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Fall: the Days are Growing Shorter

Helen Gilbert Gaus
Sep 30
5 min read

Across the Region


Coyote Brush


It hasn’t rained since May. The ground is dry, dry, dry. Ponds and creeks are low, even empty. The earth waits for the winter rains to come. And yet, while most grasses have gone to seed and dried up, and the waxy leaves that are still green are holding water carefully, one bush is exploding in flowers. Coyote Brush is a native shrub, that serves an important role. This early fall season is when it blooms, providing critical food as nectar and pollen to native bees, butterflies, and other insects.


Coyote Brush is a very important native shrub. It is often the first plant to come back after a disturbance such as a fire. It provides not only pollinator food, but also habitat for birds to hide and nest in. It holds water in the soil with its deep, well adapted roots.



Find Coyote Brush near you:

  • Look in your nearest city park. Coyote Brush would likely be in an area that has native plant landscaping. Often there will be a sign to indicate this, such as a Pollinator Pathway or a Native Bee Garden.

  • Look for a shrub that has small, waxy green leaves with a toothed edge. Does it have yellow flowers, or is the bush layered in a fine fluff of seeds?

  • If it is in flower, listen for the buzz of insects feeding around it. Try to spot a native bee or butterfly! 

  • If it has seeded, touch the silky threads. These help the seeds float away and take root somewhere else.

  • You can plant Coyote Brush yourself. It is commonly sold at native plant nurseries.



In Our Parks


Speaking of coyotes…


Mateo the coyote pup was born in May, when the last of the spring rains came pouring down from the sky. He stayed in the den his parents had dug, by the roots of a fallen cypress tree, for weeks. Snuggled close to his siblings and mom, he drank milk, grew silky fur, opened his eyes, and began to move and tumble about the den.


As flowers bloomed and passed, and the fog rolled over the peninsula, he began to travel outside of the den to play with his brothers and sisters. One evening when the fog blew hard and came down as drizzle, he followed his parents to the edge of a pond, where they found turtle eggs nestled in the grass. They gobbled them up. This was Mateo’s favorite, but they mostly stalked and ate gophers and rats. There were so many rats! Mateo never went hungry. 


One evening, instead of hunting, Mateo and his family stayed crouched inside their den as strange colored lights swept across the sky, and loud music echoed off of the trees and hills around them. Another time, Mateo was stalking a gopher when a creature that looked like a huge coyote ran towards him. It made a loud bark, and its fur was strangely white. Mateo’s father lunged from nearby, barking and snarling. A human emerged, running and calling, and in that moment Mateo scampered, terrified, back toward the den. 


The den is getting crowded, and over the coming season Mateo will begin to feel the need to strike out on his own. He may travel miles to another park or forest to find a territory of his own. Coyotes have been in this landscape for over a million years. They play a critical role in the ecosystem, including keeping rodent populations in check!



If you encounter a coyote:

  • Stop, don’t approach, and observe. Coyotes are naturally afraid of humans, and tend to keep distance. Sometimes they will stand and look back at you before trotting away. Enjoy this beautiful encounter. Most trouble happens when a dog owner has a dog off-leash during pupping season, and the dog approaches the coyote or den.

  • Make sure your dog is on a leash. 

  • In the unlikely event that the coyote approaches you, clap your hands and make loud noises. 

  • If you see a coyote eating human food (such as from an overflowing garbage can), approaching humans, or otherwise acting strangely, report it. This will help rangers know if there are coyotes whose behavior is changing because of living near humans. 

  • Keep coyotes wild and alive by throwing out your food and not leaving any behind, keeping your dog on a leash, and keeping your distance.



In Your Back Yard


June the Opossum is a marsupial (opossums are the only marsupial in the US!), so she was born a teeny, not fully developed baby. She then climbed into a pouch on her mother's body to nurse, and continue to grow and develop. She emerged from her mother's pouch after about 2 months, in the middle of summer. 


June's mom is already carrying a new litter on her back (she may have up to 3 litters a year), and June is now fully grown. She lives alone, and has a favorite daytime sleep spot beneath a wooden porch. This porch is attached to a house on the side of San Bruno mountain. At night, June climbs out to snuffle around and look for food such as snails, cockroaches, and mice (the owner of the house will not mind if she keeps these critters under control!)



Tips for getting along with opossums:


  • Don’t leave pet food outside, which will bring animals to your yard. Keep the wildlife wild and safe by feeding your pets indoors! 

  • If you see an opossum, watch it from a respectful distance. They are very interesting creatures.

  • If you see an injured or apparently orphaned oppossum, contact the Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue Center in San Francisco (510) 421 9897



In the East Bay 


Tarantulas


Did you know that tarantulas live in the Bay Area? You can find Bay Area Blonde Tarantulas (Aphonopelma smithi) in the hot, shrubby chaparral hills of the east bay. October is a popular time to go on tarantula viewing hikes, because the males travel out of their burrows to find mates, and can be seen wandering even in the daytime. Often misunderstood as scary and dangerous, tarantulas are quite harmless to humans, and play an important role in their ecosystem. They’re sometimes called the “gentle giants” of spiders. Here's some information about Bay Area tarantulas from the East Bay Regional Parks District.



If you go on a tarantula hike:

 
 
 

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