Photo Field Guide to Cypress Ridge Birds, etc.

Field Guides for Cypress Ridge’s nesting birds, migratory birds, mammals, and native plants, plus guides to special status species that are potentially at Cypress Ridge.

The sources for these field guides are a 1976 Marin Audubon Society bird field study, a 1976 plant field study by Walter Lennon, a member of the California Native Plant Society, and two Biological Resource Assessments conducted by Jennifer Berry in 2017 on behalf of Open Space Sausalito, and by Pruneske Chatham, Inc. in 2011 for the City of Sausalito in preparation for a fire hazard reduction project at Cypress Ridge. See Ecological Studies for details on these reports.

Note: images below are stock photos with the exception of the Red-shouldered Hawk and the Black-tailed Deer.

Bird Species Observed at Cypress Ridge

Year-round Birds Observed at Cypress Ridge

Common Name	Scientific Name	Prunuske Chatham (2011)	Jennifer Berry (2017)	Marin Audubon (1976)
American Robin	Turdus migratorius	Potential	Observed
Anna’s Hummingbird	Calypte anna	Observed	Observed
Black Phoebe	Sayornis nigricans		Observed
California Quail	Callipepla californica	Observed	Observed
Cedar Waxwing	Bombycilla cedrorum		Observed
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	Poecile rufescens	Observed	Observed	Observed
Common Bushtit	Psaltriparus minimus	Observed
Common Crow	Corvus brachyrhynchos	Observed
Dark-eyed Junco	Junco hyemalis	Observed
Flickers	Fringillidae		Observed	Observed
Fox Sparrow	Passerella iliaca		Observed
Hairy Woodpecker	Leuconotopicus villosus	Potential	Observed
House Wren	Troglodytes aedon		Observed
Hummingbirds	Trochilidae	Observed	Observed	Observed
Mourning Dove	Zenaida macroura		Observed
Northern Flicker	Colaptes auratus		Observed
Oak Titmouse	Baeolophus inornatus	Observed	Observed
Purple Finch	Haemorhous purpureus	Observed
Red-shouldered Hawk	Buteo lineatus	Observed	Observed
Song Sparrow	Melospiza melodia	Observed
Spotted Towhee	Pipilo maculatus	Observed	Observed
Tree Swallow	Tachycineta bicolor		Observed
Turkey Vulture	Cathartes aura		Observed
Western Scrub Jay	Aphelocoma californica	Observed	Observed
Wrentit	Chamaea fasciata	Observed

In addition, Prunuske Chatham lists the following year-round bird species as potentially present:

Red-tailed Hawk
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Sage Sparrow
Western Screech Owl

Migratory Birds Observed at Cypress Ridge

Common Name	Scientific Name	Prunuske Chatham (2011)	Jennifer Berry (2017)	Marin Audubon (1976)
Orange-Crowned Warbler	Leiothlypis celata	Potential		Observed
Pacific-slope Flycatcher	Empidonax dificilis	Observed		Observed
Swainson’s Thrush	Catharus ustulatus	Observed
Wilson’s Warbler	Cardellina pusilla	Observed
Vireos	Vireonidae	Potential		Observed
Yellow Warbler	Setophaga petechia		Observed

In addition, Prunuske Chatham lists the following migratory bird species as potentially present:

Acorn Woodpecker
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Brown Creeper
Downy Woodpecker
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Townsend Warbler
Varied Rush
White-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Mammals Observed at Cypress Ridge

Common Name	Scientific Name	Prunuske Chatham (2011)	Jennifer Berry (2017)
Black-tailed Deer	Odocoileus hemionus	Observed	Observed
Coyote	Canis latrans	Observed	Observed
Dusky Footed Woodrat	Neotoma fuscipes	Observed	Observed
Gray Fox	Urocyon cinereoargenteus		Observed
Northern Raccoon	Procyon lotor	Observed	Observed
Striped Skunk	Mephitis mephitis	Observed	Observed
Western Gray Squirrel	Sciurus griseus	Observed	Observed

In addition, Prunuske Chatham lists the following mammal as potentially present:

Brush Rabbit

Native Plants (Prushke Chatham)

Photograph	Common Name	Scientific Name
	California Bay Laurel	Umbellularia californica
	California Blackberry	Rubus ursinus
	California Oatgrass	Danthonia californica
	California Sagebrush	Artemisia californica
	Coast Live Oak	Quercus agrifolia
	Coyote Brush	Baccharis pilularis
	Oceanspray	Holodiscus discolor
	Purple Needlegrass	Nassella pulchra
	Snowberry	Symphoricarpos albus
	Sticky Monkeyflower	Mimulus aurantiacus
	Sword Fern	Polystichum munitum
	Toyon	Heteromeles arbutifolia
	Wood Fern	Dryopteris arguta

Native Plants (Sausalito Environmental Action)

Walter Lennon of the California Native Plant Society conducted a plant survey of Cypress Ridge in September 1976. He identified 145 species of plants from 47 families including these California native plants:

Arroyo Willow, Bee Plant, Blueblossom Ceanothus, Blue-eyed Grass, California Bay Laurel, California Blackberry, California Buttercup, California Hazel, California Honeysuckle, California Mugwort, California Poppy, California Sagebrush, California Strawberry, Checkerbloom, Coast Live Oak, Columbine, Common Rush, Common Sunflower, Cow Parsnip, Coyote Bush, Flowering Currant, Lupine Bush, Monkeyflower, Morning Glory, Narrow-leaved Mule Ears, Ocean Spray, Pearly Everlasting, Seaside Buckwheat, Sky Lupine, Snowberry, Sword Fern, Toyon, and Yarrow.

Special Status Species Potentially at Cypress Ridge

Potential Special Status Birds

Common Name	Scientific Name	Source	Status
Great Blue Heron	Ardea herodias	Chatham	California Species of Special Concern
Little Willow Flycatcher	Empidonax traillii brewsterii	Berry	Declining, possibly threatened, insufficient data
Willow Flycatcher	Empidonax traillii	Berry

Potential Special Status Insects

Common Name	Scientific Name	Source	Status
Long-Horned Elderberry Beetle	Desmocerus californicus dimorphus	Berry	Threatened
Mission Blue Butterfly	Icaricia icarioides missionensis	Berry	Critically Imperiled (T1)
Monarch Butterfly	Danaus plexippus	Berry, Chatham	Apparently Secure (G4)
Obscure Bumblebee	Bombus Caliginosus	Berry	Threatened-Vulnerable
Western Bumblebee	Bombus Occidentalis	Berry	Threatened-Vulnerable

Potential Special Status Mammals

Common Name	Scientific Name	Source	Status
California Myotis	Myotis californicus	Berry
Hoary Bat	Lasiurus cinereus	Chatham	Watch List, Apparently Secure (S4)
Long-eared Myotis	Myotis evotis	Berry	Vulnerable (S3)
Pallid Bat	Antrozous pallidus	Chatham	Vulnerable (S3)
Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat	Corynorhinus townsendii	Chatham	Imperiled (S2)
Western Red Bat	Lasiurus blossevillii	Berry, Chatham	Vulnerable (S3)
Yuma Myotis	Myotis yumanensis	Berry	Apparently Secure (S4)

Potential Special Status Amphibians

Common Name	Scientific Name	Source	Status
California Giant Salamander	Dicamptodon ensatus	Berry	Near Threatened
California Red-legged Frog	Rana draytonii	Berry	Threatened-Vulnerable
Coast Newt	Taricha torosa	Berry	California Species of Special Concern
Foothill Yellow-legged Frog	Rana boylii	Berry	Near Threatened

Potential Special Status Plants

Common Name	Scientific Name	Source	Status
Blue Elderberry	Sambucus mexicana	Berry	California Species of Special Concern
Franciscan thistle	Cirsium andrewsii	Chatham	Imperiled (G2)
Marsh microseris	Microseris paludosa	Chatham	California status: Rare (1.B.2)
Oregon Polemonium	Polemonium carneum	Chatham	Rare in California, common elsewhere (2B.2)
San Francisco Compion	Silene verecunda ssp. verecunda	Chatham	California status: Rare (1B)
San Francisco Popcorn Flower	Plagiobothrys diffusus	Chatham	California status: Endangered (1B.1)
Seaside Tarplant	Hemizonia congesta ssp. congesta	Chatham	California status: Rare (1B.2)