Discovering Wildflowers in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Discover trails - Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve

The winter season was on the dry side this year, so the wildflowers are blooming several weeks late in spring 2012 and not as abundantly as in wet-warm years. But the time is now - go for a hike and you will still find the beauties scattered about and maybe some surprises.

Here is a list of places I recommend for wildflower viewing in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, primarily in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties with a few farther locations added at the end. Edgewood Park, Coyote Lake, Santa Teresa, and Russian Ridge are particularly recommended through May.

Earth Day Parade

Welcome back.  Ash-throated flycatchers fly up to the Western US to nest in cavities, often in manmade structures like fenceposts and telephone poles.

Saturday morning when I heard a familiar chirp-trill from the maples trees, I popped out of bed and ran around the house announcing, "The ash-throated flycatchers are back! All the way from Costa Rica! Get up, get up! Greet the arrival of spring!" Like a pesky dog, I was sent outside where the flycatchers entertained me by chasing each other at high speeds around the farmyard with loud "weet" calls and flashing of tail feathers.

Augury of Spring

Three reasons to slow down on Page Mill Road - sharp curves, bicyclists on the road, and wildflowers.

There is a curve on Page Mill Road that is covered with blossoms of Warrior's plume (aka Indian warrior, Pedicularis densiflora) for a few short weeks every spring. It is blooming right now, a bold announcement that the spring wildflower season has started.

Bareheaded Bucks and a Springtime Quiz

Seven bucks in formal antler attire, Dipper Ranch sunset, Christmas 2011

It's the bareheaded season for bucks - by March they should have dropped their antlers. So far this winter, I haven't seen any brown and therefore recently-shed antlers on the ground. On the other hand, all the deer I see right now are antler-less. I play this game in late winter and spring - I try to figure out which are the does and which are the bucks by their body shapes and behavior. If I see a group of deer that are of mixed sizes, I assume it is the matriarch doe with her last two generations of daughters.  If I see a large single deer, I assume it is a lone buck. But I'm not sure, so the guessing game is actually quite fun for the next month or so.

The Columbian black-tailed buck grows and sheds its antlers every year. The antler calendar goes something like this:

Deschampsia elongata

Slender hair grass (Deschampsia elongata) with green seedheads in May

Slender hair grass (Deschampsia elongata) is a native California grass. It showed up in the yard after I trimmed back the ancient rose bushes to paint the garage.

Three Coyotes on a Sunny Winter Morning - Pair Bonding

Male coyote in front, female coyote in back.

Three coyotes were sunning in a grassy field near Monte Bello Open Space Preserve one morning this week.

Smaller male on left, female in center, larger male on right.

Select "Read More" for photos and discussion about what the coyotes were doing.  Please note - some photos and discussion of coyote anatomy follows.

Let the Spring Begin

Western leatherwood (Dirca occidentalis), a rare native California shrub, has distinct sprays of bright yellow flowers in the late winter.  Notice the sharp point behind the flower.  This feature often remains behind the flat tip of the branch after the flower falls and is one way to distinguish this plant from the similar osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis).

Spring has begun almost without a winter.  The local chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) has several hikes coming up that will feature the earliest of the spring wildflowers.  If we don't get more rain this winter, we may have a short wildflower season, so get an early start and shake that rain stick.  Select "Read more" below for info and links on these hikes.

Coyote Storytelling Event

I've been invited to lead a storytelling evening:

The Coyote Brush Highway
South Skyline Association General Meeting 

Friday, January 27, 2012, 7:00 pm

Saratoga Summit Fire Station

"Mountain resident and biologist, Cindy Roessler, will tell a story and share photos about her recent encounters with a family of coyotes on the Dipper Ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  Coyote (aka the Trickster, the Western Songdog and many other names) inspires stories of wonder, frustration and imagination.  Bring your coyote stories and let's share an evening of real tails and tall tales."