| The Magazine of the CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES |
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Naturalist's Almanac What to look for this FallJudy Chia Hui HsuOctoberThe arrival of fall meant salmon fishing for coastal Native Americans in northern California. Today, the king and coho salmon and steelhead trout still come to many rivers along the northern coast. Salmon are born in fresh water, spend most of their lives in the ocean, then journey to their birthplace to reproduce. The Klamath River and Bogus Creek, a tributary of the Klamath, are good places to see the annual spawning. Coho, or silver, salmon runs occur along Lagunitas Creek in Marin County's Samuel P. Taylor State Park (415) 488-9897. For salmon viewing near Sacramento, try the American River Parkway between Sunrise Blvd. and Hazel Ave. from the end of October through November. Breeding season begins for harbor seals, the most common seal along the California coast. Harbor seals have distinctive spotted coats. In northern California, there are seal breeding grounds in Tomales Bay (415) 669-1140, Point Reyes (415) 663-1092, and Bolinas Lagoon (415) 499-6405. Seals can be seen almost anywhere along the southern California coast. Trees are revealing their fall colors. In northern California, head for Highway 49 and the Sierra Nevada foothills. In southern California, visit Griffith Park, Lake Arrowhead, and Big Bear for excellent views of fall colors. For more information, call the U.S. Forest Service's fall color hotline (800) 354-4595. Hawks soar overhead at Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands. Look for red-tailed, Cooper's, and sharp-shinned hawks, peregrine falcons, and northern harriers. These and many other raptors can be seen from Hawk Hill until November. For recorded information about Hawk Hill call (415) 331-0730 ext 5. NovemberEach fall and winter, tundra swans migrate south to northern California. The smaller of two species of swans native to North America, tundra swans breed in Alaska and northern Canada during spring and summer. Hundreds can be found at the Table Bluff/Eel River Wildlife Area on the Eel River Delta, just south of Eureka. Thousands of tundra swans winter at the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex (916) 667-2231. Check the refuge headquarters for best viewing. Flocks can also be seen at the Cosumnes River Preserve between Sacramento and Stockton. Sandhill cranes come to winter in California's Central Valley. Two species, the greater and the lesser, can be found in California. Over 25,000 lesser sandhill cranes return each year from their breeding grounds on the southwestern coast of Alaska. The greater sandhill crane also winters in the Central Valley, but breeds in the northeastern corner of California. Greater sandhills are a bit larger and far fewer in number. Watch the cranes dance--raising and lowering their heads and wings, jumping gracefully into the air. Observe sandhill cranes at the Cosumnes River Preserve, the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, and the Merced National Wildlife Refuge (209) 826-3508. Farther south, sandhill cranes can also be found at Soda Lake at Carrizo Plain Natural Area in San Luis Obispo County. Check out the Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival (209) 368-6444 from November 5-7. After the rains, mushrooms emerge in northern California's forests and woodlands. In fact, the western United States is home to thousands of mushroom species. Scout out fungi in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (415) 556-0560 and Point Reyes National Seashore (415) 663-1092. To view mushrooms among fewer visitors, head toward the Jackson State Demonstration Forest or Boggs Mountain State Forest near Middletown. Call the forest headquarters in Fort Bragg (707) 964-5674 before venturing out to Jackson State Forest, as the condition of dirt roads leading to the park may deteriorate during heavy rains. Mushrooms remain visible in these areas until April, when the rains stop. DecemberGray whales head south from the Arctic Ocean toward Baja California to breed in shallow lagoons. The annual procession is led by pregnant females followed by other females, older males, and adolescent males, respectively. Look for whales in northern California in areas along Highway 1 from Fort Bragg to Big Sur. Herds come very close to shore at the old lighthouse in Point Reyes National Seashore (415) 663-1092, Laguna Point in MacKerricher State Park (707) 964-9112, and Manchester State Beach (707) 937-5804. In southern California, one of the best places to whale-watch is the Point Vicente Interpretive Center in Rancho Palos Verdes (310) 377-5370. Bring binoculars to see whales at the Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro. After winter rains, banana slugs surface in redwood forests from Big Sur to the Oregon border. Dark spots are often found on the backs of these yellow mollusks. In the redwoods, slugs can be seen feeding during the day throughout the wet season. Some are as long as ten inches as they slither along the forest floor, leaving a slimy trail. The dense forest at the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos (831) 763-7063 is perfect for slug viewing. Other spots include Big Basin Redwoods State Park (831) 338-8860, Muir Woods National Monument (415) 388-2595, and Redwood National Park (707) 464-6101. Just about any dense redwood forest in northern California should give visitors an excellent chance to see banana slugs. To view mistletoe in the wild, hike along the River Trail in the Kern River Preserve (760) 378-2531. This holiday favorite, with its green leaves and red or white berries, grows in big clumps as a parasite attached to branches of trees or in patches of its host's leaves. Although visitors may observe birds eating the mistletoe's berries, please do not mimic this behavior: the berries can be poisonous. |
Fall 1999
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