This morning at 8AM, Lyman Van Slyke of the Stanford Golf Club, Mary Harrison of Wetlands Research Associates and I met in the driving range parking lot for a walking tour of the golf course. I presented Ms. Harrison with a blown-up color photocopy of the USGS map quadrangle showing the golf course property in sufficient detail for her first-cut assessment. Don Chelemedos has sent a much more detailed set of maps to Mike Josselyn which Mary will hopefully be able to examine when she returns to her office.
We began our walking tour on the driving range side of West Campus Drive by examining the section of the drainage culvert that runs from the golf course underneath W. Campus Drive and then into Lake Lagunita. Our goal was to assess the drainage culvert as potential Tiger Salamander habitat and to observe the year-round wildlife species that inhabit the riparian margins of the culvert. The three of us were able to scramble down into the dry culvert and walk its course from the driving range parking lot along the right edge of the driving range and out to Lake Lagunita itself. Along the way, Mr. Van Slyke (Van) filled us in on the seasonal aspects of Lake Lagunita and the drainage culvert. Apparently, during the rainy season water flows FROM the golf course TOWARD Lake Lagunita, and Lake Lagunita itself also receives overflow water from other reservoirs in the area.
During the walk toward Lake Lagunita, Mary and I spotted several hawks, with one majestic Red Tailed Hawk on the wing, an unidentified small/medium-sized hawk which flushed out of the vegetation not more than 20 feet in front of us, and a beautiful medium-sized hawk (Coopers? Red-Shouldered?) perched on a post at the far right corner of the driving range. As we broke out of the thickly forested section of the drainage culvert and into the dry lakebed of Lake Lagunita with Van in the lead, two beautiful mule deer flushed out of the underbrush approx. 75 yards in front of us - a mature doe and what appeared to be a healthy yearling. In the vicinity of Lake Lagunita, we saw numerous bird species both on the ground and in the trees, including the Oak Titmouse, House Finch, Downy (could be Hairy) Woodpecker, California Towhee, Scrub Jay, etc. Nothing rare or unusual, but a very healthy population of native birds in their native habitat. Just to demonstrate our close proximity to the driving range, Van dropped a range ball he had found in the culvert into a thick and fluffy lie in the native grass and hit a perfectly-struck shot out of the thick stuff up onto the short driving range grass with the golf club he was carrying.
We eventually retraced our steps back along the drainage culvert, crossed West Campus Drive and emerged onto the first fairway of the golf course itself. Along the right side of the first fairway where the drainage culvert emerges, we saw numerous Chestnut-Backed Chickadees in the mature oak trees. Dozens of Barn Swallows were swooping down low over the first fairway bordering the horse stable area, and Acorn Woodpeckers were squawking up a storm in the tall oaks. I pointed out what I feel to be the #1 hawk tree in the region to Mary (the huge tree along the right side of the #1 fairway about 100 yards short of the green) but we did not see any hawks there this AM. Since there were golfers in the first fairway, Van suggested we continue to follow the course of the drainage culvert to stay out of the players' way. This path took us across the first fairway where we cut through the horse stable areas toward the #6 fairway. Along the way, Van filled us in on some fascinating history of how the Stanford lands came about in the first place. We agreed that the history of the golf course itself must be equally fascinating, and Van has begun to assemble some facts along these lines.
On the far side of the horse stable area, we emerged onto the 6th fairway where the drainage culvert cuts across approx. 75 yards from the green. While we did not see any appreciable amount of standing water in the culvert, the ground was clearly quite wet with dense marsh-type grasses growing up. It is my belief that this area stays moist year-round. I have never seen it totally dry, although I was not around during the drought years to know. It was also in this area that we began seeing Black Phoebes in incredible abundance. These birds are almost always in close association with water, and are usually fairly solitary in nature. But, beginning at the 6th fairway we must have seen at least 20 Black Phoebes along the way. Again, the interesting fact is not so much that these birds are abundant on the golf course property, but that the excellent habitat on the golf course makes it so.
As we proceeded from the 6th fairway onto the 7th fairway just beyond the 7th tee, we saw our first of about 5-6 Western Bluebirds. The bird was nonchalantly hunkered down in the short fairway grass just enjoying life and perhaps looking for the odd bug to pick off. In human terms, the bird was so comfortable with its environment it would be like one of us taking a snooze in our backyard hammock! In short, if you are a Western Bluebird seeking to live life on easy street, look no further than the Stanford Golf Course. Also along the left hand side of the 7th fairway, we followed the drainage culvert a short distance until it entered a pipe which takes it under Junipero Serra and towards the 9th fairway on the other side of the road. The pipe presumably terminates in the vicinity of the gauging station on San Francisquito Creek along the right side of the 9th fairway. This brings up the interesting question of which way the water flows: Does it flow FROM San Francisquito Creek TOWARD Lake Lagunita, FROM Lake Lag. TOWARD San Francisquito Creek, or does one portion of the culvert drain toward the creek and the other portion toward the lake? An interesting question which may have some relevance for the Tiger Salamander assessment.
We proceeded down along the left side of the 7th fairway, keeping to the woods to avoid golfers, and saw several additional Black Phoebes and Western Bluebirds in the fairways along the way, as well as some more Chestnut-Backed Chickadees. We crossed under JPS and headed to the foot bridge over San Francisquito Creek heading toward the 8th tee. I scrambled down the stream bank to check the water temperature of the creek and found it to be a very cool 65degrees Fahrenheit - well within the optimal temperature range for salmonids such as the wild Pacific Steelhead which have been known to spawn up San Francisquito Creek in the past. At the water's edge, I noticed a huge mating swarm of Tricorythodes mayflies hovering about 10 feet over the water. Mayflies are an important indicator of a healthy ecosystem; they only live in waters which are clean, cool, and free of pollution. In the water itself, I saw large schools of baitfish-sized minnows. I did not capture any, so could not tell if these were indeed native rainbow trout parr (which would eventually migrate to saltwater to return later as steelhead). Also in the water, I found good populations of caddisfly larvae and freshwater shrimp (sometimes called scuds) - other indicators of a healthy ecosystem and important food sources for fish.
We then retraced our steps and circled behind the #7 green then crossed the footbridge across the creek on our way toward the practice area next to hole #4. Dropping down to the low tarmack bridge which crosses the creek in front of the #4 green, I pointed out to Mary the area where I have seen both Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers in the past. While we have no evidence that these birds nest in the stretch of San Francisquito Creek within the golf course boundaries, it is clear that this habitat provides an important stopover point during the migration of species such as these which require wooded, treelined waterways. Upon crossing the creek and proceeding along the wooded area between the 5th fairway and the creek, we were met by Mr. Red Pendleton who had driven out to meet us in a golf cart. Red had brought along his map of the locations of the 20 bluebird nesting boxes he has placed on the golf course property. Red took us across the footbridge that leads to the #3 tee and showed us one of the two Wood Duck boxes he has placed on the property. The box is in an ideal location for the baby wood ducks to leap out directly into the water once they've hatched. Although Red has not yet seen Wood Ducks nesting in this box, it is encouraging to note that its location is just downstream from where Wood Ducks have been seen in the past.
Red also showed us how to operate the bluebird boxes. Each box has a latch mechanism that fools 100% of the Raccoons and 95% of the humans that try to disturb the boxes. Red turned over a copy of his nesting box map as well as statistics on the nest usage from the past season to Mary Harrison.
At this point, Red and I left Mary and Van who continued their tour towards the second fairway and the lands that have been proposed for a replacement for hole #1. It will be interesting to see what Mary and Van have to report from the rest of their tour. Red gave me a ride back to the driving range parking lot, and along the way Red and I spotted more Bluebirds, some Oregon (Dark Eyed) Juncos, and I caught a glimpse of what looked like a Yellow Rumped Warbler. Finally, Red pointed out an EXCELLENT additional piece of bird habitat - an active owl nesting box in the large oak tree to the left rear of the #1 green. Such a nesting box, coupled with the close proximity to the maintenance buildings, indicates a probable Barn Owl occupation. I was able to locate an owl pellet underneath the nesting box with a full rodent skeleton preserved inside. This is clear evidence that the nesting box is in active use,
I am sorry to say that I will be out of town on August 3rd when the big hearing is scheduled to take place.