A drive, a hike, and a walk!

Cattail -Typha latifolia

On Monday, October 13, our friend Mary, drove my husband and I to Sierra Valley for the day. It was warm and sunny, with big puffy clouds in the blue sky! One of my absolute favorite kind of days! We had a lovely picnic at the Steel Bridge where the cattails were all releasing their seeds in the fall breeze, and the view was spectacular!

I looked up how many seeds are in one cattail, and the answer was astounding!!! Here's what I learned from the website at https://extension.usu.edu/

"[Cattail] Seedhead: Plants are monoecious, with each flower stalk being topped by two sets of minute flowers densely packed into a cylindrical inflorescence. Yellowish male (staminate) flowers are located at the top of the inflorescence and greenish female (pistillate) flowers are located underneath. In this species, the staminate and pistillate flowers are not separated by a gap. Flowers bloom in summer and after bloom the male flowers rapidly disperse, leaving a naked stalk tip. The pollinated female flowers turn brown as the seeds mature, forming the familiar cylindrical, sausage-like, cattail fruiting spike (to 9” long in this species).

Broadleaf cattail is a prolific producer of minute seeds. Each spike may contain 117,000 to 268,000 seeds. At maturity, the spike bursts under dry conditions, releasing the fruits. Each fruit has bristly hairs that aid in wind dispersal. When the fruit comes in contact with water, the pericarp opens rapidly, releasing the seed, which then sinks. In wet weather the fruits often fall to the ground in dense mats." 

View to the south, from near the Steel Bridge

This time we didn't see very many birds in the area, but it was still an extreme pleasure to be there, out in this beautiful big-sky valley! 

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodius

We did see one Sandhill Crane take off, as well as a Great Blue Heron wading in the aquatic vegetation! I don't remember seeing any waterfowl, not even Coots! They must have left for their winter habitats already. We lingered for some time, then headed east toward Frenchman Canyon.

American Pronghorn - Antilocapra americana

As we drove through Sierra Valley we came upon a huge alfalfa field, and reclining along its edge was a group of 11 American Pronghorns!!! WOW!!! It was one male and ten females!!! In the early fall, male bucks will fight for harems of up to 15 female does during a two-week breeding period, from mid-September to October. Most Antelope mate for the first time at 15-16 months old and then breed annually. This was the first time I had seen a male with a large harem! It was SO exciting!!! We took a zillion photos, from behind the car, until they started getting up and looking agitated. Then we reluctantly left and continued on to Frenchman Canyon. What a wonderful sighting!

American Pronghorn - Antilocapra americana

Pronghorns are not antelopes, and are not related to antelopes, but are often known colloquially in North America as the American antelope, prong buck, pronghorn antelope, prairie antelope, or simply antelope. They are the ONLY species in their Antilocapridae Family, and the only animal on earth that has branching horns that are shed annually. Many (but not all) pronghorn herds are migratory, traveling long distances to warmer climates in the fall, and back to greener locations in the spring.

American Pronghorn - Antilocapra americana

Their horns are keratinized sheaths which cover extensions of the frontal bone. The sheaths are shed annually. Both male and female have these horns. The horns of the males grow up to 11.8–19.7 inches, female horns are smaller at 2.9-3.9 inches. Males have lyre-shaped horns that curve inwards whereas females usually have straight horns. The female's horns are generally smaller than their ears, or absent, and aren't pronged. Additionally males have short black manes on their neck, as well as a neck patch and a black stripe that runs across their forehead from horn to horn. Females lack these black facial patches, but have a small mass of black hair around their nose. 

Mary looking west across Sierra Valley to Mount Beckwourth

We stopped along the way to enjoy to the cloud show in the valley! 

Such beauty!

Frenchman Canyon

Frenchman Canyon is off the northeast corner of Sierra Valley. It is a fairly short, narrow, steep-sided canyon along Little Last Chance Creek. The walls of the canyon are volcanic in origin and look like petrified flowing mud, with lots of columns! It is definitely worth driving to, especially if you're fond of geology!

Quaking Aspens regenerating in a burnt grove

The lower part of the canyon had been burned in the Dixie Fire in 2021, so there were a lot of black, dead-standing pine trees in the beginning. We also passed through several burnt groves of Quaking Aspens, where young aspens had regrown and were in glorious Fall color! Wow! As we progressed through the canyon there was less evidence of fire. 

California Mule Deer - Odocoileus hemionus californicus

Along the way I noticed two mule deer running up a dry hillside. In the photo above, one is super camouflaged in the landscape! 

California Mule Deer - Odocoileus hemionus californicus

In this photo, the one in the shade really stands out, while the sunlit deer really blends in! Shortly after I took this photo we headed back home, filled with beauty once again! What an incredible day out in nature!

Bilberry Basin

Back in the Lakes Basin!

Two weeks ago I took my friend Keith for a hike up to two of my favorite spots in the Lakes Basin, with the main goal of getting to "Bilberry Basin" to see the Fall color! It is a shallow basin between Silver Lake and Round Lake, on the Round Lake Trail. In the spring it is flooded with snowmelt, in the fall it can be ablaze in the fall colors of Douglas's Spirea and Dwarf Bilberry. When we got there, it wasn't quite in full brilliant fall color, but it was still lovely!

Dwarf Bilberry & Douglas's Spiraea -Vaccinium cespitosum & Spiraea douglasii

The Dwarf Bilberry turns a brilliant red in the fall! Douglas's Spiraea turns a lovely golden yellow!

The Meadow 

Our next destination was the Meadow beyond Helgrammite Lake. It is one my favorite off-trail areas in the Lakes Basin. We hiked up one slope after another, enjoying the dry fall colors, the clear air, and the warm sun!

spider threads

Everywhere we went that day, there were spider threads attached to the vegetation and glistening in the wind!  They were probably from spiders that were "ballooning"! The following information about ballooning spiders is from the website at https://mdc.mo.gov/ .

"Spiders use silk to catch prey and to anchor themselves against falling. But spiders also use their silk to fly. Spiders fly by a process called ballooning. It’s the young spiders that usually balloon, chiefly to disperse after hatching.

Ballooning is possible for a young spider because of its extra-light weight. To take flight, a spider must catch a breeze. Next, the spider faces into the wind and stands on the tips of its legs with its abdomen raised high in the air. The spider releases silk from the end of its abdomen, and the silk increases in length as the spider waits. When the strand of silk catches enough wind, the spider lets go of its hold and the wind carries it aloft. When large numbers of spiders balloon at the same time, their silk strands may become entangled and form a large mass.

Spiders can drift long distances, but only the lucky ones land in favorable places. Those who survive the flight and landing usually begin to hunt immediately."

Here's a video of some glistening spider threads in the wind!

Lewis's Woodpeckers -Melanerpes lewis

To my delight we spotted several Lewis's Woodpeckers near Helgrammite Lake, when we were on our way back to our car!  They were SO dark that I wasn't able to identify them immediately, but eventually I saw a telltale hint or flash of magenta that distinguished them!  I usually see these birds in the local foothills in the winter. It was a real treat to see them up in the Lakes Basin! They may have been passing through from their breeding grounds in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho or northern Nevada.

These birds are unique in several ways. Unlike most woodpeckers, Lewis's Woodpeckers do not drill holes in tree trunks looking for insects. They mainly catch insects in the air during the summer. They will however, glean insects from tree trunks and branches year-round. Fruits and berries are also eaten in season. In the winter, when flying insects are scarce, they mainly eat acorns, nuts, and corn. They usually harvest acorns off the trees, rather than off the ground. They will hammer an acorn open and then store individual pieces (rather than the whole acorn) in the natural crevices of tree trunks. Acorns and nuts are also stored for consumption in winter. These winter caches are vigorously defended!

Sierra Gartersnake -Thamnophis couchii

A little further down the trail we almost stepped on this Sierra Gartersnake, that was stretched out in the sun! I have seen plenty of Gartersnakes in my life, but never this species! How cool!  The following information about them is from the website at https://californiaherps.com/.

"Activity: Active during daylight.

A highly-aquatic snake - more likely than most garter snake species to be found in the water.

Can also be found basking at the edge of water or lying on mats of floating vegetation.

Can be active 10 months of the year at lower elevations, but as few as 3 - 3.5 months per year at very high elevations.

Able to crawl on stream bottoms.

Defense: When threatened, this snake will often strike repeatedly and release cloacal contents.

Diet and Feeding: Eats mainly fish and amphibians and their larvae, including frogs, tadpoles, and aquatic salamander larvae.

Sierra Gartersnakes have an immunity to newt toxins as they have been observed consuming juvenile Taricha torosa in Tulare and Calaveras Counties. (Herpetological Review 38(3), 2007)

Forages for food in slow-moving water and usully drags its captures on to shore to eat.

Toxic Newts:

This species has been observed eating adult Pacific Newts (genus Taricha) which are deadly poisonous to most predators.

Gartersnakes Can Become Poisonous:

There is evidence that when Common Gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) eat Rough-skinned Newts (Taricha granulosa) they retain the deadly neurotoxin found in the skin of the newts called tetrodotoxin for several weeks, making the snakes poisonous (not venomous) to predators (such as birds or mammals) that eat the snakes. Since California Newts (Taricha torosa) also contain tetrodotoxin in their skin, and since gartersnake species other than T. sirtalis also eat newts, it is not unreasonable to conclude that any gartersnake that eats either species of newt is poisonous to predators."

North Yuba River - 10/16/25

River News!

Almost every day I walk along the beautiful North Yuba River. It is fairly low right now, even though we've already had 2.85" of rain this month. Of course, it was running fairly fast right after the rain, but the it has slowed down again, and the low water makes it possible for mammals to cross. Every couple of years I see a bear crossing the river, but I didn't this year. I did however see a doe and her fawn crossing the river just a week ago! I failed to get a photo, but here's one from September 2021!

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

Although most does give birth to two fawns, this doe only had one. Male fawns usually stay with their mother for their first year. Female fawns usually stay for two years. 

Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

There's a dead, standing tree on the river's edge that the local birds often perch in. In my last blog I posted a photo of this Osprey, perching in that tree. In this photo it looks like it has something in its mouth that it's trying to swallow! I watched it for a few minutes, but it still had something in it's throat when I left. Maybe it was the last bit of a huge trout! They are such big, handsome raptors! Check out the size of those fish-grabbing talons!!!

Common Merganser - Mergus merganser

I have only seen one Common Merganser on the river lately. They must have left for their winter habitat in southern California or Arizona!  

I don't know if this is the Common Merganser that was hanging around with that female Wood Duck, but I haven't seen the Wood Duck at all lately. Perhaps she left for her winter home in southern California as well.

 

Great Blue Heron (juvenile) - Ardea herodius

To my delight I spotted a full-grown juvenile Great Blue Heron on the river a week ago!  Unlike adults, juveniles have striped breasts. Quite lovely! I wonder if he or she will become a permanent resident here in our neighborhood! 

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.

 Where are these birds going?

What else is turning Fall colors in the Lakes Basin?

Have the Indian Rhubarb changed to their fall colors on the North Yuba River?

After 8 years of posting my blog, I've decided that I'm only going to post my blog every TWO weeks. Check back on November 2nd for my next natural history blog.

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

Due to the colder temperatures, recent rains, and shorter days my neighborhood is showing the beginnings of Fall. The now dry grasses are a variety of rich golden-yellows, browns, rusts, and grays. Seeds from dried flowers cling to spider webs among the grasses. Dark clouds bring rain and mists to the brittle fields and forests. Mushrooms  seemingly sprout overnight. The leaves of deciduous trees change into reds, oranges, and yellows. And the rich fragrance of damp earth permeates the air!

Dry papery seed heads abound in these forests, 

and make a lovely, soft, rustling music in the wind!

 

Raindrops bejewel the tangled webs of spiders in the dry grasses.

Leaves surprise us all by turning a variety of rich, warm colors, 

that are all the more saturated by the rain.

The river becomes covered in concentric rings of raindrop ripples, 

that overlap each other in fluid, shifting, patterns.

Poison Oak Berries - Toxicodendron diversilobum

Fall is also the season for berries! In my neighborhood right now, most of the blackberries are past their prime, but grapes, apples and pears are in abundance. There are also the often overlooked native berries that are now ripe and ready to be eaten!  Most of the native berries are toxic to humans, but are readily eaten by birds and mammals! Pictured above are poison oak berries. Although they may not be toxic to humans, picking them would transfer an oily resin, urishiol, to our skin and cause an itchy, itchy, long-lasting rash. The following information about them is from the website at https://mcrcd.org/willits/the-value-of-poison-oak.

"Over 60 species of birds depend on this plant’s waxy, white berries which are loaded with vitamins and other nutrients. The berries are used by migrant birds moving through our area in late summer and winter and by our resident birds to make it through the sparse food times of winter. The list of mammals that dine on poison oak include black-tailed deer, tule elk, black bears, wood rats and chipmunks. The shrub is home to many small mammals and birds including California quail, rabbits, and voles."

Mistletoe - Phoradendron californicum

The mistletoe’s white berries are toxic to humans but are favored during autumn and winter when other foods are scarce, by mammals and birds.

The following info about mistletoe is from the website https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/not-just-kissing-mistletoe-and-birds-bees-and-other-beasts-0

"The phainopepla is just one of many birds that eat mistletoe berries; others include grouse, mourning doves, bluebirds, evening grosbeaks, robins, and pigeons.

Additionally, the berries and leaves of mistletoe provide high-protein fodder for many mammals, including deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and even porcupines, especially in autumn and winter when other foods are scarce.

Birds also find mistletoe a great place for nesting, especially the dense witches’ brooms [branches]. In fact, northern and Mexican spotted owls and other raptors show a marked preference for witches’ brooms as nesting sites. In one study, 43 percent of spotted owl nests were associated with witches’ brooms. Similarly, a USGS researcher found that 64 percent of all Cooper’s hawk nests in northeastern Oregon were in mistletoe. Other raptors that use witches’ brooms as nesting sites include great gray owls, long-eared owls, goshawks, and sharp-shinned hawks. Likewise, some migratory birds also nest in witches’ broom — gray jay, northern beardless-tyrannulet, red crossbills, house wrens, mourning doves, pygmy nuthatches, chickadees, Western tanagers, chipping sparrows, hermit thrushes, Cassin’s finches, and pine siskins."

Bitter Cherry - Prunus emarginata

There were lots and lots of Bitter Cherry shrubs turning a lovely lemon yellow on the way to Howard Meadow a few weeks ago. Their name is quite apt, and I highly discourage even tasting these lovely red berries!  The following information about them is from https://www.wildflower.org/.

"A thicket-forming shrub or small tree with rounded crown, slender, upright branches, bitter foliage, and small, bitter cherries.

This is the most common western cherry. The scientific name describes the notched petals. As the common name indicates, the fruit is not edible; like the bark and leaves, it is intensely bitter. However, the fruit is consumed by many songbirds and mammals and the foliage is browsed by deer and livestock."

Mountain Ash - Sorbus californica

Mountain Ash have bright red berries that are edible, however they are quite bitter to eat raw. It is recommended to freeze or cook them before eating. They contain cyanide, which reduces naturally as the berries get frozen. The berries also contain parasorbic acid, which can cause stomach upset. Cooking changes it to palatable sorbic acid. 

Lots of critters eat Mountain Ash. Robins, Jays, Cedar Waxwings, finches, woodpeckers, and Chickadees all feed on Mountain Ash berries. Mammals also feed on the berries, or twigs, bark and foliage, such as squirrels, rodents, rabbits, bear and deer.

Red Osier Dogwood - Cornus sericea

 

These whitish berries are unpalatable to humans, but are consumed by a variety of birds and mammals. The following information about them is from the website https://plants.usda.gov/Wildlife.

"The fleshy fruits of dogwoods are very valuable to wildlife. The fruit ripens in late summer, and besides being available through the fall, some of the berries may persist on the plants into the winter months. Wildlife browse the twigs, foliage, and fruits. Birds known to eat the fruit include: grosbeaks, orioles, robins, sapsuckers, tree swallows, tanagers, vireos, warblers, cedar waxwings, grouse, and woodpeckers. Mammals that eat the fruit and foliage include black bear, beaver, mountain beaver, cottontail rabbits, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and rats. Deer, browse the twigs and foliage."

 

Blue Elderberry - Sambucus mexicanus

I wasn't able to pin down an authoritative source on the edibility of Blue Elderberries for humans. Some website say they are edible only after they are cooked. Others say that they are edible raw. You will have to make your own decision on the edibility of this plant.

 The following information is from 

The Law's Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada.

"Although Blue Elderberry fruits can be eaten raw, all other parts (even small stems) can produce a bitter alkaloid and also a glycoside that, under certain conditions, can produce poisonous hydrocyanic acid. I do not recommend eating this or other elderberries."

On the other hand, lots of birds and mammals feast on the berries. The following information about them is from https://nativeplantspnw.com.

"Blue Elderberry is an extremely valuable shrub for wildlife. It provides valuable cover and nesting sites for birds and small mammals. Its fruit provides food for many species of birds including: jays, woodpeckers, pigeons, grosbeaks, robins, thrushes, bluebirds, towhees, tanagers, and many others. Squirrels and other small mammals also eat the fruit. Flowers are mostly pollinated by insects but hummingbirds will visit the flowers for nectar. Elk and deer browse the foliage."

Lakes Basin News!

My husband, his son, and I decided to drive up to Howard Meadow to see what was happening a week ago. To our dismay the sheepherders had recently passed through with hundreds of hungry sheep. Most of the  meadow was trampled and eaten down to nubs!!! I have never seen it look like this, although we have seen sheep poop her before. They probably come through here every year, but I've never seen their impact. Hopefully next Spring, the meadow will be back to normal once again!

Merlin - Falco columbaris

While we were there, a flock of small birds erupted from the meadow and flew away in a group followed by a small raptor! Just a little bit later, I spotted a raptor on the top of a distant dead tree. Luckily it posed for a minute or more and I was able to identify it as a Merlin! 

They are tiny raptors, measuring only 10" long including the tail, with a wingspan of 6.5", and a weight of 6.7 ounces! Their main diet is small to medium size birds. They usually hunt from a perch. Prey is pursued with lightning speed (30 mph or more), and caught mid-air. In the fall they eat a lot of dragonflies! Sometimes they even hunt cooperatively with another Merlin!

Merlins don't breed here, they breed farther north across Alaska and Canada, as well as Russia! They are not numerous in population, but they are widespread. They are uncommon visitors to our area in the fall and early winter, during their migration to their winter residence in Mexico/So. America, or Europe. How lucky we were to spot this one!

Mountain Quail - Oreortyx pictus

As we drove back to the Gold Lake Highway, we came across another small raptor on the dirt road with a dead bird!  It flew off as we approached, so we stopped immediately. I waited for a while, hoping the raptor would return but it didn't. So then, I walked up to the dead bird and was astonished to find it was a Mountain Quail missing its head!!! How odd! 

When I got home, I looked up headless birds on the  internet and apparently it's not that uncommon! The information I found wasn't on the Cornell or Audubon websites, so it's a bit questionable. Apparently, raptors and other birds are known to eat the head of their prey first. Sometimes they return and feed on the carcass, but often they don't return!  I'm going to research this some more, and I'll share what I find in my next blog. What an unusual sighting this was!

Sierra Buttes and Young America Lake

Two weeks ago, my friend Nancy and I hiked up to the overlook of Young America Lake. We hadn't done this hike in several years. It was a beautiful blue-sky day and no one else was on the trail. We hiked up about 3.5 miles to the top of a ridge until we could see the lake. What a beautiful view it was!

Young America Lake

We have been down to the actual shore of the lake twice in the past. One time we boulder hopped down from the ridge to the lake. Another time we hiked down from the PCT, which was very steep! It's a lovely turquoise lake!

Rock Wren - Salpinctes obsoletus

While we were enjoying the view, a young Rock Wren landed nearby and checked us out!  How fun to see one of these uncommon birds!

On the hike back to our car, we cut off the trail and went cross country down through the forest. Then we reconnected to the trail and paused briefly at Lower Tamarack Lake before we headed home. Glad to be back in the Lakes Basin again, sorry to have to leave, but I'll be back soon!

What kind of bird is this?

What else is turning Fall colors in the Lakes Basin?

What's happening on the North Yuba River?

After 8 years of posting my blog, I've decided that I'm only going to post my blog every TWO weeks. Check back on October 18th for my next natural history blog.

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