Natural History Wanderings

Today we were at Chimney Rock at Pt. Reyes National Seashore California. It was a foggy cloudy day in the 50’s with some wind. We walked about four miles from Parking lot to Chimney Rock to Elephant Seal Overlook to Lifeboat House and back.The habitat is mainly Grasslands, Ocean and Bay, Rocky Cliffs and Monterey Cypress.

It is peak wildflower season and many wildflowers are currently in bloom. There is also a fair amount of poison oak present in the grasslands. The most abundant bloom is as you get closer to the point. There are good blooms of Douglas Iris, Pussy Ears Star Tulip, Blue Violet, Seaside Daisy, Narrow-leaf Mule Ears, Coastal Wallflower and two species of Paintbrush

There is also a lot of bird activity most of it in the water. The most interesting bird observation was watching two Gulls, (probably Western) and a Double-crested Cormorant closing following (harassing?) a Brown Pelican who was fishing. There was a large raft of at least 50 Surf Scoters near the main Elephant Seal Beach. Surf Scoters were very much the dominant water bird today. There were also about 25 Brown Pelican and 35 Pelagic Cormorants on Chimney Rock today.

There are also numerous elephant seals on the beach below the elephant seal overlook but very few large males.

I will post photos in a few days. Click read more to see bird and plant list

Bird List 18 species (not able to identify all birds on the bay

Canada Goose 2

Surf Scoter 50

Red-throated Loon 5

Common Loon 2

Horned Grebe 1

Double-crested Cormorant X

Pelagic Cormorant 35

Brown Pelican 25

Turkey Vulture 5

Northern Harrier 1

Common Murre 1

Pigeon Guillemot 1

Western Gull X

Common Raven X

Savannah Sparrow 2

Song Sparrow 1

White-crowned Sparrow X

Red-winged Blackbird 1

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22550017

 

Wildflower Bloom and Fern List

Carprobortus edulis Hottentot Fig A

Angelica hendersonii Coastal Angelica

Heracleum maximum Cow Parsnip

Lomatium dasycarpum Hairy Petal Hog Fennel

ssp. dasycarpum

Sanicula arctopoides Footsteps-of-Spring

Achillea millefolium Yarrow

Erigeron glaucus Seaside Daisy

Lathenia californica Goldfields

ssp. californica

Layia platyglossa Tidy-tips

Wyethia angustifolia Narrow-leaf Mule-ears

Arabis blepharophylla Coast rock-crest

Brassica rapa Field Mustard A

Cardamine californica Meadow Milkmaids

var. integrifolia

Erysimum menziesii Coast Wallflower

spp. concinnum

Cerastium arvense Field Chickweed

Stellaria media Common Chickweed

Calystegia purpurata Coastal Morning-glory

Marah fabaceus Green-flowered Manroot

Marah oreganus Oregon white-flowered Manroot

Pteridium aquilinum Western Bracken Fern

var. pubescens

Polystichum munitum Common Sword Fern

Lupinus arboreus Yellow Bush Lupine

Lupinus nanus Sky Lupine

Trifolium wormskioldii Cow Clover

Vicia americana American Vetch

var americana

Erodium sp. Filaree A

Phacelia malvifolia Stinging Phacelia

Iris douglasiana Douglas Iris

Sisrinchium bellum Blue-eyed Grass

Calochortus tolmei Pussy-ears Star Tulip

Fritillaria affinis Checkered Mission Bells

var. affinis

Sidalcea maviflora Dwarf Checker-bloom

ssp. malviflora

Camissonia ovata Sun-cups

Oxalis pes-caprae Bermuda Buttercup A

Eschscholzia californica California Poppy

Plantago erecta Dwarf Plantain

Plantago lanceolata English Plantain

Armeria maritima Sea Thrift

ssp. californica

Polypodium sp. Polypody Fern

Claytonia perfoliata Miner’s Lettice

Pentagramma Goldback Fern

triangularis

Delphinium decorum Coastal Prairie Larkspur

ssp. decorum

Ranunculus californicus California Buttercup

Ceanothus thyrsiflorus Creeping Blue-blossom

var. repens

Fragaria chilensis Beach Strawberry

Galium aparine Bedstraw

Castilleja affinis Indian Paintbrush

var. affinis

Castilleja wightii Glandular Indian Paintbrush

Mimulus guttatus Seep Monkeyflower

Viola adunca Blue Violet

A= Alien

used Marin CNPS list for Chimney Rock (last updated 2010) for plant names