Night on Froggy Mountain

It was a cold but not stormy night, 2/26/11. KP, MB, and I took a group around Picchetti Ranch. Picchetti had a light dusting of snow the previous evening, which was melted by the time we got there. The forecast ranged from 47F (felt like 43F) at 5 p.m. to 41F (felt like 38F) at 9 p.m., and that seemed correct. We originally had 23 on the reservation list including 8 on the waitlist. There were some last-minute cancellations so we ended up with 7 (including a kid and a teen).

This was the first time we’ve done a frog hike here. On a different hike last year at the same time, it wasn’t as cold, and there were adult toads swimming in the pond and on land on the shore. We saw no toads on our scouting hike or last night.

While waiting in the lot, a coyote cruised through and went into the brush uphill, and someone spotted a rabbit browsing. We started our intro at 4:30 and left the lot around 4:50. At the restroom, three more joined us until the dinner spot, deciding to leave since they hadn’t brought dinner.

The spring in the middle of the trail was bubbling out. We stopped to watch a White-tailed Kite hover, and a California Towhee popped up from a shrub. At the pond, the water level was about the same as it was a week earlier. There were four Mallards at the water’s edge, sifting for food. Close to the edge, a treefrog peered at us from the water. Newts swam. We didn’t see any critters on land.

Continuing to the dinner spot, we saw black cup fungi on the trailbank, and we stopped for liverworts, Hound’s Tongue and Tremella (Witch’s Butter). We got to the dinner spot at 5:50, ten minutes before sunset. After dinner, we refound the turret with the cup fungus, but didn’t see an occupant.

Black cup fungi

KP heard a Great Horned Owl near the second bridge/stream crossing, but when we stopped on the other side of the water, it was quiet. We talked about night vision there since the trail was a little wider.

Past the gate around 6:50, we made another stop to talk about the frogs and newts, wanting it to be a little darker. As we approached the pond, we could hear the frogs. We stopped short of the pond and heard one of the Great Horned Owls that we’d heard the week before.

I checked the shore again to make sure there weren’t too many critters around to get closer easily, but still didn’t see any on land. It was markedly different from the previous week. There were still newt balls in the water, and some frogs calling, but not nearly as many. It seemed like 50 versus hundreds or a thousand. We spotted a couple of them calling from their floating perches on top of the water, and a few were calling from land. Finally someone spotted a newt out of water, a female, moving extremely slowly. It seemed to be having trouble, but whether that was due to the cold or something else, we couldn’t tell. I spotted a frog in a hole with some water in it, a couple of inches from the water’s edge.

We stopped to look at the treehole mosquito larvae again, then proceeded up the loop. There was a budding Zygadene Lily along the trail. There was one Polydesmid millipede in the oak grove, and we stopped to look at it. There were hardly any near the restroom like there usually are. These are blind and it doesn’t seem like Picchetti’s event lights would have bothered them. Maybe the cold affected them too.

We got back to the lot around 8:00.

==
Knowing there are frogs in other parts that are adapted to freezing, I went searching. I was curious how our local amphibians would be affected by freezing temperatures. I found this abstract (Hyla regilla is a previous name of our treefrog), but didn’t find anything on newts.

Picchetti Ranch (or, I just can’t help myself! said the treefrog)

It was Sunday, 2/20/11, a cold, dry day after 6 days of showers/rain preceded by an extended dry period. By the afternoon, it was cloudy. It turned out  a pretty interesting scouting night. The number of cars in the lot surprised us. A California Thrasher sang from up in a tree.

MB and I left the lot at 4:50. Just past the restrooms, a man watched two rabbits browse. At 5:04, we turned left to go around the pond, stopping first to watch two more rabbits play ahead of us. A flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows foraged.

We could hear people with kids. There was shallow water in the middle of the basin, with a large dry area surrounding it, where the kids were playing in a pile of wood. American Robins gathered at the tops of a tree. We carefully walked down to the water’s edge to see what was there. Pieces of dry grass from the basin covered the surface. Underneath, newts swam, and we saw a newt ball. At the top of the pond area near the trail, a banana slug stretched out.

Pond water level

Pond water level

After we left the pond at 5:20, we crossed paths with a gravid female newt. Then, another. We saw more than a few that all appeared  female, on the trail between the time we left the pond and on the way back while it was dark.

We reached the gate at 5:30, got to the first bridge at 5:35, the second bridge at 5:40, and the third and final bridge, our dinner spot, at 5:50. Along the way, we noted a patch of liverworts with umbrella-like fruiting bodies, as well as blooming Hounds Tongue. The water was rushing loudly at our stop.

Sunset was at 5:53, but it was dusky in the woods. It was chilly, and after dinner, I finally put on my gloves. It was probably around 45F-47F; last year on the same date it was around five degrees warmer.

At 6:15, it wasn’t quite dark, but dark enough in the woods to use a flashlight. We slowly made our way back, taking our time to let the dark settle. Our first find was a spider turret at the base of the trailbank, with a cup fungus attached at the base. Nobody was home (or at least willing to come to the door). At 6:45, we heard a soft Western Screech-owl trill from the oaks. Coyotes yipped from somewhere ahead.

We arrived back at the gate at 6:54. We could hear the treefrogs already. Past the gate, a Great Horned Owl hooted, then a female called from the other side of the trail. As we approached the pond, the frogs got louder and louder. When we got close enough for them to detect us, they quieted. We stopped, and waited for the chorusmaster to start. Unfortunately, there was a lot of air traffic that disturbed the quiet.

The chorusmaster started up, then another, and another, and soon any air traffic that was passing over was drowned out. We carefully made our way to the water, with good cause, as we found our first little brown frog sitting on land. In fact, quite a few of them were chorusing from land. With all that noise, you’d think it would be pretty easy to spot them in the water, but I couldn’t see any eyeshine. Newts slid through the water, and it was easier to see the light color of the males. We found a frog close to shore, vocal sac inflated, not caring that we were nearby. He did call, but he also sat there with the sac inflated for a while, long enough for me to get a photo.

Here is the recording; you can hear the Great Horned Owl in the beginning. If you listen with headphones, turn down the volume because the treefrogs start up about halfway through, and they are deafening!

We picked our way around several other frogs on land, some larger, and after seeing a few pairs in amplexus on land (what’s up with that?), I figured that the larger, fatter, quiet ones were females.

Then, something totally unexpected appeared in our lights: a female newt waddled up the basin, a treefrog on her back! We watched, transfixed by the sight.

The wrong way

The right way

I thought I’d heard something earlier, so I wanted to check out the other side. I made my way over there, avoiding more little brown frogs which were difficult to see. Another female newt paused with a treefrog on her back! Maybe she figured if she didn’t move, he’d leave. Or she tired of hauling around eggs and a frog.

Since it was only 7:45, we decided to go around through the oak grove and headed up the Vista Trail. The grove seemed a good place to hear owls, but we didn’t. It was a good place to find Polydesmid millipedes though. [Added] While figuring out which trail to take, we noticed a cavity at the base of a tree, in it a pool of water filled with wriggling mosquito larvae–maybe Ochlerotatus sierrensis, Western Treehole Mosquito. That’s a new one for me.

We heard another Great Horned Owl once back on the straight trail leading back to the winery. More millipedes twinkled like stars on the ground under UV light near the bathrooms around 8:00.

See more photos here.

This is last year’s post for the same date.

==
See CR’s post of another frog-and-newt encounter.

Picchetti Ranch OSP

On the evening of 2/20/10, I joined KD, JH, and KG on a permitted scouting trip for KD and JH’s upcoming owl hike. The weather was a little chilly at first, but I didn’t need gloves. We started out around 4:45 in overcast weather, wondering if we would be rained on.

We walked through the winery to the area near the bathroom. The nearby creek was full. Making our way towards the pond, parts of the trail were muddy, but the spring was not bubbling out of the middle of the trail like it sometimes does.

At the pond, we saw many Mallards swimming around. The water was higher than it was back on 1/27. Some treefrogs were calling, and one occasionally called from the culvert under the large dead trunks in the corner by the Zinfandel Trail. One or two newts could be seen, barely, as they came up for air in the middle of the pond. The surface of the pond, especially the edges, had a lot of vegetation debris, like dead grass. There was a small bit of slime mold on the dead wood.

We saw a White-tailed Kite, heard California Thrasher singing, Spotted Towhee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, and Bewick’s Wren calling. There were also two Brush Rabbits and several deer.

01/27/10

01/27/10

02/20/10

Continuing through the gate to the wooded part of the trail, we began to see occasional newts. Hound’s Tongue and California Buttercup were in bloom. Several black cup fungi lined the trailbank, and a small patch of fruiting liverworts (Asterella, I think) was nearby. We arrived at the bridge a bit after sunset, somewhere around 6:00. Just before the bridge, water rushed over the smooth rocks crossing the trail. It was dark enough under the trees to not be able to see detail.

After a quick bite, we decided to check out the rest of the trail. With UV, a tiny scorpion clung to the dirt trailbank. That was a surprise at this time of year.
Some vegetation had been cleared, revealing a misty view of the reservoir. Treefrogs called from somewhere below us. We could hear a distant Great Horned Owl.

Around 7:00, a small millipede showed up under UV as we tried for owls. Many newts crossed the trail, different sizes, shapes and shades of brown. We had to tread carefully. KG spotted a little toad! It was about 1.5″.

After we emerged from the woods, we heard Western Screech-owls duetting. A newt heading into the grass had a sowbug hitchhiker. A cute little toad showed up, smaller than the first. I hadn’t seen small toads before. Many of the newts, and the toads, were heading uphill.

The sound of treefrogs got louder and louder. As we approached the pond, we could see many smooth-skinned newts in the water. The frogs congregated on the far side, but a few scattered around gave their own calls. One newt stood with its head sticking out of the water.
Here is what it sounded like from the side opposite the congregation:

Nearing the restroom area, a few millipedes began to show up. Then, with a sweep of the light, in front of us, about 35 appeared under the UV! As we looked, we found more and more, ending up with around 50. That was a magical sight, and I wished that I had some way to visually record it. We probably saw a similar number of newts.

We arrived back at the lot around 8:30. For an owl hike, we saw lots of amazing things.

==

Update:

On 2/27, I joined KD and JH, along with KP.  The weather remained clear with some clouds, and the moon was full. I haven’t seen Orion for a while, but it was out.

Birds were similar to what we saw on our scouting trip, but we also saw a Varied Thrush in a tree.
The owls weren’t too cooperative, but we did hear a Barn Owl call several times near/at the lot, and some heard a distant Great-horned Owl and distant Western Screech Owl.

There weren’t as many newts on the trail, but we had some, probably less than 20. I didn’t see any young ones, or young toads, this time.

But the pond was almost overflowing with toads! Well, not quite, but it seemed like it. The Sierran Treefrogs (P. sierra, formerly P. regilla) were calling from various areas, not just from where we heard them last time. I couldn’t see any though. As I neared the pond, ahead of the group, three California Toads (Bufo boreas halophilus) that I could see, sat in a clearing near the pond. They eventually moved off. A pair was in amplexus in the water. I shined my flashlight over the water to perhaps quiet the treefrogs down for a little bit so the group could listen for owls (not very successfully, the frogs were just too excited), and could see pairs of eyeballs swimming around. The eyeballs belonged to more toads. In the shallows were lots of newts, and more occasionally came up for air farther out. The group got to see the newts and a few swimming toads. A bat also flew over the water in the light of my flashlight.

Back near the restroom, we found a few millipedes, but not nearly as many as on our scouting trip.

==

6/26/10 update: The toads have hatched and are now toadlets! There is still water in the pond, which helped. See here for some photos of the around- .75 cm-sized little guys.

=======

Since the winery (leased by a private party) is the first thing one sees when they come here, people sometimes forget that it is a preserve. The pond is home to many creatures, whose lives depend on the seasonal pond. They have a limited amount of time to produce their babies and for the babies to grow big enough to survive.

Enjoy viewing them as they go about their business, but help keep them safe by leaving them there. Also, other animals left by people can introduce disease and eat the natives.

More on amphibians:
Amphibian declines
Frogs: The Thin Green Line–what you can do to help
Amphibiaweb
David Attenborough’s Life in Cold Blood

Related posts:

Moon Over Picchetti
Picchetti Ranch OSP

Night on Froggy Hill

(Click on the images for a larger view.)

On the afternoon and evening of 2/13/10, we had our first public hike at this site, a working cattle ranch with 27 ponds, part of La Honda Creek OSP. This property is not yet open, so it was a treat for all to see it. KG, KP and I arrived around 3:30. Our scheduled hike time was 4:00-8:30. We had a total of nine participants of 15/19 on the final reservation list, with two arriving at 4:30, just after we had started out. We had plenty of time, given that we had previously decided to avoid hiking the berms because of the gooey mud, which was worse there.

We were lucky and had good weather. The sun was out, and the La Honda temperature was 64F, dropping to about 57 by the time we finished, with high fog coming in.

After unlocking and relocking the gate, we pointed out the Clos de la Tech Winery caves visible to the east, and Ray’s Peak to the west. We stopped to allow a possible mother cow and calf, separated by the road, to reunite.
The roadside stream held some small, black invertebrates. CR got one on her finger, and it curled up. They were too small to tell what they were with the naked eye, a bit smaller than mouse droppings.

It was pretty quiet bird-wise until we neared the ranch house and pond. We could hear Red-winged Blackbirds then, and found Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, Mallards, Ruddy Ducks, and American Coots on the lower pond. An unidentified light-colored raptor flew over, and an American Kestrel perched atop a conifer. A mother cow and calf had staked out an area near the pond in front of us, so we headed over to the upper pond to allow them to move when they were ready.

Lower pond 15 minutes before sunset

The ground was not as wet away from the ponds as it was on 1/24. Near the ponds, the hoofprint-pocked mud remained. In a couple of places, I almost lost my rubber boots (I was glad that I decided to wear those instead of my hiking boots).

There were some small bones scattered on the ground. One was a very small hoof. There was some white hair remaining just above the pointed hoof, and it appeared to have only one toe.

The little hoof; the toe part was about 2

2-3 Western Pond Turtles (Southern Pacific Pond Turtle), our native turtle, were visible at the edge of the island in the upper pond. They decided they didn’t like being looked at and slid into the water. California Newts occasionally  glanced the surface of the water, causing ripples. A couple of turtle heads stuck out of the water on the near side. Aside from more Canvasbacks and Ruddy Ducks, some Ring-necked Ducks floated on the upper pond.

Back at the lower pond after the mother and calf had left, we found a few newts as they swam close to the surface. A white, oblong egg floated near the edge. It was about 1.25″ inches long, and appeared to have a crack. It wasn’t leathery, but felt hard. CR guessed it was a rejected turtle egg. After we looked at it, we returned it to where we’d found it.

The floating egg

It was close to sunset, so we found a relatively dry area between the ponds to sit and have dinner. As dusk fell, high fog came in. A few distant Great Horned Owls hooted. The cattle were concentrated on the south side of the lower pond, and made themselves known. Their low calls easily traveled over the water surface. As we sat and talked about the local amphibians,
some bats fluttered over the near side of the pond, ducks left the upper pond with audible wingbeats, and a treefrog or two gave land calls.

KG and I heard some soft chittering coming from above and behind us, which we attributed to Big Brown Bats. Some bats produce vocalizations audible to humans.

Listen to this Yuma Myotis Bat complaining at being mist-netted by a biologist, recorded on 6/11/08 at SFBBO’s CCFS:

After dinner, dark enough now to need a little artificial light, we headed back up to the upper pond. Lots of newts were now visible, some in amplexus. We found three California Red-legged Frogs hanging by the water’s edge. Larger than the treefrogs, we could see their dorsolateral folds. Later, another joined one in amplexus! These frogs were quiet, unlike the Sierran Treefrogs (formerly Pacific Treefrog) chorusing somewhere over the hill. We thought that we would be able to hear them at these two ponds, but other than the occasional land call and ribbit, there were no vocalizations.

Listen to red-leggeds calling softly under the loud chorus of treefrogs, recorded at Big Dipper Ranch on 2/20/09:

Listen to a treefrog call from land, with ribbit calls in the background, recorded at Picchetti Ranch OSP on 1/27/10:

Rana draytonii

Around 7:30 we went back to the lower pond to see what was happening there. There were even more newts, and one frog, found by its eyeshine in a protected area.

We started to head back at 8:00. As we passed the ranch house, we neared a tree on the left side of the road. There, the treefrogs chorused. They quieted in a slow wave as we approached–first, near the tree, then to the muddy area beyond. We were unable to spot any.

More cattle stood quietly in the dark as we neared the gate. They moved off as we spoke to them. Back at the lot around 8:30 after most had left, we compared boots.

Whose are the muddiest?

There have been interesting things–and mysteries–to look at each time I’ve been here. We look forward to finding more.

—
Related posts:
La Honda Creek OSP

More on amphibians:
Amphibian declines
Frogs: The Thin Green Line–what you can do to help
Amphibiaweb
David Attenborough’s Life in Cold Blood

Moon Over Picchetti

On 9/4, KG, JO and I had 10 participants at this new-for-night hikes preserve. Before the participants arrived, we saw a deer walk through the brush close to the lot. A tooting call came from the direction of the road–a Northern Pygmy Owl?

A chipmunk (probably Merriam’s Chipmunk) sat on the wooden fence in the lot. I hardly ever see them in the preserves.

We started out around 6:20. A lone peacock browsed on star thistle to the right.
While we were stopped at the bathrooms, we examined the live oak nearest the facilities. A black scale/mealybug insect with a skirt of white wax was on one of the leaves, and Pumpkin Galls and mite galls were on others. That was a new discovery.

Dinner was under the oaks on Vista Trail. A small wolf spider, snakefly larva, and tree cricket took their turns in bug boxes. We could hear gunshots coming from the road and gun club. The full moon rose as we finished dinner around 7:30.

Rising moon

It was starting to get dark as we arrived at the dry pond. With flashlights, we showed the Spined Turban Galls, Red Cone Galls, and Oak Apple Galls. We had seen a couple of plants there on our scouting hike, but we didn’t point them out because of the light. I identified them as Alkali Heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum) and cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium).

Entering the woodsy part of Zinfandel Trail, we walked quietly. At the bridge, we stopped to listen for owls. A strange call? came from uphill. It repeated 5-7 times slowly, paused, then repeated the set about four times. I only got one of them, unfortunately.

No Common Poorwill this time. But we found two small scorpions, about an inch long. We finally heard a Western Screech Owl downhill. Altogether we saw 5-6 scorpions, including one large one about 3 inches or so.

We stopped to view Jupiter’s moons, through a window in the trees to block the moonlight.

Stopping at the intersection at the pond to review what we’d seen, we talked about how scorpions do a mating dance. It was around 10:00 when we arrived back at the lot.

Picchetti Ranch OSP

KG, KP and I scouted for our 9/4 night hike on Saturday, 8/29. We started out around 6:30. The weather was warm, but mild, around 75.

We headed onto the short trail from Zinfandel that goes around the pond. The pond was dry, with cocklebur and Alkali Heliotrope growing in the area. Lots of insects buzzed around us, including many eye flies. The live oaks on the far side had various pink galls on their leaves.

Continuing down the Zinfandel Trail, we heard a distant Great-horned Owl, and passed Holly-leaf Cherry with fruit. We stopped at the bridge to have dinner. It was around 7:30. The eye flies finally settled down. We saw a bat or two as we sat.

Around 8:00, we went on, and shortly heard some Western Screech Owl barking coming from the uphill side. Soon, a response came from the direction in which we’d come.

After listening for a while, we headed up toward the border of Stevens Creek County Park. It was dusk, with little light on the trail.

A Common Poorwill fluttered up silently from the trail ahead of us. It flew past us, and when we turned around to try and see where it went, it returned to the trail ahead of us. We crept up on it, but it was more shy than the one that we’d seen at Monte Bello. We were able to watch it fly up a few feet to catch an insect, and fly back to the trail. Its eyes were bright in the light of our red flashlights, and we could see it blink occasionally.

Returning around 8:30, with UV light we came across a small scorpion on the trailbank. Then there was another. And another. Altogether, we saw 14!! Most of them were in the grassy open area; two were in the woods. There were also a few pieces of what looked like millipede exoskeleton, and in what turned out to be an occupied spider’s sheet web in the dirt of the trailbank were some pieces of scorpion exoskeleton, including a pincer.

After we passed through the gate from the woods, coyotes serenaded us from both sides.

We arrived back at the car around 9:30.

See photos here.

The Early Bird

KP, SS, and I hiked Picchetti Ranch on 2/28/09 with a group of seven. The weather was cloudy.

We heard or saw 33 bird species (mostly heard) over the four hours. The best look was a pair of California Thrashers not far from the winery, perched atop a tree by the trail, and an occupied Red-shouldered Hawk nest in a Eucalyptus.

As we neared the pond, we spotted a deer on the other side. A California Newt with rough skin made its way uphill from the pond, while a Pacific Treefrog or two called. The pond had little water considering the amount of rain we’ve had recently. A gopher popped its head out of a hole nearby. A few Banana Slugs made their appearances.

The usual oak near the pond had some old galls, including a large stem gall with two smaller galls attached to it, and two small stem galls about .5″ in diameter.

There were quite a few Elfin Saddle mushrooms along the way, and there were a lot of other fungi including a colony of coral fungus on a dead log. Clematis, Blue Witch, Indian Warrior, and a bit of Fiddleneck were blooming. Poison Oak was starting to leaf out.

Water rushed downhill at the bridges on Zinfandel Trail, and there were a couple of large white insect larvae in the pooled water (I resisted the urge to climb down to take a look).  We crept along, having lost most of our group to other commitments, looking for non-bird interesting things (the birds were quiet in the woods, and nowhere to be seen). There was a promising-looking area, a small trail bank slide, so I went ahead. A liverwort bonanza! There were at least three species of liverworts right there, along with various mosses. On my own, I’ve only seen one or two other liverworts, without fruiting bodies. These had them (and, I guess that somewhat painful UC Jepson Herbarium bryophyte workshop paid off).

See the trip photos here: The Early Bird