Windy Hill - Fire Ant

Fire ants are stinging ants with over 280 species worldwide. Their bodies are divided into 3 sections. Fire ants eat young plants, seeds, and sometimes crickets. When they are in colonies, however, they can group together to kill small animals. They get their name because when they bite a human, they inject a toxic alkaloid venom called solenopsin. This causes a stinging sensation that almost feels like a burning sensation. These ants nest in the soil, often near river banks or ponds and normally are in small colonies, but can exist in larger colonies.

Windy Hill - Lazuli Bunting

The Lazuli Bunting is a small songbird with a short, thick bill and two wingbars. Males have blue heads and backs with a red chest and white belly (pictured above). Females and nonbreeding males ore dull brown. Diet - These birds eat seeds, fruit, and insects. They also occasionally go to bird feeders. Habitat/Range - These birds reside on the west coast of North America. They only come to California, however, in the summer when they are breeding (which explains why I saw a breeding male). They like to live in bushy hillsides, wooded valleys, sagebrush, chaparral, and residential gardens. Behavior - These birds often perch on stems of grasses and other plants and remove seeds with their bills. They flycatch for insects and hop on ground eating seeds. They nest in open cups of coarse grasses, rootlets, and strips of bark and leaves wrapped in silk. These nests are places in a shrub close to the ground.

Windy Hill - Acorn Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpeckers are medium-sized woodpeckers that usually have a black back and grey chest with a black white and red head. Diet - These woodpeckers like to eat insects, acorns, sap, and fruits. Habitat/Range - Acorn Woodpeckers live in oak and pine-oak woodlands normally in mountains. They are also common in urban parks and suburban areas where oaks are common. Behavior - These woodpeckers like to catch insects by flycatching high above the tree canopy or by gleaning off tree limbs. They sore huge numbers of acorns in trees. They usually nest in tree cavities where there is no actual structure, but wood chips in the bottom of the cavity.

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve

Windy hill is a park located in Portola Valley and is comprised of 1,132 acres of conservation land. There are multiple trails to get to the top, but the 6 mile hike starting near Sand Hill Road is the most scenic trail. From the hill, hikers can see views from Stanford University to the San Francisco Bay. Overall, the hike was long, but well worth it.

Filoli Trail - American Robin

The American Robin are large songbirds with a large, round body, long legs, and a long tail. They are gray-brown to black birds with warm orange underparts and dark heads. Diet - These robins eat both invertebrates and fruit. Especially in the spring and summer, they eat a lot of earthworms and insects and some snails. The fruits that they eat are chokecherries, hawthorn, dogwood, and sumac fruits and juniper berries. Habitat/Range - American Robins are found across North America in gardens, parks, yards, fields, tundras, deciduous woodlands, pine forests, and shrublands. Behavior - These stern birds stand erect and tilt their beak upward to survey their environment. In fall and wither, they form large flocks and gather in trees to roost or eat berries. They usually nest in sites with horizontal branches hidden in or just below a layer of dense leaves in the lower half of the tree.

Filoli Trail - Mourning Dove

Mourning doves have plump bodies and long tails with short legs, small bills and a head that looks small when compared to its body. Pointed tails are unique to North American doves. These doves coloring usually matches their open-country surroundings. They are light brown to buffy-tan colored with black spots on the wings and black-bordered white tips to the tail feathers. Diet - Mourning Doves eat mostly seeds including cultivated grains and peanuts as well as grasses, weeds, and occasionally berries. Habitat/Range - These birds are usually found in North America in open country, scattered trees, and woodland edged areas. During the winter, some roost in woodlands. When they are feeding, they go to grasslands, agricultural fields, backyards, and roadsides. Behavior - These birds fly fast with powerful wingbeats. They sometimes make sudden ascents, descents, and dodges. Their nests are usually made of pine needles, twigs, and grass stems and the nests are usually placed in dense foliage on the branch of an evergreen, orchard tree, mesquite, cottonwood, or vine. It is also quite common for the nest to be put on the ground.

Filoli Trail - Myosotis

Myosotis is a small blue flower that is more commonly known as Forget-Me-Nots. There are approximately 50 different species of myosotis but most have flat, 5 lobed blue, pink, or white flowers with yellow centers. These plants bloom in spring and prefer moist habitats and habitats where they are not native (such as Filoli) and can tolerate partial sun and shade. Most species are native to New Zealand or Europe, but because they are commonly used in gardens they are now found in Europe, Asia, and America.

Filoli Trail

Most people know about Filoli because of its 16 acres of gardens. But what most people don't know about this 654 acre estate is that it has many amazing hiking trails surrounding the estate. The hike itself features amazing views of meadows, creeks, birds, and trees. The trip to Filoli is well worth it just to go on a hike, but what was fun about this hike was that at the beginning and end, I got to explore the mansion and gardens. The house itself was built between 1915 and 1917 for William Bowers Bourn II. Mr. Bourn was president of the Spring Valley Water Company, which owned Crystal Springs Lake, and when he and his wife died, the estate was sold to Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth, owners of the Matson Navigation Company. The Roth family is responsible for the gardens. When Mrs. Roth died in 1975, she donated the estate to the National Trust for Historic Preservation so the public could enjoy the wildlife, gardens, and mansion itself.

Crystal Springs - Desert Cottontail

Desert Cottontails are rabbits that are grayish-brown in color and have a white fur underbelly. The most distinct feature of these rabbits, however, is the rounded white tail that is visible as it runs away. Diet - These rabbits mostly eat grass and other plants but it rarely gets to drink. It gets most of its water from the plants it eats. Habitat/Range - The Desert Cottontail is found throughout the western United States and is found at heights up to 2,000meters. It is associated with dry near-desert grasslands and can also be found in less arid habitats. Behavior - These unsocial animals are usually not very active in the middle of the day and are born in a shallow burrow or above ground. They do not leave the nest until they are 3 weeks old and females can produce several litters a year with the right food supply and climate.

Crystal Springs - Rufous Hummingbird

The Rufous Hummingbird is a slender bird with a fairly straight bull and fairly short wings. Male Rufous Hummingbirds are bright orange on the back and belly with a vivid red throat. Females, on the other hand, are green above with rufous (brown/red/orange)-washed flakes, rufous patches in the tail, and sometimes a orange spot on the throat. Diet - These hummingbirds mostly feed on nectar from colorful, tubular flowers such as columbine, mints, fireweeds, and larkspurs. They get protein and far from eating insects such as flies, aphids, and gnats. Habitat/Range - Rufous Hummingbirds breed in open or shrubby areas, forest opening, yards, and parks and sometimes in swamps and meadows from sea level to 6,000 feet elevation. During migration, these hummingbirds are cound in mountain meadows up to 12,600 feet in elevation. Behavior - These hummingbirds hover at flowers and go from one flower to the next in straight lines. When they are not feeding, they perch nearby. In the presence of another hummingbird, they will launch themselves at it and both sexes are fairly aggressive. Females build their nests out of soft plant down and held together with spider web. The nests are usually placed about 30 feet high in coniferous or deciduous trees.

Crystal Springs Trail/Pulgas Water Temple

This simple trail follows the side of Cañada Road. Although the trail itself is nothing but a dirt path, the views of the Crystal Springs Reservoir, San Andreas Lake, and tall mountains makes the trail spectacular. But the most interesting part of the trail is when it intersects with the Pulgas Water Temple. The temple was constructed by the San Francisco Water Department as a monument to celebrate the completion of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct; thus, the temple is located at the aqueduct's terminal. San Francisco and the surrounding communities get their water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Lake Tahoe.
The hike itself was not really too exciting until I reached the water temple. There, I saw many different animals and plants and the reflection pool along with the temple was very serene.

Sawyer - Manzanita Tree

The manzanita is part of the genus Arctostaphylos and are mostly present in the chaparral biome of western North America. They have orange or red bark and stiff, twisting branches. Out of the 106 species of manzanita, 95 are found in mediterranean climates and colder mountainous regions of California. The size of the tree ranges from small up to 20 feet tall. They bloom in the winter to early spring and carry berries in spring and summer. The berries and flowers of most species are edible.

Sawyer - Western Fence Lizard

Western Fence Lizards are 6 inch lizards that range from a light grey color to black with dark blotches on the back that continue down the tail. Range/Habitat - These lizards are usually found throughout the west coast of the United States. This lizard lives in a wide range of habitats ranging from coastal sage shrub and chaparral to forests of higher elevation. They are usually found on the ground, in rock and wood piles, tree trunks, and the lower branches of shrubs. Diet - Western Fence Lizards eat many different types of insects. Behavior - These lizards like sitting on prominent points (such as fences) where it can sun and watch for food and predators. It likes to sit on places that are dark so they will blend in.
The lizard that I saw had some interesting blue marking along its back as well as on its belly and throat. This is characteristic of male Western Fence Lizards.

Sawyer - Dark-Eyed Junco

The Dark-Eyed Junco are medium-sized sparrows with a rounded heat and a short-stout bill. Their color patters vary across the country, but they are generally have dark heads, pink bills, and a grey to beige/white body. Range/Habitat - These birds live in coniferous or mixed-coniferous forests across Canada, the western United States, and the Appalachians. Although during the winter, they can be found in woodlands, fields, parks, roadsides, and backyards. Diet - They are primarily seed-eaters. They eat the seeds of chickweed, buckwheat, lamb's quarters, and sorrel. During breeding season, Dark-Eyed Juncos also eat insets such as beetles, moths, butterflies, caterpillars, ants, wasps, and flies. Behavior - These birds hop around the bases of trees and shrubs of forests or venture into lawns looking for fallen seeds. Their nests are built by weaved materials such as grasses, ferns, hair, and pieces of moss. Their nests are usually on sloping ground, rock face, or in tangles roots of upturned trees.