Other than the trees and bushes, everything else looked very dry. I didn't expect to see much bloom, it any, but right in the beginning, near the road, bloomed a few morning glory vines.
The slope leading to the creek was being restored with native vegetation, including buckeye and toyon plants, both of which were blooming at the time. The buckeye was already past its peak bloom but still emitted nice fragrance.
The toyon hasn't reached its peak bloom yet, The bush had a mixture of lovely white open flowers and light green immature floral buds. In a few months it'll be covered with bright red berries.
A few birds were flying around and while Pappa Quail tried focusing on them I looked at the view. On the southeast loomed Mission Peak which, from this angle, didn't show much of its signature pyramid top.
One of the birds that Pappa Quail looked at was sitting on top of a supporting pole of one of the newly planted saplings. It was a bluebird - either female or juvenile.
The asphalt road leveled parallel to the creek. I didn't hear any water and I couldn't see any because of the dense vegetation, comprised mainly of live oaks with a few other broad-leaf trees.
We got close enough to the trees to see that the understory vegetation was mainly poison oak. There was movement in the poison oak bushes: a young deer, still wearing its fawn dots, was moving slowly between the poison oak.
At a close distance I could see that not all the trees along the creek were oaks. I pointed out an elderberry tree that was blooming at the edge of the trail.
The same tree had also nearly ripe berries on a different branch. I couldn't resist trying one, that's how I know it wasn't fully ripe.
A bit further down the trail the trees opened up a bit and revealed the Sabercat Creek. The creek was flowing, although the flow was pretty soft and didn't make much sound.
A small bridge took us to the other side of Sabercat Creek, where we continued walking under a dark canopies of many large live oak trees.
Some of these live oaks were quite tall and had an intricate branching pattern. Little birds were active in the oaks' canopies but they were very difficult to see or focus the camera on.
In places where the trail was exposed we got a reminder that we were in July - it was a pretty warm day, although thankfully not too hot.
 |
| Sabercat Creek Trail |
The creek wasn't accessible and the water didn't look like it was moving at all. I kept expecting to hear and feel mosquitos but there weren't any, so I guessed the water wasn't stagnant.
 |
| Sabercat Creek |
There were plenty of other insects in the air however, and the black Phoebe we saw near the creek was busy grabbing them from the air then returning to its ambush point atop a dry stem.
 |
| Black Phoebe |
For a while it was just Pappa Quail and me on the trail. Then another
narrow asphalt path came down from the neighborhood to meet the Sabercat Creek Trail. At that
point we started seeing a few other hikers, including families with
kids.
 |
| Sabercat Creek Trail |
Sabercat Trail ends with a small loop on the west side of the preserve. There used to be a quarry where during the digging skeletons from the ice age were found. One of the animal skeletons found there was the now extinct sabercat after which the creek and trail were named. The quarry had made a large hole in the hill and the scar was slowly being covered with vegetation.
From the west end of the trail we had a nice view to the northwest. Ignoring the unpleasant sight of I-680 below us we gazed across Fremont and Newark to Coyote Hills.
 |
| Coyote Hills View |
The other arm of the little loop at the end of the trail was on higher ground. When we started walking back east we were level with the neighborhood where we parked. My eyes kept focusing on the neat row of European cypress that lined one of the neighborhood yards.
 |
| Sabercat Creek Trail |
The neighborhood south of the trail wasn't visible, but there was a narrow trail leading up to it. I guess that the residents there have their shortcut into the main trail there.
I made a comment to Pappa Quail that is was strange that we didn't see any reptiles on such a warm day. A few minutes after that we saw a quick movement in the brush by the trail. A pretty fence lizard run up a dead branch, opened his throat crest and started doing push-ups, showing his blue underbelly. That was his way to tell us that he knew we were there and that we couldn't get him by surprise. Not that we wanted to. Pappa Quail did get him on camera, though.
 |
| Western Fence Lizard |
A few steps later we encountered an eastern fox squirrel, one of a several of that species that we saw on the hike that day. Eastern fox squirrels are an invasive species in our area, brought here by someone who deemed them prettier than the resident western squirrels. The eastern fox squirrel thrives here, competing with and displacing the native squirrel species.
 |
| Eastern Fox Squirrel |
On the trail we were once again alone. Most of the people we saw earlier didn't come all the way down to the quarry area.
 |
| Sabercat Creek Trail |
The relative quiet on this part of the trail enabled us to see a few more animals. One of these animals was a solitary acorn woodpecker - a bird that is usually in a family group and is usually quite vocal. Perhaps that individual needed some time off from its relatives.
 |
| Acorn Woodpecker |
Another bird that popped into the open was a chestnut-backed chickadee. We watched it for a while doing its acrobatics, hanging from the tip of a small branch, pecking at something there, possibly bugs.
 |
| Chestnut-backed Chickadee |
Most f the oak trees along the creek were live oaks, but there were also valley oaks here and there. Many of the valley oaks were laden with large oak galls, which were already used and dry.
 |
| Valley oak with galls |
Some of these old oaks were very large and their canopy very wide, carried by an a large number of twisted, complex-shaped branches. These trees sure look like they have personalities.
The heat was slowly easing up a bit, now that it was getting later in the afternoon. Still, it was pretty warm outside of the tree shade.
 |
| Sabercat Creek Trail |
A few lonely poppies bloomed in the very dry grass on the south-facing slope near the trail. every summer when the big poppy bloom is over there are those stragglers which keep blooming through fall.
 |
| California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica |
Our way back was quicker now. When we got to the place where there was an access to the creek I went over there to see what I could find there. I didn't see animals in the water or anything special, but it was nice to look at the flow and appreciate the reflection in the calmer places.
 |
| Sabercat Creek |
It certainly wasn't fall yet, not even close, but some poison oak was already turning red, possibly in response to some stress.
 |
| Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum |
The most common squirrel species in this area was the California ground squirrel. These squirrels do climb trees but they live in underground colonies (they aren't affected by the invasion of the eastern fox squirrel). We've seen plenty of the ground squirrels on this hike but most of them were camera shy. It was good to see that they weren't habituated as the city parks squirrels were.
 |
| California Ground Squirrel |
We reached the road that was leading up to the park's exit but the trail continues under the bridge more east. We followed it a but to see what was on the other side and found that it went too close to the neighborhood's houses.
 |
| Sabercat Creek Trail |
We turned around and walked back up to the exit. I looked up at Mission Peak again. It has been while since the last time I went up there. Perhaps I'd go up there again once the weather cools down some.
 |
| Mission Peak View |
We went back home, pleased with this little hike we did, discovering a new, local trail and spending nice time together. About a month later Pappa Quail joined a birding walk of the local birders group and they went to that very same trail ... apparently it is considered a good birding spot. I guess we'll be going there again soon, now that the fall migration has begun.
It's nice to have such a place close to home :-)
ReplyDeleteApparently there are more trails in the area that I haven't hiked yet ...One down, more to go.
Delete