Today I went to Skyline Serpentine Prairie which is in Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, CA It is a restoration and protected area. This is the forth year in a row that I have visited at this time and it was by far the driest and least flowery. We identified seventeen species in bloom (including a couple of introduced flowers). Most of the area is protected by fence, but there are some flowers outside the fences, which allow for close-up photography.
It was very bright and sunny so the best bets for photos were close-ups with a diffuser or back-lit flowers. The most dominant flowers were Goldfields and California Poppy. There were some very small displays, but the grasses have grown quite a bit around them.
I was also able to identify nine bird species but heard and saw more. The most interesting birds today were the Western Bluebirds and Tree Swallows.
For more information on Skyline Serpentine Prairie check my earlier postings:
- Skyline Serpentine Prairie at Redwood Regional Park
- Calochortus Festival
- More on the Skyline Serpentine Prairie
Click read more to see Plant and Bird Lists
Skyline Serpentine Prairie Plant List for 4/21/13:
Goldfields/Lathenia californica
Blue-eyed Grass/Sisyrinchium bellum
Cream Cups/Platystemon californicus
Lomatium/Lomatium sp.
Yarrow/Achillea millefolium
California Lotus/Acmispon wrangelianus
California Buttercups/Ranunculus californicus
California Poppy/Eschscholzia californica
Blue Dicks/Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum
Winter Vetch Vicia villos ssp. varia (introduced)
Baby Blue-eyes/ Nemophila menziesii,
Blue-eyed Grass/Sisrinchium bellum
Shortstem Morning Glory/ Calysteiga subacaulis ssp. subacaulis
Cow Parsnip/ Heracleum lanatum
Longhorn Plectritis/ Plectritis macrocera
Rose Clover/ Trifolium hirtum (introduced)
Blue Elderberry/ Sambucus mexicana
Skyline Serpentine Prairie Bird List for 4/21/13:
Red-tail Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Scrub Jay
Raven
Western Bluebird
Tree Swallow
Anna’s Hummingbird
Song Sparrow
House Finch
Natural History Wanderings 
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