Biodiversity Check - Reservoir park

Today we explored Reservoir park for the first time this year - a small part of native ground that used to be connected to Glen park but the two parks have been divided by O'Shaughnessy Blvd.

I have completed a map below that shows the microclimates of the park.

The Park seems to be in good shape when we visited in March 1, 2026. The invasive flowers typical for this year (Rumex acetosella and Oxalis pes-caprae) were plentiful, which aligns with the 5"+ inches of rain that fell last month.

Native plants also emerged a little earlier as a result of the rain. My first sightings of Chlorogalum pomeridianum, for example, emerged a month earlier than last year (last year emerged late Feb '25; this year late Dec 25'). Wildflowers were copious as well. I spotted Dipterostemon capitatus blossoms of the year in this park as well as in the adjacent Glen Park. However, our state flower Eschscholzia californica, or the California Poppy is still in budding, and our Lupinus albifrons have yet to emerge.

This year I've had the chance to record a new species of wildflower from this area that hasn't been recorded in a couple years. Brodiaea terrestris is a smaller relative of Dipterostemon capitatus but with smaller flowers.

I observed a copious amount of Seven spotted lady bugs in adult, larva and pupa form. The ladybugs were high in density with an estimate of around 5 specimens per square foot. In addition, a specimen of the rarer relative Coccinella trifasciata subversa was found sheltering under some Chlorogalum pomeridianum leaves.

Under a discarded Christmas tree I saw and caught my first alligator lizard from this area. It was a small juvenile southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata) which I assume to be the only species from that sun exposed scrub-dominated microclimate of the park. From May 2025 - March 2026 I have observed four southern alligator lizards and only one northern alligator lizard (E. coerulea) from this area. From the opposite, cooler part of the park I have found 4 northerns and 0 southerns throughout that same time period. I hypothesize that northern alligator lizards prefer more shade and cooler coastal habitats, which explains why their density is much higher in the east facing side of the park (see map below)

Red: northern alligator lizard, Yellow: southern alligator lizard; orange: both species are expected to co exist

Additionally, the larva of last year's Largus bug clutch had transformed into adults.