As of October 27, 2020, we have not received work session approval from the City of Santa Clara. Because of this, there will be NO work sessions at Ulistac until further notice.
Without volunteer groups at Ulistac, things remain quiet. At this time, we might say that Ulistac Natural Area is "re-wilding" in Nature's hands. We encourage you to visit the park, enjoy reading our newsletters and learning about Ulistac.
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Red Cones and Yellow Wigs?
This tiny maroon cone is a Red Cone Gall, induced by the wasp, Andricus kingi, which is in the Cynipidae Family. Besides the interesting array of unique gall shapes, like this one, the formation and life cycle is just as fascinating. For the Red Cone Gall, it is found on the underside of valley oak leaf. An adult female gall wasp will lay eggs on the valley oak’s emerging buds in the springtime. Once the leaf has grown, the eggs hatch and the larvae are understandably hungry. So the larvae start to eat the leaf which sends a signal to the tree. The tree begins to release a plant growth hormone. The tree then forms this cone-shaped structure around the larvae. To the larvae, this is great, more plant tissue to consume! Once the larvae pupate and become an adult, the wasp makes its exit out of the gall from a tiny tiny hole, time to get out your hand lens! The adult females will wait until the spring to emerge when valley oaks are producing new buds, and continue the cycle. Searching for galls is a great activity in the fall, as galls reach their maximum size and are at their most colorful. By looking for these little structures you may observe other small often overlooked wonders of nature also.
Paragraph provided by Cloe Reid
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Red cone gall. Photo by Cloe and Trevor Reid, AKA cloejreid on iNaturalist.
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Yellow wig gall. Photo by Cloe and Trevor Reid, AKA cloejreid on iNaturalist
Editor's note: these and other galls can be found on many of the Valley Oaks at Ulistac.
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Box Elder Tree
Some of our Box Elder trees are just now turning yellow, like this large one along our creek near the footbridge. This tree has gotten more water since the creek has been flowing a few times a week. Soon this will drop all its leaves.
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Some Recent Photos taken at Ulistac
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Toyon berries. Photo - John Kehoe
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Northern Mockingbird in Toyon. Photo - Erica Fleniken
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Lincoln's Sparrow. Photo - Erica Fleniken
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Black-tailed Jackrabbit. Photo - Erica Fleniken
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Fox squirrel caught on camera harvesting acorns. Photo - Erica Fleniken
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Red-breated Sapsucker feeding on Toyon berries. These woodpeckers are now abundant along the coastal and bay areas of California and beyond. Photo - Erica Fleniken
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