Although we had an above average snowy winter, and spring came several months later than usual, I had another incredible year out in nature this year! The additional precipitation turned Sierra Valley into a small ocean in the Spring, caused wildflowers to bloom profusely in the foothills, and diminished the occurrence of wildfires and smoke in California. Quite noticeably it also changed the nesting habits of some local birds, as well as the populations of some resident mammals.
Every day I spent outside was full of discovery and adventure and I relished every moment! Below are photo-composites of my most memorable sightings for the year! Enjoy, and thank you for your continued interest in my blog!
North Yuba River
Sierra Buttes - Fir Cap
Winter Forest -Falling snow obscures Forest
Grizzly Peak
It's Snowing! - Clouds darken the Sun
Sunny morning & Grizzly Peak - Saddleback
Morning sun and Mist
Landscapes: Howard Meadow was a delight to visit every time I went up to the Lakes Basin! The succession of blooms was fascinating and always surprising! Sierra Valley was always a welcome sight to see! Water and clouds always make me joyful! I never tire of seeing the Sierra Buttes in any kind of weather! Table Mountain is and incredible wonder of wildflowers! I am so grateful for all the beauty that surrounds me every day!
Howard Meadow
Sierra Valley early Spring
Aspen Grove at Grassy Lake
Fall dusting of snow on the Sierra Buttes
Table Mountain in Bloom
Clouds and Rocky Ridge
North end of Howard Meadow
Birds: Bird watching is one of my favorite things to do! This year I was delighted to see a Yellow-rumped Warbler with nesting material in its beak, for the first time ever! I also lucked out and saw a few uncommon birds, including one Sooty Grouse along the highway, and several Clark's Nutcrackers in the higher elevations! I also watched a pair of American Dippers build a nest in 7 days, which I had never observed before! New to me this year were several Nuttall's Woodpeckers, as well as a flock of Pine Siskins and Common Goldfinches feeding together! Wonders never cease!
Yellow-rumped Warbler with Nesting Material
Clark's Nutcracker - Sooty Grouse
Yellow-headed Blackbird - Red-winged Blackbird
American Dipper in partially built Nest
Western Tanager - Rudy Duck
Nuttall's Woodpecker - Lewis's Woodpecker
Lesser Goldfinch - Pine Siskin
Mammals: Large mammals are not nearly as common as our local birds. Although we didn't see any Pronghorns this year, I was privileged to watch a big Black Bear eat wild domestic cherries, 50' up a tree, for an hour and a half right behind our home!!! It's strength was amazing to see as it climbed the tree, as well as its delicate eating of each individual cherry! What an incredible sighting! I was also lucky to briefly see two does with fawns in the Spring. The fawns in one pair were quite little! The most unusual sighting happened when I watched a Chickaree carry three different young chickarees to a new nest site down the road from our garden! Wow! It was also a rare treat to see River Otters on the North Yuba River in January, as well as in Gray Lodge in February.
Black Bear
California Mule Deer & Columbian Black-tailed Deer with Fawns
Yellow-headed Blackbird - Red-winged Blackbird
Chipmunk - California Ground Squirrel - Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
River Otter at Gray Lodge
River Otters in the North Yuba River
Adult Chickaree transporting three different young Chickarees
Gray Fox
Wildflowers: It was an absolutely spectacular year for Wildflowers at all elevations! In Sierra Valley I saw three new beautiful species, Bulbed Woodland Stars, Beckwith's Clover, and Bach's Downingia. Table Mountain was blanketed with a rainbow of flowers, including Blue Dicks, Bitterroots, and Goldfields. In the Lakes Basin it was a record year for blooming Corn Lilies (pictured in the top photo of the Landscapes composite) more than I've ever seen! Luckily, I also came across some uncommon, blooming, Drummond's Anemones, and for the first time ever, Dwarf Hesperochiron!
Blue Dicks & Gold Fields with Foothill Poppies in the background
Bulbed Woodland Stars - Beckwith's Clover
Bach's Downingia - Porterella
Bitterroot
Dwarf Hesperochiron - Drummond's Anemone
Roundtooth Ookow - Harvest Brodiaea
Sky Lupine and Goldfields
Insects: Due to the abundance of flowering plants this year, there was quite an increase in some insect populations. This year I saw more Clearwing Hummingbird/Snowberry Moths and Sphinx Moths than ever before, and they stayed around in our garden for months! The Swallowtail Butterflies were also more numerous and were here almost the entire summer! New to me this year were the Bowl and Doily Spiders, the Crystalline Gall Wasp Gall, and the Underwing Moth!
Clearwing Hummingbird/Snowberry Moth
Bowl & Doily Spiderwebs - Western Tiger Swallwotail Butterfly
Crystalline Gall Wasp Gall - Sierra Tiger Beetle
Non-biting Midges
Underwing Moth
Orb Weaver Spider - Monarch Butterfly
Sphinx Moth
Trees: This year I explored several Old Growth Forests in the Tahoe National Forest. The trees were astonishingly HUGE and majestic! I have since learned that they range in age from 300-750 years old!!! I also spent time in several different Blue Oak Woodlands in the foothills during the winter. The oaks were gorgeous, and I loved exploring and learning about their environment. Up in the Lakes Basin I saw more and more dead trees in the forest. Their death is from a variety of factors including drought, fire, over-crowding, fungus, and insects. However, there are still lots of healthy trees in the woods.
Mountain Hemlock - Beetle Killed Ponderosa Pines - Morning Mist
Fall Black Oak - Spring Blue Oak - Old Growth Sugar Pine
Old Growth Red Fir - Quaking Aspens - Bigleaf Maple
Lodepole Pines - Blue Oak Leaves - Dwarf Bilberry & Lodgepoles
Seven years ago, on December 23, 2016, I published the first post of my North Yuba Naturalist blog! 378 posts later, I still love sharing my natural history observations and photographs with "the world"! This year, 14,392 people from 51 different countries visited my blog! WOW!!! Thank YOU!!!
What's happening with the local ferns, mosses, and lichens?
What's happening in the foothills?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more.
Your comments and questions are greatly appreciated,
please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com.
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