A Snowy Spring in the Lakes Basin!

Sierra Buttes -  5/11/23

With the weather all of a sudden turning warm and being in the 80's last week, my friend Diane and I decided to hike up to Salmon Lake, at 6, 501' in elevation, before the snow melted.  She skied and I hiked on top of 6 feet of snow on the Gold Lake Road!  It was packed but not icy, and we weren't punching in at all.  So the hiking and skiing were great!  No one else was on the road that whole day, so we had the Lakes Basin to ourselves! What a treat!  

Compared to last year, on May 5, 2022, we drove on the newly plowed Gold Lake Road to the Graeagle Creek Trail (around 5,200' in elevation), and hiked on the snow-free trail!  On May 17th, I walked into Salmon Lake on patchy snow from the Gold Lake Road, and the lake itself was totally melted out and snow free!  The Water Year total for 2022 was 56.51".  The Water Year total-to-date for this year is 82.66"!  What a difference between the two years!  Looks like the hiking trails in the Lakes Basin might not open up until mid-June this year! 

Sierra Buttes from the Salmon Lake Road -  5/11/23

Being on the Gold Lake Road, we had incredible views of the Sierra Buttes that day!  I never tire of seeing them!  Such grand beauty!  It was great to be back in the Lakes Basin!

The Gold Lake Road had only been plowed less than a mile up past Salmon Creek Campground.  It has probably been plowed some more this week, and we're going back on Friday to check it out.  Hopefully we'll still be able to walk on top of the snow.

Salmon Lake - 5/11/23

It was about 2.3 miles to the lake.  When we got there we were astonished to see the lake almost totally frozen and still covered in a foot or more of snow!  Wow!  Only a small section on the east shore had melted out.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Setophaga coronata

We had lunch at Salmon Lake, and enjoyed watching the few birds that were along the lakeshore!  Two Yellow-rumped Warblers were "flycatching" insects from the leafless willows along the shoreline!  I couldn't help but wonder if they were the ones that had flown past me in my neighborhood last week! 

Dark-eyed Junco - Canada Goose

  Junco hyemalis - Branta canadensis

There were also a few Dark-eyed Juncos, a single Canada Goose, and a pair of unknown ducks (too far away) on the melted edge of Salmon Lake!  Spring has barely started in the Lakes Basin!

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

I had been wondering how the wildlife was faring with all the snow on the ground.  We didn't see many tracks at all, but the snow wasn't fresh and was quite hard.  To my delight I came across a Black Bear track on the Gold Lake Road on our way back!  It hadn't been there on our way in to Salmon Lake!  There were some bare areas around the shrubs on the west facing slopes, so hopefully the bears are able to find some insects or plants to eat!

Carman Valley - 5/15/23

Carman Valley

Carman Valley is a beautiful small valley west of Sierra Valley.  Right now, at one end of the valley, there is more water than I've ever seen there before!  It's a lovely little wetland that supports a variety of wildlife.  Cows don't graze there and in wet years the wildflowers are plentiful.  Right now the meadows are super wet and beginning to fill with blooming wildflowers! 

Spotted Sandpiper (adult) - Actitis macularia

The wetland usually contains a small variety of birds, including Tree Swallows, ducks, Sandhill Cranes, and shorebirds, but doesn't have the bird population found in Sierra Valley.  I usually see an Osprey, some Wood Ducks, Mallards, Mountain Bluebirds, and Killdeers.  

Wood Duck (male) - Aix sponsa

To my delight, this year we saw a Wood Duck right away, an Osprey, and a Spotted Sandpiper for the first time!  They're all so lovely!  I'm going to go back again in a couple weeks to see if more birds have arrived.

Hooker's Balsam Root filled meadow - Balsalmorhiza hookeri

Away from the wetland, there is a long band of wet meadows that follows a creek drainage.  In another couple of weeks they will be filled with thousands of Blue Camas flowers, Bistort, Larkspur, and more Buttercups!

Hooker's Balsam Root - Balsalmorhiza hookeri

Hooker's Balsam Root is another favorite of mine! It grows in the hotter, drier areas and is low to the ground. What's REALLY cool about it is that it smells like CHOCOLATE! Check it out next time you see some of them. The fragrance is unmistakable!

Wet Meadow filled with Buttercups

In the past, a few people lived in Carmen Valley.  There is still an old Barn and fencing in some areas. No one lives there now, but it's fun to imagine living there!  Such a beautiful, peaceful area!

Beckwith's Violet -Viola beckwithii 

These delightfully colored little Violets were scattered along the edges of the wet meadows.  Such lovely markings!

Water Plantain Buttercup - Ranunculus alismifolius

The super wet meadows mainly had Water Plantain Buttercups growing in them. Another variety of Buttercups will bloom as the meadows dry out!

Meadow Baby Blue Eyes - California Hesperochiron

Nemophila pedunculata - Hesperochiron nanus

These flowers were growing along the edge of the road in drier areas.  The Meadow Baby Blue Eyes were tiny, about the size of your little fingernail.  The only blue on the blossoms were little dark dashes on the white petals.  There is another Baby Blue Eyes that is totally blue with a white center, but I didn't see any in Carman Valley.  

The California Hesperochiron were about an inch wide. Most of them are bright white, but some are tinged with pink.  They make a lovely carpet on the ground!

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

My friend Judy spotted a Black Bear in the distance, grazing on the meadow grasses!  Wow!  He didn't stay visible for very long, and quickly disappeared into the willows.  How wonderful to see!

Sierra Valley - 5/15/23

Sierra Valley

Since we were so close to Sierra Valley, we decided to drive over to the Steel Bridge to see if the water level had dropped.  Due to all the snow melting now, it had only dropped some, but not enough for all the birds to start nesting.  Most of the the birds that live near the Steel Bridge build their nests among the tules and cattails, either floating or hanging.  I think it will be another week or more before the bird population re-establishes itself to normal levels.  Or maybe they've all moved to a different part of the Valley where the water isn't so high.  I'll have to go exploring soon!

Yellow-headed Blackbird (female - male)

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

This week there were a few female Yellow-headed Blackbirds around!

Cliff Swallows - Petrocheilidon pyrrhonota

The Cliff Swallow population has boomed with 1,000 or more of these lovely little swallows nesting under the Steel Bridge.  Here's a video of them in flight at the bridge!

Cliff Swallows at the Steel Bridge

Willet (adult) - Ruddy Duck (male)

Tringa semipalmata - Oxyura jamaicensis

What bugs and blossoms are showing up?

What new birds will arrive?

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

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