Bird's Eye View

This is the bird's eye's view of our site, which measured roughly 10x10 ft. Key features of our selected area for observation are a large cliff, a broken part of the cliff with crumbly dirt, and a large amount of rocks and dry vegetation. In the background, there were power lines and houses.

 I couldn't put the map key directly on the map because there was no longer any room, and that it would cover some details.

Site Description

Location: Eaton Canyon Natural Area

Habitat: Chaparral

Dimensions of Site (the place we were seated): 10ft x 10ft


The ground cover was mainly rocks and dirt, but there were a few species of shrubs and trees. It was a open area, so there was no real canopy. The general feel of the place was very calm. Not much was going on, as it was not a heavily populated area, besides the occasional bird. While on at Eaton canyon, we found an extensive amount of plants, specifcally Agave (Agave americana), White Alder (Alnus rhobifolia), Fleabane Aster (Erigeron foliosus), Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), Coastal Prickly Pear, (Opuntia littoralis), Holly-leaf Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) Deer Weed (Lotus scoparius), Horehound (Marrubium vulgare), Horsewood (Conyza canadensis), Mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana), Mule Fat (Baccharis salicifolia), Black Mustard (Brassica nigra), Purple Nightshade (Solanum xanti), Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) Little-leaf Redberry (Rhamus crocea), Black Sage (Salvia mellifera), Scale-Broom (Lepidospartum squmatum),Creek Senecio (Senecio flaccidus var. douglassi), Laurel Suma (Malosma laurina), Western Cycamore (Platanus racemosa)Telegraph Weed (Heterotheca grandiflora), Tobacco Tree (Nicotiana glauca), California Black Walnut (Juglans californica),Red Willow (Salix laevigata) Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon crassifolium), and Whipple Yucca (Yucca whipplei ssp. parishii). As well as seeing lots of plants, we saw a few animals, specifically Great Basin Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis longipipes),Gray Tree Squirrel (Sciurus griseus),Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus), European honeybee (Apis mellifera) and assorted, unidentifiable birds and butterflies. Evidence of these plants and animals include random fallen leaves, animal waste (both deer and bunnies), and random berries.

List of Plants and Animals Encountered at Eaton Canyon

These are the plants and animals in Eaton Canyon that we encountered on our couple hours there. We could not identify most animals there immediately after seeing them, and my resource for the names of these animals are from Eaton Canyon's website, here: www.ecnca.org/animals/animal.html for animals, and www.ecnca.org/plants/plants_common.html. We just looked at the pictures on the website and checked which looked familiar. We noted the amount of times we saw a particular plant or animal.

Animals:

• Great Basin Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis longipipes, seen twice near observation site
• Gray Tree Squirrel, Sciurus griseus, seen multiple times on the way to observation site
• Mule Deer, Odocoileus hemionus, once, on the way to the observation site
• European honeybee, Apis mellifera, encountered small amount on the way to observation site
• Assorted, unidentifiable birds and butterflies, many times during the way to the observation site and at the observation site.

Plants:

• Agave, Agave americana, seen many times, both in observation zone and en route to site
• White Alder, Alnus rhobifolia, about twice, there were large examples of these on the way
• Fleabane Aster, Erigeron foliosus, several times, widespread
• California Buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum several times, widespread
• Coastal Prickly Pear, Opuntia littoralis, nearby poison oak Ms. Mullen pointed out
• Holly-leaf Cherry, Prunus ilicifolia, once on the way to observation site
• Deer Weed, Lotus scoparius, many times on the way to site and nearby the site
• Horehound, Marrubium vulgare, seen many times on the way to the site and nearby
• Horsewood, Conyza canadensis, very common on our trip to the site and nearby site
• Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana, seen about 2-3 times nearby observation site
• Mule Fat, Baccharis salicifolia, seen many times throughout entire journey
• Black Mustard, Brassica nigra, seen many times throughout entire journey
• Purple Nightshade, Solanum xanti, seen once nearby camp, good thing I didn't touch it
• Coast Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia, several on the way to camp surrounding a large clearing
• Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum, once, shown to my group by Ms. Mullen
• Little-leaf Redberry, Rhamus crocea, several in the rock bed that our cliff overlooked
• Black Sage, Salvia mellifera, several in rock bed and on the way to site
• Scale-Broom, Lepidospartum squmatum, many on the way to camp
• Creek Senecio, Senecio flaccidus var. douglassi, 2-3 nearby observation site
• Laurel Sumac, Malosma laurina, plenty nearby observation site
• Western Cycamore, Platanus racemosa, nearly settled under this tree, but there was no activity
• Telegraph Weed, Heterotheca grandiflora, several in dry river beds and rock bed near site
• Tobacco Tree, Nicotiana glauca, once on the way to observation site
• California Black Walnut, Juglans californica, widespread, many surrounded a large clearing
• Red Willow,  Salix laevigata, found several near dried river beds, including one expedition to a "river" that I thought was there.
• Yerba Santa, Eriodictyon crassifolium, several nearby site and on the way to site
• Whipple Yucca, Yucca whipplei ssp. parishii, located near arrival site and on the way to observation site

Observation Log: Japhet

Date of Observation: 29 October 2012

Weather Conditions: Very warm day, clear sky. Actual temperature was around 77° F. There was little wind. The conditions did not change during the course of our observations. Our area was shaded.

Details: Justin and I walked far into Eaton Canyon to get away from the noises of other groups so we could see a large amount of animals. We encountered several forms of wildlife on the way to where we would establish our observations. We saw a rabbit at 11:13, which we could not photograph because of its speed. At approximately 11:19, we saw a deer. I nearly scared it away by getting too close. At 11:29, we arrived at our camp for the day. It was a cliff overlooking a large rockbed, possibly part of a dried up stream. The rockbed contained sparse vegetation, and not much wildlife. We listened closely to the environment and heard flies, which constantly bothered us, crickets, and several birds. At around 11:34, we thought we would see animals, but they ended up being people. At 11:39, Justin and I heard rustling in the area, but nothing showed up. 11:44, birds showed up, but were unidentifiable due to their speed and distance. At 11:54, more people showed up. We decided to leave at around 11:59-12:00, and we heard a woodpecker.

Simplified Breakdown of Events:
Rabbit, 11:13
Deer, 11:19
Arrived at cliff for observation, 11:29
People, 11:34
Unidentified rustling noise, 11:39
Unidentified birds, 11:44
More people, 11:54
Departure and woodpecker sounds, but no visual, 11:59

Conclusion: We picked a good area, with shade and comfortable weather conditions, but there were not as many animals as we hoped.

Photos & Video

(11:14, 10/29/12) Very cool panorama shot I took. The shrubbery in the front looks like it is dying, most likely due to the sun. Trees and the mountain look healthy though. Lens flare on the side adds to the reason why I chose this picture.

(11:19, 10/29/12) Spotted a deer while on the way to our observation spot. It stood like this for a while before walking away. Japhet almost got too close and scared it off.

(11:19, 10/29/12) Close up shot of the deer. It appears it is eating some sort of grass or fruit.

(11:13, 10/29/12) Very interesting looking tree found on the way to our observation spot. I like the way the branches are drooping towards the ground, presumably from their weight. 

(11:05, 10/29/12) Cacti found on the trail at our arrival spot. Most people would have seen it was fairly close to where we got dropped off.

(11:31, 10/29/12) Picture of the area we observed for the project. The place we sat down in was fairly shady so I was able to get this good picture of the place.

(11:37, 10/29/12) Very short video I took of the area we sat down in for the observation.

Observation Log: Justin

Date: 10/29/12 (October 29, 2012)

Weather Info: slight breeze (only enough to feel refreshing and make some papers fly)

                       sunny (not overbearing; the area we sat in was fairly shady)

                       clear sky (absolutely no clouds in view)

                       temperature around 75ºF (info found by phones)

                       

Breakdown: 1129- arrived on location; set up notes and took pictures and video

                    1134- people walked by, wind picked up slightly and made some papers fly                             

                    1139- large rustle in the bushes near by; nothing sighted

                    1144- a few birds flew past (to fast to get a picture or to see what species it was), wind                       picked up even more, eaton canyon directions paper flew off, had to run and get it

                    1149- butterfly sighted (possibly monarch?)

                    1154- movement sighted in peripheral vision, turned out to be another person

                    1159- left location; woodpecker heard above me in the mountains

Additional Notes: constant sound of crickets, only an occasional bird chirp (place was pretty quiet), a couple bushes rustled, nothing spotted in bushes, constant bussing of flies (possibly only around me)