Sierra Valley in the Summer!

View north from the Steel Bridge - 8/1/22

On Monday, my husband and I drove over to Sierra Valley. To our delight, it was overcast and the heat wasn't so intense. We even drove through some rain on the way there! Wow!!! I hadn't been in Sierra Valley for almost two months, so it was wonderful to be back!  It had dried out quite a bit, and actually looked a lot like it does in the Fall.  However, there were still birds to see and the wide open view to enjoy!

American Coots - Fulica americana

Two months ago I had seen several newly hatched baby coots with bald heads, orange bills, and wildly colored yellow and red downy feathers.  Since then they've lost their colorful feathers, are no longer bald, but haven't yet acquired their black adult feathers.  I saw about 20 of these juvenile coots, feeding near the Steel Bridge!  How fun!

Pied-billed Grebe (juvenile) - Podylimbus podiceps

I also saw two juvenile Pied-billed Grebes feeding in a canal! They were so cute!  They looked like they were fully independent from their parents.  In fact I didn't see any adult grebes!  It will take several months for them to acquire their adult plumage.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds (female - male) - Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus 

There were also LOTS and LOTS of Yellow-headed Blackbirds perched on the barbed-wire fences along the roadside canals! The males were starting to loose the bright-yellow color in their feathers, as it is no longer mating season. The females looked just the same as they did in the beginning of the breeding season.

View north from one of the canals in Sierra Valley

 Besides the main headwaters of the Feather River at the Steel Bridge, there are several small canals in Sierra Valley. We lucked out and saw a few interesting birds in them!

White-faced Ibis - Plegadis chihi

 

There was a pair of White-faced Ibis feeding in one of the canals!  The overcast sky made the rainbow colors of their feathers glow! They were probing the canal  for insects, crustaceans, earthworms, and fly larvae.

White-faced Ibis - Plegadis chihi

It is hard to tell if these are adults or juveniles.  My guess is that they are adults in non-breeding plumage.

Barn Swallow (adult) - Ruddy Duck (male)

Although there weren't the thousands of Cliff Swallows at the Steel Bridge, there were still some Barn Swallows flying around.  I love the coppery color of their throats. This could be a female, or a male no longer in its mating colors.

I also saw one, lone, male Ruddy Duck!  His bill had faded to gray, from its bright-blue mating color!

Beckwourth Peak and dry grasses in Sierra Valley

We headed home under threatening dark-gray skies.  The dried grasses were luminous in the soft overcast light!  Such beauty!!!

Ridge on the west end of Round Lake

In Hot Pursuit of Sierra Primroses!

Last week the temperatures were in the high 90's up in the Lakes Basin, and the humidity was quite high.  This meant that the wildflowers weren't going to last that much longer.  Every summer I've hiked up to see this one particular patch of Sierra Primroses in the Lakes Basin, but I hadn't yet. Now or never was the choice!  So last Thursday, my friend Nancy and I headed up the HOT trail to the primroses! Most of the hike was off trail and uphill! Luckily we were able to cool off in a small pond-like lake along the way! 

Snow & Sierra Primroses - Primula suffrutescens 

The primroses grow on a steep, damp, fern covered slope, above the west end of Round Lake. To our delight there was STILL a 15' chunk of icy snow at the top of the slope, and the primroses were in profuse bloom!  Yahoo!  A little bit above the primroses, the slope ends at a huge, vertical rock face. At its base, blooming Elderberry bushes, Crimson Columbine, Cinquefoil, Monkeyflowers, and more Sierra Primroses created a thriving, magical garden! Hummingbirds zoomed past us and clouds moved in while we watched in amazement, surrounded by beauty!

Sierra Primroses - Primula suffrutescens 

After a while, we headed downslope to Round Lake to go for a swim.  The clouds continued to astound us with their beauty, while simultaneously giving us a break from the heat!  The temperature of the lake was perfect, so we swam and lingered until we had to head home!  

View of Round Lake from the primroses

Once again we had an incredible day in the Lakes Basin, our home-away-from-home !

Damp Earth Art

It was very HOT again this week, but we had clouds and scattered showers on Monday and Friday!!! Friday morning it was raining SO hard that it woke us up at 6:00 AM!!! It smelled heavenly! Hopefully these little rainstorms will keep happening! 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.

What are my neighborhood songbirds doing?

What's changing in the Lakes Basin?

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

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