Ed DeBenedetti Park in Lodi, CA
On Saturday (November 4), as I was on my way to Sacramento, CA, I made a short, exploratory visit to Ed DeBenedetti Park in the nearby town of Lodi. I was intrigued by the satellite views of this park that I saw on Google Maps, which showed the presence of a small lake along its southern boundary. This lake seemed like a good spot to find interesting birds, insects, amphibians, and other creatures, so I was curious to see what I might find there.
When I reached Ed DeBenedetti Park, I realized that the lake filled an unlikely (that is, man-made) depression in the earth, whose slopes were cloaked in the autumn yellows of cottonwoods and willows. This is something that could not have been revealed by those satellite views on Google Maps. Another thing that Google Maps did not clearly reveal was the chain link fence surrounding the entire lake, fully blocking access to it. Look through the fence, I did manage to see a pair of Green Herons (Butorides virescens) winging their way across the lake’s surface, past a small flock of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). I also heard a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) rattle loudly from the lake’s shoreline, as Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronate) and White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) vocalized from its wooded slopes. The lake still seemed like an interesting place to look for birds, even if it were not an especially good place to photograph them.
North of the lake, I found a large field full of grasses and mostly non-native forbs such as Russian Thistle (Salsola sp.), Yellow Star Thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), and Shortpod Mustard (Hirschfeldia incana). The field seemed like it might be an interesting place to look for insects, especially in the late spring when the plants are still fresh and vibrant. On this visit, I did manage to find an Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis), a Cabbage White (Pieris rapae), and an Orange Sulfur (Colias eurytheme), all species that will remain active there until the cold and rain of winter sets in.
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