sofiana's Journal

While we went to both Mt. Tamalpais and the beach, we did not find any species that were worth taking pictures of. It was very fun to go to both though, and the weather was perfect. Even though this was our last week of the iNaturalist project, I am still planning on using the app for fun and to find out what species the plants and animals I see are. I am excited for more adventures.

This week we did not go anymore because we are finished with collecting phyla. This week we are planning to go to the beach to take pictures of more phyla to be extra cautious. I am hoping to find either jellyfish or sponges.

This week we went to San Bruno Mountain and China Beach. At San Bruno Mountain we found a mushroom, a banana slug, a bunny, a snail, and other creatures that we weren't able to catch a picture of because they would run away. We went to China beach on the way home from my work and it was incredible. I had never been to that part of the beach because the tide is usually too high. I saw anemone for the first time in my life and it was so cool. We also saw a lot of barnacles, crabs, kelp, seaweed, and sea snails. It was amazing. I struggled to get good pictures of the crabs because they kept running away. I now need one more phyla so we will probably go to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve next week.

This week we went to the beach on our way home, and saw several dead crabs. There were also several seagulls. The crabs were all missing legs, and had been eaten by the seagulls. It was also high tide so we did not get to see as many animals as we usually do. We are very busy this weekend so we are hoping to go to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve next week or the week after (I have two big tests this coming week) to find more phyla.

This week we went to Wunderlich County Park. It was beautiful and very fun. We got a lot of pictures of leaves and lichen. We struggled to get pictures of animals at first, as our little brother kept scaring away birds and other creatures. There were several different types of leaves, and the lichen was very vibrant. On our way back we saw two deer, a male and a female. I was so excited, and tried to get as close as possible. We also saw several wild turkeys in the parking lot on our way out, and I tried to get good pictures of them. I ended up kind of chasing one. I had no idea they were so fast.

This week I went out to a San Bruno Mountain trail in Brisbane before work hoping to see some animals. I was not able to take pictures of any, as they were either too far away or would run off before I could take a picture. On the trail I noticed a weird tree that looked barren, but had pear-like fruits growing on it. After I got off of work we went to Pier 39 and saw the sea lions. They were very loud and amusing. We also saw a few gulls in the water and on beams. This coming week we are planning to go to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, and hope to see more creatures.

Week 4 was a crazy week for me as I had two midterms, so iNaturalist slipped my mind. I had planned to stop by Pier 39, but ended up not having enough time so we decided to wait. We also began thinking about other places to go, like Crystal Springs and the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.

This week my sister and I walked around the Presiodio, Baker Beach, and Golden Gate Park looking for fungi. It was very difficult to find any. We mostly saw one type of lichen. I am still trying to upload the pictures from our trip, it takes a while for them to load. We did find one mushroom, and it was the size of my hand. I am hoping to find more fungi after we have had some rain. This coming week we are hoping to go see the Pier 39 seals. I also found a few mushrooms outside of my church. I found one in a crack, and two in the grass.

My sister and I went to walked on two San Bruno mountain trails yesterday evening and this morning. We tried to go there early today, but we didn't end up getting to the trail till 7:40 AM. We mostly got pictures of plants because we couldn't get any good shots of animals that we did see. Whenever I would try and get close to them they would just run or fly away. I am hoping to find away to upload my pictures to iNaturalist in an easier and quicker way, as it takes so long to upload from my photos and I don't get good reception on the trails. I am hoping to get out earlier next time so we can have a better shot at getting pictures of animals.

I was not able to make any observations this past week, but I am hoping to get out this coming week. I forgot that we are allowed to take pictures of species in parks, so I didn't take pictures of the species I saw while in Golden Gate Park. I might go back this week, so we will see. My sister and I were also thinking about walking to San Bruno Mountain and making observations there. There are so many cool species there. If we are in the San Mateo area at all we might go to Wunderlich County Park, as we have been wanting to visit it for a long time. We will probably focus more on plants, because the time we are free to go outside is when the animals are least active. We are going to try and go out on Thursday or Friday.