The morning after Mother’s Day, six intrepid nature lovers came out to prowl the wetlands managed by Western Shasta Resource Conservation District (WSRCD) adjacent to Shastina Ranch subdivision, Redding. The day was already hot and humid by 9 AM, and nearby construction was in full swing, but sparkling vernal pools beckoned and did not disappoint.
We visited two pools on the south side of Shasta View Drive. The first, smallest of the two, was brim full of water and inhabited by dozens… no, hundreds!… of tiny tree frogs! We identified several plants species there, both native and invasive, and then walked down to the much larger wetlands to the east. And that’s where we hit the jackpot!
Field trip leader Jeremey Kelley, Project Coordinator for WSRCD, was ecstatic when botanist Don Burk found a flowering legenere (Legenere limosa), which is a CNPS List 1B.1 rare plant. Among many other vernal pool denizens in this wetland, the double-horned downingia (Downingia bicornuta var. bicornuta) was having a heyday.
Crossing the street to check out the wetlands to the north, Don was able to locate another rare plant, the very tiny Red Bluff dwarf rush (Juncus leiospermus var. leiospermus), also ranked as a CNPS List 1B.1 rare plant.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to explore much on the north side of the road, but we had made some great finds, and Jeremy was pleased. We’ll just have to do it again next year! Here are some photos that Don and Barbara Peck took that morning. Enjoy! ~Laurie & Don Burk
