Yesterday was a field trip to Table Mountain in Butte County, CA to see wildflowers. There were few flowers in bloom on the roads up to Table Mountain from Oroville. We parked in the main parking lot, checked out the nearby vernal pools and rocky outcrops, followed the creek out to the waterfalls and wandered around the Preserve. Many flowers were in bloom but the peak probably will happen in the next two weeks. There were many flowers in bloom at the Ecological Reserve itself. There were displays of Goldfields but not Sky Lupines (although many were are in bloom). There were lots of poppies, Johnnytuck, Volcanic Onion, Table Mountain Meadowfoam, Buttercup, and violets in bloom. We only found two Bitterroots (Lewisia rediviva) in bloom but many buds. The vernal pools were drying up and didn’t have a lot in bloom.
Goldfields at Table Mountain by Sandy Steinman
In addition to flowers there was also some bird activity, Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies and Western Fence Lizards. We saw a Garter Snake who appeared to be posing for us.
Common Garter Snake by Sandy Steinman
However it turned out he was really hunting a Western Fence Lizard. We did get to see the snake strike and quickly win the battle.
Common Garter Snake and Western Fence Lizard by Sandy Steinman
Wildflower Slideshow
I used Wildflowers of Table Mountain (2nd edition) by Samantha Mackey and Albin Bills for plant identification and choice of common name for flowers.
For more information on Table Mountain go to this older posting on Natural History Wanderings: Table Mountain Wildflower Report
To see plant and animal lists for today click read more:
Table Mountain Plant List April 6, 2012
Biscuit Root or Hog’s Fennel
Bitter-root (Lewesia rediviva) a few in bloom, many buds
Blue Dicks
Buttercups
California Pipevine (foliage only)
California Saxifrage
Douglas’ Violet
Dwarf Stonecrop (only in bud)
Fiddlenecks
Foothill Poppy
Frying Pan Poppy
Goldfields
Johnny Tuck
Kellogg’s Monkey-flower (deep red)
Oakwoods Violet
Popcorn
Purple Owl’s Clover
Red Maids
Sandwort
Seep Monkey-flower (yellow)
Sky Lupine (many plants no displays)
Table Mountain Meadowfoam
Valley Tassels
Volcanic Onion
White-tipped Clover
Woodland Star (pink and White varieties)
Woody Mountain Jewel Flower
Yellow Carpet (Blenbosperma nanum)
no Larkspurs, Pretty Face or Mariposa Lilies were seen
Goldfields by Sandy Steinman
Table Mountain Animals April 6, 2012
Birds
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Northern Flicker 2
Common Raven 2
Horned Lark 2
Tree Swallow 7
Spotted Towhee 1
Western Meadowlark 1 heard only
other bird calls unable to ID
Butterflies
Pipevine Butterfly
a light colored butterfly that was unable to ID
Snakes and Lizards
Western Fence Lizard
Common Garter Snake
Natural History Wanderings 
[…] My impetus for making this report was to make up for the lack of continued monitoring of the bloom timing. Searches have come up mostly fruitless, with the exception of some great bloom reports that have since ceased updating such as Sandy Steinman’s report here: https://naturalhistorywanderings.com/2012/04/07/table-mountain-wildflower-report-april-6-2012/ […]
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By: Table Mountain Bloom Report 2/21/15 | nerdinboots on February 26, 2015
at 9:28 PM
Hi Sandy,
Awesome pics!! Did you see any jewelflowers in bloom?
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By: ivalu on April 8, 2013
at 3:38 PM
No I didn’t see any that day.
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By: Sandy Steinman on April 8, 2013
at 8:30 PM
Anywhere on this page does it say what state this is???
Why am I even having to search this hard.
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By: Leroy Douglas on April 2, 2013
at 8:25 AM
It is in Butte County in California near the town of Oroville.
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By: Sandy Steinman on April 2, 2013
at 8:30 AM
Sandy, your wildflower photos are actually very, very nicely done, and the garter snake catching the fence lizard (photo) is just awesome. Your photo identifications seem accurate also. Great work.
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By: Dave Marks on February 25, 2013
at 12:05 PM
Nice wildflower slideshow! Question – you have two frying pan poppies photos – one appears to be mislabeled. Would you please review? Thanks!
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By: Marsha henderson on April 20, 2012
at 4:26 PM
Thanks for the comments and looking at the slide show and blog posting. I know I often make mistakes but I think my labels are correct this time. Let me know what you think?
I checked the Poppy descriptions in the Wildflowers of Table Mountain book They described the Frying Pan Poppy Eschscholzia lobbi as small flat and light yellow orange. The description of Foothill Poppy Eschscholzia caespitosa as less common than frying pans, darker orange, larger, bowl shaped and resembling California Poppies Eschescholzia california. It think this correlates with the two photos in the slide show.
After looking at your email I found the photo you were referring to. It was not the two I am talking about above, but a photo of a Protea that I photographed at Blake Garden in Kensington. It was the result of a quirky behavior that wordpress sometimes does of loading a incorrect photo and a lack of proofreading and double checking on my part.
Thanks for catching it.
Comments, Feedback and Corrections are always very welcomed.
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By: Sandy Steinman on April 20, 2012
at 10:49 PM
That’s a nice haul of wildflowers, and the snake vs. lizard is really cool!
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By: John W. on April 7, 2012
at 1:05 PM
Thanks. Definitely worth a trip up there anytime in the next two weeks. Less people on weekdays.
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By: Sandy Steinman on April 7, 2012
at 1:44 PM
Hi Sandy,
Thanks so much for the update! Do you think that the flowers will be “rained out” on this Sunday (rain is forecast for Wed-Fri). It’s a 2.5 hr journey up there for me and I don’t want to drive all that way if it’s most likely not going to be good. I’m just asking for a gut feeling, I know you can’t guarantee anything.
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By: diana on April 10, 2012
at 6:41 PM
That’s a hard one to call. I would guess some flowers could take a beating, while others might do fine. You might try calling North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve call 916-358-2869. Also you try the Oroville Chamber of Commerce as they sometimes know about the wildflower bloom Toll Free 800.655.4653.
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By: Sandy Steinman on April 10, 2012
at 9:08 PM