss on the side of a stump. We also got to see a Brown Creeper bird creeping up the side of a fir tree. It was collecting little bits of bark and needles along the way.
Further along the road we found groupings of Yellow Star Tulips and Rainbow Irises along with Goldback Fern and other plants.
In a more rocky area we found lots of lichen including Emery Rocktripe, Black Eye Lichen, and Yellow Map Lichen.
In between some of the boulders Lace Lip Ferns were peaking out. But the standout find was several flowering Mountain Jewelflower plants. I’ve been trying to find a jewelflower for almost a decade, and this was my first! I was sooooo excited! It was nice to see, too, that there were so many healthy-looking plants growing out from the rocks. Tucked in closer against the rock walls were lots of Canyon Live-Forever Dudleya, most of them in bloom, too.
On the opposite side of the road was a steep drop-off covered in trees. We could hear a loud bird singing from the top of a tree nearby. I caught a glimpse of it, and could see it was a male Black-Headed Grosbeak, but it flew into another tree before I could get a photo of it. Luckily, it didn’t go too far, and we were able to take some photos and a video snippet of it before it flew off.
In other areas we found end-of-the-season larkspur, some Pacific Hounds Tongue (“Dog Lick”), and flowering Broad-leaved Stonecrop.
We also found that several of the Dogwood trees were in bloom. Sooooo lovely. All the “green”, cool temperatures and fresh air was just what I’ve been needing. We were also pleased to see the huge outcroppings of serpentinite along the road: shiny, slick, almost glassy, in varying shades of green.
According to KQED: “…Serpentinite is a metamorphosed version of rocks that make up oceanic crust after they are incorporated into subduction zones (plate boundaries where oceanic plates are thrust under continental plates). The recognition and study of serpentinite in California contributed to the understanding of modern plate tectonic theory… Serpentinite has a unique association with California for many reasons including: its association with gold deposits and the resulting California Gold Rush history, many plants unique to California grow on serpentinite-rich soils, the fact that serpentinite is thought to promote slow (and less hazardous) ‘creep’ along faults, and others…”
In 2009, there was a bill introduced in the state Senate to remove serpentinite as California’s state rock. The bill suggested that serpentinite shouldn’t be the state rock because “serpentine contains the deadly mineral ‘chrysotile asbestos, a known carcinogen, exposure to which increases the risk of cancer mesothelioma.”
The fact that there is no such thing as the mineral chrysotile asbestos was ignored in the bill. According to KQED: “…There is a mineral ‘chrysotile’ that crystallizes into a fibrous material referred to as asbestos but not all varieties of serpentinite contain it…” The only real danger from the stone was if someone threw a chunk of serpentinite at you and it struck you in the head. So, the bill failed – as it should have.
We drove past the plot of ground, a shallow meadow, that is regularly used as a makeshift shooting range by locals. It’s so sad to see all of this destruction in the middle of such a lovely environment. The ground is literally covered in shot gun shells, shot up boxes and other trash. There are circles cut into the ground by morons doing “donuts” with their vehicles, and rocks painted with lurid green smiley faces and graffiti. It’s all just sickening to look at.
We were hoping to get to see the powerplant at the end of the road but access was blocked by a gate that, although it was open, was covered in “no trespassing” and other warning signs. The powerhouse, a hydroelectric plant run by PG&E, is over 100 years old. It’s adjacent to the New Drum Afterbay dam which is over a mile long. There is so little information available about the dam and the powerhouse that it makes me a bit suspicious about it. Like, what’s really going on beyond that closed gate? Hah!
For me, it was extra fun to also be able to find several galls on the canyon live oak trees including Clustered Blister Galls, Fluted Gall, Gouty Stem Galls, and Hair Capsule Gall.
We were out from 6:30 AM to 3:30 PM. Phew! A long day, but we saw over 100 different species. A great start to the challenge.
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The Chubby Woman’s Walkabout ™ 
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