The Helgramite Lake Area and Lincoln Meadow

Mt. Elwell, Long Lake, and Mud Lake

This past week I was able to go for a hike by myself up in the Helgramite Lakes area. It was fabulous to be back in the Lakes Basin, and on my own. I saw SO much!  For this blog I'm starting at my end destination and working back to the beginning of my hike (and a surprise sighting!).

The Helgramite Lakes Area

This was the view I had while I ate my lunch! Such beauty! I had planned to do a strenuous loop hike that day, but I had tripped and whacked my leg a few days before and it was a bit painful. So I decided to not hike the loop and to just explore the meadow and ridges above Helgramite Lakes, one of my absolute favorite areas. I had never had the time to really check this area out. So I lingered and explored for hours! It was delightful!

Rocky Ridge

In the north east end of this area there is a rocky ridge that has dropped incredible squared-off giant boulders! The boulders are huge, and some of the surfaces are as flat and even as sliced rocks! I have yet to hike to the top of the ridge, but would love to do it some day soon!

Hemlocks and rockface

 The "holes" in the above slab of rock are probably where some of these boulders came from. It's quite incredible to see!

Hemlocks and rockface

In the rockface above you can see where a giant squared off piece of rock has fallen off! I have no idea what has happened here geologically. I'll see if I can find out!

Looking east at the meadow and Upper Helgramite Lake

I also walked up a usually flowery slope, to the west of the meadow and Upper Helgramite Lake. Almost everything had gone to seed, except for a few asters and paintbrush. 

Garden of California Fuchsias

However, to my delight I found a small garden of a thousand California Fuchsias! In person, the flowers were a shocking brilliant orange-red! Unfortunately my camera didn't get it right!

California Fuchsia - Epilobium canum ssp.latifolium

This close-up shot gives you a better idea of their brilliant color!

The Meadow wetland and tracks

The Meadow was still quite green but not as wet as it usually is. I was able to walk in the grasses out to the edge of the water. Surprisingly there were some tracks in the mud, which abruptly ended! I tried to get close to the tracks but sunk about a foot deep into the mud and turned around. Perhaps a duck took off in flight, and that's why the track ended???

Upper Helgramite Lake and Mt. Elwell

Upper Helgramite Lake was still quite full and had several Mallards feeding in it!

Helgramite Lake

Helgramite Lake was also full!

Mallard (juvenile) - Anas platyrhynchos

One lone juvenile Mallard was on the lake. I watched it for some time as it foraged along the shoreline!

Yellow-Bellied Marmot - Marmota flaviventris

To my delight I saw a Yellow-Bellied Marmot lounging on the top of a rock, between the two Helgramite Lakes!  I looked like it had a lot of bulging fat reserves that it will live off of during its winter hibernation!  How cool to see one of these uncommon mammals!

Mountain Bluebird - Salia currucoides

There were LOTS of birds perching in the trees and shrubs along the trail. Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaires, Dark-eyed Juncos, and surprisingly Lewis's Woodpeckers!

Townsend's Soitaire (adult - juvenile) - Myadestes townsendi

Dark-eyed Junco - Lewis's Woodpecker

Junco hyemalis - Melanerpes lewis

Cooper's Hawk (juvenile) - Astur cooperii

This is the surprise sighting I saw at the beginning of my hike that day, a juvenile Cooper's Hawk! WOW!!!  It landed in a tree about 15 feet away, and 30 feet up the trunk, and stared at me!!!  Then it moved back into the branches for a few seconds, and then flew of to a more distant tree. It stayed there  a few more seconds and then flew of into the forest!  I managed to get some bad photos of it in the seconds that I had!  I am amazed at the length of its tail!  So cool and rare to see one of these gorgeous raptors! It was an exciting sighting, one of the several I had that day!

Lincoln Meadow 8/17/26

Lincoln Meadow

My husband and I went up to Lincoln Meadow to have a picnic and enjoy the beginning of fall color. We weren't disappointed! The meadow grass was turning yellow green, the bushes were a variety of yellows and ochres in color, and lots of dry grasses were blowing in the wind!

On the distant edge of the meadow, some kind of tall whitish grasses created beautiful cresting waves in the wind!

While my husband sat and enjoyed the view, I cruised around in the meadow, and along its edge.  I found a tree with five nest holes in it!  Two of the nest holes had a large area around the nest hole where the bark had been removed. The Black-backed Woodpecker is known to peel the bark off around its nesting hole! So maybe... The weren't any woodpeckers around, the nests were empty of residents. But maybe last Spring they raised some young here. That would be so cool!  I'll have to come back next Spring to see if they're reusing or making new nests!!

Nesting Material

One of the nests, that didn't have the bark peeled off around the nest hole, was packed with this nesting material. It was kind of silty and "dirty" feeling. Kate Marianchild described finding this nesting material in the nest of a particular bird, which I can't remember.  She was stumped as to what the nesting material was, until she figured out they were collecting owl pellets and making a nest out of them!  Maybe the fine silty powdery stuff is good at killing feather mites! I'll have to email her and ask what bird was using the owl pellets!!!

Creek in Lincoln Meadow

There's a lovely little creek in the middle of Lincoln Meadow.

Rainbow Trout - Ochorhynchus mykiss irideus

I also enjoy looking for Rainbow Trout in this little creek, and I always see some! I wonder how they got there?

Before we headed home after several hours of soaking in the beauty, I spent an hour destroying a giant fire ring right on its edge! I carried all the rocks rimming it to distant places. I also tossed all the burnt branches into a remote area. Then I covered it all up with dirt and dry grasses. I hope no one reuses that fire ring, especially now when the fire danger is so high! Glad they didn't start a fire!

Hope to be back there again soon!  Next time I'll bring a shovel, with fingers crossed that I won't have to use it!

What's happening on the River?

What's happening in the Lakes Basin Meadows?

Check back in two weeks, on Sept. 6th, for the answers to these questions and more!

 Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com.  Thanks!

Jamison Lake - Plumas National Forest

Unfortunately, due to my husbands health I don't have time to post a blog this week. I hope to have one up by next weekend, so check back on 8/23/26.

Thanks!

Back in Sierra Valley!!!

American White Pelicans in the headwaters 

of the Feather River on 6/20/26

 (looking south from the Steel Bridge in Sierra Valley)

This past week we had company for three days, and we decided to go over to Sierra Valley to see what we could see. I had also been over there twice, a month before, but hadn't had a chance to post my observations. So this month, I've combined those three trips to Sierra Valley in this blog!  One trip was on June 20th, one on June 23rd, the other was on July 26th. Enjoy the adventures!

American White Pelicans - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

On June 20th, I was lucky enough to watch these five American White Pelicans fishing together! 

American White Pelicans - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

They paddled along the shore in a tight group. Apparently herding fish into the shallows!

American White Pelicans - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Then they all dunked their heads underwater in hopes of scooping up fish with their large pouches!!! This procedure was repeated many times!  It was unbelievably beautiful and fascinating to watch!

American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus

 

On July 23rd, I drove over to go bird watching at the Steel Bridge fairly early in the morning by myself. To my complete delight, right away I saw a very distant American Bittern in the reeds, before I even got to the bridge!!! Wow! I hadn't seen an American Bittern in several years! These Bitterns are secretive and uncommon, so every time I see one I am thrilled! This one fortunately froze in position and didn't move for a couple of minutes!!! 

The following information is from the Cornell Website at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/."American Bitterns are solitary foragers, standing motionless or walking slowly with outspread toes in search of food. They hunt during the day and especially at dawn and dusk. Possibly the most famous aspect of bittern behavior is the stance it assumes when it perceives a threat. It points its bill skyward, elongates its body, and even sways with the breeze, all to blend in with its reedy surroundings. This pose is so ingrained that bitterns sometimes adopt it even when they’re out in the open." 

American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus

After lingering for some time observing that Bittern, I drove on to the Steel Bridge.  When I got there, there was a Bittern in the tules to the left of the headwaters!  Wow!!!  I watched this one for five minutes before it disappeared in the tules! I was totally thrilled to have seen two Bitterns within 15 minutes!!!

American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus

Bitterns are large birds, though not long legged. Their body is 28" long, their wingspan is 42" and they weigh 1.5 lbs! The following information is from the Cornell Website at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/.  

"American Bitterns eat insects, crustaceans, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals. Their most common insect prey include water striders, giant water bugs, water beetles, water scorpions, grasshoppers, and especially dragonflies, which the birds sometimes manage to capture in midair. Frequently consumed fish include eels, catfish, pickerel, sunfish, suckers, perch, killifish, and sticklebacks. Rayfish, crabs, frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, garter snakes, water snakes, and meadow voles round out the diet. American Bitterns usually forage in dim light, at shorelines and the fringes of vegetated areas."

American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus

"A foraging bird may sway its neck, perhaps to see past glare from the surface of shallow water, or to warm up its muscles for a quick strike. A characteristic strategy is to stand stock-still with bill held horizontal, gradually aiming the bill downward with nearly imperceptible movements—until, with a sudden darting motion, the bittern seizes the prey in its bill, bites or shakes it to death, and swallows it head first. Indigestible parts of prey animals are regurgitated as pellets."

Sage Thrasher - Oreoscoptes montanus

Just last weekend, on July 26th, we saw numerous Sage Thrashers in the vicinity of the Steel Bridge! I was privileged to hear their beautiful song in the springtime! They will migrate down to Mexico for the winter.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states; "The Sage Thrasher has a long, melodious song of great variety, reminiscent of a mockingbird's song, and is found mostly in shrub-dominated valleys and plains of the western United States. It is considered a sagebrush obligate, generally dependent on large patches and expanses of sagebrush steppe for successful breeding."

They feed mainly on insects, but will eat small fruits and berries if available. They generally nest in or under Sagebrush bushes. Both the male and female construct their bowl-shaped nest with twigs, lined with grasses, fur, and horsehair. They will both incubate their 4-5 eggs for 11-13 days, feed the nestlings for 10-14 days, and care for the fledglings for 7 days or more.

Yellow-headed Blackbird - Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

 In the spring, Yellow-headed Blackbirds migrate to the Prairie Pothole wetlands of the U.S. and Canada to breed, as well as to the wetlands along the eastern side of the Sierras. We've seen them in Sierra Valley in the spring, where they nest every year!  This week we were surprised to come across this group of males! Where were the females??? In another month or more they will begin the migration to their wintering grounds in the southern U.S. and down into Mexico.

Blue-winged Teal (males & female) - Anas discors

We saw four young Blue-winged Teals in one of the small ponds. These ducks feed during the day on seeds, snails, aquatic insects and crustaceans, and roost on shallow water at night. Blue-winged teals spend the winter in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as parts of the southern United States. They are long-distance travelers that leave their northern breeding grounds early.

 American Coot (juvenile) - Fulica americana

There were lots and lots of juvenile American Coots at the Steel Bridge and in the small ponds. They will spend the winter in California's Central Valley, or Mexico, or even as far south as Central America and Panama!

Virginia Rail (juvenile) - Rallus limicola

To our complete surprise we came across 7+ juvenile Virginia Rails cruising around in a shallow pond near the Steel Bridge!  They feed on seeds, small fish, frogs, worms, slugs, and snakes! In the winter, seeds make up most of their diet. Most will migrate south to Mexico or west toward coastal regions for the winter. Virginia Rails are listed as "uncommon and secretive", but these juveniles were out in the open looking for food and jabbing each other once in a while!!! How lucky we were to see them!!!

Virginia Rail (juvenile) - Rallus limicola

View of Beaver dams looking north from the Steel Bridge

To our delight the beavers had built some small dams right by the Steel Bridge. On June 23 they had just started cutting down plants. Now there is a 6" mud dam that ran parallel to the bridge and connected with their lodge!!!! In the distance I saw a beaver swim across the channel to an underwater path in the tules, but it was too quick for a photo!

Beaver - Castor canadensis

Then when I looked on the other side of the bridge I saw this furry, rounded backside of a Beaver!!!  Wow!  I've never seen one at the Steel Bridge before, even though we've seen their lodge there for a little less than a year! I surprisingly don't have a photo of their lodge, but it is right at the Steel Bridge, quite large, and covered with branches!!! I thought when I first saw it that it was manmade because of all the branches. Where did the beavers get them, out in this vast wetlands? It remains a mystery to me, unless somehow they're old sagebrush branches??? Anyway it's exciting that they're there! I will write more about them after I do some research!!!

What's blooming in the Lakes Basin?

What's happening in my neighborhood?

What's happening on the North Yuba River?

Check back in two weeks for my next blog on August 16th, for the answers to these questions and more!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

Neighborhood News and Three Lakes Basin Hikes!

Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

This summer I've made a concerted effort to go hiking once a week, every week! For the past four years, this hasn't been possible, due to my husband's health, but I've recently hired help and now have some free time to be in nature! Yay! In the past two weeks I went on two hikes by myself, explored a new area by car with my husband, and took several walks in our neighborhood!  It's been delightful! In this blog, I'm just going to feature the highlights from these days "in the field". Hope you enjoy the photos!

Our Neighborhood

To my delight I spotted an Osprey perched on the one Cottonwood Tree on the river! I've seen Osprey's perch there many times over the years. I'm happy that it is still happening! It has been a while since I've seen one there!

Common Mergansers (three ducklings and a female) - Mergus merganser

I also spotted this Common Merganser mom on the river, with three ducklings!! Several females raise their young every year, on the section of the river that's in our neighborhood. I've seen as many as sixteen ducklings, and as few as one. Hope I see this family again soon! I love to see nature doing well!

Bullock's Oriole  (male) - Western Tanager (male)

Icterus bullockii - Piranga ludoviciana

There are a variety of long distance migrants that visit our neighborhood in the Spring. Some just pass through, while others stay and raise their young here. Two of the most striking migrants are the Bullock's Orioles and the Western Tanagers. Both of these brightly colored birds spend the winter in southern Mexico, or as far south as Guatemala, a one-way migratory distance of approximately 3,000 miles!

Spotted Sandpipers - Olive-sided Flycatcher

Actitis macularius - Contupus cooperi

Spotted Sandpipers breed across the United States and Canada, and overwinter in Mexico and South America (excluding Argentina!), a one-way migratory distance of approximately 3,000 to 6,300 miles!!! The Olive-sided Flycatcher winters primarily in Panama and the Andes Mountains of South America, a one-way migratory distance of approximately 7,000 miles! It has been my pleasure to watch these long distance migrants raise their young, right here in our neighborhood! 

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

The only bears I've seen this summer have been off the highway on Depot Hill, about 7 miles from our home. We saw one young adult and one cub on separate occasions. Both times they quickly went out of sight. The cub climbed up a bank into the brush, and the young adult headed down slope and out of sight. We see fresh bear poop on the road in our neighborhood just about every day, but have not yet seen a bear in person. When the apples ripen in a few months, we'll have a better chance of seeing them in the mornings or evenings.

Mountain Piperia Orchid - Piperia transversa

The Mountain Piperia Orchid pictured above, doesn't grow in wet meadows or bogs. Instead, it grows in shady areas of the dry forest floor! The flowers have a clove-like fragrance, which attracts moths.

Scarlet Monkeyflower - Blazing Stars

Mimulus cardinalis - Mentzelia laevicaulis

 

These beauties are currently blooming in my neighborhood!

The Sierra Buttes - 7/14/26

Lakes Basin Adventures!

The Sierra Buttes are now almost totally snow free! My friend Mike Vasey sent me an article about how the area has received more than enough rain this season, but is suffering from a lack of snow pack and is in a "snow drought" this year. This is due to the unusually warm, rainy winter we had, and the now hot summer we're in. So far it has made an incredible amount of flowers bloom, but that won't last forever. I hope we keep getting periodic rains to keep the Lakes Basin green for another month or more!

Upper Tamarack Lake - 7/13/26

I hiked up to the Tamarack Lakes last Monday and didn't see a single other person the whole day!!! There were tons of flowers, lots of birds, and gorgeous clouds!! It was a fabulous day out!

Bufflehead (female) - Bucephala albeola

As usual there was a family of Buffleheads on Lower Tamarack Lake! So fun and fascinating!

Bufflehead youngsters - Bucephala albeola

This year there was a group of four cute young ducklings!

Wilson's Warbler - Cardellina pusilla

I also saw a flash of yellow in the bushes, and it turned out to be a "first year" Wilson's Warbler!!! Wow! I couldn't get a great shot, so I put in an inset of an adult I took years ago. Notice that the immature one doesn't have the black cap on its head. I think I've only seen these tiny beauties three times in my life!

Rock Wren (adult) - Rock Wren (fledgling)!!!

Salpinctes obsoletus

To my delight I watched a Rock Wren explore a boulder covered slope. It spent some time in the shade of an upraised rock slab so I zoomed in with my camera and took some photos. I couldn't see what was keeping the Rock Wren there until I got home and looked at the photos on my computer. Imagine my surprise when I saw a fledgling Rock Wren in one of the photos! WOW!!! How exciting! Rock Wren adults are difficult to spot, but a fledgling is indeed a rarity! How lucky to have captured one on my camera!

Fireweed - Chamerion angustifolium

There were lots of flowers in bloom, especially at the north end of Upper Tamarack Lake. My favorite are the tall spikes of magenta Fireweeds!

Lorquin's Admiral - Limenitis lorquini

These Lorquin's Admiral butterflies are often mistakenly identified as California Sisters. They are quite similar but the shape of the orange tip, on the end of their wings, differ between the two species.

Mountain Pennyroyal and Church Meadow

Monardella odoratissima

We decided to drive out to Church Meadow and see what was happening! It was STILL in full bloom and delightful! We had a great afternoon exploring and botanizing there!

Leopard Lilies - Lilium pardilinum

One section along the road was an obvious seep, as there were Leopard Lilies growing there, and nowhere else!

Monument Plant - Green Rein/Bog Orchid

Frasera speciosa - Platanthera sparsiflora

There was a wide variety of flowers in the seep area, and one that we haven't seen in the Lakes Basin ever before, a Monument Plant!!! Monument Plants only bloom in the last year of their 30-40 year lifespan. Their flowering stalks are typically 7'-9' tall, bearing over 600 flowers!!! After they bloom, they die! Most of their lifetime is spent as a basal rosette of leaves. We saw two stalks, one was two feet tall and turning maroon. The other is now about 3.5' tall with both green and maroon leaves and tight flower buds on the top. We'll keep checking on it to see if it does indeed bloom! How unusual and exciting to find one of these extraordinary plants!

Interestingly, there were green orchids that were as tall as the Monument Plant growing next to it. They were over three feet tall!  The flowers were very tiny and green. I'm not sure I've identified them correctly, but I chose the "the most likely" identification. More research is needed!

Cow Parsnip - Heracleum maximum

Brewer's Angelica - Angelica brewerii

Corn Lily leaves - Veratrum californicum

Corn Lily in Bloom! - Veratrum californicum

This year the Corn Lilies haven't been blooming at all. Imagine my surprise when I found the blooming one pictured above, on the edge of a dry, non-blooming patch of Corn Lilies! Perhaps it's the only one that bloomed in the Lakes Basin this year!!! Corn Lilies typically have blooming years, and non-blooming years, depending on the timing of the rains and snows.

Corn Lily Flowers - Veratrum californicum

Sculptured Puffball - Calvatia sculpta

To our surprise we came across six Sculptured Puffballs in this one area! Each one was the size of a large orange and filled with powdery spores! The one without the spines reminded me of a tortoise shell! This is only the third time I've ever seen these unusual fungi! 

Smith Lake - 7/13/26

I decided to hike up to Smith Lake last Monday, and once again I had it to myself! I walked around the lake and connected with the "Connection Trail" for the hike back. Not a long hike but the views and wet meadows were spectacular. The west end of the lake has a "trail" that is in the process of being reclaimed by the forest and quite a bit overgrown, but passable. 

Sierra Rein Orchid - Platanthera dilitata

There were thousands of flowers in bloom in the long, narrow, wet meadow before Smith Lake! It was unbelievably beautiful!! More Sierra Rein Orchids were in bloom than I'd ever seen before! I spent several hours looking, lingering, and watching in this lovely sierran meadow. Such beauty!

Bog Asphodel - Bigelow's Sneezeweed

Narthecium californicum - Helenium bigelovii

Western False Asphodel - Triantha occidentalis

This lovely white flowered plant is actually a carnivore! It has a unique feature of trapping small insects near its insect-pollinated flowers. Flower stems are coated with sticky hairs that produce a digestive enzyme known as phosphatase, which digests the small insects. The hairs can catch midges and gnats (see inset photo) but are not sticky enough to capture larger insects like bees and butterflies that pollinate the flowers! How cool!

Sierra Rein Orchid - White Brodiaea - Goldenrod Crab Spider

Plantathera dilitata - Triteleia hyacinthina - Misumena vatia

The Sierra Rein Orchid is pollinated by moths that have a proboscis long enough to reach into the long nectar spur!

The White Brodiaea had a surprisingly bright yellow crab spider among it's flowers! I have seen white Goldenrod Crab Spiders, perhaps this one had just moved over from a yellow Bog Asphodel! It takes 6 days to change from yellow to white. This process is relatively quick because the spider simply discards pigment to change color.

As I was leaving the Lakes Basin there were dark storm clouds coming in from the east, and it did indeed rain up there that night. We even got a little bit of rain down in our neighborhood that evening!  Just wonderful!  I promise I'll be back soon!

What's happening in Sierra Valley?

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

Check back in two weeks, on Sunday, August 3rd, for the answers to these questions and more.

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!