Lisa C. Litz
Ramona Brockman
Environmental Science
February 18, 2014
Benchmark Part 1
Nature Observation ~ Pond and Surrounding Woods, West Pointe, CA
Our favorite place for taking nature walks is in the woods surrounding my parent’s cabin in West Pointe, Ca. My daughter and I have been taking walks in the woods up there for over six years. We have seen a variety of different animals up there on our various outings depending on the time of year we’re up there and the time of day we take our walks. All of the plants and animals we’ve seen up there make up the biotic factors for this environment. There are a number of different species of trees and flowering plants around my parent’s cabin and the outlying trails we go exploring on. Even though there are a number of cabins up here, they haven’t really disturbed the environment to the point that it’s affected the number of different creatures that still wander through the woods. Besides all of the wonderful biotic factors we so enjoy up here there are also a few abiotic factors that interact with the wildlife. There is a slow running stream that runs between a few of the cabins, and then a couple of miles down the road there’s a large standing pond just off to the side of the road. The main abiotic factor is the sun, which is where all the living organisms derive their energy from. Energy is another abiotic factor. The plants derive energy directly from the sun, whereas the animals get their energy indirectly from the sun by eating the plants or other animals that ate the plants.
My daughter and I did my observation on February 18, 2014 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. It was a clear, windless day and the temperature was 57.2 degrees with the humidity of 33%. We started our observations in the wooded area around my parent’s cabin and the outlying trails. The soil was light brown dirt covered with pine needles, pine cones, and leaves from the trees on the property. The three types of trees I was able to identify were the Ponderosa Pines, Black Oaks, and Cedar trees. The Ponderosa pines are tall majestic trees with shiny, green pine needles and large pine cones. The pine cones on these trees average 3 to 5 inches in length. The bark on these trees is puzzle-like and rather interesting to look at. As far as the habitat for these trees, in the west they run from southern Canada down through Mexico. These trees are the most common conifer in California. These trees are generally found at elevations of 2000 to 5000 feet (“Know Your California Trees). Interestingly enough, Ponderosa Pines are one of the most common trees associated with Black Oaks. I discovered a number of other trees and vegetation associated with the Black Oak during my research. California Black Oaks don’t mature until approximately 90 years and they can grow to heights of 50 to 110ft., which is the maximum height. The California Black Oaks can live at elevations for 450 to 3000 ft. ( “California Black Oaks (Quercus kelloggii”). And last but not least, we have the Cedar tree. These trees have fibrous, cinnamon colored bark with graceful, drooping branches. “The needles are scale-like and flattened as if they have been ironed (“Know Your California Trees”). The habitat for this variety of tree is at an elevation of 2000 to 7000 ft. The scientific names for these trees are as follows: 1) Ponderosa Pine is Pinus ponderosa, 2) Black Oak is Quercus kelloggii, and Cedar is Librocedrus decurrens.
These trees are usually home to a number of different types of birds but at this time of year I actually only saw one small, black bird for a fleeting moment and was unable to identify it. On other previous trips we’ve seen and heard woodpeckers up in the heights of these trees. These birds use the trees to make homes in as well as for a source of food. They feed off of the seeds that drop from the trees as well as the insects that live in the bark. But birds aren’t the only animals that use the trees for shelter and food. We also saw an Eastern fox squirrel that went scurrying up into the tree tops. The squirrel was greyish in color with a bushy tail. Most of the squirrels we see up here are rather large. Usually we see lots of squirrels playing in and amongst these majestic trees but we only saw one on this particular trip. In my research, I found that these animals aren’t native to California but was introduced from the eastern part of the United States. These squirrels eat insects, pine nuts, acorns, fungi, bird’s eggs and young birds as well as a variety of other seeds (“How to Manage Pests ~ Tree Squirrels”). Their scientific name is Sciurus niger. Their natural predators are bobcats, opossums, foxes, and hawks (“Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)”. Generally on our ride up to the cabin is when we see the hawks, but we didn’t see any this trip.
However, we did see a grey fox and an opossum crossing the road on the way up to the cabin. Grey foxes are one of the most commonly spotted creatures on our outings up there. The Grey Fox we saw this time was grey all over with a black tipped tail and a black stripe running down the length of the tail. “The grey fox is 21 to 30 inches long, and its tail is another 11 to 16 inches long. It stands about 15 inches at the shoulder (Brant S).” The most interesting fact I found out about the grey fox is that it can climb trees to escape predators while at the same time using its position in the tree to pounce on prey. I also found out that it is the only member of the dog family that can climb trees. Foxes are omnivores and they eat a variety of different foods. They eat nuts, berries, birds, insects, rabbits, and other rodents. We’d actually seen a few jack rabbits up there on prior trips. The fox’s predator list is very similar to that of the Eastern Fox Squirrel which is bobcats, hawks, eagles, owls, and dogs. Not to mention man.
Since we didn’t have much luck spotting wildlife up in the trails by my parent’s cabin we took a ride down to the pond to see what we could find there. Unfortunately, for this time of year there wasn’t much around the pond either. The trees surrounding the pond are the same as up by the cabin, but I did find another variety of tree that hung over the pond. But I wasn’t able to identify it specifically. Its trunk was cherry-wood in color, with lots of branches spreading out from the main trunk of the tree. It had green, small leaves that were oval shaped. Soil type was brown, dirt along the hillside up from the cabin, but it became soggy and slightly muddy as we approached the water. Then along the length of the stream we saw some green grass growing. The majority of the rest of the plant life along the pond was dried up, making identification all but impossible.
As far as other life around and on the pond, we spotted a ton of wolf spiders running up and down along the hillside by the pond and the slow running stream that ran into the pond. Then I also spotted exactly one grass spider amongst all the wolf spiders along with one lady bug resting on a dead leaf. Then skimming along on top of the pond I saw an abundance of pond skaters. There were also about six mallard ducks either swimming on the pond or flying over it, depending on where we were in conjunctions to where they were. Then at one point we spotted a Canada goose that acted as a warning signal for the mallard ducks. Every time we got close to try to get a picture of the ducks, it honked at us. It was rather frustrating because at that point the ducks would fly off to the other end of the pond.
Pond Skaters are insects that live on still bodies of water. There are approximately 500 different species of pond skaters that go by a variety of different names. Pond skaters are best known for their ability to skate across the water in search of their food. The main food source for pond skaters is other insects it finds in or on the surface of the water. But they also feed upon bug larvae as well. Predators of the pond skater are fish and newts in the water, and birds, frogs, and toads on the surface of the water. The pond skaters are very visible on the surface of the water (“a-z animals ~ Pond Skater”).
The mallard ducks are fascinating to watch no matter whether they’re swimming along the pond or flying over it. But they never strayed too far from the water during our walk around the pond. These ducks have a lovely green head with a yellow bill and a chestnut colored chest and gray body. If you’re able to get close enough to them you’ll also see a white band around their neck, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to get close enough to them to see this feature. Their preference of habitats is calm, shallow bodies of water but they can also be seen in saltwater and brackish water in the wetlands. They feed on invertebrates, fish, amphibians, and a variety of plants. They have been known to graze on land eating grains and plants (“Mallard Duck ~ Anus platyrhynchos”). Then there was the one lone Canada goose that we saw flying over and swimming across this pond as well. The goose’s body was greyish in color and its neck and head were of a dark shade but it was too far off to tell exactly what the color was. The goose tended to stay on the far side of the pond and honked noisily any time we got near to it. These geese have a wide range of habitats and can survive as long as there are berries, grasses, and grain around the area. “It is found in every contiguous U.S. state and Canadian province at one time of the year or another (“Canada Goose ~ Branta Canadensis”)”.
The wolf spiders were tiny, black furry creatures running along in and amongst the pine needles and the leaf debris on the hillside. What fascinated me most about these creatures is the fact that they don’t use webs to capture their prey. “Wolf spiders are active hunters that patrol the ground for insects, other spiders, and similar creatures (“Spiderz Rule!”). The fact that they are so large in numbers and are voracious predators makes them very important to an ecosystem. Interestingly enough, this was the first time on a nature hike that we noticed these spiders. Prior to this, we only saw the few that managed to make it into our cabin. But since we don’t generally believe in killing anything, including spiders, we almost always capture them in a container and place them back outside. This way they can feed on the large black ants that tend to run in large numbers around the cabin. But on this trip, I only noticed a couple of these huge black ants. We generally see these pests up the hill from the cabin where we turn on the water for the cabin or on the road while taking a walk around the block. Then there is the one lone grass spider we spotted scurrying under the rock. These spiders actually do make webs in the grass and they tend to be funnel shaped. But I didn’t actually see its web. The grass spider was more slender in body than the wolf spiders. Its coloring was brownish with black stripes and black spots. The scientific name for the grass spider is Genus Agelenopsis. Their primary food source is insects (“BugGuide”). While walking along the pond we also heard some frogs and some crickets, but never actually saw any of them. Instead we just heard their lovely music.
Other animals that are usually seen around these woods are deer, wild turkeys, and on one occasion we got to see the free-range cattle that wander around these parts. The deer roam around in the woods all around my parent’s cabin, and once during the winter we even saw deer tracks in the snow right outside of the cabin. Generally we see the deer up on the hill above their cabin or in open pastures along the road on the ride up the long, winding road to the cabin. The wild turkeys are frequent visitors to our area as well. Then my dad told us he’s even had problems with raccoons on occasion. So he warned us to keep the log box on the back porch closed.
The main reason I enjoy spending so much time up at my parents cabin in the woods is the peace and quiet. But we also enjoy all the wildlife we get to see on each trip and the smell of the pine trees all around us. Not to mention actually being able to see the stars at night from the front porch. This is a very healthy ecosystem with both abiotic and biotic factors in play. The shallow stream behind the cabins and the pond down the road gives the creatures the water they need while the trees supply food for the smaller animals which in turn become prey to the larger predators out there. And of course, all the living things up here get their energy from the sun whether it is directly or indirectly. I’ve also been told by the neighbors to be careful of the wolves that are out there too. On occasion we’ve heard them late at night but have never actually seen them. But I do know there are predators prowling around at night around our cabin because the one time we saw footprints left in the snow we also saw a small blood trail. We never did find the injured animal though. Unfortunately, we did hear it being attacked early one morning but couldn’t identify what it was. That’s how we knew to check the yard for prints. The only issues I find with this ecosystem are the humans that randomly come up there during different times of year for hunting purposes. I’m not even sure if that’s legal because most of the land up there is private property.

Work Cited
“A-z Animals: Pond Skater.” A-z-animals.com. nkd. Web. Feb. 18, 2014
“California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii).” Owic.oregonstate.edu. nkd. Web. Feb. 18, 2014
“Canada Goose ~ Branta Canadensis.” Animals.nationalgeographic.com. nkd. Web. Feb. 18, 2014
“Know Your California Trees!” Calforestfoundation.org nkd. Web. Feb. 18, 2014 “Mallard Duck ~ Anas platyrhynchos.” Animals.nationalgeographic.com. nkd. Web. Feb. 18, 2014
“Spiders Photos ~ Wolf Spiders.” Spiderzrule.com nkd. Web. Feb. 18, 2014
Brant S., “Grey Fox.” Blueplanetboimes.org 2002. Web. Feb. 18, 2014
Giebel, 1869. “Bug Guide; Genus Agelenopsis ~ Grass Spiders.” Bugguide.net nkd. Web. Feb. 18, 2014
Kay, Joel and McKibbin, Will. “Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)” Sites.google.com/islandecology12/terrestrial-fauna/eastern-fox-squirrel. nkd. Web. Feb. 18, 2014
Salmon, T. P. and Whisson, D. A. and Marsh, R. E. “How to Manage Pests: Tree Squirrels.” Ipm.ucdavis.edu April 2005. Web Feb. 18, 2014

Wolf Spider

Black Ant

Lady Bug

Ponderosa Pines, Cedar, Black Oak Trees

The Pond

The Stream Running into the Pond

Parent’s Cabin

Unknown Prints in the Snow