2025-08-24 Rodeo Beach Hike
We went to Rodeo Beach area and hiked along the costal trail loop. Along 5 miles trail landscape started from lagoon and beach, changed to hills over sea view, and merged in the foggy ridge trails. It's wonderful place with lots of birds near lagoon. And we even saw river otter!
Coyote Bush male and female plants, dioecious
I noticed the differences of two different flowers on coyote bushes: first pic is a flower as white hairs bunched together; the second one is a round shape with a few spikes out like coronavirus. Turns out they are male and female flowers. Coyote bush is even dioecious, meaning a plant can either produce male or female flowers but not both. Very glad about my findings, careful attention to differences and thinking paid off!
Near rodeo beach is a lagoon where fresh water and sea water meets. Here are a few bird species we have seen. Photos are from the Internet as distance is too far to make iPhone take a good picture.
Clarkia, impressive pale pink pedals stand out in the dry grass land, on a single stem. I swear I have seen many trails using its name. Ah, got its name from Clark and Lewis expedition. https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/月見草屬 Evening primrose family.
Giant vetch. wild pea. mom's intuition is accurate. Covered quite a large area in the end of the trail.
Paintbrush can also be found in bay area! They are very common in Mt Rainer when we visited there in July. Of course, this is a native variety that iNaturalist shows its range only in California.
Coffee berry is a bush that I am very familiar with. It turns out when growing in different environment, individual variance can still make them quite different.
Broad leave sweet pea. The stems are covered with interesting leaves. Unfortunately another non native species.
Skunkweed, spiny small balls for the flower.
Sage brush flowering, the one I made the intro in my docent class. seeing the flowering would make it obvious they are sunflower family!
Animals
Double crested Cormorant 鸬鹚
Two cormorants, one on the banches of dead wood the other on the ground. Dark black plumage and yellow beaks. Great fish catcher, and was heavily hunted in NA due to competition with fishmans. Actually the same tragedy happened in other predators, wolves, mountain lions are killed for better hunting of their preys.
The name origin refers to their plumag color near head specifically during reproduction season. Not seeing such color.
Brown pelican 鵜鶘
More observation in Rodeo Beach. In a large group, signature shape of the beak, very atheltic body shape, powerful gliding in the air and then landed onto water. They seems to fly from the water every once a while.
River Otter (not my pic)
Swimming along the bank, initially thought was a group of big fishes. turns out their body is just too slender. formed a group of 3 -5.
observations there.
Misc
Lemonnade berry, natinve in south california. but we see a species here. Got its name because using the berry to make lemonade flavor drink. Belong to cashew family, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUzw6gRyM2Q like cashew, mango, poison ivy.
This plant thrives on well-drained soils and endures heat and windy conditions well. The species tolerates sandy as well as medium loam soils, and it can even thrive in nutrient deficient soil.
spiny redberry. editble, buckthorn family, including ceanothus,(california liliac), coffe berry as well)
