The North Yuba River

North Yuba River - 8/24/21

 The smoke from the Dixie/Jarbo Gap fire is diminishing, and we're not getting much smoke from the Caldor Fire yet. Thanks to the supreme efforts of the firefighters, the Dixie Fire is now 45% contained.  So far it has burned 750,672 acres!!! Conditions are still super dry, windy, and hot. I am so, so grateful that there aren't any wildfires near us.

Although every morning has been pretty smoky this week, the late afternoons have been smoke-free, thank goodness!  As soon as the air cleared in the afternoon, I would usually head down to the river to see what was happening.  Having the North Yuba River right outside our door is such a gift!  Its beauty is so uplifting!  It's my treasured refuge!

Confusing Petrophila Moth on a Mint Bush (spearmint)

Petrophila confusalis - Mentha spicata

Last week I noticed this tiny moth (about 1/4" long) on a mint plant, but didn't know what species they were.  My botanist friend, Peggy, identified the plant as a non-native Bush Mint (spearmint), and iNaturalist identified the moth as a Confusing Petrophila Moth.  It turns out that the tiny moth has a very interesting lifecycle!

The following information about their lifecycle is from the website http://nationalmothweek.org/2014/09/05/project-noah-moth-of-the-month-confusing-petrophila/

"For many moths and their larvae, submergence in water can lead to an inevitable death. However, some moths, notably moths in the family Crambidae, subfamily Acentropinae, are able to live underwater as larvae, feeding on algae and aquatic plants. Moth larvae in the genus Petrophila are gilled, and create a silken shelter to hold on to rocks in lotic, or fast flowing, waters. These moths also pupate underwater, creating a small opening to assist in adult emergence. The adults emerge through the cocoon and can either float or swim to the surface, where they reach the stream edge to dry their wings and fly as adults."

However, for females, this is not their last time in the water. After mating, the females of Petrophila confusalis, the species pictured here, form a thin bubble of air to deposit the eggs. The air can last them between four and twelve hours. Females are capable of laying eggs four meters deep, but some skim the surface of the water laying eggs, or crawl along rocks to oviposit on the underside of the rock. The females die in the water after laying their eggs, having made their contribution to the next generation of aquatic Lepidoptera"

What an amazing lifecycle! I had no idea that some moth larvae could live underwater, and breath with gills! I can't imagine these tiny moths diving underwater to lay their eggs! I went back to the same plant a few more times this week and saw three more of these Confusing Petrophila Moths. Interestingly, I didn't find these moths feeding on any of the other nearby flowering plants.

Signal Crayfish claws - River Otters

Pacifasticus leniusculus - Lontra canadensis

Unbelievably, on the river this week I saw three Rivers Otters one day and a Black Bear the next!

The River Otters were slithering through the shallow riffles on the river when I first saw them. They then disappeared underneath the willows along the shoreline. I waited for them to pop up, but they didn't surface nearby! About a minute later they popped up way downstream! I managed to just got a photo of the back of their heads! It must have been a mom with two offspring!!!

I've been seeing lots of River Otter scat on the river rocks lately, usually filled with crushed crayfish exoskeletons. I've also come across leftover crayfish claws, which must not be worth eating!  River Otters will readily eat crayfish, as well as fish, aquatic garter snakes, turtles, crayfish, mussels, molting ducks, frogs, and newts.

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

This Black Bear was halfway submerged and cooling off in the river when I saw it!  It stayed in the same spot the whole time I watched it.  It was a really, really hot afternoon!  It was the first time I've ever seen a bear soaking in the river!  WOW!!!

Great Blue Heron - Osprey

Ardea herodius - Pandion haliaetus

The large birds I usually see on the river are a Great Blue Heron and an Osprey.  The heron is almost 4' tall, with a 6' wingspan. The Osprey is 2' tall, with a 5'+ wingspan. They are almost always solitary. Both of them mainly eat fish. The heron wades into the moving water, waits for an unsuspecting fish to swim by, and then nabs it with its beak. The Osprey usually scans for fish from a tree branch and then dives feet first into the water to catch it! They are amazing to watch!  Aren't they just beautiful?

Mallards - Anas platyrhynchos

New this week, I saw 4 Mallards (probably juveniles) on the river!  They don't usually stick around like the Common Mergansers, and just pass through. Locally, the adults raise their young up in the Lakes Basin. Their winters are typically spent in California's Central Valley.

Black Phoebe (fledgling - adult) - Sayornis nigricans

On several evenings last week, I observed an adult Black Phoebe feeding two fledglings on the edge of the river!  Phoebes are flycatchers, and hawk insects out of the air for food.  The two young fledglings would make a racket and open their beaks whenever the adult approached!  It was so fun to watch them!

Black Phoebe (fledgling - adult) - Sayornis nigricans

 Both the male and female adults feed the nestlings.  However, I couldn't find out if they both feed the fledglings.  I appeared to be only one adult feeding these two fledglings.  Black Phoebes can have two broods per season, and often in the same nest!

Common Merganser - Mergus merganser

All of this year's merganser ducklings are now adult size!  I see this group of three juveniles and one adult female fairly often. The adult female can be distinguished by its dark eyes. The juveniles still have golden eyes with a white stripe below them. Just this week we saw a group of 18 Common Mergansers together on the river! Apparently they are quite social, and are often seen in large groups, but not usually on the North Yuba!

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

Down in the Garden!

My husband and I were down in the garden one evening when we heard some twigs snapping above us in a nearby group of cherry trees.  It sounded louder than a Chickaree or Gray Squirrel.  To our surprise a Red-tailed Hawk came down out of the trees, landed on our garden fence, flew 20', and perched on a nearby phone line!  It looked at us for a few seconds before it took off and soared away into the sky!  Wow!  It's not typical behavior for a Red-tailed Hawk to be in the trees, but perhaps it was hunting one of the many squirrels that inhabit our area!  I wasn't sure what kind of hawk it was, but iNaturalist.org identified it as a Red-tailed Hawk.  A few days later I saw two of them flying together in the sky! 

Black-headed Grosbeak - Chipping Sparrow - Savannah Sparrow

Pheucticus melanocephalus - Spizella passerina - Passerculus sandwhichensis

The sunflowers in our garden are starting to go to seed, and are attracting a variety of birds!  Every evening we go down to the garden and watch them feasting on the seeds!  Such beauty!

Mountain Quail (adult - two juveniles)

Oreortyx pictus

This summer I have been pleasantly surprised to see Mountain Quail and their offspring in our neighborhood, often in our garden!  I always thought that they migrated to higher elevations to breed.   Just this week we saw two adults and what I thought was one juvenile.  When I looked at my photos on the computer I realized that it was two juveniles!  One was right behind the other, and so camouflaged they were hard to distinguish from the background!

 

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus comlumbianus

I've seen these two bucks several times lately, in our neighborhood.  Their antlers are getting nearly full-sized!  In another month or so, the antlers will be fully grown, no longer covered in "velvet", and ready to use in competition for females. Displays and threats often prevent actual battles between males, but battles do occur. Using their antlers, bucks will try to force their competitor to the ground. The buck that loses withdraws from the mating competition. Usually it's the buck with the biggest antlers that wins! A single buck may breed with most does in its area. A doe may breed with several males.

Their antlers will eventually drop off sometime between January and March. The reason why you don't see lots of antlers on the ground in the Summer, is because they have been gnawed on and eaten by a variety of small and large forest critters! Apparently antlers are an excellent source of calcium, phosphorus, and mineral salts!

Locust with Raindrops

Damp Earth Art

The wildfires are still burning, and more have started. I am so grateful that there aren't any fires in our immediate area. My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes in this unprecedented fire season. My unending thanks go to the fire fighters who continue to battle these dangerous fires every day.

I so wish it would rain! We can't do anything about the drought, the wind, hot temperatures and fires. Worry makes it harder to bear. So anytime I think of it, I think 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. I've created a blog, dampearthart.blogspot.com, where I post photographs, quotes, and artworks that feature rain.

If you'd like to submit some work to be posted on this blog, please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. I'll be posting new art weekly, check it out and pray for rain!

What is the Wildlife Disaster Network?

What does Gold Country Wildlife Rescue do?

Next week I PROMISE to write about what's happening in the local ponds!

Check back next for the answers to these questions and more.

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

A few smoke-free Adventures

Skeleton Weed seeds suspended in spider threads - Chondrilla juncea

This week we had HEAVY smoke almost every day from the surrounding fires. However there was one afternoon, one whole day, and one morning that were more or less smoke-free. I was able to wander in my neighborhood, swim in the river, and hike in the Lakes Basin again! On my morning wander I came across this incredible sight of Skeleton Weed seeds suspended in spider silk! It was SO magical!  The seeds looked like they were afloat but holding still in the air! How lucky I was to see such astonishing beauty!

Lesser Goldfinch (male) - Skeleton Weed - Sparrow (sp.?)

Carduelis psaltria - Chondrilla juncea - unidentified

Skeleton Weed is a non-native, invasive species from Eurasia, that you can typically find thriving along highways.  The name comes from the wiry, leafless appearance of the stems.  Although it isn't native, I often see local birds feasting on the seeds.  That morning I saw these Lesser Goldfinches eating the seeds, along with some young sparrows!

Scarlet Monkeyflower - Blazing Stars - Seep-spring Monkeyflower

Mimulus cardinalis - Mentzelia laevicaulis - Mimulus guttatus

There aren't many flowers in bloom down at our elevation of 2,500'. However a few hardy species are still in bloom in the wet areas, as well as on the dry slopes.  The Blazing Stars are one of my absolute favorites with their clusters of 2" long stamens, and satin-like petals!

..

Our Swimming Hole!

The afternoon that the smoke cleared off, I headed down to our swimming hole on the river.  It was fabulous!  The river rocks weren't slimy, no one else was there, the water was crystal clear and just the perfect refreshing temperature!  I swam, wandered, photographed, sang, breathed the clear air, and soaked in the beauty!

Mystery Mint and Mystery Moth (inset) - both unidentified

In my wanderings I came across a plant I didn't recognize growing among the hot river rocks.  It looked and smelled like some kind of mint.  There were lots of different kinds of insects feeding on it!  I spent a long time just watching and photographing the insects.  It was fascinating!  At the last minute I noticed the tiny moth in the photo above.  It was SO camouflaged!  I don't know what kind of moth it is, but I have requested an ID on bugguide.net.  I'll let you know what they say.  What a treasure it was to find this insect-rich plant!

Dotted Blue - Yellow-faced Bumble Bee - Skipper(?)

Euphilotes enoptes enoptes - Bombus vasnesenski - unidentified

unknown fly - Thread-waisted Sand Wasp - Mason Wasps(?)

unidentified - Ammophila sp. - Euodynerus foraminatus(?) 

Sierra Buttes 8-19-21

Tahoe National Forest Closure!

On Friday, August 20, the Tahoe National Forest officially closed to all driving, hiking, camping, and recreating, due to the extremely dry conditions.  The scheduled re-opening date is September 7, but that may change.  Even though it means we can't hike in the Lakes Basin during this time, I am GLAD that the Forest Service made this decision.  Fewer people means fewer chances of wildfires.

Wet seep with Grass of Parnassus

Luckily on Thursday, August 19, the day before the forest was closed, the smoke was temporarily gone, and we had a glorious hike on the Long Lake Loop!!!  It was wonderful to be back up in the Lakes Basin again!  Here's some of the beauty we saw!

Grass of Parnassus - California Fuschia - Ranger's Buttons

Parnassia palustris - Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium - Sphenosciadium capitellatum

This week there were more Grass of Parnassus flowers than I've ever seen before!  One area near a pond had hundreds of them!

unknown pollinators - Ants & Aphids - unknown bees

My friend Nancy had never seen ants "farming" aphids before!  The ants  protect the aphids from predators and drink the "honeydew" the aphids produce, in exchange!

Great Spangled Fritillary (female - male)

Speyeria cybele leto

I've seen lots of male Great Spangled Fritillary Butterflies, but this is only the third female I've ever seen!  These butterflies are unique in how much the male and female differ in appearance.  Most butterfly species don't have such striking sexual dimorphism.

North Yuba River - 8/16/21

Damp Earth Art

The wildfires are still burning, and more have started.  I am so grateful that there aren't any fires in our immediate area.  My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes in this unprecedented fire season. My unending thanks go to the fire fighters who continue to battle these dangerous fires every day.  

I so wish it would rain! We can't do anything about the drought, the wind, hot temperatures and fires. Worry makes it harder to bear. So anytime I think of it, I think 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. I've created a blog, dampearthart.blogspot.com, where I post photographs, quotes, and artworks that feature rain.

If you'd like to submit some work to be posted on this blog, please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. I'll be posting new art weekly, check it out and pray for rain!

What's happening in the local ponds?

What's happening on the river?

Where are the bear and deer?

Check back next for the answers to these questions and more.

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

Hot and Smoky!

Smoke-colored North Yuba River - 8/9/21

We had HEAVY smoke for the past week, mainly from the Dixie/Jarbo Gap Fire which is now 537,945 acres in size and still burning. Over 1,103 structures have been destroyed and additional thousands of people have been evacuated. Again and again, I want to thank the thousands of dedicated firefighters who are risking their lives fighting these unprecedented fires.

Great Blue Heron on the smoke-colored North Yuba - Ardea herodius

We mainly stayed indoors to keep from inhaling the smoke, so I didn't get any hikes in this week. However, I did spot this Great Blue Heron from my car one smoky morning. The smoke made the river eerily beautiful! Luckily we don't have any fires nearby. It could be way worse. I just keep hoping for rain.  Rain, rain, come on down....

  

Peregrine Falcon Common Raven

Falco peregrinus - Corvus corax

  While driving to the post office this week I spotted a Peregrine Falcon in a dead tree near the river!  Wow!!!  I hadn't seen a Peregrine Falcon in months!!  The following day a Common Raven was perched in the same dead tree.  Birds are the wildlife that I most commonly see. I worry a LOT about them during these smoke-filled days. The following information on how birds are affected by wildfire is from the website at

https://www.audubon.org/news/how-wildfires-affect-birds.  

"While wildfires are a part of natural cycles in the western United States, climate change makes every wildfire that sparks more likely to rapidly grow and spread. Like melting glaciers and rising seas, larger fires and longer fire seasons are among the predicted effects of climate change that are now coming to pass. Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns already threaten two-thirds of North American bird species with extinction, so it's worth exploring how this symptom of a hotter planet will affect birds.

What do birds do when wildfires break out? No surprise here: They fly away. A fire might kill weak birds or, depending on the time of year, claim nestlings. At least in the Western forests that U.S. Forest Service research biologist Vicki Saab studies, birds evolved alongside fire and flee in the face of conflagrations. "Historically, I think direct mortality was likely minor," she says. But they might not be able to outrun the larger, more destructive fires we're now experiencing due to climate change, she adds.

How do wildfires physically affect birds? Assuming birds escape a fire, smoke might still affect their health in ways that aren’t very well understood. “We do know that exposure to particulate matter, which of course is of great concern for human health, can affect birds as well,” says Olivia Sanderfoot.  For example, veterinarians and poultry scientists who study captive birds have found that smoke can damage lung tissue and leave the animals susceptible to potentially lethal respiratory infections.

How that plays out in the wild is largely unknown, Sanderfoot says. In some cases, smoke inhalation might make it harder for birds to flee onrushing flames. Thick smoke, for instance, may have contributed to the deaths of 50 adult White Ibises during a 1999 fire in the Everglades. And some low-flying species might succumb to smoke inhalation or exhaustion before they can escape forest fires."

Snowy Tree Crickets - Oecanthus fultoni

Down in the Garden

Since I haven't been able to be outside much this week, the garden has been my haven.  Usually in the morning the smoke isn't as heavy, so I can spend a little time observing wildlife before the smoke gets bad.  This week I mostly observed insects! 

Every night lately we've been hearing the loud pulse-like trilling of crickets and the piercing trilling of cicadas. To some people these LOUD songs can be quite annoying! I didn't know why these insects sang so persistently, so I turned to bugguide.net for help.  Apparently it's the males that are singing to attract females!

The Tree Cricket song is produced by a minute rasp on the underside of the forewing, which is scraped by a structure on the inner edge of the opposite wing. In producing the sound the wings are raised at right angles to the body and are vibrated rapidly. The number of notes varies from about 60 to over 150 per minute according to the temperature.

Apparently the number of notes indicates the temperature. In the Laws Field Guide, it states "For the temperature in Fahrenheit, count the number of chirps in 13 seconds plus 40." The male also produces a secretion that attracts the female. While the female eats this secretion, the male mates with her. After mating the female drills a small hole in the stem of a plant, deposits the fertilized egg, and seals up the hole. The egg hatches into a nymph in approximately 10 days. The nymphs go through 5 instars (molting, shedding of skin) before they are mature adults. About a week after their final molt, the newly mature adults will start mating.

They will quiet down when the temperatures cool off, and will die off in the fall. Their eggs will overwinter and hatch in the spring. In the meantime, I'm taking my hearing aids off on these warm evenings!

Singing Cicada (exuvia) - Okanagana tristis

Most people have heard that Cicadas live underground for 13-17 years.  That is NOT true for the Singing Cicadas found in our area.  Our local cicadas (Okanagana tristis) typically have a life-span of 2-5 years, almost entirely spent underground.  The following information is from the website

https://essig.berkeley.edu/documents/cis/cis02_3.pdf.

"Unfortunately, only general information is available on the life histories of the California species of cicadas. Of the few for which brood years have been noted, the time required to complete the life cycle would seem to be from two to five years. The females lay their sausage-shaped eggs in slits made by a sharp ovipositor and in packets of from eight to fifteen per slit. The author has found the incubation period for the eggs of Okanagana vanduzeez to be about 90 days. Other species have been reported to have much shorter incubation periods. After hatching, the tiny nymphs drop to the ground and burrow into the soil where they begin to feed on roots. The forelegs of the nymphs are developed into large claw-like appendages which are used in tunneling during their long subterranean life. In early to late spring, depending on the species, the mature nymphs crawl to the surface of the ground, climb some vertical object, and transform into the adult form. Where large populations of a species occur, their case skins may be found in great profusion, clinging to rocks, stems of plants, or to any other vertical objects which the nymphs had climbed."

Singing Cicada (adult) - Okanagana tristis

"The males produce sounds by means of the timbals or tympana which are situated at the base of the abdomen. Strong muscles attached to these organs produce a vibration which causes the high-pitched buzzing or chattering noises associated with these insects. The various songs are often characteristic for particular species and serve as mating calls to the females. The females oviposit following their courtship, and the short-lived adult forms soon die."

California Bumblebee (adult) - Bombus californicus

In all the meadows as well as in our garden, I've noticed that there are more Bumblebees this year than ever before!  I couldn't find out why there are so many of them this year. However, it is so encouraging to see this local population increase, as the native Bumblebee population has been in decline across North America for years. 

In the spring, mated honeybee queens come out of hibernation and start a small colony. The colonies are made in grassy tussocks, small abandoned rodent burrows, or at the base of shrubs.  Once the queen picks a site, she forms a wax "honey pot" and fills it with regurgitated nectar (honey).  She then collects pollen, forms it into a ball, lays her eggs on it, and then covers the whole ball with wax!  She then "broods" her eggs for 4 days, until the eggs hatch into larvae!  Once hatched, the larvae feed on the pollen ball for 4-5 weeks, form a cocoon, pupate, and turn into adults!  A Bumblebee colony usually numbers about 50 in population.  

At the end of the season, the queen lays unfertilized eggs, that turn into males, and lays a few special fertilized eggs that turn into new queens. The males hang out for a few days in the colony and then leave, never to return. These males are the Bumblebees that you see spending the night on flowers!  In Fall the new queens leave the colony, mate with one or more male Bumblebees, then hibernate over the winter!  

Goldenrod Crab Spider (female)  - Snowberry Clearwing Moth

Misumena vatia - Hemaris diffinis

The female Goldenrod Crab Spider uses camouflage and ambush to catch its prey, instead of weaving a web. It can slowly change color from white to yellow, orange, or green, to match its environment. Once it catches its prey, it paralyzes it, and then injects it with digestive fluids, like most spiders. The one above left has been hanging around in my phlox plants for a week or more, and is getting fat off of the bees and butterflies it has been catching!

__________

To my delight one hummingbird moth showed up in our garden this month!  They are NOT common and are so unusual looking!  The following information on Snowberry Clearwing Moths/Hummingbird Moths is from the website https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/hummingbird_moth.shtml.

"Perhaps one of the most delightful insect visitors to your garden is the hummingbird moth. Several species of the genus Hemaris deserve this name and for very good reason. They fly and move just like hummingbirds. Like them, they can remain suspended in the air in front of a flower while they unfurl their long tongues and insert them in flowers to sip their nectar. They even emit an audible hum like hummingbirds.

Like the majority of moths and butterflies, the adult hummingbird moths feed on nectar from a variety of flowers, but their larvae need more specific food plants, such as several species of honeysuckle, dogbane, or some members of the rose family such as hawthorn, cherries, and plums.

The females entice the males with an aroma or pheromone that they produce from glands at the tip of the abdomen. After mating, they lay their tiny, round, green eggs on their larval food plants, usually on the underside of the leaves. The caterpillars have a horn at the rear end and are commonly green, well camouflaged among the leaves. When they are fully-grown they drop to the ground, spin a loose cocoon and pupate, partially protected by leaf litter. That leaf litter so hated by some gardeners provides a shelter to this beautiful pollinator. In the north, where the season is short there is only one generation per year; the pupa spends the whole winter well hidden and the adult does not emerge until the next spring."

Steller's Jay in the Rain - 11/18/20

Damp Earth Art

I so wish it would rain! We can't do anything about the drought, the wind, hot temperatures and fires. Worry makes it harder to bear. So anytime I think of it, I think 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. I've created a blog, dampearthart.blogspot.com, where I post photographs, quotes, and artworks that feature rain.

If you'd like to submit some work to be posted on this blog, please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. I'll be posting new art weekly, check it out and pray for rain!

What's happening in the local ponds?

Is anything blooming at the lower elevations?

Check back next for the answers to these questions and more.

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

 

A few smoke-free Days!

Sierra Buttes

We had four beautiful, clear-sky, smoke-free days this week!  It was such a reprieve from the smoky weeks we've been having! I couldn't stay away from the Lakes Basin!  Three days in a row I hiked the trails with friends, in my home away from home.  We saw an amazing amount of wildlife, wildflowers, and waterfowl thriving despite the previous heat and smoke!  It was so encouraging! 

Sierra Buttes

Yellow-bellied Marmot - Marmota flaviventris

 To our delight we came across an adult (probably female) Yellow-bellied Marmot with two offspring, in a forest with lots of vegetation, boulders, and fallen trees!  My friend Judy spotted the large female on a log. Then Diane spotted a juvenile near the adult, and I spotted another juvenile a little ways away on a boulder!  WOW!!!  I had seen a juvenile Marmot right in the same area last year, on August 9th, almost exactly a year ago!  We were thrilled!

Yellow-bellied  Marmots are the most common large rodent in the Sierra, and generally live underneath rocky talus slopes from 5,400' to 14,000' near vegetated meadows. Most reside in underground colonies of about ten to twenty individuals, consisting of males, females, and their offspring. Their underground tunnels have many side passages, in which they raise their young, hibernate, and hide from predators. There is only one breeding season per year, which starts two weeks after they wake up from hibernation. The males mate with up to four females in a season. The females give birth to 4-5 pups, after a 30 day gestation period. The pups are born in April or early May, and are blind and naked at birth. Within two months they are weaned and can forage for food, consisting of plant material, insects, and bird eggs.

Yellow-bellied Marmots (juveniles) - Marmota flaviventris

The young marmots remain with their mother until the following summer, even hibernating with her. Marmots hibernate for approximately eight months starting in September and lasting till May. In the Fall, they put on a layer of fat that sustains them through hibernation.  During hibernation, young marmots will lose up to 50% of their body fat! The male of the harem drives out the male offspring upon their awakening from hibernation. Female offspring are allowed to remain in the harem. The young males then dig their own burrows and start looking for female mates to start their own harem. 

Chipmunk - Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

Tamias sp. - Spermophilus lateralis

We also saw Chipmunks and Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels busy eating plants and seeds in the same area as the Marmots!  Some of the chipmunks were climbing the tall, thin, three-foot stalks of the Alpine Knotweed to get to the seeds!  

There are several different species of chipmunks in the Lakes Basin, all in the Tamias genus, but it's difficult to determine which ones we saw. Individual species are determined by fur color, stripe color, ear size, distinctive markings, and geographic location. Some of the possible species are Lodgepole Chipmunk, Long-eared Chipmunk, Yellow-pine Chipmunk, and Shadow Chipmunk!

All chipmunks have black and white facial stripes, and 5 dark stripes separated by 4 pale stripes on their back and sides. They also have large, internal, fur-lined pouches to carry food. At this time of year, Chipmunks are busy storing seeds, nuts, fruits, and forbs for the winter. They do not hibernate. Instead, they sleep a lot and wake up periodically to eat their stored food. Their winter burrows are usually underground or in a hollow tree limb.

The Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel also stores fat for winter hibernation. In the fall their main food is conifer seeds. They will also eat fungi, insects, vegetation, nuts, and fruits when available. They store food in their dens before they hibernate, mainly to be eaten in the spring when hibernation ends. Some Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels wake up periodically during hibernation and feed on this stored food. Their hibernation period usually begins in October and ends in May. The obvious physical difference between Chipmunks and Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels is the lack of stripes on the squirrel's head.

Lost Lake - 8/5/21

Inset photo: Spiny-tailed Fairy Shrimp - Southern Long-toed Salamander larva

Streptocephalus sealii - Ambystoma macrodactylum sigillatum

On one of our hikes we went to Lost Lake, which is really more of a pond.  To our surprise it still had water in it, as well as Southern Long-toed Salamander Larvae and a few Spiny-tailed Fairy Shrimp! 

The following information on Southern Long-toed Salamanders has been summarized or quoted from the website at https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/amphibian. 

"Migration to breeding waters begins in winter during spring snowmelt. Sustained temperatures above freezing and abundant, free soil water apparently trigger migration. Migration almost always occurs at night. Long-toed salamanders in cold climates crawl on top of and beneath snow to reach breeding ponds; the ponds are often still partially frozen during mating. In all locales, males arrive at ponds before females and generally stay for longer periods of time. Females leave soon after depositing their eggs. They attach eggs to vegetation, submerged wood, or rocks. in small clusters. The breeding period lasts about a month."

The larvae spend 1-2 years as aquatic larvae, before they emerge from the ponds as adults. While underwater they breathe with gills that are located on both sides of their body, right above their front legs. You can just see them in the photo above right. As larvae they feed on aquatic insects, copepods, ostracods, snails, leeches, annelid worms, and tadpoles! If the pond starts to dry out before they mature into adults, they seek cover under previously submerged rocks or pieces of wood and enter into brumation. Sometimes they form ball-shaped aggregations under these objects, with 15-43 individuals!!! As adults these salamanders seek cover under large rotting logs for most of the year. I have looked for the adults, but have never seen them.  I'll just have to keep looking!

We only saw a few Spiny-tailed Fairy Shrimp, but we had never seen them in Lost Lake before! They are 3/4" to 1 1/2" in length, and have 11 pairs of leaf-like legs that ripple as they paddle around on their backs! These legs also serve as their gills, and absorb oxygen out of the water. They have one pair of stalked eyes, and 2 pairs of antennae! They are filter feeders of tiny organisms and plant detritus, and will also scrape algae and detritus off of rocks and sediments. They are preyed on by other aquatic insects, shore/wading birds, and sometimes fish. Their typical life span is 3-4 months. They only live in inland, non-flowing, temporary, fresh (non-marine) water. When they die or their pond dries up, they leave behind thousands of embryonated eggs, or cysts, that will remain dormant until the pond refills. These cysts can remain dormant for decades!  Perhaps some cysts were transported from another pond to Lost Lake, on the feet of a shorebird!

Bufflehead - Mallards

Bucephala albeola - Anas platyrhynchos

On almost every pond or lake in the Lakes Basin you count on seeing some waterfowl. The usual species are Mallards, Mergansers, and Buffleheads, but I've also seen a few Grebes. Right now most of the ducklings are almost full size.  In most cases, it is the females that care for the juvenile ducklings.

Mallards (juveniles) - Anas platyrhynchos

These young Mallards were making little alarm calls that I've never heard before, so I made a super-short video of them, which you can view just below!  It doesn't play instantly, just wait a little while, and click on the second arrow that shows up.

Common Mergansers (female with juveniles) - Mergus merganser

 

Fireweed - Chamerion angustifolium

Lots of wildflowers are still blooming in the damp shady areas of the Lakes Basin!  Fireweed is profusely blooming right now, as are the asters and goldenrod.  Such abundant beauty!

Goldenrod - Alpine Aster

 Solidago sp. - Orostemma apligenum

I didn't look closely enough to correctly identify this goldenrod.  

I'll check it out the next time I go hiking!

Hiker's Gentian - Alpine Gentian

 Gentianopsis simplex - Gentiana newberryi

Along the shady edges of lakes I recently found a few 

of these lovely gentians in bloom! They are only about 2-3" tall.

Great Spangled Fritillary - Orange Sulphur

Speyeria cybele leto  - Colias eurytheme

We saw lots and lots of Fritillary Butterflies, of several species, and Orange Sulphur Butterflies in the meadows this week!  So pretty!

Smoke covered Sun 8/7/21

Damp Earth Art

After four beautiful clear days, we have been inundated with heavy smoke from all the wildfires to the north, west, and east.  Luckily we don't have any fires nearby.  The Dixie/Jarbo Gap Fire has increased exponentially, and over 30,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.  The town of Greenville has been devastated.  We can't do anything about the drought, the wind, hot temperatures and fires.  Worry makes it harder to bear.  So anytime I think of it, I think 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.  I've created a blog, dampearthart.blogspot.com, where I post photographs, quotes, and artworks that feature rain.  

If you'd like to submit some work to be posted on this blog, please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com.  I'll be posting new art weekly, check it out and pray for rain!

  

What's happening down in the garden?

Is anything blooming at the lower elevations?

Check back next for the answers to these questions and more.

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Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated.  Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!