May 13, 2004

Nature’s bounty on display at Bouverie Preserve

By Mike Cleary
Special to the Times

I was surprised to learn there really are pack rats. No, not the two-legged variety like my late Aunt Flo. I am referring to industrious North American rodents that build structures resembling pregnant pitcher’s mounds from the forest’s natural debris. Just steps from one of their affordable housing units under a towering redwood, this Yellow-Bellied Hiker also encountered his first Red-Bellied Newt and, I might add, another 50 or so of his relatives. And all around us were small, colorful flowers sporting marvelous names like Diogenes’ Lantern, Bleeding Hearts and False Solomon’s Seal.

This tale of hiking amid flora and fauna came about because Mary Ann and I recently spent an excellent spring afternoon on property that once belonged to the second son of the seventh Earl of Radnor. Now this might lead you to believe we were tramping around the English countryside and hanging with royals, but that is not the case. We were in our own Northern California backyard.

David Pleydell-Bouverie made it all possible by packing up his developed sense of responsibility for the stewardship of land and coming west to the Valley of the Moon in Sonoma County.

In 1938, he purchased some 500 acres in Glen Ellen, and for each of the seven years of his marriage to Alice Astor, received a birthday present from his wife of a graded trail. Fortunately, for all of us, Bouverie donated the property to Audubon Canyon Ranch, a private, nonprofit organization of wildlife sanctuaries and centers for environmental education in 1979.

The Bouverie Preserve is one of three the Audubon Canyon Ranch operates. The others are the Bolinas Lagoon Preserve and the Cypress Grove Preserve on Tomales Bay.

Bouverie Preserve schedules guided nature walks on certain Saturdays each month, September through May. Both the student field trips and family hikes are chosen by lottery. With so much to learn about the place, it’s a blessing that docent-led groups are limited to no more than seven. Call (707) 938-4554 for hike dates and a lottery form. Dare I say, plan now because September isn’t that far off. Another way to visit the property is to volunteer for one of their occasional cleanup days.

What makes Bouverie so fascinating is its plant diversity. From the valley floor just off Highway 12 to the ridge top, there are four distinct plant communities, which include Oak Woodland, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Riparian Woodland and Chaparral.

The result is a piece of the Valley of the Moon that is home to 130 species of birds, 350 species of flowering plants and numerous large mammals including mountain lion, coyote, and bobcat.

Our guide Ellen Brantley was a wonderful. Not a wildflower, bird or insect went unidentified. She also gave us a history lesson on the property and the people who called it home at one time or another. Bouverie himself is a fascinating story. Mary Ann and I both came away from the experience with a more discerning eye and a deeper appreciation for the natural wonders of those mountainous walls that form the Sonoma Valley.

By the way, every other year, they train new volunteers as docents to visit schools and lead nature walks. If you’re interested, call (707) 938-4554. And, as they like to say, remember to step softly because a newt may be trying to find its way home. And they are cute. Cheers.

Mike Cleary and his wife Mary Ann co-host “Food and Travel Radio” at 6 p.m. Sundays on KABL 960 AM. Readers can e-mail Mike at mc@foodandtravelradio.com.

Click here to see a biography of Mike and Mary Ann Cleary


The Bouverie Preserve is one of three the Audubon Canyon Ranch operates.