Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Special Status Wildlife Updated January 2020 1 Table of Contents Rufous Hummingbird ........................................ 20 AMPHIBIANS:.......................................................... 4 Allen's Hummingbird ........................................ 20 California Tiger Salamander .............................. 4 Lawrence's Goldfinch ........................................ 21 Foothill Yellow-legged Frog ................................ 4 Least Bell's Vireo ............................................... 21 California Red-legged Frog ................................. 5 BIRDS: WATER ASSOCIATED, i.e. PELICANS, GULLS, TERNS, RAILS, COMORANTS ............. 22 California Giant Salamander ............................. 5 Marbled Murrelet .............................................. 22 Santa Cruz Black Salamander ............................ 6 Barrow’s Goldeneye ........................................... 22 Red-bellied Newt .................................................. 6 Western Snowy Plover ....................................... 23 ARTHROPODS ......................................................... 7 Least Bittern ....................................................... 23 Obscure Bumble Bee............................................ 7 California Gull ................................................... 24 Crotch’s Bumble Bee ........................................... 7 California Black Rail ......................................... 24 Western Bumble Bee............................................ 8 Long Billed Curlew ............................................ 24 Monarch Butterfly ............................................... 8 American White Pelican .................................... 25 Smith’s Blue Butterfly ......................................... 9 California Brown Pelican .................................. 25 Bay Checkerspot Butterfly .................................. 9 Double-Crested Cormorant .............................. 26 Mission Blue Butterfly ....................................... 10 California Ridgeway’s Rail ............................... 26 Callippe Silverspot Butterfly ............................ 10 California Least Tern ........................................ 27 Myrtle’s Silverspot Butterfly ............................ 11 Elegant Tern ....................................................... 27 Zayante Band-Winged Grasshopper................ 11 BIRDS: OWLS AND RAPTORS ............................ 28 BIRDS: HUMMINGBIRDS, WOODPECKERS,SWIFTS, and PERCHING BIRDS Cooper’s Hawk ................................................... 28 .................................................................................. 12 Northern Goshawk............................................. 28 Tri Colored Blackbird ....................................... 12 Sharp-shinned Hawk ......................................... 29 Grasshopper Sparrow ....................................... 12 Golden Eagle....................................................... 29 Vaux's Swift ........................................................ 13 Short-eared Owl ................................................. 30 Olive-sided Flycatcher ....................................... 13 Long-eared Owl .................................................. 30 Black Swift .......................................................... 14 Burrowing Owl ................................................... 31 Willow Flycatcher .............................................. 14 Ferrunginous Hawk ........................................... 31 California Horned Lark .................................... 15 Swainson’s Hawk ............................................... 31 San Francisco Common Yellowthroat ............. 15 Northern Harrier ............................................... 32 Yellow-breasted Chat ........................................ 16 White-tailed Kite ................................................ 32 Loggerhead Shrike ............................................. 16 Merlin .................................................................. 33 Almeda Song Sparrow ....................................... 17 Prairie Falcon ..................................................... 33 Bryant’s Savannah Sparrow ............................. 17 American Peregrine Falcon .............................. 34 Nuttall's Woodpecker ........................................ 18 Bald Eagle ........................................................... 34 Purple Martin ..................................................... 18 Osprey ................................................................. 35 Bank Swallow ..................................................... 19 FISH: ........................................................................ 36 American Yellow Warbler ................................ 19 2 Pacific Lamprey ................................................. 36 Tidewater Goby .................................................. 36 Coho Salmon....................................................... 37 Steelhead Trout .................................................. 37 MAMMALS: BATS ................................................ 38 Pallid Bat............................................................. 38 Townsend's Big-eared Bat ................................. 38 Western Red Bat ................................................ 39 Western Mastiff Bat ........................................... 39 Hoary Bat ............................................................ 40 Long-eared Myotis ............................................. 40 Fringed Myotis ................................................... 41 Long-legged Myotis ............................................ 41 Big Free-Tailed Bat ............................................ 42 MAMMALS: NON-BAT ........................................ 43 Ring-tailed Cat ................................................... 43 Santa Cruz Kangaroo Rat ................................. 43 San Francisco Dusky-Footed Woodrat ............ 44 Mountain Lion .................................................... 44 Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse ................................ 45 Salt-marsh Wandering Shrew .......................... 45 American Badger ............................................... 46 REPTILES ............................................................... 47 Western Pond Turtle ......................................... 47 Coast Horned Lizard ......................................... 47 San Francisco Garter Snake ............................. 48 3 AMPHIBIANS: California Tiger Salamander Central California Coast (Ambystoma californiense) Distinct Population Segment (DPS) Federal Status: Threatened Critical Habitat: Designated State Status: Threatened Species Description: Stocky black salamander with yellow spots and/or bars. Average adult size is 5 to 9 inches including the tail. Larvae are yellowish gray and have prominent gills. Adults are nocturnal, spending most of its life in underground burrows. Breeding occurs December to February. Females lay eggs singly or in groups of 2‐4. Eggs are pale yellow Source: USFWS or brownish. Habitat Description: Requires suitable upland habitat with numerous active mammal burrows and a nearby breeding pond. Prefers grassland, oak savanna and woodlands. Documented in the late 1800s in Permanente Creek within Ranch San Antonio OSP. Critical habitat currently exists east of Sierra Azul OSP in the Santa Theresa Hills. Foothill Yellow‐legged Frog Federal Status: None (Rana boylii) Critical Habitat: None State Status: Species of Special Concern Species Description: Small sized frog with dorsum grey, brown or reddish, commonly spotted or mottled but occasionally plainly colored; yellow under legs and may extend to abdomen; triangular, buff‐colored patch on snout; no eye stripe; throat and chest often dark spotted; indistinct dorsolateral folds with granular skin. Habitat Description: Breeding sites occur in shallow, slow flowing water with at least some pebble and cobble substrate. Pebble/cobble creek margins or bars with at least some shading seem to be preferred by sub‐adults and adults. Yellow legged frog are Source: Suzanne L. Collins, 2001 found within the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. 4 California Red‐legged Frog Federal Status: Threatened (Rana draytonii) Critical Habitat: Designated State Status: Species of Special Concern Species Description: A moderate to large frog ranging up to 5.5 inches in size. Dorsolateral folds (ridge of skin extending from eye to hindlegs); red, pink or salmon coloring on abdomen and underside of hindlegs; and dorsal spotting are characteristic of this species. Habitat Description: Majority of life cycle spent in ponds, marshes, springs, streams, and reservoirs. Access to vegetation cover within pond habitats is an important characteristic of successful breeding Source: Scott J. Hein habitat. Larvae require 3 to 7 months to metamorphose to adults capable of surviving outside of water. Accompanying maps show distribution and Critical Habitat within the District’s boundaries. California Giant Salamander Federal Status: None (Dicamptodon ensatus) Critical Habitat: None State Status: Species of Special Concern Species Description: One of the largest terrestrial salamanders in North America, with a large robust body, a massive head, and stout limbs. Transformed adults have 12 - 13 indistinct costal grooves. The tail is flattened from side to side to facilitate swimming. Larvae are stream-type