It's 66˚F outside at 2:30 pm on a January day. The sky is clear, the day is beautiful. Our mid-winter in southern California is mild and lovely.
Unfortunately, people have difficulty seeing incremental local climate changes if those changes do not have a concrete negative impact on themselves. In addition, most people who have relocated to Los Angeles from places with snowy or harsh winters do not even notice our subtle seasons.
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| toyon berries, 1/15/15 |
Today however I came face-to-face with an impact from drought and climate change that is having a direct impact on my neighbors and their migratory relatives. The toyon or California holly should be filled with red berries (what toyon should look like in December/January). Because of the drought the two bushes in the front of the house did not fruit at all this year and the toyon at the top of the hill has fruit that look like this...small and unripe.
The northern mockingbird that only occasionally visits our yard was here this morning hunting for fruit, it found none. The hermit thrush who visits annually was also searching for toyon fruit. Unlike the mockingbird, it has come here from the north to spend the winter in a location that should offer winter fruit. Both are having to supplement their diets with more insects.
High in the eucalyptus tree the mewing cries of a small flock of cedar waxwings caught my attention. Twenty-seven of these fruit-eating birds sat pondering their next move. They too were here looking for the toyon berries that they expected to find on our hillside. When they found nothing, they went hungry. They regathered and flew on.
For these birds, drought means smaller, less nutritious food. But subtle changes in our climate are also altering when the fruit ripens. Imagine driving across the Mojave desert with the plan to stop at that favorite restaurant only to find that the town is closed up and the next place to find food is 100s of miles away.
Subtle changes in our local climate are impacting wild species that are tied to the fruiting or flowering of specific plants. We need to increase our awareness.
If you need evidence that Southern California has received less rain than normal, all you have to do is look at the plants.
Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is a native shrub in our chaparral. The dark green, toothed leaves and red berries in winter resemble holly. Newcomers to southern California called it California holly. "Hollywoodland," the name a real estate developer first used to market homes built into the foothills northwest of Los Angeles, refers to the red-berried toyon plants that were on the hillsides. When the letters spelling "land" fell down what remained was the "Hollywood" sign.
This year the toyon is demonstrating just how little rain has been available to the natural habitat. Consider these two photos of toyon.
This photo with plump red berries is of a plant that receives biweekly irrigation year-round.
This photo is of a plant that is dependent on natural rainfall. The berries are small and have not ripened.
In 2010, this same bush flourished.
Migrating birds like cedar waxwings, American robins and hermit thrushes as well as our local year-round residents like the northern mockingbird, depend on the toyon's fruit during the winter. When our rainfall stays at an annual 12-14 inches, food resources for local and migrating wildlife is reduced.
While this is an average normal amount of rainfall, the key here is "average." Our Mediterranean climate requires years of flood mixed with years of drought for plants to really thrive.
See the last time we really had flood precipitation.
Still the toyon is hardy. It survives frost and it will survive our low rainfall, but the animals that depend on its fruit will have a more difficult time.
