April 8, 2011
Arrived 10:30, 68° F, sunny and clear w/light breeze
I visited this SSU property on a field trip with Vertebrate Biology. We stopped at several locations in the preserve, looking for specific target species at each location.
Stop 1: Emily’s research station
Grad Student Emily Harvey was doing research on the mating behavior of newts, and we were able to get a tour of her little research station. She also showed us some animals she had captured on the preserve, including Rough-skinned Newt, Red-bellied Newt and Foothill Yellow-legged Frog.
Stop 2: Restroom area
We made a stop at the restroom, and took a few minutes to look around. Here, I saw Black Phoebe, and also identified a few plants: Miner’s Lettuce, Borage, and some sort of Buttercup. On the way to our next site, we also had a bit of excitement . . . as we were driving along the narrow dirt road – with a drop to our left down to the creek a couple of dozen feet below – we came to a small landslide. Not small enough, however, that we would be able to drive around it without risking falling down into the creek. Yikes. Undaunted, one of my classmates grabbed a big piece of tree bark, and just started digging. Within just a few minutes, we’d been able to remove enough of the dirt to make the road safely passable.
Stop 3: Wood Duck Pond
We stopped here to look at newts. This is the largest body of water on the preserve, and has water year-round, and it the location where Emily is using pitfall traps to collect the newts for her experiment. Here, we found Sierran Tree Frog, and several Rough-skinned Newt. Dragonfly larval and nymph stages were present, and we also saw signs of rooting by feral Wild Pig, which are apparently becoming a problem on the preserve.
Stop 4: Sheep Barn
There is an old sheep barn at this site, and we spent most of our time turning over pieces of wood and small rocks, or looking around the rocky area near the barn. I found a Black Salamander under a piece of a fallen tree, and someone else found one under a plank of wood near the barn. We decided that these were Black (not Arboreal) based on the relative size of the head to the body. Slender Salamander, Western Fence Lizard, and Sierran Tree Frog were also found here, along with a Western Skink and a gorgeous Ring-necked Snake. Steller’s Jay were also in the area.
Stop 5: Hilltop
We ate lunch at the top of a hill, surrounded by open grassland. I heard several birds in the woods below, but wasn’t able to identify most of them. I did see American Robin here, and was also able to ID a pair of soaring adult Red-tailed Hawk when they began calling to one another as they flew.
Stop 6: 2nd Barn
We made a relatively brief stop at the second barn on the property, where most of our time was spent exploring a large wood pile. Here, we found Western Fence Lizard, Western Skink, Sierran Tree Frog, and our third Black Salamander of the day. A few specimens were found elsewhere, including another Slender Salamander.
Stop 7: Waterfall
This is an absolutely beautiful spot, with a shallow creek and small waterfall (~ 12 ft) flowing into a pool. So, so pretty, although it was a bit difficult to access, as there is only a very narrow 1-lane road that comes close to the site with nowhere to turn around (making it necessary to reverse the 12-person vans in order to leave the area. This was an adventure, especially since I was driving one of them). Here we found dozens of Red-bellied Newt, which were abundant in the stream and small pools near the waterfall. They were easy to catch and examine in hand, and are so strikingly colored and adorable! We also found a few Rough-skinned Newt here (2 or 3).
Stop 8: Restroom stop
Before leaving for the day, when we stopped for a bathroom break before the 2-hour drive ahead, I took another look around this area. I was excited to find a scorpion under a rock – dark-colored, and about 3 cm long. Presumably a Western Forest Scorpion.
Galbreath is a beautiful preserve and I’m glad to have finally been able to visit it.
Species List
Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa), Red-bellied Newt (Taricha rivularis), Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans), Feral Hogs (Sus scrofa), Sierran tree frog (Pseudacris regalia), UID Dragonfly sp, Black Salamander (Aneides flavipunctatus), Slender Salamander (Batracoceps attenuatus), Sierran Tree Frog (Pseudacris Sierra), Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), Western Skink (Plestiodon skiltonianus), Ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus), Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), American Robin (Turdus migratorius), Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), Western Forest Scorpion (Uroctonus mordax), Foothill Yellow-legged Frog (Rana boylii), Miner’s Lettuce, Borage, Buttercup sp.
Let me know what you think!