Created 2-Apr-22
The inaugural Green Foothills corporate outing walks the serpentine grasslands at Coyote Ridge, a key conservation location above Coyote Valley, south of San Jose. A group from a South Bay software company takes Friday afternoon off for time away from the office, on a lovely spring day.
Craige Edgerton of Green Foothills leads us. He is the ideal leader: experienced, knowledgeable, and easy to like. Helen and Dan Quinn assist. We learn about the history and ecology of the ridge, its place in the wider ecosystem, and the role of Green Foothills in the ecology of local conservation groups.
Coyote Ridge is a key refuge for the rare Bay Checkerspot Butterfly. Its varied serpentine soils provide habitat for a variety of native plants, insects, birds, and mammals. Cattle help browse the non-native grasses.
Coyote Ridge is also part of a key wildlife connection, from the Peninsula foothills, through Coyote Valley, and up to the open wild spaces to the east. Wildlife connections are vital to maintain the diversity and health of many species. For example, the Mountain Lion, a top predator that determines the health of many other species, risks being genetically isolated on the Peninsula, without a connection to the wider world.
While the walk was wonderful and quite interesting, the environment here is not well this dry year. The soil at the ridgetop is shallow. There are no streams or springs. Any water provided to the wildflowers must fall from the sky -- and at the right time. Most years, February is the peak of the rainy season, and February water is important for growing plants. This year, it hardly rained at all in February. The landscape shows it: dry, even parched. This should be the peak time for butterflies to mate and lay eggs; we saw only a very few butterflies. We can only hope that next year brings more timely rain.
Compare spring 2022 with spring 2017: <https://capturethelight.zenfolio.com/170402
> These are my photos of the Green Foothills walk here, five years ago, April 2, 2017. Quite a contrast.
Here are photos of the wider environment, and the valleys and foothills to west and east. Depending on the soil, different regions on the ridge nourish very different plant communities. The sharp boundaries between these regions are striking.
Here are photos of individual flowers, some with insects. Serpentine rocks splashed with colorful lichen. A few birds, including the melodious Western Meadowlark. (The butterflies eluded me.) The cattle, who help keep the invasive European grasses down. Distant native California elk, thriving after being reintroduced here. Signs of introduced wild pigs, extending their range.
Finally, here is a record of our walk and the people who enjoyed it. Group photos are in a separate gallery.
Thank you, Craige Edgerton and Green Foothills. May this be the first of many successful corporate outings.
Please leave a comment on any photo if you have anything to add: a mistaken or omitted ID, more info about the subject, or anything.
Craige Edgerton of Green Foothills leads us. He is the ideal leader: experienced, knowledgeable, and easy to like. Helen and Dan Quinn assist. We learn about the history and ecology of the ridge, its place in the wider ecosystem, and the role of Green Foothills in the ecology of local conservation groups.
Coyote Ridge is a key refuge for the rare Bay Checkerspot Butterfly. Its varied serpentine soils provide habitat for a variety of native plants, insects, birds, and mammals. Cattle help browse the non-native grasses.
Coyote Ridge is also part of a key wildlife connection, from the Peninsula foothills, through Coyote Valley, and up to the open wild spaces to the east. Wildlife connections are vital to maintain the diversity and health of many species. For example, the Mountain Lion, a top predator that determines the health of many other species, risks being genetically isolated on the Peninsula, without a connection to the wider world.
While the walk was wonderful and quite interesting, the environment here is not well this dry year. The soil at the ridgetop is shallow. There are no streams or springs. Any water provided to the wildflowers must fall from the sky -- and at the right time. Most years, February is the peak of the rainy season, and February water is important for growing plants. This year, it hardly rained at all in February. The landscape shows it: dry, even parched. This should be the peak time for butterflies to mate and lay eggs; we saw only a very few butterflies. We can only hope that next year brings more timely rain.
Compare spring 2022 with spring 2017: <https://capturethelight.zenfolio.com/170402
> These are my photos of the Green Foothills walk here, five years ago, April 2, 2017. Quite a contrast.
Here are photos of the wider environment, and the valleys and foothills to west and east. Depending on the soil, different regions on the ridge nourish very different plant communities. The sharp boundaries between these regions are striking.
Here are photos of individual flowers, some with insects. Serpentine rocks splashed with colorful lichen. A few birds, including the melodious Western Meadowlark. (The butterflies eluded me.) The cattle, who help keep the invasive European grasses down. Distant native California elk, thriving after being reintroduced here. Signs of introduced wild pigs, extending their range.
Finally, here is a record of our walk and the people who enjoyed it. Group photos are in a separate gallery.
Thank you, Craige Edgerton and Green Foothills. May this be the first of many successful corporate outings.
Please leave a comment on any photo if you have anything to add: a mistaken or omitted ID, more info about the subject, or anything.
3/25/2022 Green Foothills Tour of a Dry Coyote Ridge
Visitors 37
50 photos
Created 28-Sep-23
Modified 28-Sep-23
3/25/2022 Group Photos
Visitors 0
14 photos
Created 28-Sep-23
Modified 28-Sep-23
Dan Quinn