A Cherry Festival!

American Robin in cherry tree - Turdus migratorius

There are many wild cherry trees in my neighborhood, which have been slowly ripening over the past two months.  Apparently this week they were ripened to perfection!  Lots of American Robins, Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Band-tailed Pigeons, Steller's Jays, and many other birds ate them for days!  They would all feed on one particular tree one day, and then move on to another tree the next day!  Some birds swallowed the cherries whole, some pecked bites from them, others picked the whole cherry, rolled it around in their beaks, and then spit out the pit!  It was so fun listening to and watching all the birds feasting together in the trees!  Such beauty! 

Western Tanager (female) - Piranga ludoviciana

The Western Tanagers were such a delight to watch 

as they daintily ate cherries bite by bite!

Western Tanager (male) - Black-headed Grosbeak (female)   

Piranga ludoviciana - Pheucticus melancephalus

As you can see the trees were LOADED with cherries this year!  Young Black-headed Grosbeaks and young Robins were the most numerous cherry eaters.  You could hear them calling and chirping throughout the day.  Gray Squirrels, Chickarees, Foxes and Black Bears also dined on them!  I haven't seen any Black Bears yet this year.  However, this week there was a lot of bear scat full of cherry pits on our property!  

Black Bear scat

 If we got a game camera we could get photos of the mammals that are active at night, like Black Bears.  I'm thinking about it.  I'll keep you posted.  One of the best night camera blogs is cameratrapcodger.blogspot.com.  Check it out!  It's a fabulous blog, and his photography is amazing!

Sierra Buttes from the Deer Lake Trail 

Lakes Basin Update!

The Lakes Basin is more or less snow free now!  I went hiking to Deer Lake, Smith Lake, Howard Meadows, and Haskell Peak in the past few weeks.  I've seen thousands of wildflowers, lots of birds, and several mammals!  It's gorgeous up there!  Here's a little information about about each hike, in case you're interested in trying them.

The Deer Lake trail is approximately a 4.5 mile round-trip hike, with about 1,500' gain in elevation.  It's in sun and shade, through rocky terrain and forest, with an incredible view of the Sierra Buttes.  Deer Lake itself is a large, clear water, rock-edged lake in a gorgeous setting. The swimming can be heavenly!  The trail is now part of the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) and we surprisingly passed about 20 backpackers on our way out!

Smith Lake and Beckworth Peak - Howard Meadow - Haskell Peak

The first part of the Smith Lake Trail is hot and uphill, but after less than a mile you'll be in the shaded forest.  The trail then follows a meandering stream through the woods to Smith Lake, passing a wet meadow filled-to-the-brim with wildflowers!  We saw Death Camas, Bog Asphodel, False Asphodel/Tofieldia, Little Elephant Heads, White Brodiaea, Corn Lilies, Sneezeweed, Leopard Lilies and much more!  Smith Lake is a good size lake with easy access, and is definitely warm enough to swim in.  Although it is large, it is more like a pond with plants along the edge and a muddy bottom.  We pressed onward and upward to several more lakes and eventually swam in Maiden Lake, another pond-like lake.

Howard Meadow is a huge wet meadow, about a 4 mile drive down a rough dirt road off the Gold Lake Highway.  We drove our truck there, and it was easy going.   The meadow was in full bloom with Water Plantain Buttercups, Camas, Marsh Marigolds, Larkspurs, Gilia, Pretty Face, and lots more!  In the drier areas surrounding the meadow there were large sections covered in Dodder, Yampah, and thousands of Mule Ears.  We also saw Black Elderberry bushes, Mariposa Lilies, and Stickseeds to name a few!

Haskell Peak is only a 4 mile round trip hike, but you climb about 1000' (in 2 miles) up to the 8,120' peak!  Luckily you're in the shaded forest most of the way.  We saw several plants along the trail, that we had never seen before including Bulbed Woodland Star, California Waterleaf, and Mountain Snowberry!  The last climb to the actual peak is through a steep boulder field.  The view is spectacular from the top, with views of the Sierra Buttes, Sierra Valley, Mt. Elwell, and Mt. Lola!  It's incredibly expansive and lovely, well worth the climb!

Lodgepole Chipmunk - Chickaree/Douglas Tree Squirrel  

Tamias speciosus - Tamiasciurus douglasii

Lakes Basin Mammals!

Chipmunks seem to be everywhere in the Lakes Basin!  I've often seen them busy eating and foraging for seeds on the forest floor. They usually live in underground burrows, or hollow branches.  They live off of stored food over the winter, so they start stashing seeds early in the season.  Chickarees are also active all winter, but usually live in a nest up in a tree.  They too collect food for the winter and do not hibernate.  The chickaree above is probably a juvenile!  

California Mule Deer - Yellow-bellied Marmot

Odocoileus hemionus californicus - Marmota flaviventris

Although not as common as chipmunks and squirrels, I can usually count on seeing a Mule Deer browsing in the Lakes Basin.  They are herbivores and spend their time eating flowers, grasses, shrubs and tree buds!  Yellow-bellied Marmots are also vegetarians.  They eat lots of plants during the summer, and build up their fat reserves for winter.  They are true hibernators, and will basically sleep throughout the winter in an underground burrow.  Deer will migrate down to the snow-free areas for the winter.

Sugar Stick - Allotropa virgata

Lakes Basin Wildflowers

The Lakes Basin is in full bloom!  I've seen several species that I've never seen before, most notably the Sugar Stick pictured above.  It was off of the Mt. Elwell trail in the old growth, Red Fir forest.  There was only one of them and looked a little past its prime!  It turns out that these plants are related to Snow Plants, and do not produce chlorophyll.  They live off of dead plant material with the help of underground fungi.  Apparently they are not that common!  The following quote is from the California Native Plant Society book, Wildflowers  of Nevada & Placer Counties, California.  "Consider yourself lucky if you come across this rare and striking wildflower." Wow!!!  How exciting!!!  

Hot-rock Penstemon - Mountain Pride - Spreading Phlox  

 Penstemon deustus - Penstemon newberryi - Phlox diffusa

Black elderberry - Marsh Marigold - Stickseed sp.(?)

Sambucus melanocarpa - Caltha leptosepala - Hackelia sp.(?)

Mariposa Lily - Gilia - Yampah sp.(?) with California Dodder ground cover

Calochortus leichtlinii - Gilia leptantha - Perideridia bolanderi sp.(?) & Cuscuta californica

Western Spring Beauty - Mountain Snowberry - Bulbed Woodland Star

Claytonia lanceolata -  Symphoricarpos rotundifolius - Lithophragma glabrum

Red-breasted Sapsuckers (adult and juvenile) - Syraphicus ruber  

Lakes Basin Birds!

There are lots of birds up in the Lakes Basin right now!  In the forest near Smith Lake I saw two Red-breasted Sapsuckers on the same tree trunk!  They were an adult and a juvenile!  The adult was hammering away on the trunk while the juvenile watched!  These sapsucker create small wells in a tree trunk (see above photo).  They eat the sap that pools in these wells, as well as the insects that get stuck in the sap! They also eat the cambium layer of trees, seeds, and fruit. There's not much information on the behavior of newly fledged Red-breasted Sapsuckers.  The website https://birdsna.org states, "Parents appear to try to lead just-fledged offspring to higher elevations or to the vicinity of sap wells. Young fed by parents after fledging but not regularly; young try to feed on their own almost immediately."  I guess I was lucky to see these two sapsuckers together!  In the Fall, they will drop down to the coast and/or central valley of California to spend the winter. 

Fox Sparrow - Western Wood-Pewee - Green-tailed Towhee 

Passerella iliaca - Contopus sordidulus - Pipilo chlorurus

I usually see these three bird species every time I go up to the Lakes Basin.  If you see and hear a bird singing from the top of a tree, it is most often a Fox Sparrow.  These birds are year-round residents of the Sierra, but move down to lower elevations in the winter.  They mainly forage on the ground for seeds and berries, but will also eat insects, plant buds and fruit. The gray head, spotted breast, rusty-brown wings and tail are definitive markings for this species.

The Western Wood-Pewee is the most common Flycatcher in the Lakes Basin.  It is almost all dusky-gray in color, including its breast.  It is usually seen perched on a branch, from which it will hawk insects out of the air.  It breeds in the western half of North America, and spends the winter in the northern parts of South America!

Green-tailed Towhees are a striking sight to see with their olive-green tails and red crests.  They usually pass through my neighborhood in the Spring, while migrating to their breeding grounds in the Sierra, from their winter grounds in Mexico.  They are primarily seed and insect eaters.  They prefer to breed and nest in open brushy areas from 6,000'-10,000'! 

Mallard female with ducklings - Anas platyrhynchos

Several of the lakes we visited had ducks with ducklings!  On Deer and Grass Lakes, we saw Malllards.  Mallards nest on the ground, and will lay 1-13 eggs per clutch.  Only the female hen will incubate and care for the young. The ducklings hatch within 28 days.  They are born precocial with downy feathers and open eyes.  They usually leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching, and start feeding immediately!!  They will stay with their mother for approximately 52-70 days, until they can fly.  During that time the mother will lead them to abundant food sources, issue alarm calls when danger is present, and watch over them.  The photos are of two different Mallard hens and their broods.  We were so lucky to see these little ones!

Mallard female with ducklings - Anas platyrhynchos

Bufflehead female with ducklings - Bucephala albeola

On Kinsey and Maiden Lakes we saw Bufflehead ducks.  Buffleheads nest in tree cavities!  Their clutch can range in size from 4-17 eggs!  Incubation is solely by the female, and lasts 30 days.  The ducklings are born precocial, with downy feathers and open eyes.  They leave the nest within 24 hours and begin feeding right away.  The mother cares for the ducklings until they can fly, in approximately 50 days!  The photos are of two different hens and their broods!  It was so fun to watch them follow their mothers around the lakes.  All of the ducklings in the smaller brood were diving underwater for food! Wow!!!

Bufflehead female with ducklings - Bucephala albeola

What is this bird doing?

What insects are out there?

What's happening on the river?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

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