R: Gorgon Copper.
Today I went on the first of two day trip days this week. I’m taking advantage of the cooler-than-usual temps to venture South of SF and see about some wildflowers while I still can…
I was absolutely ready to be done with my wildflower chasing this Spring, with the one exception of the Tiburon Mariposa Lily (which seems to be somewhat of a Summer wildflower almost?). But I kept seeing iNat observations for the Clay Mariposa Lily, what would be a newtome flower. And MANY were coming from the same place. My hometown of San Jose.
I decided to visit Quicksilver because it was one I actually knew of when I was in high school. We even went out there one night to hang out. Back then, it was parks or Denny’s. Ahh, suburbia for minors! But I remember soverylittle. And it seemed like it’d be DIFFICULT to miss the Clay Mariposa Lily right now.
And that was CORRECT. At least where I went, the Senador Mine, Mine Hill, New Almaden Loop route on AllTrails.
BUT! It’s LATE. Will be summing up. Took A TON of photos, so they’ll tell a nice story for me.
First, the Clay Mariposa Lily. Just LOVELY. And it seemed that each and every flower I peered into looked different from the last! At one point, I walked up a narrow trail to literally see them EVERYWHERE. Clay Mariposa Lily Heaven is what they should call that narrow side trail.
ALSO, in many of the Clay Mariposa Lilies were pollinators. Just hanging out inside. Not only are these kinds of Mariposa Lilies exquisite to some of us, but they also do a great job with the pollinators, too!
Aside from that very exciting newtome flower, I saw FLIPPIN’ TONS AND TONS OF BUTTERFLIES!!! I think I maybe spotted like every butterfly I know of in the Bay Area. And some I didn’t know! Super special was not only seeing a newtome butterfly, the Gorgon Copper, but also getting good photos of it as it gorged on Yellow Yarrow.
I EVEN saw what I believe was Gorgon Copper mating! At first, I thought it was some unholy union between two different butterfly species, because I only saw one with its wings closed, while the other I only saw with its wings open. So I thought they were two different butterflies!! It all made sense when I got home, IDed them, and now understand it was the same species. Given that Seek says this butterfly is “Threatened,” it’s great to know they may be doing ok in this park at least!
I really cannot believe how many butterflies I saw. I mean, it’s NUTSO. I so wish I could’ve gotten just ONE PHOTO of the Sara Orangetip that just patrolled and patrolled past me. Also, there were two medium butterflies (one all yellow and one all white) that I never got a decent look at. And so many others, half of which I definitely had never seen before.
I need to point out that I have never seen so many Blue butterflies before. All the ones I got good looks/photos of were Acmon Blues. But they seemed to be EVERYWHERE. At one point, I thought maybe one was following me. And I was entirely OK WITH THAT.
Oh, and I saw A BUNNY!! On my way back, I was walking along a little open space between the trail and some scrub. And I thought, “I wonder if bunnies might come out closer to dusk?” Then I came around a bush and spotted A FLIPPIN’ BUNNY (likely a Brush Rabbit) just sitting there. Maybe eating. We both kinda spooked each other, and it bounded slowly back into the brush.
Had a little time left at the end, so I checked out a bit of a trail from the Mockingbird Hill entrance. White Globe Lilies were reported there, and I found a couple left. With one having its seed pod thing out, which was super fun to see. Need to check out the Historic District part some time. And a couple other spots out there.
It’s entirely bizarre to return to my adolescent haunts for Naturing. Now seeing all of it with different eyes. I never thought of San Jose (or anywhere close to it) as having nature nearby. I certainly didn’t experience any of it while growing up there. I remember orchards as a kid, but that’s it. Looks like there are some spots worth visiting! And Mount Umunhum is also on my list…
Bonus was seeing one of those Peregrine Falcons atop that tower near the Flintstones house! Both heading down and heading back up!! Ah, the little joys I actually do miss from my former commute.
