Diario del proyecto City Nature Challenge 2021: Rancho Los Cerritos

To all of you who came with sharp eyes and a camera looking for wildlife at the Rancho I thank you! Your time is valuable and I am grateful that you choose to support this project., This endeavor goes far beyond our immediate community and gets included to the global data pool. Verification will be going on for the next week, so check your inboxes to see if the identification has been refined .

Now that you know how iNaturalist works you can use it anywhere., Here at the Rancho you can continue to build our data by submitting wildlife observations year round. Take it on a walk down your street or on vacation (remember those?)

Talk to you all soon,

Marie Barnidge-McIntyre

Yesterday was HOT! Thanks to those that braved the heat to kick off our first ever City Nature Challenge. Please remember to mark the plants intentionally there as cultivated, you scroll down and check either captive cultivated or uncheck wild.. The weeds.... are wild so they count. Looking forward to your observations. Even though it is cooler, please stay hydrated!

Marie

As hot as is expected to be Friday the lizards will be out early. Best places to view them are around the rocks in the California Native Garden, but they frequently flee before me as I travel o the pathways in the Backyard as well.

Happy observing!

Warm hours see the greatest activity. Popular butterfly habitats include:
Backyard-
Herb Garden: Monarchs around the Asclepias tuberosa - aka Butterfly Weed description orange and red flowers on 1-3' tall perennial
Backwall, North Corner: Variety of visitors on Buddleja davidii, aka Butterfly Bush description - Tall shrub dull green foliage and spike of deep purple fragrant flowers just starting

Forecourt & Herb Garden: Mourning Cloaks on Echium candicans aka Pride of Madeira - description - Grey green felted foliage (can irritate skin so don't pet it!). Attention grabbing flower spike of 1-2" feet of blue spike. so busy with bees, butterflies and hummingbirds an air traffic controller could be employed.

Soil Cement Drive at top of stairs from Ca, Native Garden: Cloudless Sulphur on Senna didymobotrya aka Cassia - Shrub in pots and one in the ground at margin of drive. Medium green aromatic foliage with tall spikes of brilliant yellow flowers. Look for caterpillars too! they can be yellow, green or striped with both colors

Visitor Center big island planter: a variety of visitors on Verbena lilacina 'De La Miona' aka Cedros Island Verbena - description soft mound of delicate green foliage topped with fragrant purple flowers spilling over the curb adjacent the California Native Garden enroute to Inner Courtyard

Swallowtails have started showing up but I have not pinpointed a target plant

When you park your car in the lower lot, know that critters observed there are considered part of the project scope!