Visitors 58
Modified 28-Jun-25
Created 27-Jun-25
47 photos
Summer sets in. We can find flowers throughout the year: now, deep-rooted flowers adorn dry grassland. Sticky Western Rosinweed, an annual herb reminiscent of tarweed, shares serpentine grassland with Clarkia, perhaps Farewell-to-spring (C. rubicunda). Nearby: showy Mariposa Lilies, both Clay (Calochortus argillosus) and Yellow (C. luteus), both with insects burrowing deep into their pollen-rich blossoms.
At the margin of the oak woodland, Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) bursts forth with crowns of white blossoms, getting ready to offer showy red berries to hungry birds around Christmastime. Nearby, white buds of Green Everlasting (Pseudognaphalium californicum).
Birds are active. Acorn Woodpeckers converge on swarming insects, swooping and diving, carrying their catch back to their perch. Swallows dart, demonstrating consummate skill in snatching flying insects. An adult White-tailed Kite accompanies a juvenile on a hunting trip – probably looking for voles. An Oak Titmouse scrabbles for seeds in the duff. Harvester Ants swarm; winged ants prepare to depart to found new colonies. Could the woodpeckers be gathering flying ants?
In the cool dawn, Brush Rabbits and California Quail forage grassland margins.
Lizards are active too. One is just growing a new tail. Others court, scurrying across a stump in the warm sun.
At the margin of the oak woodland, Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) bursts forth with crowns of white blossoms, getting ready to offer showy red berries to hungry birds around Christmastime. Nearby, white buds of Green Everlasting (Pseudognaphalium californicum).
Birds are active. Acorn Woodpeckers converge on swarming insects, swooping and diving, carrying their catch back to their perch. Swallows dart, demonstrating consummate skill in snatching flying insects. An adult White-tailed Kite accompanies a juvenile on a hunting trip – probably looking for voles. An Oak Titmouse scrabbles for seeds in the duff. Harvester Ants swarm; winged ants prepare to depart to found new colonies. Could the woodpeckers be gathering flying ants?
In the cool dawn, Brush Rabbits and California Quail forage grassland margins.
Lizards are active too. One is just growing a new tail. Others court, scurrying across a stump in the warm sun.
Dan Quinn