Mission Times Courier Grantville | Allied Gardens | Del Cerro | Mission Trails | San Carlos | Fletcher Hills

It is easy to dismiss that green stuff on the trees or on the rocks, but one only needs to start looking a little harder to realize there is great diversity in the unique life form we call lichen.

This series is a photographic record of the big birds of Mission Trails capturing, securing, and consuming a meal. In this installment, a great blue heron (ardea herodias) eats a very sizable catfish.

Young ravens remind us to be jovial. Witness their aerial stick game. You’ll see amazing acrobatic displays as one flier drops the stick and another catches it midair.

By Audrey F. Baker

It’s that time of year! The Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) are back in San Diego and Lake Murray is among their wintering locales. Park visitors are afforded a wonderful opportunity to view this engaging migratory species.

By Audrey F. Baker | Trail Guide

As fall gives way, culminating in winter solstice, we enter a new season. Earth’s shallowed angle to the sun brings short days, long nights and open night-time skies. It signals the holidays are upon us, marking the end of another year.

By Audrey F. Baker

A festival of autumn color is underway at Mission Trails Regional Park. Flat-top buckwheat flaunts its maroon seed heads. Brilliant yellow goldenbush is captivating arsenals of late-season pollinators. Deciduous trees like Fremont cottonwood are exhibiting their colorful conversion into dormancy. Juxtaposed against backgrounds of the deep greens of coast live oak, these and other offerings make a rich visual contrast and present the spectrum of fall color.

By Audrey F. Baker

As October approaches, thoughts to turn to Halloween and the menagerie of nature that represents the celebration. Hoary oaks, ravens, owls, bats and more symbolize holiday fun.

Let’s face it, tarantulas have a “PR problem.” Much of the public sees them as nightmarish critters of loathsome reputation. Yes, they’re hairy and maybe scary.

By Audrey F. Baker

For many, one of Mission Trails Regional Park’s must-see sights is Snake Rock. Head north on Father Junipero Serra Trail from the Visitor Center toward Old Mission Dam.

About the time you settle into your gait, you’ll see it on the left. Wind, sun and water erosion have carved the distinctive figure of a rattlesnake, replete with heavy-body and triangular shaped head. Perhaps nature sculpted it to remind us of her mysteries and creativity. Here variety reigns, snakes included!

By Audrey F. Baker Small but spectacular, Murgantia histrionica dazzles with brilliant red, orange and yellow markings defined in black. While some call it the calico bug or fire bug, its most popular name, the harlequin bug, is an homage to the masked pantomime character of 16th-century Italian theater. Both dress in a diamond-patterned costume. […]