There is a valley oak (Quercus lobata) in foreground, last season's leaves still hanging on. Mistletoe hangs from its limbs and toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is at its base -- but the red berries are all gone. In the foreground, grassland on serpentine soil. A bare-limbed blue oak (Q. douglasii) woodland is in the background at left, merging with a green forest of coast live oak (Q. agrifolia) as you proceed to the right. Valley oak and blue oak are both in the "white" subfamily of oaks. Valley oaks are deciduous by season: loss of leaves is triggered by the length of the day, by the season. Blue oaks are drought deciduous, losing leaves in drought conditions. They can hybridize. Coast live oak is in another oak subfamily, "black", and does not hybridize with these two. (By the way, members of both subfamilies can be evergreen or deciduous.) This image was taken from the birding transect trail, paralleling Road F on the ridge. December 19, 2011, 10:12 am.