Natural History Wanderings

Solano Land Trust reports

Hiked Jepson this morning. Not much in the way of new flora blooming. It’s possible the long rainy spell, coupled with cooler temps, has slowed the progress of the bloom.

Lots of yellow carpet, goldfields, meadow foam, popcorn flowers, some ‘bearded clover’, minuartia, muilla.

Kathi reports

Yarrow and the short Hyacinth in large patches, along the Nature Trail, across the road from the picnic area (west side of Cook Ln.)  Lots of Goldfields, in three varieties: regular, rayless, and the larger-flowered vernal pool.  Gold Buttons and clumps of Golden Violet — it was a yellow flower kind of day, especially when you add the thousands of Butter & Eggs.  A white Meadowfoam in the lowest spots, still coming on strong.  The Filaree is almost bloomed-out & has set way too many seeds.  Occasional mini Lupines, also mostly done, just a few battered blooms at the tops of some plants. This is what the plants at the “North most corner” actually are, not Downingias.  Looks like a good seed set for the Lupines.  Some Brodiaeas on the mina mounds, and some showy, although tiny, Clovers out toward the train tracks.

A Swallowtail Butterfly was patrolling the north shoreline of “Olcott Lake”, and three Monarchs were protecting a Fiddleneck patch from each other, near the picnic tables.  Shortly before we arrived, a woman told us she’d seen a Golden Eagle dive on a Jackrabbit, but came up without it.  We had four White Pelicans soaring overhead; Meadowlarks calling from every direction; Avocets “bobbing” in the deeper waters, with their tails straight up in the air, head & neck completely submerged; Stilts flying in small groups from pool to pool; both a male and female Harrier cruising the road edges; and a few Canada Geese and Killdeer moving about the edges.  And of course, Coots.  There are always Coots.  Having made a wrong turn to begin with, we went east on Hastings Road, and saw about a hundred White-fronted Geese, several Red-tailed Hawks, and a spectacular male Pheasant.

But nary a Downingia.