Kiki Courtney’s Nature Blog

On April 2nd, I took my dogs out to the backyard to run around. The location was in Simi Valley and the latitude and longitude was 34.311398, -118.71221. I took this walk at my house. The topography was flat with one steep slope. We have tropical plants such as palm trees and bird’s of paradise that are planted around the backyard. There are many shrubs around the pool. There are natural stone planters as well as stone floors.

The three signs of spring were that I could hear the sounds of bird’s chirping. There were small birds using the shallow end of my pool. There is one lavender plant in the back of the pool and I was able to see a few bees loitering around it. I also noticed that some scavenger ants were looking for food.

One of the plants that are in my backyard is the cilantro plant. It had a dark green leaf color. It has a thin stem and thin leaves. It has straight stems and straight leaves and they branch out.

The weather was very warm and there was not a cloud in the sky. I took my three dogs out for a walk and decided to look around for the assignment. The cilantro plant was planted in a pot.

• Date of the trip
 Monday 23, 2020
• Location The latitude, longitude, and approximate elevation of the site(s); Longitude of Big Sky: -111.3080244; Latitude of Big Sky: 45.2617806
• Image or map of the hike location or driving directions from USF or your home.
 
  • 1. Turn right on Eagle Flight Drive onto Erringer Road
  • 2. Continue on Erringer Road for 500 feet
  • 3. Turn left onto Lost Canyon Drive.
  • 4. Continue up the road for one mile.
• A brief description of the site(s). 
  • Topography (steep slopes, flat, hilly)
  • The Big Sky Dog Park is up on a hill, but has a flattened area for dogs to run around. It has a slight slope and is surrounded by rolling hills.
  • general habitat (e.g., open chaparral, mixed conifer forest, etc.)
    • It has many shrubs and greenery. There are a few trees scattered around the area.
• List at least 5 different species seen on the hike. This can include plants, animals, insects (native or non-native) (include pictures). Try to find the scientific name (genus and species), you can use order or family for insects.
  • There were not many species that I could find on the hike. On the way to the location, I spotted English lavender, two Maltese dogs, ants trails, crows and some honeybees.

Medium sized bird (2 ft) with dark feathers, perched on a post. It was vocalizing with other crows. There was most likely one of the prey in the surrounding bushes. It was not eating or displaying typically mating behavior. The crow, or Corvus brachyrhynchos, is a large breasted, sharp beaked bird that is found all around America. They are omnivores and are commonly found resting in trees or anywhere tall (American Crow Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Crow/overview

I saw the crow on my walk to the Big Sky dog park. The weather was very dreary during the morning at around 10:00. There was nothing out of the usual during my walk. At the site, I observed two white maltese dogs running around the park. There were a few trees around the park. At a bench, I saw two trails of ants. There were some planted lavender plants at the park’s entrance and more shrubs at the dog park entrance. There was a slight breeze as well.

 

 

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