Jean Wheeler
Chamise
 Wild Cucumber
Swallowtail
Wrentit
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By Jean Wheeler
Saturday, May 1
The volunteer work party known as the "Weed Warriors" will meet from 9 am to about noon. Anyone is welcome to join in and help pull obnoxious invading weeds and work on projects to reduce erosion. Wear comfortable, sturdy shoes, long pants and sleeves, and park at the north end of 15th Street in Los Osos, avoiding driveways and mailboxes.
Third Saturday WalkâMay 15, 9:30 a.m.
Wildflower Walk: May flowers in the Elfin Forest, encouraged by our frequent spring rains, should be abundant this year. Dirk Walters will take us on a delightful tour of almost every blooming species that can be seen from the boardwalk. There will be the bright yellows of fiddlenecks, rush-roses, deerweed , golden yarrow and, of course, California poppies. White popcorn flowers, pearly everlasting and yarrow plants are in abundance too, as well as pink cobwebby thistles and blue wild hyacinths. The silver dune lupines at Bush Lupine Point should be covered with pale blue blossoms and alive with honeybees and Moro Blue Butterflies. Treat yourself to a springtime experience of Nature's own garden.
Park at the north end of 15th Street (16th Street for wheelchairs) off Santa Ysabel in Los Osos. Walks begin on the boardwalk at the end of the 15th Street sand path. Wear comfortable shoes, long sleeves and pants to avoid poison oak and mosquitoes. Please park carefully, avoiding driveways and mailboxes.
Besides docent-led events, visit the Elfin Forest any day: Experience the quiet natural beauty of this small wilderness area. Park at the north end of any street from 11th through 17th streets off Santa Ysabel in Los Osos (please avoid blocking driveways or mailboxes) and take a sand path to the boardwalk or begin at the wheel-chair accessible boardwalk entrance at 16th Street.
Coming Up in the Elfin Forest
Wonderful wildflower displays continue to follow our unusually rainy winter and spring. White sprays of chamise and California sagebrush are spreading over much of the Elfin Forest. Bright yellows of deerweed and golden yarrow are also widespread. The yellow-orange shades of sticky monkey flowers (the leaves are sticky, not the flowers) and California poppies make even more brilliant displays throughout the preserve. Near Bush Lupine Point, the silver-leaved bushes for which the viewpoint is named are covered with blue flowers. Much smaller are wild hyacinths, whose stalks of blue flowers decorate the understory in our small wilderness area.
May continues to be a busy time for butterflies and moths, with fifteen of the nineteen species listed in S.W.A.P.'s Pocket Guide in flight during the month. Moro Blue Butterflies are commonly seen near Bush Lupine Point. They are a species of special concern found only in a few places along our central coast. Their larvae dine only on the silver dune bush lupine, a plant replaced by urban development in much of its range but thriving in the protection of this area in the Elfin Forest. Among other butterflies to look for are Variable Checkerspots, Gabb's Checkerspots, Acmon blues, Silvery Blues, and large Anise Swallowtails.
May is a good month to listen and watch for fledglings begging their harried parent birds for food. Large families of California Quail may amuse you as they charge through the underbrush. Hummingbirds zip out from high branches, spin in the air, and return as they snatch numerous small flying insects to feed to their offspring. Their tiny tots need the protein as well as nectar from many flowers. Similar behavior marks flycatcher species like our year-round resident Black Phoebes, and also Western Kingbirds and Pacific-slope Flycatchers, both here only for summer nesting. Many other birds will also be busily raising their families now, among them numerous species of sparrows, warblers, finches, titmice, nuthatches, wrens, and blackbirds. Hawks will be soaring overhead, looking for unwary prey to carry back to the young ones in their nests. As you relax and enjoy this beautiful small wilderness area, the local residents are having anything but a relaxing season
Spotted Towhee image on banner by Jean Wheeler. |
