Lakes Basin - 9/19/21
Last Saturday night and Sunday morning we got .32" of rain! Yahoo!!! So on Sunday, I decided to go up to the Lakes Basin before the clouds left and check out the fall colors. It had been exactly one month since I had been there, due to the Tahoe National Forest Closure, which ended on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at midnight. I hiked the Round Lake Loop Trail and filled up with Lakes Basin Beauty once again!
Round Lake Trail - Mt. Elwell & Round Lake
It had obviously rained heavily in the Lakes Basin, as there were puddles on the trail!!! The petrichor was fabulous, and the cloudy sky was gorgeous!
Lake Veronica
Lake Veronica was the lowest I've ever seen it! I didn't see any Fairy Shrimp in it at all this year. However, in 2019 there were thousands of them in the lake. (see "Ponds & Lakes" blog, Aug. 24, 2019)
Sandhill Cranes - Grus canadensis
Lakes Basin Birds!
To my delight several large flocks of Sandhill Cranes flew over during the day! The shorter days and cooler nights have prompted them to migrate to their winter quarters in California's Central Valley, where they congregate in the tens of thousands! I've seen and heard these cranes fly over for many years now! Their loud rubbery calls are just as much a part of fall as the changing colors of the leaves!
Mountain Chickadee - Yellow Warbler - Dark-eyed Junco
Poecile gambeli - Setophaga petechia - Junco hyemalis
I saw several songbirds over the course of the day, including a lovely Yellow Warbler!
Northern Thick-billed Fox Sparrow - White-crowned Sparrows (adult)
White-crowned Sparrow (juvenile)
Passerella iliaca ssp. megarhyncha - Zonotrichia leucophrys
Sharp-shinned Hawk - Accipiter striatus
Neighborhood Sightings
A Sharp-shinned Hawk showed up down the street one morning this week! Several Steller's Jays were harassing it, but it stuck around! In the late afternoon, my neighbor spotted it eating something in one her backyard trees.
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is the smallest hawk in the US and Canada. They are forest predators, like the Northern Goshawk. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states, "These raptors have distinctive proportions: long legs, short wings, and very long tails, which they use for navigating their deep-woods homes at top speed in pursuit of songbirds and mice." Small songbirds are the main prey of this hawk species, and there are lots of songbirds in our garden right now! They use surprise attack as their main method of capture. They will eat birds as small as an Anna's Hummingbird, or as large as a Mountain Quail! They will pluck off most of the feathers of their prey before they eat them!
They are listed as a "vulnerable" species. Wikipedia states, "A vulnerable species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as likely to become endangered unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnerability is mainly caused by habitat loss or destruction of the species home." They do not live here year-round, and mainly breed up in Canada and Alaska.
They are listed as a "vulnerable" species. Wikipedia states, "A vulnerable species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as likely to become endangered unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnerability is mainly caused by habitat loss or destruction of the species home." They do not live here year-round, and mainly breed up in Canada and Alaska.
Sierra Mountain Kingsnake (juvenile) - Lampropeltis zonata multicincta
I found a dead Sierra Mountain Kingsnake on the road this week! This was a tiny one, about 6" long and half and inch wide. I've never seen one in our neighborhood before! These beautiful snakes are not considered rare, but are uncommonly seen and secretive. They spend most of their time underground, under logs, and in rock crevices. They prey on lizards, snakes, small mammals, nestling birds, and bird eggs. They enter into brumation sometime in November, and emerge between February and April in the spring, depending on the weather. Mating occurs soon after spring emergence. Eggs are laid in June-July and hatch in 50-65 days. They live in a variety of habitats, from 1,500'-3,000' in elevation, including chaparral, oak woodlands, coniferous forests, and manzanita thickets.
California Mule Deer fawns - Odocoileus hemionus californicus
I'm still visiting the river several times a week in the late afternoon. I'm always surprised at what I see. This week I spotted two California Mule Deer fawns downriver! They were foraging on the shrubs along the river edge. You could just barely see their "spots". They had such huge ears! At first I didn't see their mom, but then she showed up and lead them out of sight. They differ from the Columbian Black-tailed Deer in ear size and tail markings. Mule Deer tails are tipped in black. Columbian Black-tailed Deer tails are tipped in black with a black vertical stripe along the length of the tail.
I was so happy to see these healthy young fawns and their mom along the river!
Raindrops on a Western Black Widow spider web - Latrodectus hesperus
Damp Earth Art
Rain is in the forecast again for Monday night and Tuesday morning! Yahoo! Once again I hope it pours! The Dixie/Jarbo Gap and the Caldor fires have diminished even more. Fingers crossed that they continue to diminish. 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.
Whose pulling the stuffing out of our scarecrow's head?
What are the squirrels doing right now?
Check back next week 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!
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