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Caswell Springtime

A meandering hike through California's last riparian woodland preserve

By Kirk van Gorkom

May 6^th, 2022

Content Warning!

This album contains photos of a lizard as it meets a tragic and graphic end in the mouth of a cat. If you'd prefer not to see them, please stop scrolling when you see another warning below. Nature is rough.

Eastern Fox Squirrel in grass

Eastern Fox Squirrel missing fur, perched on a decomposing stump

Eastern Fox Squirrel looking at camera from treebranch perch

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

Western Scrub-Jay perched on a Valley Oak branch with some sort of gall at the base

Caswell Springtime

Western Scrub-Jay with puffed up feathers looking away

Western Scrub-Jay

Western Scrub-Jay puffing up its feathers

Golden Currant berries forming

Unripe Trailing Blackberry fruit, intermingled with other plants

Pacific Pea blossoms on a vine

California Wild Grape buds

Blue Elder leaves against boardwalk planks

Poison Hemlock blossoms in front of a blurry tree trunk

California Wild Rose flowers

California Wild Rose flower

Multicolored Golden Currant berries forming

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

Rose Rust fungus (Phragmidium mucronatum) on a wild rose branch

Rose Rust fungus (Phragmidium mucronatum) on a wild rose branch

Of all the living things preserved along this river, the Valley Oak Trees are by far the oldest and most majestic. Providing habitat and food for creatures, and shade for us bipedal critters walking the trails, they're the stars of this ecosystem.

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

American Rubyspot (damselfly) perched on a leaf

Close up photo (resolution enhanced) of an American Rubyspot (damselfly) perched on a leaf

Close up photo (resolution enhanced) of a Convergent Lady Beetle on a leaf

Convergent Lady Beetle on a leaf

Invaders versus Natives

The invasive Eastern Fox Squirrel competes for acorns with native Western Gray Squirrels.

Western Gray Squirrel eating on a tree

Eastern Fox Squirrel on a tree trunk

Western Gray Squirrel eating

Majestic Valley Oaks Shade a Woodland Trail

California Valley Oaks above grasses and shrubs along a riparian woodland trail

California Valley Oaks along a shrub-lined riparian woodland trail

California Valley Oaks along a shrub-lined riparian woodland trail

California Valley Oaks above grasses and shrubs along a riparian woodland trail

Nature, Red in Tooth & Claw

A Western Gray Squirrel searches for food near the ground as a cat hunts nearby. High above in a tree, a maternal squirrel starts to vocalize a very unusual cry, alerting the first and sending it scurrying up the nearest Valley Oak to safety. The cat gives up on rodents and completes a practice pounce into mown grass before walking 20 meters down a trail where it comes upon a Southern Alligator Lizard, with tragic results.

Western Gray Squirrel near the ground, with an unseen cat hunting nearby

Wild cat (domestic) hunting in the grass

Wild cat (domestic) hunting in the grass

Western Gray Squirrel mother, high up in a tree, sounds the alarm about a cat hunting nearby on the ground

Wild cat (domestic) hunting in the grass

Wild cat (domestic) hunting in the grass

Wild cat (domestic) hunting in the grass

Wild cat (domestic) pouncing unsuccessfully as it hunts in the grass

Wild cat (domestic) spots a lizard as it hunts

Eating an acorn in safety while the cat continues hunting in the grass below.

Western Gray Squirrel up in a tree eats an acorn while a cat hunts nearby on the ground

Content Warning!

Sorry, it gets graphic below this point. The wild cat was successful, and the photos are graphic. Stop scrolling now, or jump down to the bottom and slowly back up to where you see a map if you'd like links to more information, stories, etc.

Last Chance to Scroll Away

After a successful pounce, the wild cat ate its unfortunate catch: a Southern Alligator Lizard.

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

Caswell Springtime

Visit Caswell Memorial State Park in California's beautiful San Joaquin Valley. There are a variety of easy loop trails in the park's southern day-use section. You can start out to explore and end up meandering for minutes or hours through this last preserve of California's native riparian woodlands.

For more information about the biodiversity of this place, iNaturalist is a great resource.

For higher-quality photos with full EXIF information, you can find two album versions of this story on Flickr: Peaceful (censored) Album | Full (gory) Album

For more & higher-resolution photos of this and other adventures, please visit my photography website: https://photos.vangorkom.org/Adventures/2022/Caswell-in-Springtime-May-2022

© 2026 Kirk van Gorkom

Backpacking to North Dome

A short hike yields epic views of Half Dome, Cloud’s Rest, and a variety of beautiful plants.

Vernal Falls on a Spring Afternoon

after a tragically dry winter, rainbows bring hope

Caswell in Winter

Mild morning in a beautiful riparian oak woodland.

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