An Academic Resource of the Claremont Colleges
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Mar 25th, 2012
Two new plants have recently been discovered at the BFS. Many thanks to Leroy Gross and Erika Gardner of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden for identifying the plants and making voucher specimens. Gilia angelensis A patch of Gilia angelensis (Chaparral Gilia) is flowering in a grassy area along the path by the Foothill Blvd […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Mar 8th, 2012
Update: On March 11, the valiant BFS Volunteers removed every known Sahara Mustard plant on the BFS. Way to go, Volunteers! The very nasty Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) has just appeared at the BFS in two small infestations along Foothill Blvd. near the BFS entrance and the near College Avenue. The Sahara Mustard, a native […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Oct 8th, 2011
We have a new species addition to the BFS Bird List — the Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus), which was spotted by Dr. Paul Stapp’s class on September 29. The brilliant yellow head makes identification of this blackbird easy, and its loud, rusty-hinge call is also quite distinctive. Yellow-headed Blackbirds occur throughout the US west of […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Sep 30th, 2011
Dr. Paul Stapp‘s Mammalogy from Cal State Fullerton is trapping rodents at the BFS this week and caught a Western Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis), in their trapping grid in the SW part of the station (near the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden). This species has not been seen at BFS since 1990, so we’re glad […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Sep 18th, 2011
We have a new addition to the BFS Bird List — the Sora (Porzana carolina). The Sora is a small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes and is most often found in cattails and bulrushes, where it forages for snails, small crustaceans, insects, and seeds. At the BFS it was seen foraging among the cattails between […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Aug 26th, 2011
Look who was spotted crossing the main east-west road yesterday evening! This new addition to our invert list is a male fall-breeding California native tarantula, Aphonopelma eutylenum – the California Ebony Tarantula. It is more accurately called Aphonopelma “eutylenum type” as this species has been described by several different validly published names. In the fall, […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Jul 11th, 2011
During her regular monthly BFS bird survey on July 4, Prof. Cathy McFadden spotted a new addition to the BFS Bird List – three Eurasian Collared-Doves, Streptopelia decaocto, flying over the HMC property, possibly coming out of the old toad pool area. Originally native to India, Eurasian Collared-Doves spread into Turkey and the Balkans in […]
Whether or not you think they’re ‘cute’, they’re definitely ‘coot’! While sampling at pHake Lake, my students and I spotted two sets of American Coot (Fulica americana) chicks. Here are some photos: According to “All About Birds“, the downy young with their bald red heads are alert and ready to leave the nest within 6 […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Apr 20th, 2011
Some recent insect photography expeditions have turned up a number of new additions for our BFS Invert List. We have yet to sort through all our photos, but we have so far turned up representatives of three new insect families – Stratiomyidae (Soldier Flies), Chrysopidae (Green Lacewings), and Melyridae (Soft-winged Flower Beetles). Soldier Flies (Stratiomyidae) […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Mar 27th, 2011
We have nine new additions to the BFS invert list: Dactylopius sp. (Cochineal) Our first addition is an insect that any casual observer might notice at the BFS, but it had somehow been overlooked in our list making – Cochineal (Dactylopius sp.) – that white cottony stuff on Opuntia sp. cacti (Prickly-Pear or Indian-Fig): Dactylopius […]