Natural History Wanderings

Today we drove Fairfax- Bolinas Rd. with the main destination being Lily Pond or Lily Lake to see Fetid Adder’s Tongue (Scoliopus bigelovii), my favorite early season wildflower. Blooms seen along the road included Milkmaids, Hound’s Tongue, Morning Glory, Strawberry, Redwood Sorrel, Silk Tassel (Garrya elliptica), and a pink pea or vetch.  Also seen were some very colorful sori on Polypody ferns. Birds included Northern Flicker, Western Scrub Jay, Say’s Phoebe, Red Tail Hawk, Raven and Wrentit.
At Lily Pond we were successful in finding Fetid Adder’s Tongue well camoflaged but cooperative tiny frog.  Thanks to John Wall’s Natural California January 22 post that alerted us to this being a good spot to find the Fetid Adder’s Tongue.  To learn more about Fetid Adder’s Tongue check my posting from last year: https://naturalhistorywanderings.com/2011/01/07/first-wildflower/

After leaving Lily Pond we continued to Ridge Road where we saw a couple of Kestrels and a flock of Juncos.

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