River Otters!!!

River Otter - Lontra canadensis

On Tuesday morning I was out on my usual wander, when I spotted two River Otters in the river!  WOW!!!  They were swimming together, diving underwater, and popping up further upstream.   Luckily one of them caught a large trout and stopped to eat it!  I quickly hiked to a better view point and watched them for a good six minutes!!!  The trout was big and it took the Otter about 5+ minutes to methodically chew it down to nothing!  The other Otter hung around in the area but didn't interrupt the one with the fish,  just patiently waited for it to finish its meal!  Once the fish was eaten, the two Otters swam in tandem up the river and out of sight!!!  Wow!  Now that was an amazing experience!  I was SO lucky to see such beauty!

River Otter - Lontra canadensis

When the Otter had eaten about half the fish, it moved a short distance downstream to finish eating its catch.  You can just see the last of the trout in its open mouth, in the above photo.

River Otter - Lontra canadensis

This is the River Otter that was waiting for the other one to finish eating.  When you see two River Otters together it isn't a mated pair, it's usually a female and her offspring.  These two were definitely in tune with each other! 

I've written about River Otters in several past blogs.  For more information on Otters go to my Sept. 9, 1918 and my March 1, 2020 blogs.   

Columbian Black-tailed Deer (bucks) - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

A week ago I had another interesting sighting in the river.  I saw two Columbian Black-tailed Deer, walking along in the edge of the river!  They were both bucks, but one was much smaller and younger than the other!  These two were also definitely in tune with each other, with the younger one following the older one!

Round Lake - 10/08/20

Clouds but unfortunately no Rain

Last weekend we were hoping to hike in the rain, up in the Lakes Basin.  Beautiful clouds hung over the basin all day, but not a drop fell.  It was however, smoke-free and beautiful!  The fall colors are still incredible, especially the shrubs!

Mountain Ash - Sorbus californicus

Mountain Ash is a native shrub in the Sierra, that grows in moist areas, as well as coniferous forests and woodlands from 4000'-9,000' in elevation.  The leaves turn a lovely tawny-yellow to pinkish-red, and the berries are bright-red in the Fall.  In the photo above, the berries have been partially eaten, perhaps by birds, bears, or other critters. 

Dwarf Bilberry - Mountain Spiraea/Rose Meadowsweet

Vaccinium caespitosum - Spiraea splendens

Dwarf Bilberry is also native to California from sea-level to 12,000' in elevation!  Up in the Lakes Basin it is often found in the company of Spiraea.  Spiraea is native to the northern Sierra, and grows along coniferous forest edges and in moist meadows, from 3,000' to 10,000' in elevation.  In the Fall I call them "Gold & Garnet"!  Spiraea is the gold (although it has dried to a rusty-copper in the above photo) and Dwarf Bilberry is the garnet!  They glowed under the soft light of the overcast sky!  Such beauty!!!  

 

Thimbleberry - Rubus parviflorus

Thimbleberry is another California native, and grows throughout the state (except the deserts) from sea-level to 9,000' in elevation.  Each flower produces one berry that is edible, and much like a smaller, drier raspberry.  I love the combination of the gray rocks and the lemon-yellow Thimbleberry leaves.  Such exquisite colors!

Corn Lily - Veratrum californicum

Although not striking in color, we discovered something beautiful about dry Corn Lily stalks this week!  We were thrashing through some bushes in the Lakes Basin when I accidentally whacked a Corn Lily stalk and was SHOWERED in hundreds of Corn Lily seeds!  This had never happened before and was quite a surprise!  Of course we had to shake several more stalks, and got the same astounding shower of seeds!  It made us laugh, it was so surprisingly beautiful and FUN!!!  You never know what you'll discover next if you just get out there!

Golden-crowned Sparrow - Cassin's Finch

Zonotrichia atricaplla - Haemorhous cassinii

Lakes Basin Bird Report

I saw several Golden-crowned Sparrows and Cassin's Finches in the Lakes Basin this week.  They will probably be passing through to our neighborhood soon, on the way to their winter residences. The Golden-crowned Sparrows will travel to the coast and central valley of California, or even as far south as northern Baja for the winter.  Some Cassin's Finches descend to lower elevations in California for the winter.  Others may travel to the east side of the Sierra, or the interior west of the U.S. for the winter.  Still others migrate as far south as Baja California or Central Mexico.

Mallard - Song Sparrow

Anas platyrhynchos - Melospiza melodia

There are still a few waterfowl in the Lakes Basin!  The Mallards will migrate to California's Central Valley for the winter.  

Song Sparrows aren't waterfowl but the one we saw was acting like a shorebird on the edge of a small pond!  It pecked repeatedly on the surface of the pond, probably retrieving insects and seeds in the process!  It will migrate down to warmer areas in California for the winter.  We have some that live in our neighborhood year-round.  Perhaps the one pictured above will join them when the weather gets colder!

Common Merganser - Western Grebe

Mergus Merganser - Aechmorphorus occidentalis

I saw several Common Mergansers in Sardine Lake this week!  They will migrate to lower lakes and rivers for the winter, even to my neighborhood if the winter is mild!

Although known to nest in an area north of the Lakes Basin (Lake Almanor), I rarely see Western Grebes in the Lakes Basin.  I was delighted to see this one swimming around in Silver Lake this week!  It will head to lower lakes and bays for the winter.  It is commonly found throughout the western states.

We Need Rain!

Once again I am sending out a "Call for Art" in celebration of rain. My intention is to focus on the need for rain, and through collective positive energy invoke rain to fall. It is just a wish, a thought, and a hope. If you would like to submit some art, or writing, or a photo please check out my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com. I will be posting new art weekly. 

You can view what was submitted last year at dampearth.blogspot.com.

Check it out and pray for rain!

Round Lake - 10/16/20

Will the Lakes Basin stay smoke-free this coming week?

Are the bears still around?

What are they eating?

Are the Sandhill Cranes migrating through yet?

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

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