Archivos de diario de abril 2013

07 de abril de 2013

Using iNaturalist data

Below is a link to a plant list I made for a trip last year to Figueroa Mountain.
http://natureshutterbug.com/wordpress/figueroa-mountain-plant-list/

And this is the same list using information loaded to iNaturalist, which is then downloaded via csv files:
http://natureshutterbug.com/wordpress/figmtnflora/?sort=place

Printed and laminated, and handed out to kids/adults who return them at the end, could provide a hands-on learning experience - with "here is a list of expected plants at this stop ... see if you can find them, or anything not on the list". All the leader has to do is answer questions sparked by discovery.

Publicado el abril 7, 2013 08:43 TARDE por lynnwatson lynnwatson | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

13 de abril de 2013

Anacapa Island - a favorite video

Publicado el abril 13, 2013 02:58 MAÑANA por lynnwatson lynnwatson | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

15 de abril de 2013

La Purisima/Burton Mesa

I first heard about the interesting plants of Burton Mesa when I car-pooled on an Audubon trip to Oso Flaco Lake, Coreopsis Hill some years back. I did a little exploring on my own, before signing up for a SBBG trip to Burton Mesa and La Purisima in 2007. Six years later, without any solo trips in-between, I went on the same trip on almost the same day again with SBBG. In both cases, I returned to get photos that I missed in the group tour. (Unfortunately, due to a mis-formatted disk - my fault - I lost some photos on Saturday, including one of a Northern Flicker from a high view overlooking the Walnut tree in the picnic area; and a few butterflies. Darn.)

Rereading the introduction from the post about the 2007 trip, one could repeat one of the sentences verbatim: "There was very little rain this year, yet there were many plants flowering in the sandy areas where the tour participants were led." In 2007, we stopped at the Jualachichi Summit area for a number of relictual endemic species. We also stopped at a Bishop Pine stand, then to part of Burton Mesa, and lastly entered through an eastern entrance at La Purisima.

This year, after the Jualachichi Summit stop, we just walked along a trail through La Purisima that started very close to the parking area - and since it was a sandy path the entire loop, with a wide variety of plants, the time passed by very fast.

Last year, I received an email about Michael Charters' trip to Burton Mesa, with many photos and accurate identifications. I notice that he received an id of Callophrys perplexa perplexa for the Bramble Green Hairstreak, from Hartmut Wisch. I learned from iNaturalist that Callophrys dumetorum does not occur this far south, and have id'ed all of mine as Callophrys perplexa.)

Although Popcorn flower and Fiddleneck were in abundance, I have not loaded photos of them to iNaturalist, because I have no idea what they are. If I can determine the ids, I will add them later. The slideshow below includes shots that hopefully show the habitat as well as the plants. Note - the area is so protected that even registered botanists may not take plant samples for identification.

Thereafter, Tarja and I made a mad dash up Refugio Road south on the way back, to see Castilleja foliolosa that she had not seen, and a few other plants. She also showed me how to tell the difference between Arroyo and Red Willows. I hope to be able to find time later this spring/summer to return to La Purisima/Burton Mesa for some of the later flowering plants. Hopefully, this plant list will help with some of the questions then.

If the embedded slideshow does not work, here is the link on Flickr.


Publicado el abril 15, 2013 06:45 TARDE por lynnwatson lynnwatson | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario