Rockaway Beach and Calera Creek (Pacifica, CA)
On Sunday, August 6, I spent the day on the coast at Rockaway Beach and Calera Creek in the city of Pacifica. This area doesn’t have a huge number of species observed in iNaturalist – only 204 – so I was curious if I could increase that number. And, of course, I was curious to see what new species I could add to my life list on iNaturalist.
I started with the dark sandy shoreline of Rockaway Beach first, before following Calera Creek to the uplands immediately to the north, observing 52 different species of all kinds. Here are the highlights of what I saw.
Insects: I was able to add one new insect to my life list, the California Bordered Plant Bug (Larga californicus). And I’ll be adding five to the iNaturalist list for the area: Argentine Ant (Linepithema humile), Occidental Grasshopper (Trimerotropis occidentalis; identification tentative for now), one of the Greater Bee Flies (possibly Bombylius cruciatus); one of the Greenbottle Flies (Lucilia sp.), and a Calyptrate Fly (Calyptratae sp.). Strangely, I missed seeing any butterflies except for the occasional Cabbage White (Pieris rapae), as well as any dragonflies or damselflies. The odd-looking Devil’s Coach Horse Beetle (Ocypus olens) has been reported from this area, as well; however, I missed seeing it on this visit.
Plants: I didn’t find anything new to add to the list of plants for this area; however, I did manage to add four new plants to my life list: Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Chile Trefoil (Acmispon wrangelianus), Purple Pampas Grass (Cortaderia jubata), and Muehlenberg’s Centaury (Zeltnera muehlenbergii). It was sad to see the invasive Purple Pampas Grass and its cousin, regular Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana) dominating the drier uplands of this area, along with many other non-natives.
Birds: I did not see any new birds, either for my life list or for the area. Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), Brandt’s Cormorants (Urile penicillatus), and both Western and Heerman’s Gulls (Larus occidentalis and L. heermanni) crowded into the nearshore waters of the Pacific, with the gulls sometimes stopping to rest on the beach. There was also a small population of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) and Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) in the marshy area near the mouth of Calera Creek.
Mammals: The only mammals that I observed were the semi-tame California Ground Squirrels that I found along the edge of the public parking area near the mouth of Calera Creek.
Others: The violent surf and steep drop-off in the seabed offshore limited the marine mollusks I found to some California Mussels (Mytilus californianus) and some Lottia-type limpets on the rocks below the parking area for Nick’s Rockaway seafood restaurant. Joining them there were a few Pacific Acorn Barnacles (Balanus glandula). The weekend crowds kept the local snakes in hiding, so that the only reptile I saw was a fast-moving and highly nervous Coast Range Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis bocourtii). Finally, on the rocks by the seafood restaurant, I did manage to find some lichens that resembled the Shrubby Sunburst Lichen (Polycauliona Candelaria), although I will have to study them more to positively identify them.
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