Still Smoky

Great Blue Heron above the North Yuba River - 9/04/20

California is still burning up. Individual small fires have joined together into large fires, in many parts of the state.  It's been hot and dry and predictions are for even hotter and drier conditions. Thousands of people have lost their homes. Several hundred thousand acres of wild lands have burned up as well, and the effect on wildlife is not yet known. Many animals do have some ability to escape from wildfire. Birds can fly away, mammals can run, and amphibians and other small creatures, such as squirrels, can go into underground burrows, or take cover under rocks. Other animals, including large ones like elk, will take refuge in streams and lakes.  I hope most have survived somehow, and that heavy rains come soon!

Smoky Ridges 9/04/20

So far all we've had to deal with is smoke.  It comes and goes with the wind.  Some days are heavy and dark with smoke, others are just hazy.  We've even had one totally clear, smoke-free day this week!  I imagine it will be like this for some time.

Eye Gnat - Liohippelates pusio

(photo from www.fliesonly.com)

Not only do we have smoke in our eyes lately, we also have lots of gnats.  I've been reading a bunch of info on the internet, and here's a summary of what I've learned. The type of gnats that are currently trying to land in everyone's eyes, mouth, nose and ears, are Eye Gnats (Liohippelates pusio). They are very small, true flies, and are non-biting.  It is only the females that are plaguing us!  They need the proteins found in human and animal secretions to produce their eggs.  They do not pierce the skin of the host to obtain this material, but rather scrape up a pool of mucous with their hind legs and suck it up with their spongy mouth parts!  Male Eye Gnats are rare, and do not feed on secretions.  Females will lay their eggs in loose soil.  It can take 11-30 days for the larvae to become adults.  Larvae feed on plant material, not secretions.  Multiple generations can occur each year.  These adult gnats can be active anytime the temperature is over 70 degrees, with the most activity occurring when temperatures reach into the 90's.  Unfortunately that is happening right now!  Our only hope is rain and cold temperatures, which will get rid of these gnats. However, our forecast is for HOT temperatures and no rain, so the gnats are here to stay for awhile! 

The internet is full of information on how to make homemade gnat repellent, using everything from vinegar to vanilla.  You're going to have to make you own decision on those.  The three remedies that I use are: get up early and go walking in the cool of the morning, or use a mosquito net over your hat (covering your head and shoulders), and put screens on your windows!  In the meantime pray for RAIN!

Sierra Buttes - 8/29/20

Hiking in the Lakes Basin

A few times in the past two weeks, we've been able to hike because the air quality was okay.  One day was really clear, the others were hazy.  We went on several long hikes on those days, and visited a variety of lakes, meadows, and ridges.  It was wonderful to be back in the Lakes Basin again!  I'll never tire of visiting this beautiful area of the Sierra Nevada Range!  Here are a few of the sights we enjoyed.

An off-trail lake at 7,200' in elevation

A closer view of the off-trail lake

A dramatic landscape in the Sierra Buttes

Sierra Buttes on the morning of  9/1/20

A view of  Long Lake from above Mud Lake 

Long Lake sparkles!

Hiker's Fringed Gentian -  California Grass-of-Parnassus

Gentianopsis simplex - Parnassia palustris

Late Bloomers!

The blooming season is approaching its end in the Lakes Basin.  Currently the most commonly seen bloomers are Rubber Rabbitbrush, Pearly Everlasting, and a variety of Asters.  Some of the wet meadows and dry rocky slopes, have a few surprises in store for the curious botanist!  

Bolander's Madia (?) - California Fuschia

Kyhosia bolanderi (?) - Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium

Aster sp. - Pearly Everlasting

Symphyotryichum sp. - Anaphalis margaritacea

Western Wood Pewee (juvenile - adult) - Townsend's Solitaire (juvenile)

Contopus sordidulus - Myadestes townsendii

Lakes Basin Birds

There are still a lot of birds up in the Lakes Basin, including juveniles.  By far the most commonly seen juvenile this year is the Townsend's Solitaire!  It is probably one of the most obvious juveniles because of its overall speckled/dappled appearance!  I think they are amazingly feathered!  We were also delighted to watch a juvenile Western Wood Pewee being fed by its parents!  They posed so perfectly for us on a dead tree limb!  

Green-tailed Towhee (juvenile) - Dark-eyed Junco (juvenile)
Pipilo chlorurus - Junco hyemalis

This juvenile Green-tailed Towhee, was doing its hop-and-back-scratch method of finding food on the forest floor, just like an adult!  The juvenile Dark-eyed Junco was impossible to identify.  I couldn't find anything that looked like it in the field guides!  Finally, my friend Mary asked the opinion of some expert birders and they identified it for us!  It's feathering and lemon-yellow coloring looks nothing like the adults!  

Yellow Warbler (female) - Hermit Warbler (female)

Setophaga petechia - Dendroica occidentalis

We've also seen several Warblers.  A female Yellow Warbler showed up in the forest on one of our hikes!  Such incredible color!  On another hike, a female Hermit Warbler surprised us!  Apparently, these warblers aren't often seen as they spend most of their time up in the tops of trees!  About a month ago we watched a male Yellow-rumped Warbler feed its offspring!  Now that was something to see!

Yellow-rumped Warbler (female) - Yellow-rumped Warbler (male - juvenile)

Dendroica coronata

Angular Orb Weaver (female) - Araneus sp.

We came across this large (1"+) spider on its huge (3'+) web above a vernal, bedrock pool.  I couldn't get around to photograph the top of it without wrecking its web.  It would rapidly scoot off its web and cram into a rock crevice if I came too close. The photo on the right is of the topside of its abdomen.  What an intricate pattern and unusual large bumps!  Like all orb weavers, this spider starts building its web with a framework of non-sticky silk, then adds a spiral of silk covered in sticky droplets.  Although venomous, this spider is harmless to humans.  Males are much smaller, usually 1/4 to 1/3 the size of a female.  Orb weavers are typically nocturnal. During the day, the spider will prefer to either sit motionless in the web or move off the web.  At night, the orb weaver will become more active, working to repair any damage on the web, and sitting in the middle of the web.  They will eat the damaged parts of the web and rebuild them with new silk!

What's the story behind this odd scene?

Are there any signs of Fall?

Are the bears still around?

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

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