Our Annual Cherry Festival & Three Lakes Basin Meadows

American Robin (adult) - Turdus migratorius

Almost every year a "Cherry Festival" happens in our neighborhood when the cherries are ripe! A whole variety of birds show up to feed on the bounty. This year the dominant cherry eaters were American Robins and Black-headed Grosbeaks. There were also some Steller's Jays, Western Tanagers, Bullocks Orioles, and Spotted Towhees feasting on the fruit. Surprisingly, I didn't see any pigeons arrive! 

This year what was super cool, was that one of the last trees to have cherries was right behind our house porch. We could watch the birds closely without alarming them. As the numbers of cherries diminished the birds became more concentrated around the remaining few! Like wild animals in a desert around a shrinking pond of water! Their constant chattering and movement was fascinating to watch and hear! Such beauty!!!

There are a few different kinds of cherry trees growing here. Queen Anne Cherry Trees produce medium/small cherries that are rosy/blond in color. Another kind produces lots of small dark cherries that are mostly pit, but I don't know its name. Another unknown cherry is lemon yellow, large, and is more fruit than pit. The birds enjoy them all!

Some birds swallow the cherries whole, some peck bites from them, others pick the whole cherry, roll it around in their beaks, and then spit out the pit! Below is a photo gallery of this year's Cherry Eaters! Enjoy!

 

American Robin (juvenile) with cherry - Turdus migratorius

Bullock's Oriole (juvenile) - Western Tanager (male)

Icterus bullockii - Piranga ludoviciana

Black-headed Grosbeak (female-male)

Pheucticus melanocephalus

Hairy Woodpecker (female) - Red-breasted Sapsucker (adult)

Dryobates villosus - Syraphicus ruber

Last year I saw a Hairy Woodpecker eating cherries. This year a Red-breasted Sapsucker showed up and nabbed some! I didn't know that these woodpeckers ate cherries! I looked it up and they do indeed eat "fruit" but it is a minimal part of their diet. I'll bet cherries are a sweet change from their usual insect fare!

Spotted Towhee (male) - Steller's Jay (adult)

Pipilo maculatis - Cyanocitta stelleri

Douglas Tree Squirrel or Chickaree - Tamiasciurus douglasii

Local mammals, such as bear, fox, raccoons, squirrels, and chickarees also eat the cherries! Many can climb trees (even foxes!), but there are also lots of edible cherries on the ground. 

Western Gray Squirrel - Sciurus griseus

The mammals and birds feasted on all the cherries on the ground for a few days after the "festival"! What a fun event it was to witness!

Howard Meadow 7/1/25

Three Lakes Basin Meadows!

My husband and I went up to three of the Lakes Basin Meadows with our friends Mary and Hannah this week! The meadows were lush and green and bordered with wildflowers! Each meadow had wildflower species that were unique to it, as well as those that were common in all three meadows. Luckily it was breezy and coolish at the meadows, and the bug-count was way down!

Pretty face - Nuttall's Larkspur

Tritelia ixioides - Delphinium nuttallianum

 At the western end of Howard Meadow, before the thicket of green Corn Lilies, there was a carpet of thousands of lemon-yellow Pretty Face and royal-blue Nutall's Larkspurs!!! I've never seen this many of these flowers in one place before. It was STUNNING! There were lots and lots of pollinators on the flowers, especially bumblebees!

Bridge's Gilia - Navarettia leptalea

At the base of the Pretty Face and Nuttall's Larkspur, there was also a carpet of lavender-pink Bridge's Gilias, by the thousands! These flowers are tiny, but definitely worth getting down on your knees to look at them. 

A patch of Bridge's Gilia in Howard Meadow

Mary noticed that in dry patches of the meadow, the Bridge's Gilia presided, to the exclusion of most other species! We wondered what caused the dry patches, but weren't sure. Maybe gophers or other mammals???

Bistort - Sierra Lewisia

Bistorta bistortoides - Lewisia nevadensis

There were many Bistorts in the meadow, but we only saw two Sierra Lewisia in the forest surrounding the meadow.

Lincoln Sparrow - Melospiza lincolnii

There were lots and lots of birds singing in and around the meadow. Lucky for us, Mary is really good at recognizing the songs and calls of birds! She heard Lincoln Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, and Lazuli Buntings to name a few! What a treat it was to have her identify them for us! 

In the book Sierra Nevada (1970) the author, Verna R. Johnston, writes a delightful account of the wildlife that inhabits sierran meadows, including Pocket Gophers, California Moles, voles, Aplondontia, shrews, Coyotes, bats, deer, weasels, songbirds, and raptors! It is a fascinating account of the complex ecosystem of a meadow. I highly recommend her book! The following quote is her introduction to the subject of mountain meadows.

"This inherent rhythm, unique to each species, is very evident among the animals of the mountain meadows. Thousands of meadows, varying from small seepages to spacious ranches, intersperse the midmountain, higher mountain forests. Each, in an unmatched setting of its own, is a serene open place where morning dew hangs heavy on the grass and sedge, midday sun dazzles, evening's coolness brings the deer. But each is much more than grass, wet soil, wildflowers, deer at twilight. Each is an interlaced community of plants and animals whose lives affect each other intimately the year through, often in ways that barely show above the surface."

Howard Creek

We walked down to Howard Creek that flows through the middle of the meadow, in hopes of finding some Elephant Head flowers. We didn't find any, but we did come across a "meadow watefall" that was super cool! Here's a short video of it for you!

Apart from being gorgeous, meadows are a very important part of the sierran ecosystem. The following quote from https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5397692.pdf

briefly summarizes their benefits to the environment.

"Besides supporting species not found elsewhere, meadows do many other things. They filter sediment from water flowing from surrounding slopes—providing clean water for wildlife and healthy habitat for aquatic animals that live in lakes and streams. Meadows provide an important breeding ground for invertebrates (such as insects), a key food source for many birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Meadow plants also provide food and habitat structure for small mammals that, in turn, provide an important prey base for raptors, coyotes, and other predators. Meadows are sponges, absorbing water as snowpack melts and holding that water like an underground water tank. By holding the water in the mountains, the risk of flooding in the Sacramento Valley is reduced significantly. Then, later in the summer, this stored water feeds the many streams and rivers in the mountains, so they continue to flow during the long dry summers."

Pond! 

To our complete surprise, at the end of the day, we found a pond in Howard Meadow!!!It was a hard-edged pond with LOTS of tadpoles in it, and it wasn't fed by Howard Creek! In fact it was higher than the creek! What a surprise! We plan on going back again soon to check it out further!

Showy Penstemon - Slender Penstemon

Penstemon speciosus - Penstemon gracilentius

Along the dry road to the meadow we also found thousands of blooming wildflowers! Here's a few of the flowers we saw!

Stickseed - Bolander's Yampah

Hackelia velutina - Perideridia bolanderi

Logged Meadow

On the road to Howard Meadow there is a small but beautiful logged meadow, about 1/4 mile in from the Gold Lake Road. It is filled to the brim with gorgeous White Brodiaea and Bolander's Yampah! Take a short walk out in it and look for beetles in the flowers! A little bit later the mallows will be in bloom here.

White Brodiaea - Snow Plant - Shasta Clover

Tritelia hyacinthina - Sarcodes sanguinea - Trifolium kingii

I was also surprised to see a few Snow Plants still in bloom! Shasta Clover is interesting as the flowers hang downward!

Lincoln Meadow with blooming Bistort - Inset: Alpine Shooting Star

Bistorta bistortoides - Primula tetandra

We also went up to Lincoln Meadow to see what was blooming! It too was lush green and still quite wet! Bistort was growing on the edges along with Alpine Shooting Stars! The breeze was heavenly and we ate our picnic lunch there as the flowers danced in the breeze!

Dancing Wildflowers!

Scarlet Gilia - Anderson's Thistle (in bud) - Dwarf Chamaesaracha

Bistorta bistortoides - Circium andersonii - Chamaesaracha nan

In the area of Lincoln Meadow we came across a dry slope covered in lupines, cinquefoils, paintbrush and hundreds of Scarlet Gilias!!! It was was difficult to photograph in the hot sun, but lovely to see! A little bit further we came across some Anderson's Thistles in bud and a new plant for us, in the nightshade family, Dwarf Chamaesaracha! It had been more than a month that I had been up in the Lakes Basin, and our day in the meadows filled me with peace and beauty for days. I hope to get back there soon!

What birds are up in the Lakes Basin?

What's happening on the Lakes Basin Lakes?

After 8 years of posting my blog, I've decided that I'm only going to post my blog every TWO weeks from now on. Check back on July 19th for my next natural history blog.

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

Neighborhood River Birds & Rain in the Lakes Basin!

Common Merganser (female) with ducklings - Mergus merganser

To my delight I spotted this group of 8 ducklings with their mom one morning last week! Yay!!! They were so fun to watch! The little ducklings stayed close to their mom, and followed her wherever she went. Some of the ducklings even rode on her back!!! The mom also quacked to them if she was alarmed by any unwelcome intruders, and they would quickly group up around her. I've seen them several times now and it's a joy every time!

In the case of waterfowl, nestlings are born precocial and leave the nest usually within 24-48 hours after hatching! The average incubation time for Common Mergansers is 32 days!!! That's a long time! They are tree cavity nesters, and prefer to use old Pileated Woodpecker nests, or natural cavities in a tree trunk. They will also nest on the ground.

The average brood size of the Common Merganser is 9-12, but they have been known to have as many as 17 ducklings! Within 1-2 days after the ducklings leave their nest, they are capable of swimming, diving, and feeding on their own! The mom will stay with them for approximately 2 months, warding off predators such as minks, otters, foxes, and herons! In the Fall, they will migrate to southern California or Arizona for the winter. 

Common Merganser (female) with ducklings - Mergus merganser

Common Mergansers are diving ducks that feed on mollusks, aquatic insects, crayfish, worms, frogs, small mammals, other birds, plants and fish! They mainly eat fish in the winter, when aquatic insects, frogs, worms, and crustaceans are less active.

All birds have a nictitating (blinking) membrane, a transparent extra eyelid. This serves as a diving mask that allows Common Mergansers to keep their eyes open underwater, while they swim with webbed feet. When at the surface, they will swim forward with their head underwater searching for or chasing prey. In shallow water, they return to the surface to swallow their prey. In deeper water, they may swallow fish while still submerged.

Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius

 The Spotted Sandpipers have returned to our river once again. I've been seeing a pair of them along the shoreline, and on the river rocks lately. I just love their beautiful spotted breasts and how they teeter on the rocks. They have a mating system that's quite different from most birds, in that the females are sometimes monogamous, and sometimes practice polyandry! They might mate with more than one male, and will often lay three different sets of eggs, in three different nests! The males do most of the nest building, incubating, and care of the nestlings and fledglings! The female's job is to defend the multiple nests from any intruders! Last year I spotted one of their nests in the dry river rocks, but I haven't found a nest yet this year. The brand new fledglings are tiny feather puff balls and super cute. Hope to see some soon!

Northern Rough-winged Swallows (adults) - Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Uncharacteristically, I saw a small group of Northern Rough-winged Swallows on the river this week. They were hawking insects out of the air, and then resting together on a fallen branch along the river shore. They are listed as "uncommon" in our area. What a treat it was to watch them! These Swallows usually nest in abandoned rodent, swallow, or Kingfisher burrows, in precipitous banks of sand or clay near water. They will nest singly or in small colonies of approximately 2-25 pairs. The female alone will build the nest and incubate the 2-6 eggs, for 12-16 days. Both parents will feed the nestlings. The nestlings fledge in approximately 20 days. The fledglings fly as soon as they leave the nest, and rarely return to their nest site. Both parents will feed the fledglings for several days. They feed almost exclusively on flying insects. They will begin their migration to their winter habitat in Central America in mid August.

Belted Kingfisher (female) - Megaceryle alcyon

The loud rattling calls of a Belted Kingfisher are a commonly heard on our river corridor! We have a male and a female that live on our section of the river year round. They are probably a mated pair. 

Unlike most birds, the female Kingfisher is more colorful than the male. The male does not have the rust-colored band across its chest, nor patches underneath its wings. Kingfishers catch small fish, crayfish, and tadpoles by plunge-diving from perches, into shallow or surface water. Most of their dives are less than 24" deep into the water. After they catch their prey, they bring it back to a perch and pound it against a branch to stun it! Whatever they cannot digest, such as fish bones etc. is regurgitated in pellets!

Belted Kingfishers are solitary except during the breeding season. They are monogamous and usually only have 1 brood of 5-7 chicks. The nests are made in bare earthen banks by both the male and female. The male does most of the work. It will take the pair up to 3 weeks to excavate the 3'-6' long, horizontal, subterranean tunnel, that ends in an unlined nesting chamber! The opening to the tunnel ranges from 3"-5". 5-7 eggs are incubated for 22 days, by both parents. The nestlings fledge in about 16 days, but are cared for by the parents for the following 27-29 days. love these elegant, strikingly-feathered birds!

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias

These large Herons search for food day and night! In addition to fish, they eat crayfish, frogs, aquatic insects, amphibians, small mammals, and other birds! They are usually solitary except during breeding season. They are the only species of Heron seen above the foothills.

Great Blue Herons are large birds, with a body length of 26" and a wingspan of 36"! Their long legs add another 2' of height! They feed on fish, frogs, crayfish, aquatic insects, small mammals, other birds, amphibians and reptiles! They can hunt during the day and at night! That's amazing! They are the only herons found above the foothills! 

Great Blue Herons are usually solitary, except during breeding season when they usually form nesting colonies! I've only seen two Great Blue Herons in our neighborhood, and have never found a colony of them locally. One year there was a juvenile heron with an adult on our section of the river, so I assumed they had nested nearby! Apparently they build big platform nests out of sticks, which are re-used year after year. The following information about Great Blue Heron nests is from the Cornell website https://birdsoftheworld.org/.

"Great Blue Herons build nests primary from sticks. Herons gather sticks and other nesting materials from the ground, nearby trees and shrubs, or from unguarded and abandoned nests (including nests of their predators such as Bald Eagles). Stick gathering is done primarily by males and placed on the nest primarily by females. Nest building can take from 3 d to 2 weeks, and completed nests consist of a platform of twigs with a saucer-shaped interior lined with pine needles, moss, dry grass, or small twigs. Nesting material is generally added throughout the nesting period.

Dimensions: Vary greatly, from flimsy new platforms of sticks just 0.5 m diameter, to bulky older structures 0.9 to 1.2 m across . Nests used over several seasons can be about 1 m deep .

Nests are often reused for many years; maintained throughout the nesting period with twigs gathered near the nest primarily by the male (mostly when eggs are laid and hatched) and placed primarily by the female . Herons may build a new nest if an early attempt fails."

Olive-sided Flycatcher (adult) with nesting material - Contopus cooperi

This Olive-sided Flycatcher has recently arrived in our neighborhood, from as far south as Bolivia, a distance of approximately 5,300 miles!! ! They come here to nest and raise their young! The nests I've seen have been small, cup shaped nests built away from the trunk of alder trees, on the saddle of a leafy branch. The nests are made by the females out of rootlets and twigs, and lined with grasses, fine rootlets, or pine needles.

Olive-sided Flycatcher (adult) - Contopus cooperi

 On average, there are three to four eggs in a nest. The incubation period is approximately 14 days. Nestlings are fed mainly flying insects, such as dragonflies, flies, bees, wasps, flying ants, moths, and grasshoppers. The nestlings fledge in 15–19 days after they hatch. The parents continue to feed them for another week after they fledge.

Hairy Woodpecker (female) - Dryobates villosus

 

Hairy Woodpeckers feed on wood boring beetles and their larvae, ants, bees, wasps, butterfly caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, spiders and millipedes. They excavate nests in the trunks of dead trees, in which the female will lay 4-7 eggs. Both parents share the incubation period of 11-12 days. They regurgitate digested foods to feed their young nestlings. As nestlings mature, they are fed whole invertebrates. There are usually 4-7 nestlings in a nest. The nestlings are fed approximately 7 times an hour, from sunrise to sunset, for 28-30 days! That's a total of 3,000 feedings before the nestlings leave their nest! Fledglings remain dependent on their parents for 2-4 more weeks.

 

Storm Clouds in the Lakes Basin

It Rained during our First Swim in the Lakes Basin!

Back on June 6th, my friend Nancy and I decided to hike up to the Tamarack Lakes. Unfortunately we encountered a creek that was running too high and fast to cross, so we couldn't get to the lakes. We decided to go to nearby Saxonia Lake instead, and ended up SWIMMING in it! It was our first swim of the year and the water was definitely cool, but absolutely do-able! 

Saxonia Lake 6-7-25

There were glorious, puffy, white and dark-gray clouds all day and we did get rained on! We had the lake to ourselves, and didn't see another person the whole day! It was fabulous! The clouds made the landscape so spectacular!

A mesmerizing cloud reflection in Saxonia Lake

Western Azaleas - Rhododendron occidentale

To our delight there were groups of Western Azaleas in bloom along the lake! These large flowers have one of the most beautiful fragrances I've ever found in the wild. This is the highest elevation (6,496') I've ever seen these beautiful shrubs. We were actually quite surprised to see them! It turns out that they can be found up to 7,000' in elevation. They are deciduous and drop all their leaves in the fall.

Dugan's Pond

On the way to Saxonia Lake we passed Dugan's Pond. 

Mallard (female) & ducklings - Buffleheads (female)

Anas platyrhynchos - Bucephala albeola

Every year we see ducks at this pond. This year we saw three ducklings and one female Mallard, as well as three distant female Buffleheads! It is such a peaceful little pond!

Raindrops on Dugan's Pond

On the way home we got caught in a refreshing cloudburst at Dugan's Pond! The raindrop ripples were wonderful and the fragrance of the damp earth enveloped us! Ahh!!!

 

Dugan's Pond raindrops! What a beautiful way to end a fabulous day!

Rainy mist slightly obscuring the Sierra Buttes

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

Where are all the mammals?

After 8 years of posting my blog, I've decided that I'm only going to post my blog every TWO weeks from now on. Check back, in 11 days, on July 5th for my next natural history blog.

Also, check out my latest post on my newly re-opened Damp Earth Blog at dampearthart.blogspot.co

Cataract Surgery!

Frazier Falls - 6/14/25

I just had cataract surgery two days ago, and am not up for writing a blog! I hope to have a new blog up by next weekend, June 28th. In the meantime enjoy this video of Frazier Falls, from up in the Lakes Basin. Just gorgeous! See you in a week!

 

Uncommon Sightings!

Trowbridge's Shrew - Sorex trowbridgii

 

In the past two weeks, we went back again to Sierra Valley, visited Carman Valley, hiked in the Lakes Basin, and went for walks in our neighborhood. Luckily I was privileged to see some uncommon wildlife while I was "out there"! It was all beautiful, joyous, and wonderful!

Unfortunately one of the coolest critters was brought in by our cat - a tiny, dead shrew. It was SO tiny! It was only about 4" in length, including the tail. The body was slightly longer than the tail. I loved its pointy little nose and furry paws! I didn't see any eyes, although I know that they have them. I have rarely seen shrews, and have never been able to look at one so closely. It was fascinating!

After doing some research, I'm pretty sure that this is a Trowbridge's Shrew. They like to live in mixed-conifer forests with lots of logs, branches, and leaves on the ground, to forage, hide, and live in. They have long bi-colored tails and their fur is uniform in color (does not have a pale belly). They feed on insects, spiders, centipedes, worms, as well as seeds and plant material. They are active intermittently day and night throughout the year, and do not hibernate. Their lifespan is only a year and a half! 

Trowbridge's Shrew - Sorex trowbridgii

Shrews in general are quite unique in their habits. When I was a National Park Ranger in Sequoia National Park, I developed a slide show/talk on "Animals in Winter". Shrews were one of my topics. I don't remember all that I talked about, but I do remember saying that shrews run around under the snow on the forest floor searching for live prey; that they have to eat prey, equal to their weight, every 24 hours or they die; and that their hearts beat at 880 beats a minute! 

This week I went looking for more of this kind of information about shrews on the internet, and found this great website, Cool Green Science - Stories of the Nature Conservancy, that had a fascinating article about shrews at 

https://blog.nature.org/2018/03/05/strange-and-unbelievable-facts-about-shrews/. Rather than copy the whole article I've posted some of the main points for you. 

"Strange and Unbelievable Facts About Shrews"

By Matthew L. Miller

"Shrews just live life fast and furious. Your most highly caffeinated, Type A colleague will appear downright slothful compared to a shrew. While this varies among species, a shrew’s heart rate beats 800 to 1000 times per minute.

A shrew’s life is a constant search for prey. Many species must eat their body weight’s worth of food each day. (I advise you not to attempt this one). If a shrew doesn’t eat within a few hours, it dies.

They have poor eyesight, so they rely on their long, highly sensitive whiskers, also known as vibrissae. The shrew moves its whiskers constantly – a motion called, appropriately enough, whisking – until it brushes its prey. Then it strikes quickly and with great precision.

Many shrew species are venomous. Research has found that an individual shrew stores enough venom to kill 200 mice. Some shrews also use this venom for something called live hoarding. The shrew lacks hollow fangs (as in venomous snakes) but instead has a gland that allows saliva to flow with the venom. When the shrew encounters its prey – often an invertebrate, but it can also be a mouse or other vertebrate – it begins biting it, allowing the venomous saliva to flow into the wound.

For the prey, this is the beginning of a very bad day. The venom paralyzes the creature, but keeps it very much alive. The shrew can then move it to a cache, available for whenever hunting is not going so great. For an animal that has to eat constantly, this keeps a fresh if unsavory meal always at the ready."

There are many more interesting facts about shrews in this article. I highly recommend that you read the whole thing, it's delightful!

Sierra Mountain Kingsnake - Lampropeltis zonata multicincita

I was walking in my neighborhood with my husband one morning, when we spotted a beautiful black, white, and red Sierra Mountain Kingsnake lying on the dirt road!!!  WOW! It was approximately three feet long!  We didn't want it to get hit by a car, so we approached it and it retreated back down the bank. I see these gorgeous snakes very rarely, and was thrilled to see this beauty! They are not rare, but they are secretive and spend most of their time under rocks or logs. These colorful snakes are harmless to humans. They are constrictors and prey on lizards, snakes, bird eggs & nestlings, and small mammals. The following information about Sierra Mountain Kingsnakes is from the website https://www.californiaherps.com/

"Life History and Behavior"

Activity: Secretive, but not rare in suitable habitat.

Spends most of the time underground, under surface objects, or inside rock crevices. Occasionally seen active on the ground in the daytime, especially near shaded streams on hot sunny days. Active during the day at high altitudes during times of low nighttime temperatures (which is typical habitat.)

When temperatures are more moderate, it can be crepuscular, nocturnal, and diurnal. During very hot weather, activity is primarily nocturnal.

This snake is normally active at temperatures between approximately 55 - 85 degrees. Enters into winter hibernation typically around November, emerging some time from February to April, depending on location and weather conditions.

Diet and Feeding: Eats lizards, small mammals, nestling birds, bird eggs, amphibians, and occasionally snakes, including its own species.

Reproduction/Mating: takes place a few weeks after emergence in the spring.

Females are oviparous, laying eggs from June-July which hatch after 50 - 65 days."

Sierra Mountain Kingsnake - Lampropeltis zonata multicincita

"Habitat: A habitat generalist, found in diverse habitats including coniferous forest, oak-pine woodlands, riparian woodland, chaparral, manzanita, and coastal sage scrub. Wooded areas near a stream with rock outcrops, talus or rotting logs that are exposed to the sun are good places to find this snake.

Geographical Range: According to Myers et al (2013) "Lampropeltis zonata is composed of all populations in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Coast Ranges north of Monterey Bay, California, north into the Klamath Mountains, in Oregon, plus an additional, disjunct population along the Columbia Gorge, in the great state of Washington."

Bullock's Orioles (male-female) - Icterus bullockii

Although seeing Bullock's Orioles in our neighborhood isn't uncommon in the summer, I was thrilled to see this pair. Six years ago, I noticed that a female Bullock's Oriole was building a nest in a Maple tree across the street from our home. For that year, and the next three years she (or her offspring) returned to the same tree and built a nest! Then inexplicably, for the past two years she hasn't nested in that tree. 

Bullock's Oriole Nest

This year, I was down watering in our garden and I spotted a male Bullock's Oriole in the top of a close-by cedar tree. Then two chattering females flew by. I watched them closely and sure enough they kept returning to a leafy branch in that Maple tree. I zoomed in with my camera and spotted the nest. Yay! They've been busy every morning now, and in another week or so perhaps I'll hear some hungry nestlings! I love the return of this natural history "tradition"!

The Slippery Slope with inset Lazuli Bunting (male)

Passerina amoena

Back in 2019 I wrote about this steep, damp, slope along highway 49. It is actually a seep, where water trickles down and plants thrive. I call it the "Slippery Slope", because it's quite steep and slick (in places). Wikipedia states: "A seep or flush is a moist or wet place where water, usually groundwater, reaches the earth's surface from an underground aquifer." I hadn't been up there in a year or more, so I decided to climb up and check out what was blooming. There was some Meadowfoam, and Woodland Stars but most of the flowers had finished blooming.

I did however spot a Lazuli Bunting, singing away in a dead tree top! These beautiful songbirds are very uncommon in our area. In fact I've only seen them twice before!  So beautiful!  They overwinter along the coast of mainland Mexico, and breed across the western half of the U.S. 

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states, "This widespread songbird breeds in brushy habitats from sea level to more than 3,000 meters throughout the western United States and southwestern Canada. Appropriately named after the blue gemstone lapis lazuli, this species (especially the male) has spectacular plumage."

Sierra Valley 5/23/25

I can't seem to stay away from Sierra Valley lately, it's so full of life!  This time we saw one uncommon critter and one uncommon behavior! How lucky!

American Pronghorn - Antilocapra americana

My friend Rochelle is the one that spots the Pronghorn whenever they are around. Sure enough she spotted this one all by itself! Wow!  I hadn't seen one in more than a year!  No other Pronghorns were visible, but it was super cool to see this one! It was right by the road! What luck! 

The following information is from the Institute for Wildlife Studies at http://www.iws.org/species_pronghorn.html

"These beautiful Pronghorns are the swiftest animals in North America, and have been recorded running as fast as 59 mph! They can outrun any predator! Their limbs are cursorial (built for speed) but not for jumping. Fences have had a detrimental effect on their population, as they cannot jump over them. They need to live in areas that are wide open and basically treeless, like Sierra Valley. They feed on a wide variety of plants, especially sagebrush in the winter. Their horns are keratinized sheaths which cover extensions of the frontal bone. The sheaths are shed annually. Both male and female have these horns."

American Pronghorn - Antilocapra americana

I have seen Pronghorns on the other side of this fence, so they must have found a broken down part, and slipped through.

Sandhill Cranes doing their Mating Dance - Antigone canadensis

Just as we were leaving the Steel Bridge area we came across a pair of Sandhill Cranes doing a mating dance! Both of the cranes took turns dancing. One of them even picked up a dry branch from a bush and tossed it into the air! We watched them for about 20 seconds before they flew away! 

Sandhill Cranes doing their Mating Dance - Antigone canadensis

I've only seen this behavior once before in Sierra Valley! 

What a joy it was to watch them!

Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia

We also visited Carman Valley, which is another valley west of Sierra Valley, but only a fraction of its size. Some years it can be FULL of blooming flowers, and this year the flowers were spectacular! This year there were lots of songbirds around the wet meadows including Song Sparrows!

View of Mount Beckwourth from the wetlands

The wetlands were curiously unoccupied by waterfowl! 

Ring-necked Duck (male) - Athya collaris 

We did see one very distant Ring-necked Duck, 

which I've never seen there before! 

Western Bistorts - Common Camas Lily
Polygonum bistortoides - Camassia quamash

The wet meadows were overflowing with thousands of beautiful, knee-high, brilliant purple-blue, Common Camas Lilies and slightly taller Western Bistorts! Additionally, the large leaves of Corn Lilies were just emerging in the meadows. Such glowing colors in an ocean of bright green! Wonderful overwhelming beauty!

In the Nez Perce language, "camas" means "sweet." The bulbs of these plants were the most important bulb utilized by the Native Americans. Areas where these bulbs were abundant were sometimes fought over! 

Among the Camas Lilies, thousands of Western Bistorts were also blooming!
Apparently all parts of the Western Bistort are edible, some raw, some cooked. The name refers to its twisted root.

Long Lake 5/27/25

Last week, my friend Nancy and I enjoyed a beautiful sunny day up in the snowy Lakes Basin! We hiked on snow up to Hellgrammite Lake at 6,916' in elevation! We passed Long Lake (elevation 6,531) and this incredible view of Mt. Elwell on the way!

Nancy at Hellgrammite Lake 

As you can see Hellgrammite Lake was mostly frozen, with a few slightly melted areas. We LOVED being there surrounded by beauty and peace once again!

It may still be a few more weeks until the trails are all opened up. I wonder what it's like down at Howard Meadow right now? We'll just have to go there next!

Ok, I PROMISE to write about the river and my neighborhood next week. Everything is happening so fast, I can't seem to keep up with it all!  

Look how big the goslings are now!

After 8 years of posting my blog, I've decided that I'm only going to post my blog every TWO weeks from now on. Check back in two weeks, on June 21st for my next natural history blog.

Also, check out my latest post on my newly re-opened Damp Earth Blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com