Leopard Lily - Lilium pardalinum
In the shady forest and on the sunny slopes there are still lots of wildflowers blooming where I live! It changes all the time! Right now, along the streams and in the wet meadows, the Leopard Lilies are starting to bloom. These gorgeous flowers can be 2-7' tall, with several hanging flowers on each stalk. Although they are not fragrant, they are gorgeous to look at. These lilies are the most widespread of the wet-growing lilies in our area. They reproduce from rhizomes, or continuously growing, horizontal, underground stems which put out lateral shoots and random roots at intervals. The petals on the one pictured above were unusually deep-red in color, more commonly they are a rich-orange. Such beauty!
Washington Lily - Lilium washingtonianum
The Washington Lily pictured above was growing in our local cemetery.! These 4-6' lilies, have tiered whorls of leaves, and clusters of 2-20, 3-5", fragrant flowers. They smell just like an Easter Lily! Deer love to eat the buds and often nip them off before they bloom. They grow in dry shady areas in the forest. They reproduce from underground bulbs. They are one of my all time favorite wildflowers!
Leafless Wintergreen - Bridge's Brodiaea/Bridge's Tritelia - Naked-stem Buckwheat
Pyrola aphylla - Tritelia bridgesii - Eriogonum nudum
I always carry a magnifying hand lens with me when I go exploring. With this magnifier I can see details in flowers and insects that you can't see well with your naked eye. It is a world of incredible beauty! The Bridge's Brodiaea above is so beautiful up close. It's anthers are blue and the end of the pistil has a lavender cap!
Hand lenses range in price from $5 to $25 and up. The one I use is a 10X, glass lens made by Bausch & Lomb, that cost $25. It's perfect for the field and has incredible clarity. If you love flowers or bugs, I highly recommend investing in one of these lenses. You will be amazed!
Clustered Broomrape - White stemmed frasera - Milkwort Jewelflower
Orobanche fasciculata - Frasera albicaulis - Streptanthus polygaloides
I was thrilled to find the Clustered Broomrape in my neighborhood! I have never seen one before! It doesn't have any chlorophyll, so it obtains nutrients from the roots of its host plants, such as Sagebrush and Yerba Santa. I only saw these two small (4" tall) plants in the entire area! The White stemmed frasera was another delight to find! I hadn't seen this plant for many years! While I was out wandering around my neighborhood this week, I came across hundreds of them on a sunny slope I hadn't visited in years! Wow!!!
Monkeyflower (?) - Indian Pink - Buckwheat (?)
Mimulus sp. - Silene laciniata ssp. californica - Eriogonum sp.
All of these three wildflowers were growing on a dry, sunny, rocky slope. I'll figure out the species of the Monkeyflower and Buckwheat plants in the near future.
Seepspring Monkeyflower - Western Ladies Tresses - Scarlet Monkeyflower
Mimulus guttatus - Spiranthes porrifolia - Mimulus cardinalis
I found these three species of flowers blooming along the wet roadside ditch I've been observing for the past few months. I didn't find any tadpoles in the ditch, so they must have changed into frogs! I was delighted to find the Western Ladies Tresses. These tiny orchids spiral around the stem, resembling neatly braided hair, hence the common name “ladies tresses”. Like the Leopard Lily, Ladies Tresses grow from underground rhizomes. Collection of these rhizomes or any wild plants without a permit is illegal in national forests. I also discourage picking any wildflowers. When you pick a wildflower it has lost its chance to produce seeds and reproduce.
Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius
River News!
There have been several Spotted Sandpipers along the shoreline, and on the rocks in the river lately. I just love their beautiful spotted breasts and how they teeter on the rocks. They have a mating system that's quite different from most birds, in that the females are sometimes monogamous, and sometimes practice polyandry! They might mate with more than one male, and will often lay three different sets of eggs, in three different nests! The males do most of the nest building, incubating, and care of the nestlings and fledglings! The female's job is to defend the multiple nests from any intruders!
Spotted Sandpiper (juveniles) - Actitis macularius
In August of 2018, I happened across this pair of Spotted Sandpiper juveniles! They were a delight to watch! Hopefully I'll see some again this year!
Common Merganser female with 16 ducklings - Mergus merganser
More female Common Mergansers and their ducklings showed up on the river this week! To my delight I spotted this group of 16 ducklings with their mom one morning! Wow!!! They were just beautiful and fun to watch! The little ducklings stayed close to their mom, and followed her wherever she went. Some of the ducklings even rode on her back!!! The mom also quacked to them if she was alarmed by any unwelcome intruders, and they would quickly group up around her.
Common Merganser female with ducklings - Mergus merganser
The average brood size of the Common Merganser is 9-12, but they have been known to have as many as 17 ducklings! I was amazed to see the group of 16 little ducklings! Within 1-2 days after the ducklings leave their nest, they are capable of swimming, diving, and feeding on their own! The mom will stay with them for approximately 2 months, warding off predators such as minks, otters, foxes, and herons! In the Fall, they will migrate to southern California or Arizona for the winter.
Common Merganser female with 6 ducklings - Mergus merganser
The other female Merganser and her 6 ducklings that I've been observing, is also doing fine. I first saw them almost a month ago, and they are getting bigger all the time! They must have been born a lot earlier than the 16 little ones that just arrived. One morning I saw them all cuddled together, sleeping on a beach just a little downriver!
Common Merganser female with 6 ducklings - Mergus merganser
No matter how many times I see them, it is always a delight and wonder!
Western Tiger Swallowtail & Pale Swallowtail
Pipilio rutulus rutulus - Papilio eurymedon
Along the damp shore of the river, butterflies (mostly male) are often found
"puddling" in large groups. Puddling is a behavior many butterflies (and a few moths) engage in. Puddling sites can be any of a number of places: mud, dung, fermenting fruit, carrion, urine. Butterflies are attracted to these sites because they can sip up the salt (sodium) and minerals found there.
Pale Swallowtail - Anise Swallowtail - Western Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio eurymedon - Papilio zelicaon - Pipilio rutulus rutulus
I've seen Pale Swallowtail and Western Tiger Swallowtail butterflies many times. New this year is the Anise Swallowtail pictured above! I had never seen one of these before, but they should be found in our area. They lay their eggs on plants in the Apiacaea/Umbelliferae or carrot/parsley family, such as Spring Gold (Lomatium utriculatum).
Silver-spotted Skipper - Great Spangled Fritillary - Clodius Parnassian
Epargyreus clarus - Spyeria cybele - Parnassius clodius sol
Down in our garden there are lots of butterflies and a few skippers. Skippers, like the one pictured above left, are not true butterflies. They have hooked antennae, a moth-like body, and their wings are held at a different angle than true butterflies. Like true butterflies, skippers have scales on their wings, a coiled sucking mouth part, and a complete metamorphosis.
Spyeria cybele
Male and female Lepidopterans (butterflies, skippers, and moths)
may look alike, or they may look totally different! The male Great Spangled
Fritillary is black and white in coloration!
Where are the foxes and bears?
What bugs are buzzin'?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
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Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com
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