I decided to go on one of my favorite Lakes Basin hikes this week, the Round Lake Loop. I really lucked out and caught the fall colors at their peak! The aspens were gorgeous, but the ground cover and bushes stole the show! Every year it's different! This year the red plants were incredibly brilliant! It was just wonderful to be in the midst off all the autumn beauty!
I heard the loud rubbery calls of the Sandhill Cranes as they flew by, on their way to the Central Valley for winter!!! I also saw quite a few chipmunks and squirrels foraging for food on the forest floor, fattening-up for winter! Seasonal changes are happening fast!
Dwarf Bilberry - Vaccinium cespitosum
The brilliant reds that dominate the landscape are the low-growing Dwarf Bilberry bushes. The berries are blue, edible, and sparse! Hermit Thrush, Blue Grouse, Pika, and Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels eat the leaves and berries! I've never seen or eaten one berry! I'll need to try one next year, if I can find one!
Dwarf Bilberry - Vaccinium cespitosum
These low-growing shrubs are adapted to the higher elevation where they grow! Being close to the ground they stay warmer longer, are protected by a layer of winter snow, and don't get buffeted by damaging winds!
Mountain Spirea - Spiraea densiflora
One of the common shrubs in the Lakes Basin is Mountain Spiraea. They are about 3' tall, and have fragrant pink flowers that attract insects and hummingbirds in the summer! Right now, their burnished yellow color is stunning against the local rocks or the winter-gray surface of an alpine lake (above)!
Mountain Ash - Sorbus californica
Mountain Ash is a lovely tall shrub, from 2'-9' in height! They prefer to grow in moist areas, especially along streams and lakes. All the Mountain Ash bushes that I came across didn't have any of their bright orange-red berries. Either they dropped them or perhaps animals ate them. I tasted a tiny piece of one myself, and it was extremely bitter!!! I wouldn't recommend them! I'll try to find out if animals eat them!
Bracken Fern - Pteridium aquilinum
There are many dense thickets of Bracken Fern in the Lakes Basin! Right now
their bronzy-gold colors glow when they are backlit by the sun!
Quaking Aspen- Populous tremuloides
I love the sound of aspen leaves in the wind! It is so calming and alive at the same time! Aspens are pretty interesting plants! They prefer to live in moist meadows or areas where there's lots of groundwater. Aspens usually live for 50-60 years, attaining about 1' in diameter, and 50'-60' in height. Its buds, bark, and shoots are a favorite food of wildlife.
Although a grove of aspen trees may produce millions of seeds, not many are viable! Pollination is inhibited by the fact that aspens are either male or female, and large stands are usually all clones of the same sex. Even if pollinated, the small seeds can only survive for a short time as they lack a stored food source or a protective coating. Instead, aspen reproduce from root-sprouting seedlings! A grove of aspens is also a group of "clones"! Each tree grows from a common root system, expanded by root-sprouting seedlings! The trees in a group of "clones" are genetically identical!
One clonal aspen colony in Utah is considered the heaviest and oldest living organism in the world, at 13,227,720 lbs. and perhaps 80,000 years old!!! Wow!
Long-eared Chipmunk (left) - Neotamias quadrimaculatus
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (right) - Spermophilus lateralis
The Chipmunks are storing up fat for their winter hibernation. They are busy eating seeds, fungi, berries, and insects. They will also cache a great deal of food
in their underground burrow. They do not sleep all winter long, rather they wake up every few days, raise their body temperature to normal, feed on stored food
rather than fat reserves, and urinate and defecate!!!
The Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel is also storing up fat for winter hibernation. In the fall their main food is conifer seeds. They will also eat fungi, insects, vegetation, nuts, and fruits when available. They store food in their dens before they hibernate, mainly to be eaten in the spring when hibernation ends. Some Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels wake up periodically during hibernation and feed on this stored food! Their hibernation period usually begins in October and ends in May. The obvious physical difference between Chipmunks and Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels is the lack of stripes on the squirrel's head.
The Chipmunks are storing up fat for their winter hibernation. They are busy eating seeds, fungi, berries, and insects. They will also cache a great deal of food
in their underground burrow. They do not sleep all winter long, rather they wake up every few days, raise their body temperature to normal, feed on stored food
rather than fat reserves, and urinate and defecate!!!
The Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel is also storing up fat for winter hibernation. In the fall their main food is conifer seeds. They will also eat fungi, insects, vegetation, nuts, and fruits when available. They store food in their dens before they hibernate, mainly to be eaten in the spring when hibernation ends. Some Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels wake up periodically during hibernation and feed on this stored food! Their hibernation period usually begins in October and ends in May. The obvious physical difference between Chipmunks and Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels is the lack of stripes on the squirrel's head.
Chipmunks are also pretty difficult to identify! If you can get a photo of the back of a chipmunk, as well as a side, you have a better chance at identifying it. Unfortunately, I only got one photo of the chipmunk above before he scampered off! Rats!
Sandhill Cranes - Antigone canadensis
Cranes!
The short days and cooler nights prompt birds to migrate to their winter quarters.
I've heard and seen these cranes fly over in the fall for many years now!
This western population of Sandhill Cranes,
spends the winter in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys of California,
where they congregate in the tens of thousands!
Cranes!
The short days and cooler nights prompt birds to migrate to their winter quarters.
I've heard and seen these cranes fly over in the fall for many years now!
This western population of Sandhill Cranes,
spends the winter in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys of California,
where they congregate in the tens of thousands!
North Yuba River
Neighborhood Update!
The river rose a little from the rain we got this week! It's also getting
colder! The locust trees, willows, and Indian Rhubarb
are changing color along the river! So lovely!
Lesser Goldfinch - Carduelis psaltria
Goldfinches!
There are still a few Lesser Goldfinches in our garden, eating the last of the Sunflower seeds! Maybe this rain will cause their migration to lower elevations.
California Scrub Jay - Aphelocoma californica
A Surprise Visitor!
I was down in the garden when this California Scrub Jay landed!!! I was SO surprised! They typically do not come up here! They usually live in brushy areas and oak woodlands, from the coast to the foothills of California. Maybe he flew up here because a forest fire in the foothills, about 30 air miles from our area, has destroyed his natural habitat. I was so excited to see him! Isn't he lovely! What a huge beak he has! I only saw him that one day, but I'll be on the lookout for him!
California Scrub Jays are highly dependent on oaks and acorns. Acorns are their main food during fall and winter. One Jay will bury up to 5,000 acorns in small holes in the ground during the months of fall! These acorns will all eventually be dug up and consumed in the following seasons! Like other members of the Corvid family, Scrub Jays are quite intelligent and have excellent memories. Some studies have shown that they not only remember the past (eg. where they buried the acorns) but also think forward to the future (eg. They will move their buried acorns if they think another bird saw them being buried, in anticipation of them possibly being stolen!) They will also eat insects, other nuts & seeds, ticks off of deer, as well as bird eggs and nestlings when available!
Western Gray Squirrel - Sciurus griseus
Gray Squirrel!
I watched this Western Gray Squirrel climb all over a maple tree in search for seeds. Everytime he found one, he would stop and eat it right away!
Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Gray Fox!
I saw the Gray Fox down in her usual morning sunning spot twice this week!
Just as camouflaged as ever, and just as lovely!
It is wonderful to be able to see her as often as I do!
So glad she likes her "den" that's near our garden!
Black Locust leaves - Robinia pseudoacacia
Rain!
We got about an inch of rain on Thursday night this week! It poured!
Yahoo! Now we don't have to worry SO much about forest fires occurring!
Rain!
We got about an inch of rain on Thursday night this week! It poured!
Yahoo! Now we don't have to worry SO much about forest fires occurring!
Friday morning there were many leaves on the ground,
but luckily there are still lots left on the trees!
Our autumn colors aren't totally gone yet!
This hive is probably a Yellowjacket Wasp hive,
but I need to do more research.
I'll talk about Yellowjacket Wasps etc. next week.
There hasn't been any new bear poop around!
My neighbors aren't complaining about the bears anymore.
The apples and grapes have all been eaten.
Maybe the bears have moved on in search of a new food supply!
I haven't seen any deer but my neighbors have!
Hopefully I'll see some this week!
What's happening in the creek?
Will the recent rain cause mushrooms to sprout?
What other critters are migrating?
What is mycelium?
What does it look like?
Check back next week for the answers
to these questions and more!
Your comments and questions are greatly appreciated!
Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com!
or
Click on the comments just below, to post a comment!
Thanks!
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