Sierra Buttes and glacial striations
I've been on many hikes in the Lakes Basin in the past month, including Helgrammite Lakes, Hidden Lake, Haskell Peak, Round Lake Loop, Tamarack Lake, Gold & Little Gold Lake, Squaw Lake, and the Yuba Pass area. This week's blog will give you a glimpse of all the beauty I've seen recently! Late yesterday afternoon, the smoke from the Dixie Fire arrived and obscured the view. It may be a while before I can hike in the Lakes Basin again. Hopefully, rain will come and help put out the fires.
Smoky Sierra Buttes
Thanks go to all the super hard-working firefighters that are putting their lives on-the-line day after day. Rain, rain, come on down...
Sooty Grouse (female - juvenile) - Dendragapus fuliginosus
Lakes Basin Bird Sightings
There are lots of birds up in the Lakes Basin right now. On one of my most recent hikes we came across a large, female Sooty Grouse with three juveniles! Wow! She was making lots of alarm calls to her young, and possibly to attract our attention! I couldn't believe how boldly she displayed herself, while her young scurried through the bushes! The young were about half her size, and were making little calls themselves. Again I was astounded how camouflaged they were! We watched her for a couple of minutes, until she flew off after her offspring! What a great sighting!
Mountain Bluebird (male) - Black-backed Woodpecker (?) - Western Tanager (male)
Sialia currucoides - Picoides arcticus - Piranga ludoviciana
Another amazing bird sighting, was a Black-backed Woodpecker! It was really far away, so I didn't get a good photo, but it was wonderful to see. These uncommon birds prefer to live in burnt forests, where wood boring insects are usually plentiful after a fire. Unfortunately, since burnt trees are commercially harvested these days, their population has alarmingly declined. This is the third time I've seen a Black-backed Woodpecker in the Lakes Basin! WOW!!!
White-headed Woodpecker (female) - Dryobates albolarvatus
White-headed Woodpeckers are found year-round ONLY in mixed coniferous forests dominated by pines, in the mountains of far western North America, from south-central British Columbia to southern California, and no where else in the world! They usually nest in dead, large conifers. Both the male and the female excavate the nest, incubate the eggs, feed the nestlings, and care for the fledglings. Unlike most woodpeckers, their main food is pine seeds from cones, as well as insects and their larvae!
Oregon Sidalcea - Sildalcea oregana
At higher elevations, along the borders of lakes and streams, and in some still-wet meadows, a lot of wildflowers are still blooming! Here's photos of some of the flowers I've seen over the past month! Enjoy!
Sierra Primrose - Primula suffrutescens
Every year, my friend Nancy and I hike up to see the Sierra Primroses. Our favorite spot is on the side of a mountain around 7,000' in elevation, where the snow lingers and keeps the ground wet. The primroses cascade down this steep slope, side by side with thousands of Lady Ferns! It is a sight to see!
Sugar Stick (in various stages of bloom) - Allotropa virgata
Just last week, my friends, Les & Peggy, and I hiked up to an old growth Red Fir forest where I had seen one Sugar Stick in bloom last year. This year we found around 100 of them in bloom! WOW!!! They were a lot shorter than the one I saw last year, mainly growing in small clusters, and in various stages of bloom! Once we recognized them, we realized that they were scattered all over the forest floor! Being dark navy-blue and maroon, they were highly camouflaged. We didn't see any in their prime flowering stage. Most of them were drying out and going to seed. Although they aren't considered rare, they are definitely uncommon. My friends had never seen them before, and Peggy is a botanist! 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." We are SO lucky!
It turns out that these plants are in the same plant family (Heath - Ericaceae) as Snow Plants and Pinedrops, and do not produce chlorophyll. They are mycoheterotrophs, and are parasitic on the mycelia of fungi, specifically Matsutake fungus mycelium!
At the lower elevations, most of the Corn Lilies failed to bloom this year. Yesterday, I came across this high-elevation, wet-meadow that was a cascade of blooming Corn Lilies! I was astounded by the beauty! Such an abundance of grace!
Seep-spring Arnica - Western Ladies Tresses - Porterella
Arnica longifolia - Spiranthes porrifolia - Porterella canulosa
Whorled Penstemon - Penstemon heterodoxus
Triantha/False Asphodel - Leopard Lily - Corn Lily
Triantha occidentalis - Lilium pardalinum - Veratrum californicum
Scarlet Gilia - Ipomopsis aggregata
Western Wallflower - Bog Wintergreen - Tinker's Penny
Erysimum capitatum ssp. perenne - Pyrola asarifolia - Hypericum anagalloides
North Yuba River - 7/22/21
A Hot Afternoon on the North Yuba River
Most afternoons, if I have time, I head down to the North Yuba River. I cool off in the water, and sit and watch whatever happens by. It is one of my most absolute favorite things to do! This week I didn't see any mammals in the river, but there was a nice variety of birds present and a few surprising plants!
Belted Kingfisher (male) - Osprey (adult)
Megaceryle alcyon - Pandion haliateus
This week two Belted Kingfishers and one Osprey have been perching on the river! They are probably the same ones that I've seen on the river over the years!
I hope they find fish to eat in the low water of the river!
Spotted Sandpiper (juvenile - adult, breeding)
Actitis macularius
An adult Spotted Sandpiper spent an afternoon warning me away from its two offspring. It would fly close, land on a rock, teeter back and forth, and call loudly to me. I got the warning and stayed far distant from the juvenile sandpipers. Luckily with my telephoto lens, I caught a few photos of them. They were definitely tiny, super camouflaged, and lacked any spots on their breast feathers. How fun!
Willow Catkins (male - female) - California Fuschia
Salix sp. - Epilobium canum
The willows along the river are in full bloom. The air has lots of "fluff" floating in it from these plants.
Surprisingly the California Fuschias were blooming on the super-heated, exposed river rocks this week! They are one of my absolute favorite flowers. A few years ago the scientific community renamed them to Epilobium canum, and discarded their old name Zauschneria californica. My friend Nancy and I still fondly call them "Zauschneria", for some reason it's a plant name than lingers!
North Yuba River in smoke
More Damp Earth Art!
The smoke from the Dixie Fire found its way to our neighborhood this morning. I sure hope they keep it from burning into Quincy, Taylorsville, and Greenville, as well as several other small towns. Rain and thunderstorms are predicted in that area later this week. Let's hope they get some good downpours. Wildfires and wind are a constant worry these days. It is turning into a devastating, early fire season already. Our daytime temperatures are in the 90's, but at least at night it's been getting down into the 50's, which is a relief. A slight chance of rain and thundershowers is predicted for later this coming week. Hopefully if it rains it pours, and lightning will be minimal. 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!
What is the "foam" around these rocks?
What's happening in the ponds I visited last winter?
Is anything blooming at the lower elevations?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
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