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Red-winged Blackbird Blackbirds, Orioles, and Meadowlarks Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus All Year Blackbirds, Orioles, and Meadowlarks Daniel Fitzgerald Found in marshes, grassy field, along road sides, usually near water. A black bird with red-marked wings clinches the identification of the male. Lower edge of red in males wing is bordered with buffy-white or buffy-yellow strip. Females are duller, with buffy eyebrow and streaked under parts. Usually nests near or over water; nest is placed in emergent vegetation, but also in shrubs, rarely in trees. It is a cup-shaped structure built from cattail leaves, sedges, and other plant fibers. Feeds on seeds and insects.

Bee Identification Guide Miner and Fairy Bees Andrenidae Family Diggers, Bumbles, Longhorn, and Nomad Bees Apidae Family Cellophane and Masked Bees Colletidae Family Sweat Bees Halictidae Family Leafcutter, Mason and Resin Bees Megachilidae Family All Bees A-Z Photos in this Guide are courtesy of Dan Sandri and Dan Fitzgerald. Bee Basics Bee Anatomy Bees are insects, and therefore have segmented bodies, jointed legs, and external skeletons (i.e. an exoskeleton). A bee body consists of three sections: head, thorax and abdomen. Bees have two pairs of wings and long, segmented antennae - both characteristics help distinguish them from flies that often mimic them. Bee Scopae Female bees usually use scopae to transport pollen and nectar to their nests. Scopae are composed of specialized hairs and, in most bees, are located on the hind legs of the bee. However, bees in Family Megachilidae (see lower photo), have scopae on the underside of their abdomen. Bee Wings As an example, this is the forewing of an Anthophora bee, showing a small stigma, and the 3rd submarginal cell (the submarginal cell furthest outside) is relatively parallel-sided. Bee Sizes Large Bee: > 15 mm Medium Bee: 8-15 mm Small Bee: 3-7 mm What's Buzzing on Mount Diablo Native bees of Mount Diablo do not include the European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera), an import to North America (but not directly to California) from Europe in 1622. The European Honey Bee is actually a complex of hybrids involving various subspecies. Unlike Apis mellifera, native bees do not make honey. Because they are mostly short-lived and generally not highly social, native bees do not need to produce honey to sustain an ongoing hive through the winter and beyond. Bees are said to have a complete, or holometabolous, life cycle that includes four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The larval stage is grub-like, differing greatly from the adult bee. The pupal stage is a non-feeding stage through which the larva transitions to an adult bee. Bees can select sexes of their young: Males develop from unfertilized eggs. Bees typically lay female eggs first (in lower cells in a burrow) and necessarily provide more ample food supplies for daughters than for sons. The great majority of native bees are solitary bees: non-social female bees that build and maintain their own nests, and are capable of laying their own eggs. Some do build communal nests, where female bees share a nest entrance, but where each female behaves as a solitary bee. Less than 10% of bees worldwide are social bees: possessing reproductive division of labor, cooperative care of young and overlap of generations. Food provisioning for young usually consists of a combined nectar/pollen mass, sometimes liquid, that partially fills the nest cell. An egg is laid in the cell with the food contents (sometimes on the cell walls and sometimes on the food provisions). After the larva finishes feeding on provisioned food, it goes through the pupation process, and later emerges as an adult. Clues to the identity of the bee you are observing can sometimes be discerned in what the bee is doing. For example, if you see a bee that appears to be nesting in wood, you can narrow likely identification possibilities to carpenter bee (genus Xylocopa), small carpenter bee (genus Ceratina), one of the bees in genus Megachile in Family Megachilidae (a leafcutter bee) or mason bee that could be in genus Osmia, Hoplitis, or Ashmeadiella. Furthermore, size and color of the bee can help greatly in bee identification, as can head and body shape. The Descriptions in this guide should help you. Nectar serves primarily as a source of energy for flight and other activities, while pollen serves as nutrients for reproduction (ovarian and brood development). Bee species often appear in timing with their favored flowering plants. Native bees serve as keystone species, as they are, in part, responsible for shaping the rise of flowering plants in world ecosystems through pollination. This is important when we consider their importance to agricultural crops. Native bees also serve as an important food source for animals up the food chain. "Bee" an expert and buzz over to our online store to order a copy of Native Bees of Mount Diablo by Daniel Sandri. Visit the MDIA Store

Wildflower Mount Diablo Mount Diablo Jewelflower Scientific Name: Streptanthus hispidus Family: Brassicaceae (Mustard Family) Blooms: Mar - Jun Color: Blue-Purple Annual herb Native This plants is rare in Mount Diblo State Park. See full list Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Kevin Hintsa

Wilson's Warbler Warblers Wilson's Warbler Cardellina pusilla Summer Warblers Daniel Fitzgerald Breeds in moist undergrowth and dense second-growth habitats, especially in or near riparian thickets. Olive-green back, wings and tail; yellow below; males have a black crown. Females have black, beady eye, and lack wing bars and tail spots (compare with Yellow Warbler ). May breed in loose colonies. Nests on the ground, where it builds a bulky, cup-shaped structure. Invertebrates and occasionally berries constitute its diet.

Points of Interest Of the park's nearly 700,000 annual visitors, about half head directly to Mount Diablo's summit, elevation 3,849 feet, to enjoy the spectacular view. Blessed with a crisp, clear day--particularly after rains have freshened the air--visitors delight in remarkable panoramas of faraway lands and waters more than 200 miles in all directions, reaching across thirty-five counties of northern and central California. The Mount Diablo Guide , 3rd Edition 3 cups Blueberries 3 cups Flour 1½ cups Butter Of the park's nearly 700,000 annual visitors, about half head directly to Mount Diablo's summit, elevation 3,849 feet, to enjoy the spectacular view. Blessed with a crisp, clear day--particularly after rains have freshened the air--visitors delight in remarkable panoramas of faraway lands and waters more than 200 miles in all directions, reaching across thirty-five counties of northern and central California. The Mount Diablo Guide , 3rd Edition Mary Bowerman Trail Just below the summit, this trail offers spectacular vistas that can be enjoyed along the way. The first half of the gentle 0.7-mile loop trail is accessible to visitors in wheelchairs. Download a copy of the trail Nature Guide or pick it up at the Summit Museum. The trail was originally built to showcase views of the recovery from a 6,000-acre fire that occurred in 1977. Today, little remains of the devastation. Rock City You'll find unusually large sandstone formations and small caves here, as well as numerous picnic sites. Valley view from the top Gibraltar and Sentinel Rocks These are popular places near Rock City for rock climbing. Check with the ranger for regulations and the best approach. Download the Rock City Map . Castle Rocks These rugged rocks are located in the Northwestern portion of the park and are also popular rock climbing sites. Fossil Ridge (off Southgate road) Evidence of previous ocean residents is embedded in these rocks. Access from Rock City. Please leave them for future visitors to see. Blocks of these sandstones were quarried from this site to build the summit building in the 1930s. Deer Flat You are likely to see some of the mountain's natural wildlife as you take this moderately strenuous 1.6-mile hike from Juniper Camp. Mitchell Canyon Staging Area This is the main access point to trails on the mountain's north side. From here you can hike to Deer Flat (3.7 miles) or all the way to the summit (6.8 miles) by way of Juniper Camp. Visit the Mitchell Canyon Visitor Center here. This is a major equestrian staging area. Diablo Valley Overlook Pull out on the Summit Road at Juniper Campground. From here, 2,900 feet above sea level, you can see the Golden Gate. Valley View from the Top Most first-time visitors to Mount Diablo travel straight to the summit to enjoy the famous view. Summer days are sometimes hazy, and the best viewing is often on the day after a winter storm. Then, you can look to the west, beyond the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallon Islands; southeast to the James Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton at 4,213 feet elevation; south to Mount Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz Mountains at 3,791 feet elevation; north to Mount Saint Helena in the Coast Range at 4,344 feet elevation; and much farther, Mount Lassen in the Cascades at 10,466 feet. To the north, the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers meet to form the twisting waterways of the Delta, and across the Central Valley, the crest of the Sierra Nevada seems to float in space. If you have binoculars, you may even be able to pick out Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. From here, you can see parts of 35 of California's 58 counties. The view is unsurpassed in the United States. Download the View From Mount Diablo Brochure (pdf)

Fox Sparrow Towhees, Sparrows, Juncos, and Longspurs Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca Winter Towhees, Sparrows, Juncos, and Longspurs Daniel Fitzgerald Frequents hedgerows, chaparral, dense thickets, and undergrowth of forested woodlands. This large, brownish sparrow is typically more heavily streaked below than on Song Sparrow. Lower mandible is usually paler than the contrastingly darker upper mandible. Some birds show gray coloration in head and upper back; most birds show rufous wash in wings, rump, and tail. Diet includes insects, seeds, fruit, and other vegetable matter. Forages by agressively scratching surface of the ground, much like a California Towhee .

Cowell Cement Industry Author: Craig Lyon (Compiled from several references - 1997) Cowell and Its Cement Industry January 1, 1997 Large Smokestack As one drives easterly on Ygnacio Valley Road across Lime Ridge northwest of Mount Diablo, scars from open pit quarry operations can be seen to the right of the road. To the left is a tall smokestack in an area that in past years was called Cowell but which is now part of Concord. This was the site of the Cowell Lime and Cement Company that produced Portland cement from 1905 to 1946. The cement plant was one of the largest employers in the area in the early 1900's. The rock was quarried in the Lime Ridge area and carried on a narrow gauge railroad, or by truck, to the Cowell plant where it was crushed, mixed with clay, and then converted to cement in roasting kilns. Sacked cement, which was marketed as "Mount Diablo Cement", left Cowell daily on the company's standard gauge Bay Point and Clayton Railroad, At Bay Point, the cars went on their way to other areas via Southern Pacific, Western Pacific, or Santa Fe railroads. Through the years farmers threatened to sue the Cowell plant over the air pollution which coated their vines and orchards with fine cement dust. The cement company built a 235-foot-high smokestack in 1934 in an effort to dissipate the dust into the atmosphere. Labor problems forced the plant to close in 1946. The plant was later torn down and the smokestack and quarries are all that remain of this once-thriving industry. The rock quarried at Lime Ridge and used to make cement is called travertine, It is the same composition as limestone - almost pure calcium carbonate. The rock is hard, sometimes shows banding, and is colored a light tan by the inclusion of a small amount of iron oxide. Cave formations are formed from the same kind of material. The travertine at Lime Ridge formed, probably in fairly recent geologic time, from circulating waters carrying calcium carbonate in solution which came to the surface through a very porous sandstone called, by geologists, the Domengine formation of Eocene age (about 50 million years old). The water evaporated, leaving behind the travertine which formed a layer on top of the sandstone that originally covered an area 2.5 miles long and 0.5 miles wide and varied in thickness up to a maximum of 20 feet. The Domengine sandstone is exposed in the light-colored quarry faces and can also be seen in the large roadcut just east of the entrance to Cal. State Hayward. BACK TO LIST

Mount Diablo Volunteer Trail Work Welcome to the Mount Diablo Volunteer Trail Crew information page! The crew meets on the second Saturday of each month, from 8:30 AM to approximately 2:30 PM for regular trail maintenance and special projects, such as rerouting trails and finding solutions to prevent erosion. It would be impossible for the Park to provide this level of trail maintenance without the dedication of the Trail Crew volunteers, some of whom have been volunteering for ten or more years. There is a job suited for everyone, from light pruning to major rock moving projects. As an added bonus, the Trail Crew volunteers have a great time working together and many friendships have developed over time. Prior to joining the Trail Crew, volunteers must complete the VIP (Volunteers in the Park) orientation. There is no expectation for a commitment in terms of the number of days or hours worked. Each work day presents a new challenge and gives volunteers a chance to visit all parts of the mountain and become familiar with its history and the amazing variety of flora and fauna. Other opportunities to volunteer for trail maintenance include attending the annual Earth Day or Trail Day projects in the spring, and the National Public Lands Day in the fall. If you are interested in joining the Trail Crew and/or would like to get placed on the email list for information on scheduled workdays, please contact VIPPMountDiablo@parks.ca.gov.

Killdeer Shorebirds Killdeer Charadrius vociferus All Year Shorebirds Daniel Fitzgerald Frequents a wide diversity of open habitats; usually, but not always, near water. Reddish-orange rump and the presence of two breast bands separate the species from all other “plovers”. Call, ‘kill-deer’ is also easily recognized. Nests on the ground, often amidst small- or medium-sized pebbles or rocks; nest is a simple scrape or depression. Diet includes terrestrial invertebrates; less frequently, also ingests small vertebrates and seeds.

Bushtit Swallows and Larks Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus All Year Swallows and Larks Daniel Fitzgerald Frequents scrub-oak and pine-oak woodlands; also found in chaparral and wooded areas. These tiny, short-billed, grayish birds and identified by the lack of yellow in the face, their energetic behavior, and the sharp twittering 'tsit' calls that they give. Seeing one is never enough: these birds tend to travel in flocks! Nests in trees or shrubs, where its pendulous gourd-shaped nest structure is built from twigs, mosses, lichens, and other plant matter. Eats mostly small insects and spiders.

Whites, Sulfurs Cabbage White Pieris rapae Checkered White Pontia protodice Large Marble Euchloe ausonides Margined White Pieris marginalis Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme Sara Orangetip Anthocharis sara

Wildflower Mount Diablo Wiry Snapdragon Scientific Name: Antirrhinum vexillocalyculatum Family: Plantaginaceae (Plantain Family) Blooms: Jun - Sep Color: Red-Pink Annual herb Native Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Mike Woodring