Today Ben Lowe and I went to Boden Canyon to celebrate March Forth. We pulled onto the NE side of SR 78 onto a gated dirt road (Orasco Guejito Truck Trail) and were out of the vehicle at 0900; N33.0866° W116.9061°. Ben soon found 2 small Batrachoceps attenuatus which I collected for Anny Peralta as this location is near a contact zone for two of her population clades. Walking, we followed the truck trail to a small pond at N33.1168° W116.8936° where we ate lunch at 1200. By 1400 we were back at the car. Most of this area had burned in October, 2007.
Many of the birds had started singing: Mourning Dove, Song Sparrow, Wrentit, Oak Titmouse, Orange-crowned Warbler, Hutton's Vireo, Spotted Towhee, Lesser Goldfinch, and Anna's Hummingbird were all heard singing or displaying. Additionally, a pair of Common Ravens flew over with nest material in their mandibles; they flew to the bottom of a steep riparian draw containing Quercus and cf. Platanus (sycamore). A group of about 9 Tree Swallows flew low overhead on the walk in. Most of the coastal scrub has not recovered much of its structure and biomass. However, a NW-facing hillside had much of its shrub layer left, dominated by a white-flowered Ceanothus sp. Here is the only place I saw a suite of coastal scrub denizens including Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Wrentit, and California Towhee. An immature Golden Eagle flew over us at around 1330, initially being chased by a pair of ravens before leaving them for a thermal where another pair of ravens and a Red-tailed Hawk took up the harassment. In the pond was 2 male and a female Ring-necked Duck. In a place where the Quercus canopy mostly covered a boulder-laden stream bank a Canyon Wren called. Other avian life seen on this walk include: about 10 Bushtit, 9 Wild Turkey, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Sharp-shinned Hawk, many Audobon's Warblers, Turkey Vultures, Scrub Jays, Acorn Woodpecker, and House Finch.
Five species of lizards were encountered. Most frequently seen was Scleroperus occidentalis. S. orcutti was seen on a large boulder near where we crossed the Santa Ysabel River. An immature Phrynosoma coronatum was found along the truck trail. Also encountered was an Aspidoscelis tigris and an Uta stansburiana. Ben reported hearing both Pseudacris cadaverina and P. regilla vocalizing along the river. I found another Batrachoceps attenuatus near the pond.
San Diego County has received much rainfall this winter and there were many wildflowers out. As well as many other species, two species of Ceanothus, Gilia angelensis, and a Lupinus sp. were in flower. Dichelostemma pulchellum were also in flower and the were commonly visited by Vanessa cardui as shown in this picture.
A ground-squirrel (cf. Spermophilus beecheyi) was glimpsed near the gate and SR 78. A Ratus norwegensis was mummified in the depths of an old foundation. About 500 meters south of the pond, in a spot where the truck trail is under the Quercus canopy we saw a large, probably male Lynx rufus walking south (opposite our direction). In getting Ben's attention I managed to grab the attention of the bobcat as well; the cat crouched low with eyes and ears trained on us before breaking to a run away from us clearly showing its short tail.
3 comments:
A great start to a great project and one of my favorite naturalists. Thanks Casey, and what a way to end the journal entry. We miss you up North. PM
hey casey, it's good to see what you're doing. great blog. at the bottom of your text box (when you're blogging or editing), there is a small field for labeling your post. that way, people will come across your post if they do a search of "birding" (for instance) on google. love you, and hope you're both well!
Cool, I love batrachoceps. My yard is full of them and the beautiful ringneck snakes that eat them.
Boden canyon has tons of other bulbs too like Aliums and Bloomeria.
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