Natural History Wanderings

Where to photograph in California – Yahoo Groups (Calphoto) has a post that covers three Northern California Wildflower areas from this past weekend

Jepson Prairie Preserve south of Dixon joining a docent lead EB CNPS group. As expected much too windy to bother taking pictures.   There were flats with dense goldfields and scattered downingia puchella, plus a list of other modest species.  But this spring not particularly aesthetic vernal pool landscapes compared to others I’ve seen in the valley.

North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve north of Oroville. The majority of the earlier flowers had completed their cycle, withered and fell off, gone to seed. I worked slopes with northern exposures and found lots of late season species like grass nuts, larkspur, sky lupine, mountain dandelion, and clarkia but their aesthetics were far weaker compared to the earlier peak. And wet seep areas still had their species.  For those still thinking of visiting it is really too late by now so will recommend waiting till next spring targeting the last week of March and first week of April.

Oroville Wildlife Area along Thermalito Afterbay that is a bit west of Oroville. That region received about 140% of normal rainfall so is very green still. http://www.water.ca.gov/recreation/locations/oroville/maps/thermalito.html
The area is mainly used by boaters and not known as a wildflower destination.  But then there are many places in the state like this the public hasn’t taken notice of.  The Larkin Road paved facility has a boat ramp and there are acres between Larkin Road and the reservoir with an abundance of grassland wildflowers especially thigh high roundtooth ookow and White brodiaea aka wild hyacinth.  Also some dense patches of goldfields and one of the smaller downingia plus larkspur, mountain dandelion, elegant brodaiaea, goldnuggets, and several others.  There are similar areas along Larkin Road west of the afterbay outlet.