Yellow-bellied Marmot - Marmota flaviventris
I lucked out this week and spotted a Yellow-bellied Marmot near 8,000' in elevation! It was in one of the wildflower-covered, rocky slopes in the Lakes Basin. We were able to watch it for a minute or more until it backed off the boulder it was on, and disappeared into the bushes. How cool!!! I don't see Marmots very often, and this is the first one I've seen this year!
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. They can often be seen perched on a boulder. If threatened, they make a very loud chirp that you can hear from quite a distance. The main predators of Marmots are coyotes, followed by badgers, martens, bears, and Golden Eagles.
Yellow-bellied Marmot - Marmota flaviventris
Most marmots 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.
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.
Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus
The fox I saw near our garden just a month ago is still around! One morning, I was heading down to the river when it jumped out into the field ahead of me! It was obviously very accustomed to humans as it didn't run away, and eventually laid down! What a surprise!!! It was squinting because it was facing right into the sun. It posed for a minute or so, until I moved and scared it off. How lucky it was to closely watch this beautiful Gray Fox! The colors in its fur really camouflaged it in the field of dried weeds!
Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus
I have written about Gray Foxes many times in my blog. Just type in "Gray Fox" in the "Search this Blog" bar on the upper right corner of this page, to find out lots of information about them.
Striped Skunks - Mephitis mephitis
Early one evening, I saw an adult female skunk with three young skunks in our kitchen yard! The light was fading and they moved quickly, so I didn't get a great photo. I haven't seen young skunks before, and they were so cute!!! However, I didn't get close!
If a skunk raises its tail, it's time to beat a hasty retreat! The highly potent musk of skunks, keeps most predators away! When approached by a predator, they raise their tail, then they stamp their front feet vigorously and hiss and growl. If those actions don't deter the predator, they will quickly present their hind end and spray musk. They can spray up to 12 feet away, with accuracy! Most predators don't come back a second time, once they've been sprayed!
Skunks live in dens year-round. They have been known to make their dens under woodpiles, buildings, concrete slabs, and rock piles. Their dens have also been found in hallow trees, rock crevices, and abandoned ground-squirrel and fox dens! Skunks use their dens year-round. Skunks will often share a den with
other skunks. They don't hibernate, but go into a state of torpor, in which their body temperature drops and they fall into a deep sleep. To stay warm during winter weather they plug the entrance to their den with dry leaves and grass.
Striped Skunks breed from February through April. Males will mate with several females. Once mating has occurred, the males are not welcomed by the females. The gestation period is 59 to 77 days. Sometime in May, the females give birth to a litter of 4-7 kits. After 6-8 weeks they are weaned, and begin to hunt with their mother! By July or August, young males begin to disperse and become independent. Their sisters will typically remain with their mother for almost a year.
Skunks have poor eyesight, but like many nocturnal animals they have highly developed senses of hearing, touch, and smell. They are omnivores, and eat mice, gophers, voles, rats, birds & eggs, beetles, beetle larvae, caterpillars, fruit, nuts, carrion, bird seed, some garden produce, and even pet food!
Leopard Lily - Lilium pardalinum
Lakes Basin Birds & Blossoms!
There are several small aspen groves scattered in the Lakes Basin. Right now, one of my favorite groves is filled with blooming Leopard Lilies, Monkshood, Paintbrush, Mallows, and Groundsel! Blues, oranges, purples, yellows, pinks, and whites accent the chest-high green growth of grasses and forbs below the aspen trees! It's a kaleidoscope of colors! We lucked out the morning we walked through the grove, as there were a few clouds blocking the sun and the light was incredibly beautiful!
Leopard Lily - Arrowhead Butterweed
Lilium pardalinum - Senecio triangularis
I have always called the yellow flowers in the above picture "Groundsel". However, it has recently been renamed "Butterweed". Luckily the scientific name hasn't changed! Hopefully my senior brain will keep all this straight!
Mountain Bluebird (juvenile) - Western Tanager (male)
White-headed Woodpecker (male)
Sialia currucoides - Piranga ludoviciana - Picoides albolarvatus
Many species of birds raise their young in the Lakes Basin. The Western Tanager has traveled the farthest of the three birds pictured above. It overwinters in southern Mexico/Central America, and breeds in the Sierra in the summer, a one-way distance of more than 2,500 miles!
Monkeyflower sp. - Erythranthe sp.
Although the common name for these Monkeyflowers hasn't changed, their scientific named has been changed from "Mimulus" to "Erythranthe"! There are lots of different Monkeyflowers and I couldn't identify these precisely.
Red-breasted Sapsucker (juvenile) - Rock Wren (adult)
Mountain Bluebird (male)
Sphyrapicus ruber - Salpinctes obsoletus - Sialia currucoides
Of the three birds pictured above, the Rock Wren is the most uncommon. In fact it is rare at the elevation I observed it (7,500'). It was calling/singing loudly from a rocky perch. There were two of them on the same rock, so they were probably a mated pair!
Western Monkshood - Aconitum columbianum
These aptly named beautiful flowers are poisonous! In fact all parts of this plant are very toxic and potentially fatal! So admire it without handling it! Native Americans used the plant juice to make poison arrowheads!
Chipping Sparrow (juvenile?) - Yellow-rumped Warbler (male) - Cassin's Finch (male)
Spizella passerina - Setophaga coronata - Haemorhous cassinii
The bird on the left above may not be a Chipping Sparrow. I have submitted my photos to inaturalist.org and should have an answer within a few days. It was a lovely little bird that posed for me in the willows bordering a wet meadow.
Oregon Checker Mallow - Sidalcea oregana
These pretty pink Oregon Checker Mallows have recently blossomed in the wet meadows. It's interesting how they grow in tight groups of 10 to 100 or more.
Chipping Sparrow - Mountain Chickadee - White-crowned Sparrow
Spizella passerina - Poecile gambeli - Zonotrichia leucophrys
I love hearing the birdsong of all these lovely, little songbirds!
Slender Beardtongue - Penstemon gracilentis
This year there are thousands of these Slender Beardtongues in the Lakes Basin, more than I've ever seen before! We came across a slope that was so packed with them that you couldn't even see the ground! Their coloration is exquisite, changing from pink at the base to purple-blue at the mouth of the flowers!
Canada Geese - Branta canadensis
Waterfowl in the Lakes Basin
Almost every pond or lake in the Lakes Basin has some waterfowl living in it. Earlier this year I saw lots of Canada Geese and their goslings in a VERY wet meadow. I have checked the same meadow recently and only one family of geese is still in residence!
Bufflehead female with 7 ducklings - Bucephala albeola
In one lake around 6,500' in elevation, this lovely family of one female Bufflehead and 7 ducklings are in residence! So fun to watch!
Bufflehead (female) - Bucephala albeola
I found two off-trail, un-named ponds that had one female Bufflehead each,
but no ducklings.
Mallard female with 6 ducklings - Anas platyrhynchos
I've seen two families of Mallards in my wanderings! Both families consisted of a female and six cute little ducklings! How wonderful!
Mallard female with 6 ducklings - Anas platyrhynchos
Damp Earth Art
It was hot and dry this week. In fact this morning, we are filled with smoke from the Oak Fire down by Mariposa, CA. Hopefully more rainstorms will come soon. We really need them. Please join me in my continuing hope for precipitation! Perhaps our collective efforts may help it happen.
I'm going to keep posting rain inspired writings, art, etc. on my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com. Any submissions would be greatly appreciated.
Wishing for peace in Ukraine and
an immediate end to this senseless war!
What are my neighborhood songbirds doing?
What's happening in the wet meadows of the Lakes Basin?
Check back next week 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!
No comments:
Post a Comment