hedgie7's Identifications

Burl on Quercus agrifolia.

Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) A.k.a. Encina. Native, long-lived tree (up to 125 - 250 years). Quercus agrifolia is by far the most common Oak tree on the Monterey Peninsula. Leaves are dark evergreen, oval, cupped or spoon-shaped, and convex. Underside of leaf has small tufts of hair in the vein axils, “hairy armpits.” Margins of mature leaves have sharp spines that are very noticeable when you sit in the leaf litter.

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, pp. 25-27

UC Berkeley Oaks website for Oak Tree Species I.D. and Ecology: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu/oak-tree-species-id-ecology/

Field guide for CA Tree Oaks written, designed, and illustrated by Joshua Zupan and free to download here:
https://joshuazupan.com/portfolio/tree-oaks-of-california-a-field-guide

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=40530

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 180-181.

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 128.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/tree-fagaceae-quercus/

Monterey County Herald article "Slowing Down Oak Moth Caterpillars" Sunday, October 9, 2022, pp. 1,3. Fred Watson and Bruce Delgado were interviewed by Luis Melecio-Zambrano for this front page story.

Quercus (Oak) are in the Beech (Fagaceae) family.
Those found in Monterey County are in three groups: Red (or Black) Oaks, Intermediate Oaks, and White Oaks. Red Oaks and Intermediate Oaks have acorns that generally mature over a 2 year period (Coast Live Oak is an exception to this rule). White Oaks have acorns that mature in a single season. Most Red Oaks and Intermediate Oaks are evergreen (California Black Oak being the exception). White Oaks may be either evergreen or deciduous. Hybrid forms are common. All oaks are monoecious, with conspicuous male flowers. Female flowers are found in the axils of the leaves near the tips of the new stems.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/tree-fagaceae-quercus/

Field Guide to Insects and Diseases of California Oaks, Swiecki, Tedmund J. and Bernhardt, Elizabeth, USDA, 2006

GALLS: Identify Galls by name or by host plant https://www.gallformers.org/id
INaturalist Project, Galls of California https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-california
Nancy Asquith: Journal: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-california/journal/44203-where-to-learn-more-about-galls, and for a quick photo guide of most California Oaks by group, see https://joycegross.com/galls_ca_oak.php,
and for specifics on which oaks host which gall wasps see https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-plants-with-mystery-galls/journal/44142-california-oak-galls]

4 Collared Doves were roosting in the dense foliage of my spiny Texas Ebony tree in the front garden before they flew out when I went to collect the morning paper.

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) Introduced/naturalized, common, and widespread across the U.S. (including CA deserts). Length is 32cm (12.5"). They are stockier and larger than mourning doves and have a rounded tail (not pointed like mourning doves). Distinguished from other doves by half black collar at back of neck.

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 7th ed., 2017, pp. 74-75.

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008, pp. 208-209

Monterey Birds, Don Roberson, 2nd ed. 2002, sponsored by Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society, pp. 480-481.

Ebird https://ebird.org/species/eucdov/

Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/eurasian-collared-dove

Sharing wildlife sounds from around the world https://xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Streptopelia%20decaocto

Found Feathers: https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php

Bull kelp, washed up on shore during high tide. Lots of tiny sand flies underneath. Too fast to photograph!

A Brown Algea, Phylum Phaeophyta. Brown algae contain chlorophyll, but the green color is hidden by gold and brown pigments, which look like light green to dark black because of their varying proportions.
https://www.centralcoastbiodiversity.org/brown-seaweeds.html

Field Guide to Seaweeds of the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Bridgette Clarkston, Harbour Publishing, 2015

Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) is one of the largest kelps in the world. It can grow 5.5'' per day--up to 36 m (118 ft). Extra large air-filled bladders are flotation devices. The long stipe (stalk) attaches to rock by a sturdy holdfast. Some people make crunchy pickles from the stipe.

Beachcombers's Guide to Seashore Life of California, J.D. Sept, Rev. ed. 2009, p. 233.

Bull kelp has a single stipe up to 35 m with a large terminal float from which grow 30-60 staplike blades, each ~4 m long. Common, especially in wave exposed areas. Geographic range: Alaska to central California.

SEANET Hopkins Marine Station https://seanet.stanford.edu/Ochrophyta#Nereocystis

Goldback Fern (Pentagramma triangularis) Native, perennial, small, common fern that grows on shaded, rocky walls. It has broad triangular fronds, black stems, and a distinctive pair of backward-pointing pinnae at the base of the frond. Leaves become darker green with maturity. Leaf blade is glabrous adaxially, not sticky, margins not recurved, and abaxially (leaf underside) with yellow to cream (white) exudate. If pressed against skin or clothing, this powder leaves a clear, yellowish imprint. A.k.a “Tattoo Fern.” In summer or drought, the pinnules shrink into little ball-shaped structures until the fern is "revived" by spring rains.

Anza-Borrego Desert Wildflowers (and more)https://borregowildflowers.org/?type=search&searchtype=S&family=&name=Pentagramma%20triangularis

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=77119

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 7.

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 9-10.

Oregon Flora https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=7112

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 426.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fern structures have their own names:
A fern’s leaf is called a frond. It is divided into pinnae, which may be subdivided into pinnules. The underside of the pinnules contain sori, which in turn contain sporangia, which produce the spores. Sori may be covered by a membrane-like indusium. A false indusium is a covering formed by a reflexed margin of the pinna/ pinnule. Not all ferns have clearly defined sori.

https://basicbiology.net/plants/ferns-lycophytes/fronds

Monterey County Wildflowers, Trees & Ferns https://montereywildflowers.com/ferns-polypody-brake/

Western Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum) Native plant in the Iris (Iridaceae) family that grows in open, grassy areas. Leaves are narrow, dark green, and grass-like. Flowers are 6-petaled with pointy tips and prominent veins. Colors range from blue-purple to violet or pale blue, occasionally white, and always with a vivid yellow throat. Peak bloom time: March-May.

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 322-323.

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=44682

Oregon Flora https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=8446

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 219.

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, p. 81.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/iridaceae/

Coffeeberry (Frangula californica) Native, large shrub in the Buckthorn (Rhamnaceae) family that grows up to 15 ft tall. Leaves are leathery, tend to curl under, and elliptic to ovate with prominent veins and acute tips. Leaf margins are usually smooth, not serrated like Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia). Inflorescence has 5--60 pale green flowers and pedicel that is < 20 mm long. Flowers are small and green-white. Peak bloom time: May-July. Smooth, round fruits are red, maturing to black. Native people had many traditional uses of this plant as a strong laxative and cathartic. 34 uses described here:

Native American Ethnobotany: A database of plants used as drugs, foods, dyes, fibers, and more by Native People of North America. http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Frangula+californica and http://naeb.brit.org/

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp.279-280.

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=26041

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 184.

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, p. 260.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/rhamnaceae-other/

Five or six of these pines are growing up the slope.

Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis) A.k.a. Jerusalem Pine, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a small to medium-sized tree, 15–25 m (49–82 ft) tall. Two needles per fascicle (leaf bundle). Cones are narrow conic, 5–12 cm (2–4+3⁄4 in) long and 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown when 24 months old. They open slowly over the next few years, a process quickened if they are exposed to heat such as forest fires.

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/82722-Pinus-halepensis

Calflora https://www.calflora.org/entry/psearch.html?namesoup=Pinus%20halepensis

https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0818+0988

Tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) A.k.a. Tanbark Oak. Native, evergreen shrub or tree that is not a true oak. Habitat is Redwood or mixed evergreen forests. The name "Tanbark" comes from the bark being used historically in the processing (tanning) of leather.
Tanbark Oak was once a common tree, but in recent years its population has been devastated by Sudden Oak Death, an invasive plant pathogen. It may be shrubby and many-stemmed, but is often a tall, single-trunked tree. It has large, distinctive leaves, which are evergreen, simple, alternate, ovate to oblong, and 3–14 cm long. Leaves have margins that are either entire or serrated with an obtuse tip. The tree is monoecious, the tiny white male flowers in more or less erect catkin-like spikes, and the inconspicuous female flowers below the male. Like most black oaks, the acorns mature over two years. The acorns are distinctive, the cup having a soft-spiny appearance, the result of very slender, spreading to reflexed scales. This is different from the appressed scales found in true oaks.

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, p. 8.

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=89061

Oregon Flora https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=6828

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 178-179.

Monterey County Wildflowers, Trees and Ferns https://montereywildflowers.com/tree-fagaceae-xquercus/

California Bay (Umbellularia californica) Common, native tree that can grow up to 30m (100ft) tall. Leaves are oblong-lanceolate. The strongly aromatic leaves can be added to rice and birdseed to repel moths and weevils. Flowers are small, creamy yellowish-green, and are borne in small umbels. Peak bloom time is Nov-May. The fruit is generally one, round-ovoid, +- green, then dark purple, olive-like when dry .

A.k.a. California Laurel or Oregon myrtle. It is an excellent hardwood prized by woodcarvers for its' beautiful wood grain, hardness, and strength.

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 16-17.

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=47489

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 14.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/tree-walnut-bay/

https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=8985

California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum) Native, perennial, small shrub in the Evening-primrose (Onagraceae) family. Leaves are linear to narrowly lanceolate, hairy, and occasionally glandular. Flowers are crimson to reddish-orange, trumpet-shaped, with long-exserted stamens and pistil. A hummingbird favorite. Peak bloom time: June-December. Hummingbird-pollinated.

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=24343

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 216-217.

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 153.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/onagraceae-epilobium/

https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=10993

Five wild turkeys (and a covey of quail) foraging.

Wild Turkeys on the Monterey Peninsula in California often roost in Eucalyptus and in Coast Live Oak trees. Large flocks (10-15 birds) are commonly seen in the foothills between Salinas and Monterey. Smaller groups have been seen in Ford Ord Nat'l Monument.

Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) Introduced/natualized species. Males: up to 46" long. Dark, iridescent body, red wattles, long, black breast tuft, spurs on legs, and bare-skinned head is blue/pink. Females: up to 37" long, smaller and duller than male, and lack the breast tuft.
Diet: Omnivorous diet varies with the season, but is mostly plant material, including many acorns, leaves, seeds, grains, berries, buds, grass blades, roots, and bulbs. Also eats insects, spiders, and snails. Sometimes eats frogs, lizards, snakes, salamanders, and crabs.

"Rafter of Wild Turkeys"
Why is a group of two or more turkeys called a rafter, historically? When buildings were being constructed, people would find turkeys in the rafters of their barns and structures. Barns with rafters are a great place to roost: it’s out of the weather, it’s high up and out of the sight and reach of predators. What better place to sleep at night, than in the rafters? So, because of this, a group of turkeys is known as a rafter of turkeys.

Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/wild-turkey

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008, p. 58-59.

Monterey Birds, Don Roberson, 2nd ed. 2002, sponsored by Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society, p.171.

Found Feathers I.D. tool: https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php

A covey of Quail foraging behind the Wild Turkey.

California Quail is the State Bird of California. Coastal California Quail (Callipepla californica ssp. brunnescens) is the local subspecies in Monterey County.

California Quail (Callipepla californica) Small, native, mostly ground-dwelling bird. These birds have a teardrop shaped crest or plume, made of six feathers, that droops forward: black in males and brown in females. Chest feathers have heavy, white streaks. Their closest relative is Gambel's Quail which has a more southerly (Sonoran desert) distribution, a longer crest at 2.5 in (6.4 cm), and lacks the white streaked chest feathers of the California Quail.
Eggs: 10-16, usually 13-14. Dull white to pale buff, variably marked with brown. Two females sometimes lay eggs in same nest. Incubation is by female only, about 18-23 days.
Young: Downy young leave nest within a day after hatching. Both parents tend young, with female often brooding them when small, male perching high and acting as sentinel; young feed themselves. Young can fly short distances at age of 10 days but are not full grown until later. One brood per year, two in years with good food supply.
Diet: Mostly seeds and leaves. Feeds on a wide variety of plants, but especially annual weeds, eating the seeds, leaves, and fresh shoots. Also eats acorns, berries, flowers, bulbs, insects.
"Small and rotund with obvious teardrop-shaped plumes protruding from forehead. Looks gray and brown at a distance, with white streaks on the sides and a scaly belly. Males have black face and longer, more curled crest than females. Usually seen in flocks running on the ground in open, scrubby habitats. Listen for frequent, three-noted call, audible at long distances. Separated from similar Gambel’s Quail by range; also note California has scaly belly with rusty (not black) patch and duller brown crown and sides. "

Coastal California Quail (Callipepla californica ssp. brunnescens) is the local subspecies in Monterey County.

California Quail has distinctive calls:
Bird songs and sound recordings from around the world https://xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Callipepla%20californica

Ebird https://ebird.org/species/calqua/

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008, p. 60-61.

Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/bird-guide and https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/california-quail

Monterey Birds, Don Roberson, 2nd ed. 2002, sponsored by Monterey, Peninsula Audubon Society, p. 173.

The Cornell Lab (Birds in U.S. and Canada) https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ (enter common name)

Merlin Bird ID (great app available for Iphones) by The Cornell Lab (Bird ID help for 8,500+ species) https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

Found Feathers (Worldwide): https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php

Coast Live Oak is host to Pacific Mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum ssp. tomentosum), observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/137455379

Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) Native, long-lived tree, up to 125 to 250 years. Quercus agrifolia is by far the most common Oak tree on the Monterey Peninsula. Leaves are dark evergreen, oval, cupped or spoon-shaped, and convex. Underside of leaf has small tufts of hair in the vein axils, called “hairy armpits.” Margins of mature leaves have sharp spines that are very noticeable when you sit in the leaf litter.

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, pp. 25-27

UC Berkeley Oaks website for Oak Tree Species I.D. and Ecology: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu/oak-tree-species-id-ecology/

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 180-181.

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 128.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/tree-fagaceae-quercus/

Monterey County Herald article "Slowing Down Oak Moth Caterpillars" Sunday, October 9, 2022, pp. 1,3. Fred Watson and Bruce Delgado were interviewed by Luis Melecio-Zambrano for this front page story.