Natural History Wanderings

There was  a wildflower bloom report on Calphoto for Austin Creek in Sonoma County. Here are the highlights

hiked a truncated version of the Gilliam Creek/Austin Creek Loop: Gilliam
Creek trail to the cutoff at Gilliam Creek, then along the Austin Creek fire
road a mile or so up Morrison Ridge, then backtrack to the junction and up the
AC fire road to the trailhead.

No big showy displays of wildflowers, but quantity & diversity were pretty
decent considering the kind of year it is. Plenty of Ithuriel’s Spear, Ookow,
Fringed Sidalcea, and Woodland Madia. Isolated displays of Morning Glory,
Slender Clarkia, White Brodiaea, and others.

But the star of the show was Golden Fairy Lantern (Calochortus amabilis): lots
of it, beginning about 3/4 mile into the Gilliam Creek trail. Individual
plants, small stands, and a couple of small fields of it.