Exploring Nature in the San Francisco Bay Area
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Rebuilding for California Condors

They may not have been rearing the proverbial phoenix, but the staff at the Ventana Wildlife Society (VWS) does face the task of rebuilding out of ashes. They lost their Big Sur California condor facility on June 23, 2008, when wildfires started by lightning devoured the surrounding area. While the eight condors at the facility were plucked off a smoky ridgeline in a dramatic Coast Guard helicopter evacuation, many wild condors were left to fend for themselves, and a wild-born chick and a previously-released three-year-old are still unaccounted for.

Before the fire struck, the condor facility received hatched chicks from regional zoos. The chicks were reared with an adult “mentor” condor and then released into the wild. If necessary, released birds could be recaptured and rehabilitated on-site. Because the fires destroyed pens for rearing, release, and rehabilitation, “all three capabilities are lost,” says VWS executive director Kelly Sorenson. As the lynchpin of a tiny network of rearing and release facilities for California condors, the loss of the VWS facility is a major blow to efforts to protect this endangered species.

Plans for the condors reared at the Big Sur facility have already been delayed. After their dramatic rescue, the chicks were relocated to Pinnacles National Monument, where another California condor facility operates. “We’re not going to release those chicks,” says Sorenson. Their removal from Big Sur and the destruction of their habitat impedes such plans for now and jeopardizes their target population of 55 wild condors in Central California by 2010. “Rebuilding could take as long as six months,” says Sorenson, “this could easily become a diversion of our resources and our time. What we prefer to do is to rebuild and continue our normal operations. Even six months in the fight to protect endangered species can be critical.”

In the face of this challenge, the society is soliciting public support to rebuild. Fire damage to pens, computers, and other equipment reached at least $10,000, but VWS has set a goal of $100,000 to fund the hiring of additional field staff. And support has been flowing in: Already, VWS has raised nearly $50,000 in private donations. “People have been eager to help,” says Sorenson. “They’ve been behind us all the way.”

More information about VWS programs, or to donate to the Condor Emergency Fund, go to www.ventanaws.org.

Also, check out our video on VWS here.

 

New Species Discovered on Lime Ridge

This summer, plant experts announced a rare and exciting discovery at Lime Ridge Open Space, close to Mount Diablo State Park. Amateur botanist David Gowen found two previously unidentified plants, now named the Lime Ridge navarretia (Navarretia gowenii) and the Lime Ridge woollystar (Eriastrum sp. nov.), that survived unnoticed on a patch of protected land almost completely surrounded by the cities of Walnut Creek and Concord.

The diminutive plants, which belong to the phlox family, are not plentiful even where they were found, and Gowen found them through careful observation of an area famous botanists have studied in the past.

“Amateur’s not the right word [for Gowen]. He has this great power of observation, he pays close attention to detail,” said Leigh Johnson, a Brigham Young University professor who specializes in the genus Navarretia. “If he hadn’t done that then the plant would have been overlooked.”

Lime Ridge navarretia
Lime Ridge navarretia. Photo by Scott Hein.

The flowers’ survival is an exciting example of the benefits of protecting open spaces in urban areas, even places that have seen considerable human use. “This isn’t in some foreign country or in the boonies,” says Gowen, a member of the East Bay chapter of the California Native Plant Society. “It’s in the heart of an urbanized environment. If a housing development had destroyed this site, the plant might have vanished off the earth without anyone ever knowing.” Indeed, it was the specter of a housing development on these lands that precipitated their acquisition, along with several other land preserves, by the city of Walnut Creek in 1974.

Despite the extensive lime quarrying that began here in the mid-19th century and continued for 100 years, the ridge remains rich in rare native plants. Says Gowen, “It’s a wild place, full of rare plants, full of rare animals. It’s less a park than a natural preserve.” Though it was preserved over 30 years ago, the space has been open to the public only since 1997.

Lime Ridge woollystar

Lime ridge woollystar. Photo by Scott Hein.

Just three years ago, botanist Michael Park found the Mount Diablo buckwheat, a wildflower long thought extinct, on an open patch of soil in land recently added to Mount Diablo State Park. This plant hadn’t been seen since the 1930s and, until Park’s discovery, it was considered a local “holy grail.”

In fact, Gowen originally visited Lime Ridge ten years ago in hopes of finding the Mount Diablo buckwheat. “I began looking for the Mount Diablo buckwheat after a lecture Barbara Ertter [curator of Western North American flora at the Jepson Herbarium] gave at the botanical garden, challenging botanists to go out and find this thing,” he says.

Thanks to his efforts, the navarretia and woollystar join the buckwheat as living proof that even relatively small pieces of habitat can harbor surprising diversity. And Gowen joins Park in proving that both amateur and professional botanists can make remarkable discoveries. “The cool thing about not one but TWO new plant species from Lime Ridge,” says Ertter, “is the proof that the age of discovery is still alive, in our own backyards.”

Chasing the West Coast Lady

If butterfly watching sounds sedate, perhaps you’ve never witnessed the excitement of the territorial chase, in which males defend their chosen spots against male intruders. The west coast lady, a common Bay Area native, engages in chasing during the summer and can be seen in many habitats.

Afternoon is the best time to view this species’ fascinating behavior. Two factors dictate male west coast ladies’ behavior each afternoon: body temperature and defense of territory. Males stake out territory and will chase away other males and attempt to attract females, leading to showy flights that are fun to watch.

This species can be found in urban and suburban areas and is partial to the invasive cheeseweed plant. Attracted to open lots and spaces where cheeseweed and other mallow varieties grow, the west coast lady sprawls along with humans into any habitat but deep forest. In fact, the San Francisco Butterfly Count in 2007 had the national high for the species, which butterfly expert Liam O’Brien says is “probably reflective of the invasive cheeseweed, prolific in every vacant lot throughout our urban jungle.”

While these butterflies produce multiple generations of larvae, pupa, and adults year-round in our region, adults live longest in summer, when you’ll have the best opportunity to see them in action.

West coast ladies also use a variety of wing positions and choose perches specifically suited to helping them regulate their body temperature. You may see them on tree trunks, trails, walls, or some low foliage.

The wings of the west coast lady span between 1-1/2 and 2-1/4 inches and their tops feature brown and orange patterning, usually with an orange bar on each wing. If you spot this butterfly with its wings open, it is most likely cold, while wings closed over the back indicate a butterfly that’s too hot.

So watch the interplay between body position, temperature, and chasing, and you’ll get a good idea of a butterfly’s typical day

Marine Protected Areas Update

New developments are underway in the statewide campaign to create Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along our coast, including opportunities for public feedback.  The majority of the Bay Area’s coastline is under consideration as part of a region dubbed the North Central Coast, which stretches from Pigeon Point in San Mateo County to Alder Point in Mendocino County. The resulting protected areas will have limited recreational and commercial fishing or will be designated as no-take state reserves.

Meetings and negotiations on the MPAs in the Bay Area are already underway.  On June 11, 2008, members of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force met with the Department of Fish and Game and introduced their “Integrated Preferred Alternative,” which was finalized on April 23. 

Cal Oceans, a coalition of environmental organizations working to protect California marine habitats, is tracking the MPA process closely.  Their spokesperson Julie Dixon says that the plan currently under consideration includes “significant concessions to fishing interests,” but that several areas are receiving “strong protection.”  Bay Area MPAs in the current plan include the Point Reyes Headlands and the Farallon Islands.

Efforts to protect marine habitats in California are a response to damage to ocean ecosystems over much larger areas. If implemented well, the protected areas can foster the healthy reproduction and growth of endangered and threatened species and, it is hoped, serve as reservoirs of diversity for large areas of the ocean. 

To lend your voice to this discussion, write a letter to the editor of your local or regional newspaper endorsing the MPAs with no further cuts to the areas protected.  You can also send a letter of support directly to the Department of Fish and Game At 1416 9th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, or use the emailform at www.caloceans.org/send.

The MPA process for the North Central Coast region will likely conclude in late 2008 or early 2009. To find out about public meetings and receive other updates, sign up for alerts from Cal Oceans at www.caloceans.org/signup/.

Callippe Silverspot, a Rare and Endangered Native Butterfly

Watch for flashes of silver from the underside of a butterfly’s wings in June on San Bruno Mountain. That’s the telltale sign of the callippe silverspot, a once-ubiquitous Bay Area butterfly that is now on the federal endangered species list.

The callippe silverspot’s population has crashed due to the decline in the populations of its only host plant, the Johnny jump-up.

A relative of the violet, the jump-up is an annual native, and it has mostly wilted by the time the adult butterfly lays her eggs on or near it. The larvae hatch and immediately spin a silk pad on the dormant plant. Then they go into a state of lowered metabolism that lasts through the winter. When the larvae awaken again in early spring, the now-green plant is an essential source of food. The larvae spend two to three months eating and molting; finally, they encase themselves in leaves held together by silk and undergo their metamorphosis.

The silverspot’s adult life lasts but three weeks in early summer, when they feed on flower nectar, mate, and lay eggs. You might spot them sipping nectar from thistles, mints, and other flowers. Their wings, spanning only two-and-a-half inches, are intricate and variable. While the undersides are spotted with the aforementioned silver, the top sides tend to be brown with black spots and lines.

In early June 2008, butterfly counters recorded over 200 silverspots during an annual survey. A walk on the Buckeye Canyon Trail on San Bruno Mountain may be your best chance at spotting this silver butterfly. Historically, the callippe ranged from La Honda in San Mateo County to the Twin Peaks neighborhood of San Francisco, as well as on the inland hill ranges of Contra Costa and Alameda counties. Due to habitat changes brought on by livestock grazing, urban and suburban development, and heavy recreational use, there are not enough healthy Johnny jump-up populations to support the butterflies in most of its historic range. But venture south of San Francisco, to the precious habitat island of San Bruno Mountain, and you may be treated to a vision of silver-speckled wings of this native butterfly.

Watching for Blue Bellies

Visiting a Bay Area trail would seem incomplete without a glimpse of a fast-moving western fence lizard flitting off a sunny rock or tree trunk. Also called the blue-belly or swift lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis is classified as “common” and is active most of the year, hibernating only in the coldest winter months.

Indeed, the fence lizard does very well in the Bay Area –- and that is very good news. This reptile not only fulfills a large role in local ecosystems as both predator and prey, but it reduces our risk of contracting a dangerous disease.

The western fence lizard eats insects, spiders, and other arthropods, and their impact on populations of these creatures is proportionate to their large numbers. What’s more, they are a favorite meal of kingsnakes, other snakes, hawks, and some mammals. The Alameda whipsnake, a threatened local species, relies especially on the fence lizard for survival. This snake inhabits chaparral habitats in Alameda, Santa Clara, and Contra Costa counties, all prime fence lizard habitat.

These little lizards don’t just provide sustenance for so many predators. They also help protect all of us from Lyme disease. In fact, ticks in regions inhabited by western fence lizards carry Lyme disease 45 percent less frequently than ticks in other regions.

This connection is not a coincidence. The bacteria that causes Lyme disease lives in the guts of ticks and can be passed to a host if the tick stays attached for more than 24 hours. Fence lizards, luckily for Bay Area nature enthusiasts, have another bacteria in their blood that kills the Lyme disease-causing bacteria. So ticks that feed on these reptiles no longer carry the threat of Lyme disease.

Western fence lizards inhabit dry regions from central Washington to Baja California, from coastal habitats to mountainous heights of 6,000 feet, in semi-open woodland and grassland. Only dense or moist forest and open desert habitats don’t receive the Lyme-negating effects of the fence lizard.

How do you look for this beneficial lizard? You’re most likely to see one out of the corner of your eye, since fence lizards have notoriously fast reflexes to avoid their many predators. That’s essential, since the lizards prefer open spots such as low rocks or the proverbial fence post, which makes them easily visible to predators.

Fence lizards are territorial creatures; after hibernation ends in early spring, both males and females establish individual territories they defend with posturing and scent marks. This also marks the beginning of mating season.

Around this time, you may notice the fence lizard doing “push ups” on the ground. That’s a male trying to attract females to his territory. During this interaction, a male will also show his blue belly scales.  Males develop this trait during mating season, and that’s why this species is sometimes called the “blue belly.” A female will enter a male’s territory and watch his behavior before deciding whether to mate.

So next time you’re on a hike, take a moment to appreciate that blue belly and his mate–both working hard to feed so many, and make a few more lizards to do the same.