The weather was cloudy, cold, windy, sunny, and warm this week! Throughout it all it's been consistently dry. Dark clouds rolled in for a couple of days, but we only got a dusting of snow and a few drops of rain! The daytime temperatures have dropped down to the high 40's to mid 50's, and the nighttime temps have been in the low 30's. So at least it has cooled off some!
It really felt like February for a couple of days! We had frosty mornings and gusty winds! Beautiful dark clouds covered the sky and the sunsets were spectacular! NOAA (www.forecast.weather.gov) is predicting a 50% chance of snow for the next few days. I sure hope it happens! My fingers are crossed!
Sierra Buttes - Tahoe National Forest - 2/14/18
Up in the Lakes Basin, the the east facing ridges have some snow. The west and south facing slopes are basically snow-free, below 8,000'! The Gold Lake Road has about 4" of totally icy, heavily used, packed snow for the first shaded 1/2 mile. If you get past this ice sheet, the road is bare and snow-free almost up to the turn off for Salmon Lake, which is around 6,000' in elevation!
Sierra Buttes - 2/14/18
On Valentine's Day we went for a picnic up by Sardine Lake! It was cloudy, cold, windy, and dramatically beautiful! The wind had blown plates of frozen lake ice up against the shore! A dusting of snow covered the icy road, and walking was easy. We saw quite a few tracks in the new layer of snow, including fox and mountain lion! We were the only ones up there, and had it to ourselves! How lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place!
On Valentine's Day we went for a picnic up by Sardine Lake! It was cloudy, cold, windy, and dramatically beautiful! The wind had blown plates of frozen lake ice up against the shore! A dusting of snow covered the icy road, and walking was easy. We saw quite a few tracks in the new layer of snow, including fox and mountain lion! We were the only ones up there, and had it to ourselves! How lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place!
Piled up plates of ice on the shore of Sardine Lake - 2/14/18
Female willow catkins (left) and male willow catkins (right) - Salix sp.
What's Blooming?
We also had some sunny days this week! If you were in the shade it was cold, but in the sunny spots the insects were buzzin'! Honey bees, bumblebees, flies, and beetles were all busy feeding on the nectar and pollen from the willows! The female willow catkins have blossomed and the male catkins are starting to exert their stamens and anthers!
Male Alder tassels and female cones (at top of photo) - Alnus rhombifolia
The male alder tassels are starting to dry up. I haven't seen lots of insects visiting these flowers. They must rely on wind pollination. When it's windy, I've watched clouds of pollen soar out of our local alder thickets!
Silk Tassel Bush - Garrya fremontii
I found a new flowering bush in my neighborhood! It's a Silk Tassel Bush! Right now it has beautiful maroon and white catkins! I've seen these bushes up in the Lakes Basin on sunny dry slopes. At first I thought they were Manzanitas, because of the leaf shape and appearance. It's easy to see that they're not Manzanitas, when the flowers or berries are present! The flowers are totally different, and in the fall the berries are a deep purple, not greenish-yellow like the Manzanita berries!
Silk-Tassel is dioecious, like willows, having male and female flowers on separate plants. The tassels are the male flowers, the berries are the fruits of the female flowers. I have only seen a male bush. I was thrilled to find one in my neighborhood! I've never seen them here before! I'll have to go looking for a female bush!!!
Red-winged Blackbird - Aeglaius phoeniceus
FeederWatch Update!
The Red-winged Blackbird (above) is still hanging around! He's visited my bird feeding station daily this week. I haven't seen any female blackbirds yet. I'll just have to wait and see how long he sticks around! He is so dramatically colored! I love watching him hop and strut and twitch his tail!
Anna's Hummingbird (male) - Calypte anna
There's a pair of Anna's Hummingbirds consistently feeding at our feeder now. Hummingbirds have sexual dimorphism, the male and female differ in appearance. The male can be identified by his bright magenta head and throat. I'm thinking that the dominant hummer at our feeder last year was an immature male. Maybe he's matured and has returned to his old home range!
When the weather is cold, hummingbirds seek shelter in the dense foliage of trees or shrubs. They also drop into a torpor overnight, which slows their metabolic rate to 1/15 of normal! During torpor their body temperature falls from 104° to 64.4°F, and their heart rate drops from 1,000 beats a minute to 180-50 beats per minute! All this reduced body activity conserves energy! Wow!
Pine Siskins - Carduelis pinus
A flock of about 25 Pine Siskins was feeding in the alders one morning this week! It looks like they were getting seeds out of last year's cones. They come and go so quickly it's hard to get a photo of them. In winter, these little birds can speed up their metabolic rate, to stay warm on cold nights! A survival technique that's surprisingly the opposite of hummingbird torpor! Siskins will also put on a layer of fat before winter, to help ward off the cold!
Chickaree - Tamiasciurus douglasii and Western Gray Squirrel - Sciurus griseus
Even though I moved the bird feeder away from the fence, the Chickarees and Gray Squirrels can still easily jump up on the feeder. I'm going to have to figure out something else soon!
Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus
I only caught a few glimpses of the Gray Fox this week! She seemed more secretive and elusive. Perhaps she's getting her den ready for this coming spring.
Spenceville - 2/15/18
Spenceville
A friend and I decided to visit Spenceville this week. It's a wildlife and recreation area run by the California Department of Fish and Game. It is in a beautiful rolling oak grassland, with a few small streams. The Blue Oaks were just barely leafing out and the grass was lush! We saw a few wildflowers, including brodiaeas, Fiddlenecks, Miner's Lettuce, and Calfornia Manroot!
American Kestrel - Falco sparverius Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis
American Kestrel hovering (center photo)
We also saw several different kinds of birds while we were there, including Scrub Jays, Meadowlarks, lots of sparrows, a White-breasted Nuthatch, Kestrels, and Red-tailed Hawks! Both the American Kestrel and the Red-tailed Hawk prefer to hunt in open areas, not in the woods. Kestrels mainly live in the foothill areas, whereas Red-tailed hawks are commonly found at higher elevations. They both hunt from perches. Kestrels will also hover in the air while searching for prey. They both like to eat reptiles and small mammals. Kestrels also eat large insects. Red-tails sometimes eat Kestrels! It was such a treat to watch these beautiful raptors on their perches and in the air!
Whose feathers are these?
Whose poop is this?
The ladybugs have left!
There aren't any in my neighborhood anymore!
What are the bears doing?
Where are the deer?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated!
You can post a comment by clicking on the "No Comments" below
or
email me a northyubanaturalist@gmail.com
Thanks!
No comments:
Post a Comment