Coming Up in the Elfin Forest

Text and Photo by Jean Wheeler

This is the best time of the year for blue flowers along our coast. A particular favorite of many flower watchers in the Elfin Forest is called wooly star. Look for its low clumps topped with many lovely blue blossoms along the 15th Street sand trail near the boardwalk.

Bush Lupine Point was named for the lush blue flower spikes surrounding it at this time of year. Moro Blue butterflies seek to lay eggs on these plants, hosts for their caterpillars. Urban development has greatly reduced the prevalence of bush lupines along our central coast, causing concern for the survival of these small butterflies.

Many yellow and orange flowers can be seen across the Elfin Forest in summer, including deerweed, California poppies, sticky- monkey flowers and golden yarrow. Coastal dudleya (pictured below with Wooly star) produces low rosettes of succulent leaves often nearly hidden under the edges of larger shrubs. These give rise to foot-high red- dish stems branching near the top with clusters of yellow-orange flowers. Hummingbirds are attracted to the trumpet- shaped open- ings of these flowers.

Pink flowers are provided by spikes of California hedge nettle and cobwebby thistle. The confusingly-named Indian pinks have red flowers in the understory of the oaks. They get their name from the edges of their flowers appearing to have been cut by pinking shears (photo below).

Shrubs with white flowers blooming around much of the boardwalk in summer are chamise and black sage. In the under- story, white flowers decorate pearly everlasting, croton, and horkelia.

June and July continue to be major butterfly months in the Elfin Forest. Our pocket guide (sold at "Forest Store" - button at top of this page) charts a full dozen species of butterflies and 3 species of moths that may be flying in these two months and indicates their host plants. For example, Acmon Blue and Silvery Blue butterflies are attracted to deerweed, while Variable Checkerspots seek sticky monkey-flowers but Gabb’s Checkerspots go for California poppies.

Although winter’s huge flotillas of ducks, geese, and shore- birds are long gone, close inspection reveals there are still a lot of water birds around. For many species of ducks and shorebirds, some individuals remain all year or even arrive to nest here after vacationing for the winter farther south. Among waders, willets and killdeer remain very common. Also resident all year are great blue and black-crowned night herons, along with many snowy and greater egrets. Most of our raptor species are here all year and likely to be actively hunting with fledglings to feed in June and July. Many chaparral and oak woodland birds are also busy raising young— such as hummingbirds, flycatchers, wrens, warblers, sparrows, thrashers, finches, scrub jays, blackbirds, and quail.

Enjoy a colorful and exciting summer outing along the sand trails and boardwalk of our small wilderness area!

Please Report Elfin Forest Sightings. Have you observed any usual birds in the Elfin Forest? Mammals? Reptiles? Amphibians? Insects? Interesting activities or footprints of wildlife in our Elfin Forest? Unusual plants? Please report any interesting sightings to: web@elfin-forest.org. Get a photo of your sighting? Be sure and attach it. You can also leave a message on SWAP’s answering machine, 528-0392.