An Abundance of Wildflowers!

Aspen grove in the Lakes Basin Campground - 6/6/25

One rainy afternoon about a month ago, I visited one of my favorite aspen groves up in the Lakes Basin Campground. The trail through the grove was flooded at that time! Now, the trail is totally open and the aspen grove is filled with an astonishing abundance of gorgeous wildflowers in a bright palette of colors! Leopard Lilies are the most numerous, but there are also lots of Monkshoods, Wild Onions, Butterweed, and many other species. Every year it is unbelievably beautiful!

 

Leopard Lilies - Monkshood

Lilium pardilinum - Aconitum columbianum

Leopard Lilies are frequently, incorrectly named "Tiger Lilies." The word "pardalinum" means "leopard like", as in "spotted". (Tigers are striped not spotted.)  Leopard Lilies have lots of dark brown spots on their petals, hence their name. So if you come across an orange lily with brown spots, in a wet meadow or stream side area in California, odds are it is a Leopard Lily!

These elegant lilies can be 2-7' tall, with several hanging flowers on each stalk. Although they are not fragrant, they are gorgeous to look at. These lilies are the most widespread of the wet-growing lilies in our area. They reproduce from rhizomes, or continuously growing, horizontal, underground stems which put out lateral shoots and random roots at intervals.

Leopard Lilies  - Arrowhead Butterweed - Monkshood

Lilium pardilinum - Senecio triangularis - Aconitum columbianum

I've posted this photo on my blog before, but I love how it shows the density and variety of wildflowers in the aspen grove! Such beauty!

Monkshood - Aconitum columbianum

All parts of this plant are very toxic and potentially fatal! 

 So admire it without handling it!

Fireweed - Chamerion angustifolium

Fireweed is one of my favorite wildflowers! These beauties can grow up to 6' tall, with lots of blossoms on each stem.  In the Lakes Basin they often grow in dense clusters.

Cow Parsnip - Heracleum maximum

 Cow Parsnips can be 3'-10' tall, with lovely, lacey, large umbels.

Swamp Onion - Allium validum

These Swamp Onions can be 1-3' tall. They thrive in wet meadows, and have a distinct onion fragrance.

Sierra Rein Orchid - Plantathera dilitata

Orchids!!!

Over the last few weeks the local orchids have started to bloom! They grow in both low and high elevations. Most of them grow in wet areas, but some grow in the dry forest floor. They are bilaterally symmetrical, with 3 petals and 3 sepals in various arrangements.

There are 8 species of orchids listed in John Muir Laws' book, Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada. I have seen 6 of them so far.  Each orchid has a specific insect pollinator, usually a fly, bee, or moth, that is attracted to its scent!

Interestingly the Sierra Rein Orchid (pictured above) is pollinated by moths (at night?) with a proboscis long enough to reach into the nectar spur!

Mountain Piperia Orchid - Dense-flowered Rein Orchid

Piperia transversa - Plantathera elongata

The Mountain Piperia Orchid pictured above, doesn't grow in wet meadows or bogs. Instead, it grows in shady areas of the dry forest floor! The flowers have a clove-like fragrance, which attracts moths. 

The Dense-flowered Rein Orchid also grows in the dense, dry forest on very tall (19") stems with lots of tiny, tiny flowers. The flower buds look like little green tadpoles before they open up! The flowers have very long nectar spurs! Moths and butterflies are the key pollinators, but they are also visited by bees.

Stream Orchid - Epipactus gigantea

The Giant Stream Orchid pictured above grows along Highway 49, a few miles past Downieville. There are several colonies of thousands of orchids in this one section of the highway! They reproduce through rhizomes and seeds. They are not usually noticed by motorists, as their coloring is a overall greenish-brown. However, upon close inspection they're gorgeous! The flowers themselves are about 1.5" in length, quite a bit larger than the other local native orchids. They are pollinated by Syrphid Flies, that are attracted to the honeydew scent of the flowers! 

Spotted Coralroot Orchid - Corallorhiza maculata

I usually find Spotted Coralroot Orchids growing on the forest floor in shady conifer forests. They don't have any chlorophyll, and are dependent on mycorrhizal fungi (Russula) for nutrients. Sometimes I find clusters of twenty or more plants in one area!

They are primarily pollinated by small bees, wasps, and flies. These insects are attracted to the flowers, likely by their color and scent, and are responsible for transferring pollen between flowers. They also exhibit some degree of self-pollination.

Elephant Heads - Pedicularis groenlandica

Elephant Heads!

There are two types of Elephant Heads in the Lakes Basin. Elephant Heads (Pedicularis groenlandica) have flowers with long "trunks" and "big ears" and greatly resemble elephants! 

Little Elephant's Head - Pedicularis attolens

Little Elephant Heads (Groenlandica attolens) are smaller in size, with trunks that curve up, and ears that hang down! Both species are typically found in wet meadows. So cute!

Common Merganser (adult female and 6 juveniles) - Mergus merganser

Waterfowl Update!

This is the time of the year that you might see female waterfowl and their offspring on our local river and the lakes in the Lakes Basin. 

Common Merganser (adult female and 6 juveniles) - Mergus merganser

The two families of Common Mergansers in our neighborhood are doing great! All the ducklings are still with their moms, and are getting closer to their full adult size! 

 

Common Merganser (adult female and 8 juveniles) - Mergus merganser

One of the moms has 6 juveniles. The other mom has 8 juveniles! They will stay with their moms until the Fall.

Mallard (adult female and 6 ducklings) - Anas platyrhynchos

Up in the Lakes Basin we came across two families of Mallards on a large wetland/lake!!! Mallards nest on the ground, and will lay 1-13 eggs per clutch. Only the female hen will incubate and care for the young. The ducklings hatch within 28 days. They are born precocial with downy feathers and open eyes. They usually leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching, and start feeding immediately!! !

Mallard (adult female and 2 juveniles) - Anas platyrhynchos

They will stay with their mother for approximately 52-70 days, until they can fly. During that time the mother will lead them to abundant food sources, issue alarm calls when danger is present, and watch over them. The photos are of two different Mallard hens and their broods. We were so lucky to see these little ones!

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 August 2nd for my next natural history blog.

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

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

Howard Meadow

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

White Brodiaea - Bolander's Yampah

Tritelia hyacinthina - Perideridia bolanderi

Logged Meadow

On the road to Howard Meadow, about 1/4 mile in from the Gold Lake Road, there is a small but beautiful logged meadow. 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

Lincoln Meadow

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!