Snapshots of Spring: A Naturalist's Explorations of the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge

We're experiencing a beautiful spring here in California's Great Central Valley, with an abundance of water, wildflowers, and more butterflies than I've ever seen at one time!  One of my favorite places close to home to get out and explore a small piece of the Central Valley's grassland, wetland and riparian forests is the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge.  A walk through its varied habitats is always an enjoyable experience, but there is something special about visiting during the spring.

The San Joaquin River

For those interested in botany, the looping, four-mile Pelican Nature Trail leads visitors through a mosaic of restored habitats, from upland vegetation to wetland and riparian plant communities where thousands of planted willows, oaks and cottonwoods are growing and thriving.

View across restored riparian floodplain habitat toward the Coast Range.

Native elderberry shrubs and wild roses are in bloom now, along with naturalized tree tobacco (which hummingbirds love).

California Wild Rose

Our wet winter has produced a bumper crop of introduced poison hemlock, which comes by its name honestly - use caution around this plant!

Poison Hemlock

Budding herpetologists will be interested in the reptiles and amphibians that call this area home.  One of my very favorites is our native Pacific chorus frog (or Pacific tree frog).

Pacific Chorus Frog

The Western pond turtle, California's only native turtle, can be seen swimming in the water or basking on logs along the edges of the San Joaquin River and it's adjacent creeks and sloughs.

Western Pond Turtle

Also likely to be encountered are populations of red-eared sliders, popular pets that are often released into the wild where they quickly establish themselves.  Probably the strangest thing we've seen along the river was a spiny softshell turtle, spotted last spring.  These large turtles (which can attain lengths of 18 inches) are native to North America east of the Continental Divide, and this individual was likely raised as a pet and released when it became an inconvenience.  

Pardon my grainy, Loch Ness Monster-like photo of this unexpected spiny softshell turtle along the San Joaquin River!

For those who prefer warmblooded fuzzy critters to herps, a handful of interesting mammals may also be encountered at the San Joaquin River NWR.  One of my favorites to watch are river otters, as they gambol in the water, or roll and slide along the sandy banks.  If you're lucky, you may also spot coyote and beaver.

North American River Otter

Lagomorphs (hares and rabbits) are something of a specialty at the San Joaquin River NWR, where an unprecedented three species can be found living side by side.  In fact, it's entirely possibly to see all three species together at one time!  Black-tailed jackrabbits and desert cottontails are common throughout the valley, but you will have to look more carefully for the endangered (but recovering) riaprian brush rabbit.

Desert Cottontail

For entomologists of all ages and skill levels, the refuge offers an array of delightful insects, from flashy floating gems like butterflies to the threatened Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle, whose life history is intrinsically linked to the blue elderberry and riparian forests of the Great Central Valley.

Red Admiral

It's a bumper year for butterflies, and I've probably never seen so many in one place as I did recently along the Pelican Nature Trail!  Red Admirals, Painted Ladies, Cabbage Whites and more were absolutely everywhere!  One of the most impressive butterflies in our area is the Western Tiger Swallowtail, which has a wingspan of nearly four inches!  This year, butterfly numbers are remarkably high due to our wet winter and, for species like the Painted Lady, an abundance of desert wildflowers (food sources for hungry caterpillars).  The passing swarms of fluttering butterflies is certainly a sight to behold!

Western Tiger Swallowtail

Whatever your interests are, from the desire for a quiet walk in nature to the quest for rare species, the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge is sure to deliver.  And spring is certainly the most enjoyable time to visit, while the grasses are green, the birds are singing and the temperatures are mild.  

Comments

Post a Comment

You Might Also Like:

Birds of the Desert: Residents & Spring Migrants

Image
Nearly everyone knows the desert as a barren, desolate land of extremes: high heat, low precipitation; little available food and water; prickly, spiny, unfriendly plants growing in a sea of rocks and sand as far as the eye can see.  But for those who stop and look closer, the desert reveals itself as the beautiful, incredible, mesmerizing place it truly is, teeming with unexpected life. Juvenile male Costa's Hummingbird visiting chuparosa blooms next to our campsite in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I particularly love the desert in the spring, when the annual wildflowers, cacti, flowering trees and shrubs are all in bloom.  (I've experienced the desert in the searing 120 degree heat of summer, and the rainy, even snowy cold of winter... and spring wins every time!)  Eric and I just returned from a week in the Colorado desert, exploring the imperiled, accidental Salton Sea (more on that coming soon), the vital wetlands of the Sonny Bono Salton ...
Read more

All The Ducks!

Image
On a recent birding trip to Merced National Wildlife Refuge, I tallied up a list of sixteen different species of ducks.  Only a few more species, around twenty in total, are expected in the Central Valley of California's freshwater marshes during the winter, so I consider that to be an excellent day for ducks! North American ducks are broadly separated into two categories, largely based on their methods of foraging for food.   Dabbling ducks , also known as "puddle ducks," tend to frequent shallow water, where they are commonly seen tipping bottoms-up to feed on plant matter and invertebrates in the water and on the muddy bottom.  They are most at home in water, but walk easily on land as well, as their legs are positioned near the center of their bodies.  The wings of dabbling ducks are relatively large, which allows them to take off from the surface of the water, straight up into their air.  Dabbling ducks almost all nest on the ground, near water....
Read more

Joshua Tree Woodlands: A Tale of Sloths, Moths and the Trees that Need Them

Image
In 1844, early California explorer John C. Fremont gave a somewhat scathing review of Joshua trees when he wrote, "...their stiff and ungraceful form makes them to the traveler the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom."  Rather unkind, don't you think?  But when Joshua trees were formally described by scientist William Trelease in the 1890's, he noted that Joshua Trees are "the most attractive of all the Yuccas."  I am inclined to agree with this sentiment, and must disagree most heartily with Lieutenant Fremont! I, for one, adore Joshua Trees, with their whimsical shapes and great ecological significance!  If you struggle with plant identification, the iconic Joshua tree, hallmark of the Mojave Desert, is a good place to start.  With densely spiked tufts protruding from the ends of gangly arms stretched towards the heavens, this looks like a plant straight from a Dr. Seuss book....
Read more

A Shorebird Primer: Godwits, Curlews, Willets and Whimbrels

Image
For those of us living in the Great Central Valley, autumn is the time to head to the coast.  Of course, there is no bad time to visit California's magnificent coastline.  But as the heat and haze of summer drag on in the Valley, the sea becomes increasingly tantalizing: September and the onset of autumn bring sunny weather and an abundance of migratory seabirds and shorebirds to our coast. A new birder visiting California's Central Coast will undoubtedly be met with a splendid array of very confusing birds.  Among these are small shorebirds like  "peeps" (sandpipers), Sanderlings and various  plovers .  But the larger birds can be just as confusing, until you learn a few distinguishing features.  Four large shorebirds that are commonly seen (and commonly confused) along California's Central Coast are Godwits, Curlews, Willets and Whimbrels. Marbled Godwit (upper left), Whimbrel (upper right), Long-billed Cu...
Read more

Birding in Adverse Weather Conditions: Wind and Rain

Image
Though I often extol the virtues and merits of winter in the Central Valley , especially when it comes to birding, the whole truth is that we experience "bad" weather also, just like anywhere else.  But even when the winter weather rolls in, the birds are still out there!  And sometimes, despite our best planning efforts, a birding day happens to coincide with crummy weather.   In that case, what's a birder to do?  Usually, we go birding anyway!   Birders far more intrepid than I regularly brave the ice and snow of northern winters to see their favorite birds, so perhaps you should look to them for real tips on winter birding!  For those of us in the valleys of California, the worst weather we see - wind and rain - is really comparatively mild.  Birding on an extremely windy day! I don't know of anyone who actually likes birding in the rain.  But I would argue that birding in the wind is just as aggravating as trying to bird in the rai...
Read more

Winter Gulls: The Great I.D. Challenge

Image
Gulls are a fun challenge for birders, from beginners to experts.  A few things make gulls an interesting study: they are large and conspicuous in their open habitats, so they are easy to see, easy to put a scope on, and easy to watch and study for long periods of time.  Furthermore, gulls are almost always identifiable as gulls; none of this confusing warbler/vireo/kinglet nonsense! And yet, gulls are almost impossibly difficult!  (Though perhaps not nearly as difficult as Empidonax flycatchers!) An intimidating scene to many a birder: a mixed flock of gulls.  I see five different species of gull here. Oh, and one American Coot in the background. One of the reasons they are so complicated is most gull species take two or three years to achieve adult plumage, and go through multiple molts in a year.  So, you may be looking at three or four gulls together that look like four completely different species, when they are actually just different ages (...
Read more