List of Plants and Animals

Plants

• Coast live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) - 1 tree
• Coastal Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia littoralis) - 3 cacti
• Pacific Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) - 8 bushes (7 to 8)
• White Alder (Alnus rhombifolia) - 2 small specimen
• Black Sage (Salvia mellifera) - 6 bushes (5 to 6)
• Western Sycamore (Platanus racemosa) - 2 to 3 trees (off in the distance)
• California (Coastal) Sagebrush (Artemisia californica) - 5 bushes (4 to 5)
• Whipple Yucca (Yucca whipplei ssp. parishii)
• California Croton (Croton californicus)

Animals

• Agile Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys agilis) - 1 seen
• Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) - 3 seen
• Black carpenter ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) - multitude seen, about 100 (could not count)
• Red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) - multitude seen, about 60 (could not count)
• Sage sparrow (Artemisiospiza belli) - 6 to 7 seen
• European honeybees (Apis mellifera) - multitude seen, possibly 150 (off in distance, could not count)

Site Description

Site Description

Location: Eaton Canyon, Pasadena, CA

Habitat: Chaparral

Dimensions of observing site: 50 by 50 foot square

Our observing area at Eaton Canyon was in the dry riverbed area by the entrance. The ground cover was a sandy covering over a layer of dirt, with a multitude of dead or decaying plant material such as sticks and leaves, and scattered rocks. There was no canopy in our area other than the oak tree we were observing under. The area had an arid, dry, and dead feel to it, though it was also quiet and calm.On our way to the observing site, we saw Pacific poison oak, Coastal Prickly Pear Cactus, and White Alder. At our sight, we sat under a Coast Live Oak tree, and saw Black Sage, a Western Sycamore tree, California Coastal Sagebrush, Whipple Yucca, and California Croton. There were many leaves and sticks from the Coast Live Oak tree on the ground. At our observing site, we saw an Agile Kangaroo Rat, a red-tailed hawk, black carpenter ants, red imported fire ants, a sage sparrow, and a swarm of European honeybees. We heard the sage sparrow chirping and the swarm of bees buzzing, as well as a dog barking. Lastly, we found some coyote dung, suggesting coyotes were in this area not too long ago.

Site Aerial View w/ Legend

This is a hand-drawn aerial view of the area of Eaton Canyon we observed.  We were sitting under the oak tree at the bottom center of the photo, and observed this setting.  The legend for the drawing can be found below.

Eaton Canyon Photo # 5

The main, largest branch of the oak tree we set-up at, and where many birds had perched at.

Eaton Canyon Photo # 4

A view of some of the branches of our oak tree and the shrubbery of our area.

Eaton Canyon Photo # 3

A small hole that was filled with insects inside that was part of the oak tree we sat at the base of.

LAUMAN OBSERVATION LOG 10-29-12 11:50-12:20

Weather: hot,mild and occasional breezes
Facing west
Near a dry riverbed,surrounded buy small shrubs, and sitting in the shade of an oak tree  

11:50: stiff breeze, and a large number of carpenter ants on the tree, spotted two birds flying (probably sparrows

11: 55: occasional bird cries accompanied by the continual rustle of leaves, Red tailed hawk spotted flying, no ground mammals

12:00: faint dog bark, birds flying over from time to time, humming birds spotted in sitting in tree, still no ground mammals

12:05: leaf blower in distance, dog bark slightly louder, large bee swarm initially noticed because of noise

12:10: dog stops barking and leaf blower stops as well.

12:15: domestic sounds resume, increased bird calling

12:20: insect chirps heard and noticed fire ants on the rocks at the base of the tree 

 a picture of Buckwheat (Eriogonum heracleoides) on the lip of the dry riverbed near the oak tree that we used as our observation site

GRIFFITH OBSERVATION LOG 10-29-12 11:50-12:20

Whether:  Arid, Breezy

Facing North-East

Dry Riverbed and Brush

Sitting in the Shade of an Oak Tree

11:50:

Strong breeze, multitude of insects around me on the ground, saw two birds fly near by

11:52:

Very sudden extremely strong wind (breeze) that subsided just as suddenly, constant rustle of leaves

11:55:

Hear a slight dog bark off in the distance, hawk flying, weak breeze stopped, extremely quiet, many ants

12:00:

Another dog bark (louder), rustle of leaves, small sparrow flew on and off tree

12:05:

Many flies buzzed around our location, loud rustles in nearby shrubs, disturbance in leaves of our tree

12:08:

Extremely loud and large swarm of bees in the distance, noticed only due to their sound

12:10:

Birds began chirping again, slight breeze picked back up

12:12:

Large number of bees in shrubbery about 15 feet away, stronger breeze

12:15:

A lot more birds chirping, slight rise in temperature, the birds seem very close, one is definitely in our tree

12:20:

Slight breeze, temperature dropped back, many fire ants, extremely quiet, bird chirping stopped

SIBERELL OBSERVATION LOG 10-29-12 11:50-12:20

Weather: Arid, Breezy

Facing East

Dry Riverbed

11:50

Flies attacking me, no mammals or birds spotted, strong breeze.

11:55

Less breezy, hotter, spotted carpenter and fire ants, quiet except for rustling of leaves, saw red-tailed hawk flying.

12:00

Heard barking dog and crickets chirping, same temperature, no changes to wind speed.

12:05

Same dog barking again, saw a flock of small birds, swarm of bees flew over my observation site.

12:10

Flies have returned, heard birds chirping, spotted crickets in riverbed

12:15

Chirping of birds, hotter, the breeze seems to have stopped

12:20

Same temperature, breeze has returned, more fire ants spotted moving on rocks.

Eaton Canyon Photo #2

Oak tree at our observing site in Eaton Canyon

Eaton Canyon Photo #1

Our observing area in Eaton Canyon, showing the dry riverbed, rocks, shrubs, and trees.