Spring Break Adventures

As I mentioned in class, I didn't take 50 pictures of species, but over spring break I did some galavanting around the bay area, including my regalar runs up the Strawberry Canyon Firetrails, along with a long hike/jog over in Mount Diablo State Park. I did indeed observe the nature around me! I also did a day of biking around SF and stopped to check out some organisms surviving in a little cove in the bay were I found some mollusks and saw what looked like some very polluted, sad kelp.

Spring time over in Mount Diablo was beautiful, and we caught it right after some rain so the air was fresh and all the flowers were bright and vibrant! We took the less traveled, northern loop and After doing some research, I saw how short the flowering season for most wildflower species growing in the Mount Diablo region is, with just a few months of March, April, and May being the window period where colors dot the trail so I felt lucky to have seen some of the beauty.

In doing some research on Mt. Diablo I learned that it is a biodiversity hotspot due to its unique soils and geographic location; near the edge of the Contra Costa range and close to the delta. I would presume that this would add to its niche like habitat, which could be why it is home to so many different species.

My favorite flower I saw was what kueda helped me identify as Purple Owl's Clover. I saw its similarities to red clover (a more common specie of that family that my mom and I make tea out of!) as well as Indian Paintbrush, which I also spotted on my hike. I also learned that Castilleja exsertas are the host to an endemic butterfly of the Bay Area, the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly. What a flower!

Posted on April 2, 2013 08:50 PM by arcooper