Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve
8 March 2008
San Mateo County, CA
|
My friend Pat signed up for today's walk and requested
Edgewood.
My friend Mark figured it was really close to home for him and asked to join us.
Pat and I met Mark and his wife, Yvette, at the parking area for the Clarkia
trailhead.
As it turns out, we were a trifle early for the wildflowers, but it was a very lovely day and we had a lovely hike. Mark and Yvette bailed out about a half-hour earlier than Pat and me, so Pat and I got about 4 hours of hiking in. |
One thing we did see a lot of were signs:
Just about everywhere we turned there were these signs. And, being good citizens, we obeyed the signs. As such, sometimes we couldn't get very close to some of the things we would have liked to get closer to. Oh, well. I'd rather have the healthy natural resource available than the last good pictures cuz the place was trampled into oblivion.
|
"Dichelostemma capitatum," according to Wikipedia, is one of the most common native bulb species in California. It's in the Lily family. It's common name is "Blue Dicks." (Hint: Go look at the scientific name again.) |
We came across some really awesome tree fungi. It was all over the various chunks of downed tree. And through it all, you can see sprouts of poison oak popping up. No, I have no idea what the tree fungus is. I haven't veered in that direction yet. |
We saw lots and lots and lots of this happy plant: Poison Oak! Here's a set of fresh leaves and some flower buds. So you know, the oils of the poison oak may not be your friend, but the birdies love the berries! |
Here's a cute little flower. Sadly, it's not a California native: Redstem Storksbill. So, here's where I have to put in my comments about field guides. Birds that are not normally found in a particular area are variously called strays, vagrants, accidentals, ... Plants that are found in an area where they didn't evolve are called, and I kid you not, "aliens." |
Here's a little guy that doesn't have so much of a showy flower, but it is edible. It's called "Miner's Lettuce." |
This pretty member of the Lily family is variously called "Fremont's Camas," "Star Lily," and "Death Camas." Oddly, there are others like it that are also called "Death Camas." Avoid confusion and call it "Zigadenus fremontii" (yeah, right). |
Another very pretty flower -- purple this time -- that goes by a variety of names like "Purple Nightshade" and "Deadly Nightshade." (Isn't Truth in Advertising nice?) You can call it "Solanum xanthi." |
No clue what it it, but it was a very bloom-full shrub. |
I don't really know why, but I developed a special place in my heart for this family of flowers the first time I saw them up at Carson's Pass on a botanizing trip. This is a "Henderson's Shooting Star." As it turns out, these guys have 5 petals everywhere but in the San Francisco Bay Area where they have 4 petals. The oh-so-pleasant botanical name that you can use to show off to your friends and neighbors is "Dodecatheon hendersonii." |
This cute little thing that looks like most folks imagine what wildflowers look like is in the Buttercup family and in the Ranunculus genus. (Yes, there are ranunculus bulbs that you can go buy at the garden center and put in your garden at home, and they are much more showy.) This California Butter cup, therefore, carries around the name "Ranunculus californicus." |
After looking at all the little flowers, I though maybe I should record the general environment. Yes, this is where we were hiking. We had started at the Clarkia trailhead (named for yet another local wildflower) and had just turned onto the Serpentine trail (named after the local soil type, not the snake-y nature of the trail). |
A quick, candid shot of "my posse:" Mark in the foreground, then Pat, and Yvette a-way out in front. |
Ain't he cute?!? This is a Western Bluebird. There were about four right there in the immediate area where this was taken, but they kept turning their backs and hopping away. I was totally stunned to see any, let alone so many, bluebirds here. But it actually makes a lot of sense. Why? See the next photo. |
I've been driving up-and-down 280 (right past Edgewood) for a few years and I keep seeing these bird boxes mounted to fence posts all along the way. Here one is mounted to a marker for a buried gas pipeline. I'd heard that there were folks locally who donate to fund the bird boxes and folks who monitor them year 'round as part of a local "Bluebird Trail" project to help with the re-introduction of Western Bluebirds in the area. Well, it seems to be working! |
We came across this sign and the one below. They are educating folks about invasive weeds (those "aliens" mentioned earlier), in particular the yellow star thistle. |
You see, there's a difference between an "alien" and an "invasive alien." The aliens don't take over the habitat, edging out the natives that the wildlife depend upon for survival. The Friends of Edgewood sponsor weekend outings to get together and pull these noxious weeds early and often in an attempt to keep them in check. |
This is one of the Ribes genus. I don't know which one, but it's one of those that has a name that includes "Gooseberry." How do I know? See those thorns? Thorns = Gooseberry. No thorns = Currant. Both are tasty tidbits for the birdies. |
Last week we saw herds (flocks, murders, collections, gaggles?) of Jack Rabbits at Baylands. This week we saw plenty, but they were not inclined to get very close. |
What the heck is that mound of sticks?!?! One of our group suggested, "Beavers!" No, no water. "Small children!" I didn't think so. I was pretty sure it was some woodland creature, but I didn't have a clue what. We found out later that this is a Woodrat's Nest! This mound is about belly-high on a medium-height man. |
Two sides of trail marker signpost. We had started at the Clarkia Trail, but when we came to the Serpentine Loop Trail, we hung a left and followed it around till we came to the Ridgeview Loop Trail and hung a right. |
Looking back along the trail toward the signpost above... with the 280 Freeway in the background. |
This little bunch of spring flowers is called "Indian Warrior." |
The "Indian Warrior" flower close up. |
A view up the Ridgeview Loop Trail. |
Like it says (under Yvette's foot), we were on the Ridgeview Loop Trail. |
Quick! How many different chaparral plants do you see here? Live Oak, California Sagebrush, Sticky Monkeyflower, ... |
The new baby leaves of one of the Live Oaks. Aren't they cute? |
The red bark of the Manzanita isn't always there. It starts out gray, then peels or otherwise sloughs away. |
Remember the boxes that make up the Bluebird Trail? Well, there's another one! |
I'm thinking that this is a Coastal Bush Lupine (but I'm open to correction). |
And here's a close-up of the flowers. |
Looking back down on the Serpentine Loop Trail. |
And looking down the other side of the hill out over San Francisco Bay. You can see the clouds forming over the East Bay hills and, if you look very closely, you can barely make out the Dumbarton Bridge through the haze. |
Can anybody help me out with the name of this cute little nodding lily-esque flower? |
Ooh! Another bluebird box hiding behind a scrub oak(?). |
OK. Here's the highlight of the day: Purple Mouse Ears! These little suckers are pretty rare. And when I say "little," I mean REALLY little. That flower, ears and all, is about the size of a dime. |
Believe it or not, there are two different plants of the same genus here. One is a Big Seeded Lomatium, the other is a Wooly Lomatium. You can't really tell it much from this picture, but they both in the carrot family and are, therefore, related to parsley, carrots, parsnips, and many others. |
Have you seen the old (old, old, old, ...) movie "The Scarlet Pimpernel?" Well, this is the "humble wayside flower" for which our hero has named himself. Yes, this is another "alien" species, but not an "invasive" species. |
This little butterfly is the California Ringlet. Apparently it's supposed to be common, but this was the ONLY butterfly we saw all morning. |
Again, we came across Blue-Eyed Grass... which really isn't a grass. It's actually in the iris family. I've gotta admit that the plant looks like crabgrass at first glance, but the flower completely gives it away. |
Last, but certainly not least, this Denizen of the Chaparral was watching the trail when we came by. He had a friend in the shadows, too. |