The Natural History of Foster City, California
by James K. Sayre
a draft manuscript
12 May 2005
Chapter 22: Monthly Nature Calendar for Foster City
January: Spring has sprung early in the Mediterranean climate of Foster City; green plants are beginning to make their annual reappearance; look for the early breeding results of mallard ducks and their domesticated counterparts (one brood of gold/black colored ducklings seen following a white mother on 1/3/95 near McDonald's Restaurant off of Foster City Blvd.). In years of heavy winter rains some small temporary ponds (vernal pools?) develop in some of the underdeveloped areas of Foster City. Mallards are quick to occupy such ecological niches - temporary habitats - the author observed a pair of mallards happily paddling in a four inch deep pond located in Redwood Shores, just across the Belmont Slough from Foster City.
February: After heavy January rains, many plants are in full springtime growth now. Frogs can be heard nightly singing at the freshwater pond located between the San Mateo Fishing Pier parking lot and the bikepath, located off Beach Park Blvd. The Ngaio tree has its tiny white blossoms and small purple fruits. Birds visit the trees to eat the fruits and also to eat the insects living there. Acacia trees, originally from Australia, produce their massive yellow blooms each February. Along the outer levee and in the fennel field, some plants can be seen blooming, including fennel, mustard, radish and iceplant.
March: Spring is over for many annual plants; most of the annual rains have fallen by the end of March
April: Summer-like heat is sometimes experienced in April
May: no April showers for May flowers here; the wild annuals are beginning to set seed.
June: the beginning of the AM/PM coastal fog season: cool mornings and evenings; northern and western afternoon winds start picking up in June.
July: the gum plants and sea lavenders are blooming along the marsh edges now; sweet fennel and yellow star thistle are in full bloom now.
August: sandpipers return to flocking in the mudflats to feed as the tide goes out; small flocks of pigeons can be seen eating the reddish fruits/seeds of the Australian saltbush that has been planted along the edge of the outer levee bikepath along Beach Park Blvd.; cordgrass blooms in marshy areas; look for ducks and herons in upper Belmont Slough areas; ducklings are almost full grown now, but still stay together in their sibling broods. The Willets and Godwits seem to take great pleasure in massive flyabouts in late summer. These flyabouts provide a great spectacle for the observer, with hundreds of birds making great loops and dives while flashing their distinctive wing markings.
September: migratory water birds begin to return from their northerly summer breeding grounds; great flyabouts of large flocks of Godwits and Willets can be seen near the mudflats along the edges of the bay; often very hot days occur in September as the protective fog belt fades away in the fall; the yellow daisy-like flower that blooms near the bay is the Gum plant. Look for the small yellow blossoms on pickleweed in the marshy edges. Pickleweed's parasitic companion, orange-colored dodder, has tiny whitish blossoms now; the flocks of water birds on the mudflats increase in size and activity now: massive fly-abouts occur in the late afternoon and early evening. The fennel's seeds are beginning to ripen now; the seeds are turning a dark brown. In late September, the Short-billed Dowitchers and the American Avocets have joined the other shore birds feeding and gathering on the mudflats off of Beach Park Blvd.
October:: the ending of the summer heat and the days grow shorter. At very high tides (+8.0 or greater) some of the Gum Plants growing along the edge of the Bay get their roots wetted with salt water.
November: the migratory water birds have returned from the north to spend the winter in the bay or in the lagoons; with the coming of rains, some annual plants begin their new growing season in November. Some plants are still in bloom: Gum plant, Yellow star thistle, Cheeseweed, Bristly ox-tongue, Wild radish, Wild lettuce, Wild mustard and Sweet yellow clover.
December: winter rains and the return of longer days after the Winter Solstice on December 21st encourages early plant growth in this area.
End.
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