by Beverly Gingg | Feb 13, 2023 | Discover Trail Life, Pismo Preserve
Local birding enthusiast and photographer Herb Elliott shares his amazing photos of birds of the Pismo Preserve through his eBird checklist site.
by Beverly Gingg | Jan 20, 2023 | Discover Trail Life, Vineyard Elementary School Nature Trail
Yesterday’s nest box field work provided a great opportunity to find cool fungi popping up along the rain soaked Vineyard Elementary School Nature Trail. This might be a hairy curtain crust, also known as false turkey tail. The scientific name is Stereum...
by Beverly Gingg | Jan 12, 2023 | Discover Trail Life, Pismo Preserve
Witch’s Butter on fallen oak branch at the Pismo Preserve, November 2022 Abundant rainfall means that it’s a great time to look for fungi on your next hike. Look for this colorful jelly fungus on fallen logs and stumps. Fungi are decomposers, breaking down...
by Beverly Gingg | Dec 16, 2022 | Discover Trail Life, Discoveries, News and Views, Pismo Preserve
December might be the perfect time for holiday fiestas, but it’s usually not the right time for blooming fiestas! We recently spotted fiesta flowers (Pholistoma auritum) along our private LATO nature trail at the Pismo Preserve. These native plants typically don’t...
by Beverly Gingg | Dec 1, 2022 | Discover Trail Life, News and Views, Pismo Preserve
Monarch butterflies might get all the fame, but some other insects migrate to overwinter in large groups. On our recent OA-led hike at the back of Pismo Preserve, students observed—and were amazed by—convergent ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens) that had converged into...
by Beverly Gingg | Aug 24, 2022 | Discover Trail Life, Vineyard Elementary School Nature Trail
Did you know that the Paso Robles Creek that flows through the Vineyard Elementary School Nature Trail once hosted steelhead trout? Coastal rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus, and its anadromous form known as steelhead trout, are native to Pacific Coast...