Saturday, November 25, 2023

Fall and the Foothills

California Black Oaks in the Rain - Quercus kelloggii

We received 1.58" of rain in the past ten days, along with some very blustery winds! Most of the fall leaves have been blown off the trees and now cover the ground in a beautiful golden-yellow, rusty-brown blanket.  Our new Water Year total, that started on October 1st, is 4.48". The Water Year total for Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023 was 86.55"!  This total is quite a bit above the past three years of drought, with Water Year totals of 56.51" (2022), 34.18" (2021), and 39.62" (2020). We are so grateful for this past wet year, as well as the lack of forest fires! The forecast for the winter coming up is a wet one, which could mean lots of rain or snow in our area. 
 
California Black Oaks in light Rain - Quercus kelloggii

 I'm hoping for lots of snow up in the higher elevations, and rain down in our neighborhood. Fingers crossed that we get above average precipitation in any form!

Blue Oak - Quercus douglasii

Blue Oak Foothill Pine Woodlands

Since Fall has more or less disappeared from our neighborhood, we decided to drive down to the foothills for a hike or two. Luckily there was still a LOT of fall color in the South Yuba River State Park and the Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area.

Blue Oak Foothill Pine Woodlands

The terrain was rolling, grass-covered hills with gullies and creeks, and a river, vegetated by Blue Oaks, Live Oaks, Black Oaks, Gray Pines, Madrones, Coyote Brush, and many other shrubs. It is designated as a "Blue Oak Foothill Pine Woodlands" ecosystem. I was amazed at the multitude of different "greens" in the forest, including blue green, gray green, sage green, olive green, yellow green, and forest green.

One of the best books ever about the foothill oak ecosystem, but not a lot about the oak trees themselves, is "Secrets of the Oak Woodlands - Plants  & Animals Among California's Oaks"  by Kate Marianchild, published in 2014.  It is a fascinating guide to little known wonders of several of the plants and animals found in that environment!  I would highly recommend it to any curious naturalist!  I found it fascinating!

Madrone berries -Toyon berries
Arbutus menziesii - Heteromeles arbutifolia

There were LOTS of Madrone berries hanging from the trees, as well as an abundance of Toyon berries in the nearby bushes.  They were lovely! Apparently lost of critters eat these berries.

Concerning Madrone berries, Wikipedia states, "Native Americans ate the berries raw and cooked, but because the berries have a high tannin content and are thus astringent, they more often chewed them or made them into a cider. Overeating causes cramps. The Native Americans also used the berries to make necklaces and other decorations, and as bait for fishing. Bark and leaves were used to treat stomach aches, cramps, skin ailments, and sore throats. The bark was often made into a tea to be drunk for these medicinal purposes. Many mammal and bird species feed off the berries, including American Robins, Cedar Waxwings, Band-tailed Pigeons, Varied Thrushes, Quail, Mule Deer, Raccoons, Ring-tailed Cats, and Black Bears. Mule deer will also eat the young shoots when the trees are regenerating after fire."

Toyon berries form in June or July, but don't ripen until December! When they are green they contain cyano-glucosides in their pulp. When a bird tries to eat a green berry, cyanide gas is released and deters the bird! The un-ripened berries are also full of bitter tannins that discourage foragers! Over time the cyanide compounds gradually move into the seeds and the tannins diminish. In December, when the berries are bright red, they aren't bitter and the pulp no longer contains cyanide compounds! Approximately 20+ species of birds eat Toyon berries during winter! 

Acorn Woodpeckers (male) - Western Bluebirds (male)
Melanerpes formicivorus - Sialia mexicana

We saw several Acorn Woodpeckers that day. They are one of the dominant species in the foothill oak woodlands. Acorns are the main food they depend upon in winter. They store acorns by drilling holes in dead tree trunks and putting an acorn in each hole! These acorn filled trunks are called "granaries". Granaries have been known to contain up to 50,000 acorns! Each granary is only used by one "family" of Acorn Woodpeckers. 

We also saw LOTS of Western Bluebirds while we were there. In the summer Western Bluebirds are primarily insectivores. In winter they eat fruits and berries, such as juniper, poison oak, mistletoe, wild grapes, and elderberry. They like to live on the edge of open areas, such as meadows or burned areas. They are short-distance migrants, and generally move down slope in winter.

Osage Orange - Oak Mistletoe
Maclura pomifera - Phoradendron villosum

We also saw lots of mistletoe with berries in the oak trees. Over 28 species of birds in California eat the berries, as well as gray squirrels, raccoons, pine martens, chipmunks, porcupines, and ringtails! Mistletoe plants are dioecious, with the male and female species being separate plants. If you squish a mistletoe berry between your fingers, it will stick to your finger and you can't shake it off! They have a thick, viscous substance that makes them sticky. Being sticky, the seeds are easily transported to new areas by birds.

On the ground near the parking lot, we found several grapefruit-sized fruits of the Osage Orange trees. They are such strange fruits! We opened one up and it looked like a pineapple inside, and smelled like a pine tree! The plant contains latex, which causes the fruits to be bitter and unpalatable to humans and wildlife. This latex can also cause dermatitis in humans. The plants are dioecious, with the female producing the large fruits. 

 Osage Orange trees are not native to California. They are indigenous to the Red River drainage of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, as well as the Blackland Praries and post oak savannahs. They were planted across the US by settlers, mainly for hedgerows. . The name is derived from The Osage Nation, a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Great Plains, who prized the plant for its wood, to make their bows. The wood is heavy, hard, strong, and flexible, capable of receiving a fine polish. Today, the heavy, close-grained yellow-orange wood is dense and prized for tool handles, fence posts, and other applications requiring a strong wood that withstands rot.

Gall made by a Crystalline Gall Wasp - Andricus crystallinus

I found this cool tiny structure growing on a Black Oak Leaf.  It looked like a tiny hairy tree! My guess is that it is a gall, formed possibly by a Gall Wasp. I know that galls don't harm their host plant, and that there are over 1,500 types of galls, but I don't know much more about them. The following information on galls is from http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/galls/galls.html.

"Galls are abnormal growths that can arise in all parts of a plant resulting from the work of usually immature insects and other organisms. In a way, they are basically "plant tumors." Unlike human tumors, galls usually do not injure their hosts to the point where the entire plant is debilitated. The few injurious galls appear only to attack pears, wheat, grapes, and roses.

There are over 1500 species of gall producers. However, most galls are produced by plant mites, gall midges, and gall wasps. These creatures produce galls to provide food and shelter for themselves. Galls can be simple deformities consisting of a rolled leaf edge or a pouch-like growth on the plant, or complicated structures made out of seemingly unrelated plant tissue that are highly organized.

The principal gall producers include:

1. Plant mites - microscopic, pale yellow or translucent organism (not an insect) with a slender, pear-shaped body and transverse ridges or lines. The gall producers are in their larval stage and have 4 legs, while adult mites have 8. Mites produce simple galls ranging from leaf deformities such as pouches or pockets with erineum [an abnormal felty growth of hairs from a leaf epidermis] that it winters under. 

2. Aphids and plant lice - soft-bodied insects with sucking mouth parts. These insects produce complicated galls, wintering on the bark, then hatching out in the spring and attacking a bud to form their galls.

3. Gall midges - small delicate flies that are about 1/4 inches long, and have antennae. The maggot larvae are what produce the galls. Gall midges winter in galls and emerge in the spring.

4. Gall wasps (also known as Cynipids) - Wasp larvae that are formed usually on oaks.

Although the number of gall producing organisms are numerous, there are only a few host plants available for them to inhabit. This severely limits the types of trees these insects can inhabit. As a result, gall producers are very plant specific, and most of them reside among willows, oaks, goldenrod, and asters. Galls vary in shape, size, and complexity. "

California Black Oaks, Blue Oaks, and Gray Pines
Quercus kelloggii - Quercus douglasii - Pinus sabiniana

Blue Oaks are found only in California. They are named for the bluish-green cast of their deciduous leaves, which are currently a lovely, rich, brownish-yellow. They are the most drought tolerant oak, of California's deciduous oaks, and have deep extensive root systems. They usually grow between 3,000'-4,000' or lower, on dry hilly terrain where a water table is unavailable. They can live to be 400 years old!

They are usually 20'-60' tall, with a diameter of 1'-3', and a broad, rounded crown of branches. The leaves are simple or slightly lobed. They live where the winters are mild and wet, and the summers are hot and dry. The trees are monoecious (both sexes on the same tree) and are wind pollinated. The acorns are eaten by a wide variety of wildlife, including squirrels, birds, bears, and deer. We didn't see very many acorns on the ground. Oaks don't produce lots of acorns every year. They can have "bumper crop" years and low-yield years. 

I hope to go back down to the foothills again soon.  It was such a beautiful change from where we live!


What's happening on the North Yuba River?

Are there any new birds arriving for the winter?

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

Your questions and comments are always appreciated! Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Thursday, November 16, 2023

End of the Season Lakes Basin Hikes

Common Ravens Playing! - Corvus corax

 I've gone on several hikes over the past month and a half, but haven't had the time to write about them. This week I decided I better catch up before it's too late!
 
Little Deer Lake

On October 5th, my friend Diane and I hiked over to Little Deer Lake. To our delight Common Ravens were playing in the updrafts of a nearby ridgetop. There were about 16 Ravens, and they were riding the updrafts repeatedly, and then dropping back down! It was so fun to watch them! We have seen them doing this in previous years, always in the Fall.

Of all the corvids, Ravens are the most playful! They have been seen playing games, like dropping a stick in the air and catching it before it lands! Ravens also like to swing upside down, do rolls and somersaults in the air, and slide down snow banks! Scientists think this play may be just for fun, or perhaps a way of showing off and attracting a mate.

Little Deer Lake - 10/05/23

Little Deer Lake is situated on the west side of the main ridge that runs through the Lakes Basin.  It's a beautiful lake rimmed with rocky slopes on two sides, as well as open views to the west.  It was definitely too cold to swim, but the sun felt great as we ate our lunch and lingered on the lakeshore.

Helgramite Lake - 10/12/23

Helgramite Lake and the Round Lake Loop

On October 12, a group of us hiked up to the Helgramite Lakes and then completed the Round Lake Loop Trail for a total of 8 miles! The Fall colors were just starting and the air was clear and cool. It was a perfect day for a Fall hike!

California Mule Deer - Odocoileus hemionus californicus

Near the beginning of our hike we came across a California Mule Deer in the forest!  WOW!  I don't often seen deer in the Lakes Basin!  The black tip of its tail indicated the species!  It froze in position for a few seconds, and then bounded off! This doe will not stay in the Lakes Basin for the Winter, as it can hike down to lower elevations and milder weather.  What a treat it was to see this beautiful animal!
  
Veronica Lake 10/12/23

Veronica Lake was lower than the last time I had visited it.  The grasses had expanded further into the lake and were a lovely rusty color!

Mallard  (female) - Anas platyrhynchos

There was one lone female Mallard on Veronica Lake! Probably enjoying the last of the mild weather before it's time to migrate to it's overwintering area in  California's Central Valley.

American/Red Osier Dogwood - Cornus sericea

The American Dogwood at one end of the lake was a brilliant raspberry color and was covered with white berries!  Just lovely!

Hidden Lake - 10/19/23

Hidden Lake

On October 19, my friends Diane, Sylvia and I hiked to Hidden Lake, which is situated off the trail to Mt. Elwell at 6,864' in elevation. Being late in the season the water was quite low, but an incredible deep jade-green in color.  So beautiful!  

Mallards (2 females, 1 male) - Anas platyrhynchos

We passed an un-named pond on the way to Hidden Lake, where two pairs of Mallards were lingering before their Fall migration to California's Central Valley! The males were already in their mating colors, and it was apparent that they had already paired up.  Actual mating won't take place until early spring.

Douglas's Spirea and unknown grasses - Spirea douglasii

The fall colors were already starting to fade but we came across a few brilliant patches of shrubs and grasses that glowed in the low-angled sunlight.

Volcano Lake - 10/26/23

Volcano Lake

On 10/26/23 we hiked to Volcano Lake, at 6,335' in elevation, because it had snowed an inch or two in the Lakes Basin!  The trail to Volcano Lake is almost totally exposed the whole way to the lake, with an expansive view to the south. We didn't encounter much snow because of this southern exposure. The Sierra Buttes, and nearby ridges were lovely in a light dusting of new snow, the first snow of the year!

View east from the Volcano Lake Trail

Later in the day, beautiful expansive views to the east, from the trail, were dappled with cloud shadows! Such clear air after the snowstorm!

Mt. Elwell and Long Lake - 11/12/23

Helgramite Lakes & Meadow

Just last Sunday, 11/12/23, I went for a quick hike up to the meadow past the Helgramite Lakes.  It was SUPER BLUSTERY with super clear air, and chilly!  No one else was on the trail!  


The meadow was dry and no flowers were blooming, but it was beautiful and peaceful! A lovely place to linger, before I had to head back home.

Veronica Lake 11/14/23

Veronica Lake

Last Tuesday my husband and I hiked to Veronica Lake on another blustery cold day!  Once again the air was crystal clear because of the wind!  The lake was a lot fuller than last time, because of the rain we've gotten this past month. However, the grasses were way less prevalent.  Perhaps they had gotten frozen!  I could see them submerged in the pond.

American Robin - Turdus migratorius

Unusually we saw lots and lots of American Robins flying around!  They were probably feasting on some kind of berry that was ripe in the area.  We couldn't really tell what they were eating, as they flew off as soon as we came into view! They were probably stopping by on their way to their winter ground in the California Foothills. They were a delight to watch!

Mt. Elwell 11/14/23

The clouds framed Mt. Elwell with beauty, as we hiked back to our car and headed home.  Another lovely day with Nature!


What's happening in my neighborhood?

Are the Fall colors persisting?

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

Your questions and comments are always appreciated! Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Old Growth Forests!

Diane and an Old Growth California Douglas Fir 
Pseudostuga menziesii

Haypress Creek Trail

I lucked out and went on three hikes in the last eight days! They all differed from each other in elevation, landscape, and ecosystem, but they all included Old Growth Forests. The old trees were absolutely amazing to see! There were White Firs, California Red Firs, Douglas Firs, Ponderosa Pines, and Incense Cedars. They were all HUGE!  Additionally, it was incredible how straight most of the trees were, and how they barely tapered for the first 50'!  It was hard to capture their size in photographs, because my wide-angle camera lens compresses how the trees look.  Sometimes, their massive size isn't apparent because the trees around them are giants!  My friends Terry and Diane measured one ancient Douglas Fir and it had a diameter of 7' and a circumference of 22'!  WOW!!! 

Old Growth Ponderosa Pine - Pinus ponderosa

We hiked along several miles of forests, sometimes on logging roads and sometimes on a trail until we came to the Old Growth Forest.  It wasn't close to any of the roads we had walked on, but it wasn't that far from them either.  We were so glad that somehow they had never been cut down, even though many areas nearby had been logged.  Probably the USFS has protected them, unlike their policy of not so long ago. The following information describes Old Growth Forests and their history. It is from the website https://www.sierraforestlegacy.org/FC_FireForestEcology/TH_Old-growthForests.php.

"There are a variety of definitions for old-growth forests, but they are generally defined as forests in their later stages of development, Trees sizes for old-growth have been variously defined as trees over 24" to 30" in diameter with medium to high canopy cover; however age is the most important factor, and some ancient trees may not appear huge in girth. Old growth trees are—at the minimum—150-200 years in age. Tree size and age-related structure are a result of growing conditions, species type, elevation, and climatic conditions resulting from the diversity of ecosystems.

There has been an alarming decline in old-growth forest acres and structure in the Sierra Nevada since the 1850's Today, it is estimated that only 12 percent of mixed conifer old-growth forest remains, a staggering loss of approximately 82 percent of the historical acreage of old-growth found in mixed conifer forests.

Much of this loss is from the high-grading (a type of selective cutting where some or all of the biggest and best trees are cut) of large trees, railroad logging, and clear cutting logging practices, which continued up to the early 1990's on Federal land and continue today on industrial timber lands in the Sierra Nevada. During the logging "hey-days" of the 1980's the Forest Service was producing over 1 billion board feet of saw-timber annually from the Sierra Nevada, much of it in large old-growth trees. "

White-headed Woodpecker - Western Bluebird
 Dryobates albolarvatus - Sialia mexicana

We didn't see any mammals, but we did come across three large Mountain Lion scats, and a partial animal skin covered in fur.  Birds were common in the open areas, not so much in the Old Growth Forest.  Luckily we saw White-head Woodpeckers twice, as well as several Western Bluebirds!

"Old-growth trees provide a critical habitat structural component of species like the imperiled California spotted owl, the Northern flying squirrel, Pacific fisher, and pileated woodpecker. Continued degradation of the remaining old-growth in the Sierra Nevada will likewise continue to put pressure on these threatened wildlife species."

Chanterelle  - budding Shaggy Manes
genus/species unknown - Coprinus comatus

Mushrooms were popping up everywhere in the Old Growth Forest, mainly varieties of Russula.  Luckily, Terry found a few Chanterelles and several large groups of Shaggy Manes! We didn't see any flowers in bloom in the forest, but we spotted the leaves of the Rattlesnake Plantain orchid.

"Many rare plants, fungi, bryophytes and lichens are also associated with old forests. Some may take decades to build up complex symbiotic relationships with their conifer hosts before they become established and reproduce. Some examples include a suite of terrestrial orchids including coral root, lady slipper, and rattlesnake plantain. Very little is known about the life histories or ecology of some of these rarely seen forest species.'

We'd taken this 10 mile hike specifically to see the Old Growth Forest in the area. How lucky we were to see these astounding, giant trees! I can't wait to go back again!

Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana

Deadman Peak Hike

The second hike we took was to Deadman Peak. It was a much shorter hike, a little over 4 miles,  but the views were incredible! Rain was predicted, but didn't happen until late in the afternoon, and wasn't heavy at all. It was another glorious day outside in the "wild"!

View to the East toward Sierra Valley

We lucked out and had cloud shadows and sunlight playing on the ridges and forests, and clear, clear air!

Two views of Deadman Peak and Deadman Lake

I had hiked to the base of Deadman Peak, and Deadman Lake, several times many years ago, but had never been to the top of the peak. This year we started higher up and hiked through the woods to the top of the peak. It was a great adventure! 

White Fir Forest and an Old Growth Tree - Abies concolor

As we climbed in elevation, we came to a mixed conifer forest that had many HUGE Old Growth Trees in it.  There were White Fir, Red Fir, Western White Pine, and Jeffrey Pine trees. What a delight it was to come across this beautiful old forest!

Admiring a HUGE Western White Pine - Pinus monticola

Without a doubt, this was the biggest Western White Pine that any of us had ever seen!  WOW!!! I had no idea how old any of the Old Growth Trees might be so I looked it up in the field guide, "Trees and Shrubs of California" by John D. Stuart and John O. Sawyer. Below is a list I compiled from this book, of the most common Old Growth Trees and their ages.

Red Fir - 300+ years old
White Fir - 300+ years old
Canyon Live Oak - 300+ years old
Jeffrey Pine - 500 years old
California Black Oak - 500 years old
Incense Cedar  - 500+ years old
Sugar Pine - 500+ years old
Ponderosa Pine - 600 years old
Western White Pine - 600 years old
Douglas Fir - 750+ years old

It is SO amazing that these trees are SO old! They have survived wind, rain, snow, drought, smoke, fires, insects, disease, and fungus for centuries!  WOW!!!


Deadman's Peak and its east face at 7, 493' in elevation

On the way to the top of Deadman's Peak, there were several rocky outcrops that afforded incredible views!  It was here that we saw three delightful Clark's Nutcrackers checking us out, and perching in nearby trees! We only occasionally see these amazing birds at the higher elevations in the Lakes Basin. The following information was from the website allaboutbirds.org at the Cornell Lab.

"High in the mountains of the West, gray-and-black Clark’s Nutcrackers swoop among wizened pine trees, flashing white in the tail and wing. They use their dagger-like bills to rip into pine cones and pull out large seeds, which they stash in a pouch under their tongue and then carry away to bury for the winter. Each birds buries tens of thousands of seeds each summer and remembers the locations of most of them. Seeds they don’t retrieve play a crucial role in growing new pine forests.

The Clark's Nutcracker feeds its nestlings pine seeds from its many winter stores (caches). Because it feeds the young on stored seeds, the nutcracker can breed as early as January or February, despite the harsh winter weather in its mountain home."

Deadman's Lake at 6,680' in elevation

The water line at Deadman's Lake looked fairly low as we looked down from the top of Deadman's Peak.

View west to the Sierra Buttes

There was a lovely view to the west, of the Sierra Buttes, from the top of Deadman's Peak.  We lingered there and ate our lunch, until the rain and cold winds came in. Then we headed back down through the forest to our cars, filled with beauty from another incredible day!

Canyon Live Oaks and California Black Oaks in the river canyon 
Quercus chrysolepis - Quercus kelloggii

The Halls Ranch to Fiddle Creek Trail
 
The third hike we took, was the Halls Ranch to Fiddle Creek Trail.  Every year I love to hike this trail in the Fall, when the deciduous trees are brilliant in their Fall colors. This year it is exceptionally beautiful!  The hike is a bit hard, being 9 miles long with a gain of 2,105' in elevation.  You start around 2,400' and climb up to approximately 4,000' within the first two miles!  Then you head downhill for a bit until you come to the next ridge which you hike up. This pattern repeats itself, up and down, as you hike the trail. 

Lots and Lots of California Black Oaks! - Quercus kelloggii

Along the way there are glimpses as well as expansive views of the North Yuba River Canyon below.  Such BEAUTY!!!

Backlit California Black Oaks and the shaded ridges across the River Canyon
Quercus kelloggii

The sun lit up the color-filled oak trees, and created a dramatic contrast with the shadowed distant ridges.

California Black Oaks and Canyon Live Oaks in the river canyon
 Quercus kelloggii - Quercus chrysolepis

Highway 49 follows the curves of the North Yuba River.

Old Growth Ponderosa Pine - Pinus ponderosa

Once we got to the ridge top, we began to come across HUGE Old Growth Trees!!!  There were California Black Oaks, Canyon Live Oaks, Sugar Pines, Ponderosa Pines, and Douglas Fir trees!  There weren't lots of them, but we came across them intermittently for the entire duration of the hike.  If you compare the size of the two trees in the front, to the ones in the background, you can get a sense of how huge they are!

Old Growth Canyon Live Oak - Quercus chrysolepis
 
This beautiful oak seemed so strong and healthy in its "old age"!

Hairy Woodpecker - unknown mushroom
Dryobates villosus - genus/species unknown

We didn't see a lot of birds or mushrooms, except for a male Hairy Woodpecker and the fungi pictured above.  It was a quiet peaceful day in the woods, without a hint of a breeze!

Big-leaf Maple - Acer macrophyllum

The Big-leaf Maples were also in full glorious color in the forest, even more brilliant than the oaks!  We walked the last part of the trail as the sun went over the western ridges, and a chill filled the air from the damp woods.  We were surrounded by beauty even as the daylight dimmed.  It had been another incredible day outside with nature, as always! How lucky we are!!!

First snowfall on the Sierra Buttes 10/26/23

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

What's happening on the North Yuba River?

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

Your questions and comments are always appreciated! Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!