On Friday November 30th, 2018 the crew and I met Ranger Patti Cole at Las Trampas Regional Wilderness in San Ramon.

We conducted a bird survey on the Bollinger Creek loop trail, a mature riparian corridor of Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) and Bay Laurel (Umbrellularia californica). We spotted Acorn Woodpeckers, Black Phoebes, Bushtit, Northern Flicker, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse, and Red-shouldered Hawk. All of these species are riparian (stream loving) generalists that thrive in many different habits.

Bird surveys are a great way to use these indicator species to assess the health of a habitat. Since we had so many riparian generalists, it suggests that the area is doing well. We would have to gather data on a consistent basis to show any significant trends.

After lunch, we did a plant scavenger hunt on the Chamise trail where we were looking for Black Sage (Salvia mellifera) and California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica). These hardy natives smell delicious and we have planted many of them at Robertson Park recently.