Wet Meadows!

Howard Meadow - 6/14/21

The Lakes Basin has many lovely meadows ranging is size from a few to several hundred acres.  Although they all have many things in common, each one is delightfully unique.  I never know what I might discover whenever I walk out into one of them.  We visited two of my favorite meadows in the Lakes Basin last Monday morning, Howard Meadow and an unnamed meadow off the Gold Lake Road.  It was a surprisingly cool, cloud-covered morning!  The meadows were gloriously green with thousands of Corn Lilies, grasses and sedges, bordered by colorful wildflowers.  Occasionally the sun would break through the clouds and illuminate one area brilliantly!  Such beauty!

Apart from being gorgeous, meadows are a very important part of the sierran ecosystem.  The following quote from https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5397692.pdf 

briefly summarizes their benefits to the environment.

"Besides supporting species not found elsewhere, meadows do many other things. They filter sediment from water flowing from surrounding slopes—providing clean water for wildlife and healthy habitat for aquatic animals that live in lakes and streams. Meadows provide an important breeding ground for invertebrates (such as insects), a key food source for many birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Meadow plants also provide food and habitat structure for small mammals that, in turn, provide an important prey base for raptors, coyotes, and other predators. Meadows are sponges, absorbing water as snowpack melts and holding that water like an underground water tank. By holding the water in the mountains, the risk of flooding in the Sacramento Valley is reduced significantly. Then, later in the summer, this stored water feeds the many streams and rivers in the mountains, so they continue to flow during the long dry summers."

In the book Sierra Nevada (1970) the author, Verna R. Johnston, writes a delightful account of the wildlife that inhabits sierran meadows, including Pocket Gophers, California Moles, voles, Aplondontia, shrews, Coyotes, bats, deer, weasels, songbirds, and raptors!  It is a fascinating account of the complex ecosystem of a meadow.  I highly recommend her book! The following quote is her introduction to the subject of mountain meadows.

"This inherent rhythm, unique to each species, is very evident among the animals of the mountain meadows.  Thousands of meadows, varying from small seepages to spacious ranches, intersperse the midmountain, higher mountain forests.  Each, in an unmatched setting of its own, is a serene open place where morning dew hangs heavy on the grass and sedge, midday sun dazzles, evening's coolness brings the deer.  But each is much more than grass, wet soil, wildflowers, deer at twilight.  Each is an interlaced community of plants and animals whose lives affect each other intimately the year through, often in ways that barely show above the surface."

Western Bistort with Mosquito

Polygonum bistortoides - Ochlerotatus sp.

Meadow Wildflowers

 Because of the wildflowers and wet/damp areas there are lots of insects that inhabit meadows, the main one being the mosquito!  The female mosquito is the one that bites, it needs the protein from blood to create its eggs.  They also feed on nectar and honeydew.  Male mosquitos don't bite, they only feed on nectar and honeydew.  Right now there are thousands of mosquitos in the mountain meadows, so bring your repellent!   

This year I'm afraid the drought, high temperatures, and wind will dry the meadows out quickly.  The Corn Lilies have grown waist high, but the flower buds are already drying up without blossoming.  This is not that unusual.  I've seen many years when the Corn Lilies don't bloom.  However, I visited the same two meadows on Monday and Thursday this week, and they had already dried out considerably in that short span of time!  Now is the time to get out there and see them!  Next week I plan to visit two other meadows at a higher elevation, and I'll let you know what beauties I find!  Here are some of the wildflowers we saw this past week!  Enjoy!

White Rein Orchid - Death Camas

Plantanthera leucostachys - Toxicoscordion venenosum

Camas -  Camassia quamash

Sierra Lewisia - Three-leaf Lewisia

Lewisia nevadensis - Lewisia triphylla

Western Buttercup - Ranunculus occidentalis

Very wet meadow in the Lakes Basin - 6/14/21

If the meadow you visit is still full of water, like the one pictured above, you're bound to see waterfowl, songbirds, and shorebirds living there!

Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius

This beautiful Spotted Sandpiper was flying over and foraging in the meadow.  We totally lucked out and accidentally flushed it from its nest on the ground!  I have always wanted to find a sandpiper nest, but never have!  It was on the ground, with no apparent rim, just a loose concentric gathering of pine needles and pine cone bracts!  I quickly took a picture of the single egg in the nest, and left the vicinity.  What a gift to see it!  It must have been a male Spotted Sandpiper that flew off the nest, as they are the ones that brood the eggs, feed the nestlings, and care for the fledglings.  How cool!

Mallard - Brewer's Backbird - Canada Goose

Anas platyrhynchos - Euphagus cyanocephalus - Branta canadensis

We also saw a female Mallard, six Canada Geese, and a pair of Brewer's Blackbirds.  The sedges and grasses provide food and camouflage for the waterfowl. The multitude of insects that live in the meadow are a great source of food for songbirds!

 Canada Geese - Branta canadensis

On June 9,  2018 I saw these Canada Geese with their goslings on the same wet meadow!  I'll check this meadow again in a few weeks and see if there are any goslings!

Squaw Lake - 6/12/21

Surprising Squaw Lake!

A week ago, I hiked up to Squaw Lake and was delighted with what I observed!  The lake was FULL of water and no one else was there!  I had it to myself!!!  Along the shoreline there were many exoskeltons/exuviae of dragonfly nymphs on the above-water reed stems!  I also saw 10 or more live dragonfly nymphs leaving the lake water and climbing up the stems!  The live nymphs appeared to be covered in algae.  Some were also covered with quite a bit of tree pollen that had washed ashore!  Once a nymph finds the right spot on a plant stem, it slowly dries out and its exuvia splits open along the back.  It then pulls its new adult body out of the exuvia, unfolds and pumps up its wings, dries out some more, and flies away!  The whole process can take from one to three hours!!! 

Dragonfly nymph exoskeleton/exuvia - live nymph

I don't know what species of dragonfly these nymphs were, but there were lots of adult Four-spotted Skimmers in the area.  It was fascinating to watch them!

Such tiny live beings!

Williamson's Sapsucker (female) - Sphyrapicus thyroideus

Just before I got to Squaw Lake I heard an unusual "churring" sound coming from some trees.  I thought it was a bird but didn't know what kind.  I looked and looked and finally saw a medium sized bird on the lower part of a small Lodgepole Pine tree.  Luckily it stayed on the trunk for several minutes, and I  was able to take a lot of photos.  I didn't recognize the bird at all!  When I got back home I was able to identify it as a bird I've never seen before, a female Williamson's Sapsucker!  WOW!!!

It turns out that they are uncommon but live here year-round! The churring sound I heard is described by the the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as, 

"A Scold or Alarm Call. Phonetic spelling is churr with a rolled “r” at the end of each call note, and usually given in series. The most common vocal response to intruders near nest or sap tree; a short, sharp, hoarse guttural role, which drops rapidly in pitch."

So it was verbalizing its annoyance at my presence! 

Williamson's Sapsucker (female) - Sphyrapicus thyroideus

 I didn't realize that it was feeding at its "sap wells" until I looked at my photos on the computer.  The wells explained why is stuck around on that one section of the tree trunk.  I only saw this female.  Apparently the males have a black back and head, a yellow belly, and a red throat!  

The male primarily excavates the nest cavity in a tree trunk. Both the male and female incubate the 4-6 eggs for 12-14 days, brood the nestlings for 31-32 days, and feed the fledglings for several days after they fledge.  Right now is the time for them to be raising their young.  It's possible that there could be a nest in the vicinity. So, I'm going to go back and see if I can find a nest and observe it from a distance.  I'll let you know what I find.  In the meantime, I'm thrilled to have seen this uncommon beautiful sapsucker!

Steller's Jay in the rain - Cyanocitta stelleri

More Damp Earth Art!

The super hot, dry, and windy weather is back. It makes me worried. Anytime I think of it, I focus on rain, rain, 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 rain inspired art, or writing, or a photo please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Check out what's already been submitted at dampearthart.blogspot.com

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

I will be posting new art weekly. Check it out and pray for rain!

Sierra Buttes 6/14/21

What's happening in my neighborhood?

Are there any more nests or baby birds?

Are there any fish or fish-eating mammals in the river?

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

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