Snake season

For the last couple of months or so, snakes and other reptiles have been coming out from their winter dormancy in response to the warmer weather. As the temperatures increases through the spring and into the summer, so does the chance for an encounter with a rattlesnake. However, this does not mean that people need to take an alarmist approach to rattlesnakes. These non-confrontational reptiles are a great benefit to the ecology of our natural environments, as with other snakes; and with a little awareness on the trails and/or in homes adjacent to or near open space, everyone can enjoy spring and summer in the hills.

Snakes are often unjustly viewed as scary and dangerous, but in fact they are one of nature’s greatest allies in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Snakes serve as a great means of natural pest control through their consumption of rodents and insects that are otherwise often treated by people with poisons that are harmful to other wildlife. Biologically, snakes serve as important regulators in their complex food web by controlling the populations of rodents, insects, and other reptiles.

The Puente Hills is home to approximately 10 to 12 snake species, though only two of those species (both rattlesnakes) are venomous. Of the rattlesnakes, the most common is the western rattlesnake, though the red-diamond rattlesnake is also present. Several weeks ago I happened upon my first rattlesnake of the season (a western rattlesnake) coiled up in the hollow stump of an old avocado tree. For residents of the hills (particularly those immediately adjacent to open space) it is fairly common for people to get snakes of all kinds in their yards, on their driveways, and perhaps even in their garages.

For those on the trails, a rattlesnake encounter is always a possibility, but the likelihood of actually getting bitten by a venomous snake is very low, particularly if you hike safely and responsibly.

• Be sure to stay on the open trails. The chance of encountering a snake greatly increases if you wander off the trail into the brush or rocks. Avoid areas where you cannot see the ground around you.
• When hiking, wear long pants and appropriate shoes. Do not wear sandals or other open or thin-material shoes that make it easier for a snake to bite you.
• When on the trails be sure to watch where you are stepping. Always watch the ground for several paces in front of you, since rattlesnakes will sometimes be stretched out or coiled up on the trail.
• If you do hear the distinct sound of a rattlesnake, be sure to avoid its location. Hike away from the sound of the snake. A rattlesnake is very unlikely to strike unless it is provoked, and if you leave the snake alone it will leave you alone. If you have a close encounter with a rattlesnake, freeze or back away slowly to allow the snake to get away.
• Do not turn over rocks or otherwise put your hands where you cannot see what is hidden.
• And of course, do not try to touch or pick up a snake. Do not throw objects at snakes, or otherwise do anything else that might provoke them.

Here are some steps to minimize the chance of snake encounters around your home if you live adjacent to or near open space:

• Clear planters, hoses and other objects from around the house.
• Don't leave your garage door open or leaky faucets running. Snakes often are seeking water or a shady place to rest.
• Never let your children or pets play in the yard without first checking to make sure there are no snakes around.
• Don't go outside barefoot.
• Be especially careful when stepping out of the light into a shady area.
• When walking at night or dusk always use a flashlight. Snakes and other reptiles will lay on warm roads, sidewalks and driveways after dark to absorb heat left over from the daytime.

If you are bitten by a rattlesnake, the most important thing is not to panic. Do not run or otherwise get excited, as that will speed up the circulation of the venom through your system. Calmly seek immediate emergency assistance, including calling 911 if you are unable to get yourself to a hospital. If possible, wash the bite area with soap and warm water. Keep the bitten portion of your body below the level of your heart, and remove any constrictive jewelry or clothing around the bite area.


If you have any other questions or concerns about snakes, feel free to contact us at the Puente Hills Habitat Authority.

Plants are parasites too!

The other day while hiking the Ahwingna Trail in the Hacienda Hills, I noted a patch of California buckwheat covered with a substantial amount of dodder (also referred to as "witch's hair"). Dodder is a plant with viney, hair-like, yellow to bright orange stems that sprawl all over the shrubs that it covers. Many times before I have been in the field with people who have asked me about this plant, whether it is native, and why it grows on other plants. In fact, the plant is a native, but it is one of the few parasitic plants that have the potential to occur in the Puente Hills. The lack of green (i.e., chlorophyll) in the plant is an indication that it does not produce its own food via photosynthesis. Instead, this plant must take its nourishment from other plants, and in the process harms the host plant to some degree. When dodder covers extensively, it blocks the underlying plants and prevents them from getting enough sunlight for photosynthesis. Once dodder germinates from a seed, it needs to grow quickly and attach itself to its host plant. In order to get food from the host plant (such as buckwheat), dodder inserts root-like structures into the host's stems in order to draw nourishment from the host. Our local species of dodder is mostly partial to buckwheat, sages, and deerweed.

Another parasitic plant that is common in southern California (though not in the Puente Hills) is mistletoe. Almost all species of mistletoe are hemi-parasitic (or partially parasitic). The plant is green, and so produces it own food via photosynthesis. However mistletoe grows high up on the branches of its host trees (such as sycamore) and so it is not rooted in the soil to get water. As such, the mistletoe must take water directly from the stems of the host tree that it grows on.

Spring color in the hills.

With the rainfall that the region has received this season, Southern California (including the Puente Hills) has seen a vibrant splash of spring color from wildflowers. Although the annual wildflowers have been fading out, particularly through the recent stretch of hot weather, there is still plenty of color to be seen on the trails within the Puente Hills. Whether it is the striking red flowers of the southern pink ('pink' referrring to the plant family name...also the same family as carnations), the vibrant petals of the golden yarrow, or the creamsicle orange flowers of the bush (or sticky) monkey-flower, there is still much to see.

The Puente Hills are also home to several rare plant species, including the southern California black walnut, Catalina mariposa lily, and Plummer's mariposa lily. The mariposa lilies are in flower right now among higher ridgelines along our trails, with the Plummer's mariposa lily in the midst of its blooming period (see photo). Although the walnut trees do not offer colorful flowers, their presence among the rolling hills along Powder Canyon are breathtaking, whether mixed in with scattered coast live-oak trees, or in woodlands by themselves. Enjoy!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Puente Hills Nature!

I am the new ecologist for the Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Preservation Authority, taking over for Dan Cooper (who created this blog).

Please check back soon, and hopefully regularly, for new posts. Also feel free to contact me at the Habitat Authority.


David Moskovitz
dmoskovitz@habitatauthority.org

Spring returnees

Yesterday, while out doing a site visit to the restoration sites at the former Unocal parcel (between Colima Rd. and Hacienda Blvd.), a flock of about 10 Violet-green Swallows blasted overhead, heading west along the spine of the hills. These are early-returning birds which winter in Mexico and nest in the local mountains (and throughout the West).

Also present along Arroyo San Miguel was a small group of Purple Finches, probably feeding in the recently-sprouted willows. I don't remember seeing one all winter in the hills, so these may have just moved in (or maybe I've just missed them).

Salamander season: open

While walking in Powder Canyon today with fellow Habitat Authority staffer Suzanne Avila, I mentioned that last week's heavy rains probably pushed some salamanders up to the surface. Flipping over my first piece of fallen oak bark revealed a tiny black-bellied slender-salamander curled up in its typical pretzel shape.

These worm-like amphibians (genus = Batrachoseps) are among the smallest vertebrates out there, and California boasts nearly all of the known species, from the garden slender-salamander you might find in your backyard if your property was never graded, to isolated races and even full species still being discovered in out-of-the-way spots in the southern Sierra Nevada.

Here in the Puente Hills, it's just the black-bellied (Batrachoseps nigriventris), which makes a living on shady, moist slopes under thick layers of leaf litter (mainly oak and toyon), though they do range into chaparral and even coastal sage scrub. During the summer and fall, it seems almost unbelievable that they're around, as the same dusty leaves crackle underfoot. But after a few good soaking rains, they emerge from inactivity to feed on slugs, spiders, and other tiny critters beneath slabs of bark or light rocks.

Of course, this is ecology, and everything's connected, so what eats them? Turns out it's a little snake, the ring-necked snake, a dark, slender (and totally harmless) serpent with a bright pink belly and a fondness for shady oak woodland.

What's in a towhee?

Coming into work today, I heard the distinctive, loud "chink" call of a California Towhee (pictured) from a yard behind the Habitat Authority office (downtown Whittier, near Washington and Mar Vista).

Towhees (all 3 species in California) are rarely found in urban habitats, though both the California and Spotted towhees are resident in the hilly neighborhoods around the Puente Hills. In the Hollywood area where I used to live, I almost never saw them south of Sunset Blvd., though small numbers are resident in an isolated population in the Baldwin Hills (north of LAX). In the San Gabriel Valley, where I grew up, I never saw one in my backyard, though they were resident at the overgrown grounds of an old mansion a few blocks away, and along the landscaped flood control of Eaton Wash.

All of our animal species exhibit some degree of tolerance to urbanization, from birds like Band-tailed Pigeons and crows that seem to favor built/planted areas, to those like the California Quail and the gnatcatchers which simply can't make it away from native vegetation. I think of the California Towhee as sort of intermediate in terms of sensitivity, and one that may respond very quickly to native plantings in backyards.

Still, I was surprised that this individual made it so far south into the "flats" of Whittier. I wonder if they make it south of Whittier Blvd., and if so, where?