The Semi-Hidden Frog Habitat of Brisbane

We got an invitation to visit a place I'd never heard about--a restored frog habitat in Brisbane, that sweet town just south of San Francisco, nestled in a bayside cleft of San Bruno Mountain. 

Our new friend and naturalist extraordinaire, Paul Bouscal from San Bruno Mountain Watch, who has accompanied us on a group hike on the mountain, was rip-roaring eager to show us this "frog habitat." 

So on a blue Sunday afternoon in March, we went to see what all the hullabaloo was about, and boy were we happy we did. 

The Rendezvous Point
Paul told us to meet him at a parking lot in a suspiciously industrial part of Brisbane. As we cruised into the parking lot at 100 Cypress Lane, our car windows rolled down, we heard an intense amphibious bellowing. Somewhere amongst the enormous warehouses and tell-tale arroyo willows there were hundreds of frogs. The kids were thrilled! We were thrilled! This certainly was something to get excited about. We parked and saw that a creek that is the remnant of a freshwater marsh fed by seeps ran alongside the parking lot. And it was full of frogs!

The Frogs 
Pacific Chorus Frogs, also known as Pacific Tree Frogs (Pseudacris regilla) can be found from Canada to Mexico along the West Coast, and if you live in San Francisco or nearby, you can find a whole bunch of them in Brisbane. They range from brown to green, and the size we most commonly saw was equivalent to a phalange of my finger.  

What Was and Is--Flora and Fauna


This riparian habitat is part of restoration project spearheaded four years ago by a fellow named Jim McKissock, his volunteer group, EarthCare, and assistance from San Bruno Mountain Watch. Just a year ago the water in some areas was anaerobic and full of mosquitos, but now the critters include frogs, tadpoles, and water striders galore. 

Volunteers have removed Pampas grass, ivy, acacia, fennel, privets, and pines in order to bring back rushes, cat tails, tule, water ferns, and more. Anise swallowtail butterflies showed up on the water parsley, and other blooming plants include clarkia, ceanothus, lupine, sticky monkey flower, yarrow, evening primrose, yampa, wax myrtle, checkerbloom, and more.   


Rails to Trails
A railroad ran through here over a century ago, built in 1905. The frog habitat is located along part of Crocker Park Rails to Trails, where in the old-time days the train ran inland to fetch the quarried greywacke from out of San Bruno Mountain. 

Heading East to the Ice House
We meandered along the trail, the old rail line, heading towards the bay. 

We went through an old rail tunnel that ran beneath Bayshore Boulevard (though I've driven that road many times, I had no idea there was a tunnel below). I love tunnels, and this one was particularly cool--short in length, high ceilinged, and full of sunshine on either end.  

Back outside we came to huge puddles filled with thousands of squirming tadpoles, which was a delight for the children. 

We continued on our eastward path, passing an old brick building which Paul said was once an ice house. Back in the day, some rail cars would pick up blocks of glacial ice, originally from Tuolumne, to chill perishable goods moving up and down the rail lines. 

The big hill to our immediate north is Ice House Hill, but I never knew it until walking with Paul, who talked all about the history, plants, and animals of the area. I silently mused about how I'd like to explore there, some day. I've cruised up and down Bayshore Boulevard many times, often wondering about that hill, intensely curious about the horses I've seen grazing there. 

Mission Blue Nursery

We walked south alongside the active commuter rail line, the
kids thrilling at every passing train (and there was plenty of room between us and the Cal Train), the engineers pulling their whistles when we made the universal gesture of honking a horn as they passed. 


Not more than three minutes walk south from the old ice house was the Mission Blue Nursery. There's a road that also leads there, of course, coming from the south end. The nursery was amazing, filled with hundreds of native plants that will go towards restoration projects and be sold to you and me for our gardens and yards. We hung out for a little while, letting the kids poke around, and then returned to the frogs. 

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PHOTO ALBUM

Map to the Starting Point of this Hike

View Larger Map

Recap of February's Group Hike: San Bruno Mountain's Saddle Loop Trail

A view from Saddle Loop Trail

 About fifty people gathered on Sunday, February 17th for the first Hill Babies group walk in 2013. Besides the parents, caregivers, and grandparents present, the kids ranged from one month of age to early teen. We were lucky to have some special guests to point out native flora and fauna: Paul Bouscal, a member San Bruno Mountain Watch, local author Ginny Anderson, and Deirdre Martin, a member of Nature in the City.

Another view from the trail

I distributed hand-drawn maps and then we set off at our own pace. Saddle Loop Trail is 2.7 miles, but there is a shortcut back to the parking lot where you'd only have walked 1.3 miles.

As ever, these walks are free and for all ages and occur about once a month. To receive postings about the next one, just sign up on this blog. 

Paul Bouscal from San Bruno Mountain Watch is the animated one above, telling folks about the restoration efforts that've happened here, including the removal of tons of non-native prickly gorse that covered the slopes. 

Dads taking their kids into the field to see things up close. There were quite a few dads and kids on their own, marching along, spending some quality time with their kids on a Sunday morning. 

Paul Bouscal explained the geology of the mountain. 

These little flowers are Yellow Hog Fennel, or Lomatium, a member of the carrot and parsnip family. There seems to be medicinal use for it, but too much to write about here. 

Little girls having a hoot on the gravel. 

This pretty flower is a native viola called Johnny Jump Up, and it happens to be very important as it's the host plant (food plant) for the Callippe Silverspot butterfly caterpillar. It's also been very difficult to re-introduce to the area in terms of habitat restoration, according to Paul Bouscal. 

It was a perfect day for everyone, and the little kids often led the way. Amazingly there was barely a tear shed or a tantrum thrown by any of the children---being outside has a calming and restorative effect for children, and parents too. 

On the north side of Saddle Loop Trail the city of San Francisco is unfolded like a crenellated grey blanket with green outcroppings of hills. In the distance you can see McLaren Park, to the left, and Bayview Hill, to the right, both areas with significant native plants and fantastic trails to bring children on. 

That tiny trooper was doing very well, plugging along uphill on the gentle grade of part of the northern trail. 

A native Hill Baby en route to the apex from which she will be able to see the blue slash of the Pacific Ocean to her left, and the grey landscape of San Francisco to her right. Only two and a half and already a veteran of Hill Babies' hikes, this little girl never asks to be carried even on the steepest hills. 

Hummingbirds all over...

Here Paul Bouscal, from San Bruno Mountain Watch, tells folks about the uses of red elderberry, a coastal type of tree with a fine example growing on the northern trail of Saddle Loop. 

At the end of the hike, some picnicked here, while others picnicked at another site closer to bathrooms. Either way it was a chance to meet people, have the kids engage in open-ended play, and rest for a while. 

On the final leg back to the parking lot, father and daughter walk together. My husband works full time during the week, so sometimes a walk like this one is his best chance to bond, because as any parent knows dinner and bedtime are not always the most harmonious times of the day. 

This little nature girl might prefer the sun, grass, and independent exploration to all the Playstations in the world.