2021 iNaturalist Observations from MTRP – Year in Review

By PATRICIA SIMPSON, Trail Guide Class of 2013

In 2021, nearly 900 iNaturalist users visited Mission Trails Regional Park and posted more than 13,000 observations. Special thanks to the roughly 1,200 people who helped confirm identifications to catalog a total of 1,556 different species! Let’s take a look back and see what lessons can be learned and maybe this will help us with a few New Year’s resolutions.

In 2022, let’s:

Nurture each other

We all need a massage once in a while, or in this case a good preen session. iNaturalist user Millie Basden (milliebasden) captured a tender moment between two Common Ravens (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101494336). While birds preen themselves all the time to stay clean and keep up with feather maintenance, the top of their own head is an impossible place to reach. Having a friend, sibling, or mate preen that spot is a very special and enjoyable event.

Choose meals carefully

MTRP photographer David Cooksy found a gorgeous California Scrub-Jay (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/103389024) collecting acorns near Kumeyaay Lake. Scrub-jays are oak tree propagators. They collect acorns and often place them under wet litter or into damp soil for later retrieval. Forgotten snacks often sprout into tree saplings.

Other critters prefer large meals consumed less often. A tiny Buttonhook Leaf-beetle Jumping Spider (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90811366) can enjoy a meal 1.5 times its body size. It will be able to skip meals for 2 to 3 days or up to a week after such a feast. Some snacks are just better avoided. This was a hard lesson to learn for a Striped Racer (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101169120) who engaged with a San Diego Alligator Lizard. The snake grabbed the lizard by the neck, but then the prey did something unexpected. You may have heard of lizards dropping their tails as a defense mechanism, but did you know that Alligator Lizards will bite their own tail to avoid being swallowed by snakes? This Striped Racer eventually had to give up his meal and the lizard went free.

Be aware of your surroundings

It’s always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings, for your safety and the safety of others. I’m not sure how informed of danger this Woodland Skipper (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/96927309) was, but the Praying Mantis behind it was very much aware of a potential meal. Praying Mantises usually station themselves near a bloom and stand very still or sometimes move slightly as if they were a branch swayed by the wind. This allows them to be undetected until they can ambush an unsuspecting prey. This butterfly was lucky and got away… this time.

Value a good night’s (or day’s) sleep

If you are a Ruddy Duck (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/68944329), Lake Murray’s waters are the perfect place to enjoy a nice morning nap. Diving for your own food (seeds, roots, insects) can be a tiring exercise and it’s important to get some rest between meals. Of course, if you are a nocturnal mammal and pull an all-night shift, it is important to find a comfortable and safe place to sleep during the day. At Kumeyaay Lake, a family of Common Raccoons (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/68745932) was spotted getting a good day snooze on the curvy trunk of a willow tree.

Visit new places

A Lewis’s Woodpecker (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/103386102) decided to visit Mission Trails Regional Park for Halloween and is still being seen by many visitors, birders and non-birders alike. The park is not a usual hangout for this San Diego County winter visitor. The large woodpecker normally prefers the east-county mountain woodlands. It seems this bird found MTRP and the beautiful San Diego River corridor a fine spot for the holidays.

Stand tall and enjoy the view

Whether you’re a tall plant like this Chaparral Yucca (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/72987031) or a small fungus known as a Milky Conecap (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/86440460), you can stand tall and enjoy the view from wherever you stand. MTRP offers walking and hiking opportunities at all elevations and with all the rain we got in December, there’s bound to be plenty of views to admire.