08 April 2008 - 07:23, Tinman said:
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Here’s another remarkable bird report from a sharp-eyed (and eared) observer!

25 species but no migrants on Mt. D from 10-11 a.m.

Raptors seen:

• Accipiter sp. (soaring way up high at 10:05 a.m., this hawk disappeared quickly out of range without beating its wings once)
• Turkey Vulture (headed sw over west side of hill at 10:24 a.m.)
• Red-tailed Hawk (pale, banded bird that is often present on Corona Hill, seen throughout the hour)

Heard only birds:

• Northern Mockingbird
• Steller’s Jay
• Winter Wren (as many as four or five at once from along the Ravine Trail)
• Cedar Waxwings
• Pygmy Nuthatch
• Northern Flicker

Also appearing were:

• Hermit Thrush (at least three, feeding on berries of the German Ivy growing on the Eucalyptus along restored area)
• American Robin (several, some singing)
• Mourning Dove/Rock Pigeon (fly-overs)
• Townsend’s Warbler (singin male)
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Bushtits
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee
• Anna’s and Allen’s Hummingbirds
• Golden-crowned sparrows (four or five on the trail west of the dead Euke)
• Fox Sparrow (feeding with GC Sparrows)
• Song Sparrow (one seen clearly, at least three others heard singing)
• White Crowned Sparrows (at least 10, several singers)
• Dark-eyed Junco (singing)
• House Finch (singing)
• Lesser Goldfinch(signing)

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07 April 2008 - 09:17, Tinman said:
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We had a larger-than-usual turnout, bolstered by a big group of strapping young folks from the Armenian Church, which owns the cross and its environs on the summit. This ambitious group ambushed the ehrharta grass on the plateau below the summit:

We also were glad for a new volunteer who joined us via the Sierra Club connection. MaryLou appears to be a honest person, though her claim to be 85 certainly appears dodgy considering the sprightly way she tore through the ehrharta. I suspect she added a decade or two to her stated age just to show off!

Just below this plateau is an area that we’ve been rehabilitating for the past several years. This is the triangular area above the fire road and below the steps up toward the summit. Previously it was simply dense blackberry, cotoneaster, and ivy, but once we’d removed these and released the remnant seed bank plus in-planted judiciously other missing species, we now have a spectacular result:

Note in particular the western sword fern (Polystichum munitum), red flowering current (Ribes sanguineum), Pacific reed grass (Calamagrostis nutkaensis), California fescue (Festuca californica), and fringe cups (Tellima grandiflora).

Lots of things are blooming now, and we’ve been remiss in making weekly reports of what’s new. To catch up, here’s what was most spectacular this past Saturday:

Mule’s ears (Wyethia angustifolia) on the eastern slopes:

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) all over the eastern and southern reaches:

Sticky monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus) in the hotter, drier areas of the southern and eastern grasslands:

Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) most spectacularly in the “bird corridor” on the NE slope where the grasslands/scrub meet the trees (and where the SFPUC was going to trench in its pipeline). Elderberry is also doing extremely well indeed in the managed areas in the trees where careful thinning and weed removal have opened up the understory.

Melic grass (Melica californica). Most people don’t think of grasses having flowers, but indeed they do. Here is the melica on the eastern slope in full bloom:

This is a spectacular time at a spectacular place. Get out there and see it!

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