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!

In the River Corridor!

The North Yuba River Corridor - 9/13/25

The river is pretty low right now, and surprisingly COLD! I went in twice recently and had to spend a lot of time warming up on sundrenched boulders afterwards! An advantage of the cold water, is that it slows the growth of algae on the underwater rocks. Some years the rocks are so slimy with algae it's difficult to walk around without slipping. This year, it's not bad at all. 

One of my favorite things to do is to go down in the late afternoon, sit on a rock in the middle of the river and watch the dragonflies! Right now there are hundreds of them zipping around! The low sun glints off their wings in flashes of gold and copper! Such beauty!

Common Green Darners - Anax junius

The most common dragonflies on the river are the Common Green Darners. They have transparent wings, a green thorax, and a brown abdomen. During their short time as an adult, dragonflies eat a LOT of insects! They will catch an insect in the air, tear off its wings with their mandibles, and eat the prey while still flying!  

Dragonflies can move each of their wings independently and can fly in any direction, including sideways and backwards. They can also hover in one spot for a minute or more! Some dragonflies can fly fast, up to 18 mph! They can also fly long distances! One species of dragonfly holds the record for the world's longest insect migration, a distance of 11,000 miles!

Pacific Spiketail - Cordulegaster dorsalis

I found this dead dragonfly on our road and photographed its huge eyes up close. This dragonfly has blue eyes. Other species have brown, red-brown, black or green eyes. Dragonfly eyes have 30,000 facets and a near 360 degree vision! They also see in color, usually up to 4x more colors than humans see!

River Otters - Lontra canadensis

My neighbors recently saw three River Otters swimming in the river one evening!! They called to let me know what they had just seen, and I immediately set out in my car with my fingers crossed. Unfortunately I didn't see them, but it was nice to know that they are still around. I haven't seen an Otter in the river for more than a year. I took these two photos on September 2nd, 2014! They were headed upriver, and I photographed them from the bridge as they approached, and then as they swam away upstream.

River Otters - Lontra canadensis

My friend Keith recently asked me where River Otters sleep. I knew that they live in underground dens, possibly with an underwater entrance, when they have newborn babies. They don't dig their own dens, they borrow them from other animals or take them over after the animal leaves. Since there aren't any beavers or muskrats in our area, they probably take over fox dens that don't have an underwater entrance. The rest of the year they probably sleep in the root cavities of big trees, hallow logs, or in rock crevices along the shoreline. 

Rainbow Trout - Onchorhynchus mykiss irideus 

River Otters eat fish, crayfish, frogs, ducks, insects and even small mammals. They can be seen at anytime during the day, and even at night when they use their whiskers to detect vibrations from prey! The most common fish in our river is Rainbow Trout, that are planted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Agency.

Sacramento Sucker Fish - Catostomus occidentalis

To my COMPLETE surprise, I saw two LARGE Sacramento Suckers in the river this week!!!  They haven't been commonly seen in the river for years! The story was that the River Otters ate them all. I found a small dead one on shore last year, which my neighbor said that a fisherman probably left. This species thrives in water that is cool and clear, and in reservoirs of moderate elevation. They can live up to 10 years. Sucker Fish are native bottom feeders and eat algae, small invertebrates, and plant matter. 

Are they back because the River Otters aren't as numerous? Will the River Otter population increase if they have indeed returned? Hopefully, I can find out more information in the near future.

Common Merganser (adult) - Wood Duck (female)

Mergus merganser - Aix sponsa

Another surprising sighting was a female Wood Duck! Wood Ducks are very uncommon on the North Yuba River. I've only seen them a few times. What is really unusual about this sighting is that there doesn't appear to be a male Wood Duck in the area, and that this female is surprisingly keeping company with a Common Merganser! Wow! 

California Fuschia - Epilobium canum

Late Bloomers!

There are still a few plants in bloom in our area. Apparently they are adapted to dry conditions. One of my absolute favorites are the brilliantly colored California Fuschias!  This plant is a shrub, that can be covered in hundreds of bright red blossoms. Hummingbirds often frequent them for nectar.

Evening Primrose - Oenothera elata

Evening Primroses are native to our area. The open in the evening and stay open overnight until midday. Their scent attracts moths at night, but I have also seen Hummingbirds feeding on their nectar. The plants are 3-8' tall, and the flowers are several inches wide!

Scarlet Monkeyflower - Erythranthe cardinalis

Scarlet Monkeyflowers are native perennials. They grow along the river edge, as well as irrigation ditches! They are pollenated by hummingbirds and butterflies. The plants are 1-3' tall. The flowers are about and inch and a half long.

Rabbitbrush - Ericameria nauseosa

Rabbitbrush is a native shrub that grows in sunny, dry areas. I also grows in deserts, and on the east side of the Sierra.

Big Leaf Maple in the pouring rain!

It Poured!

On Thursday this week, the sky clouded up with dark threatening clouds in the late afternoon. We decided to go down to our greenhouse and be "in" the possible storm! We weren't disappointed, as it POURED as soon as we got into the greenhouse and continued, off and on, for an hour!  Wow!

The sound of the rain was intense and the fragrance of the damp earth was heavenly! Enjoy this NOISY video! The total rainfall was .25"!

Then the sun came out and there was a glorious light show 

on the clouds and ridges as the storm broke up!

Such beauty!

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

Are signs of Fall showing up?

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 4th for my next natural history blog.

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

Rain, Thunder, and Lightning!

my neighbor's house

It was a dark and stormy night...

 and we watched in trepidation as dark clouds gathered in the sky. The fear of lightning and possible wildfire was on everyone's mind. That night the thunder boomed, lightning flashed and flashed and flashed, and rain poured! 

In the morning the storm had ceased, and everything was refreshed, incredibly fragrant, and glistening. Three small lightning fires had indeed started in our area, but they were quickly contained by the local firefighters. The total rainfall for our neighborhood, was .90"!

Earlier in the week we had several moist, fragrant, cool evenings, with dark clouds, light spatterings of rain, and lovely breezes! There were only a few flashes of lightning, thank goodness, and no fires were started! We only got .08" of rain from those storms, but the Lakes Basin got 2.21" of rain! More showers are predicted for later this week, but no thunder showers! Yay!!!

Steller's Jay in Sunflowers - Cyanocitta stelleri

Down in the Garden!

Right now in our garden, the sunflowers are starting to go to seed. They are attracting a variety of birds and insects, that feast on the seeds, nectar, or pollen. 

Steller's Jays are year-round residents in our neighborhood, and are a joy to watch when they're feeding on the Sunflowers!  The flowers bounce up and down from the movement and weight of the Jays, causing them to shift and change position to get to the seeds. Often, I see them hanging upside-down, reaching at odd angles, or even hopping up from the ground to get to the seeds! They are quite the acrobats!

Lesser Goldfinch (female) - Spinus psaltria

Lesser Goldfinches pass through here every year on their way to the lower elevations for the winter. I just love to hear their tiny mournful calls! Each couple usually arrives with a few juveniles that are still "begging" to be fed! For the most part, the adults ignore the begging youngsters or only feed them occasionally. And indeed, if they're not fed, the fledglings will eventually eat some seeds on their own.

Lesser Goldfinch (male) - Spinus psaltria

The males have a distinguishing black cap that is absent in the females. I love to see this group of tiny garden visitors arrive every year! They are just one of the reasons I plant sunflowers in our garden.

Spotted Towhee (juvenile) - Pipilo maculatis

Like the Steller's Jays, Spotted Towhees are local year-round residents. Right now there are quite a few juveniles visible in our area. Juveniles and adults forage mainly on the ground and use a two-footed hop-scratch method to reveal seeds and insects under forest debris. I did, however, see a few of them up in the sunflowers checking out the seeds.

Spotted Towhee (adult) - Pipilo maculatis

The pattern and color of their feathers change, through molting, as the juveniles mature. Additionally, their eye-color turns from dark-brown to burnished-red. 

Chickaree/Douglas Squirrel - Tamiasciurus douglasii

The local resident Chickarees are busy harvesting Sunflower heads from our garden. I often see them running down the top of the garden fence with a freshly "picked" sunflower seedhead in their mouths! They will stash the seedheads for the winter, at the base of a tree, maybe under a log, or perhaps underneath some forest debris.

Chickaree/Douglas Squirrel - Tamiasciurus douglasii

They are also busy stashing walnuts from my neighbor's tree! They do this for most of the day, as they get ready for winter!

Two young Chickarees defying gravity at a rapid pace!

To my delight there are two young Chickarees hanging out in our area! It's been fun watching them scurry around and stare at me as I pass by. Just yesterday morning I caught them playing on a tree trunk. It looked like they were having a blast! Enjoy!

Western Gray Squirrel with Horse Chestnuts - Sciurus griseus

The Western Gray Squirrels are also stashing food for the winter.  Right now they're busy with the walnuts next door, but I also saw them collecting Horse Chestnuts further down the road! During the winter, they will survive on their stored food, as well as actively forage for food. 

I've been watching this Western Gray Squirrel hide individual walnuts in a variety of places. As soon as it finishes burying a walnut and leaves the area, quite often a Steller's Jay shows up! The Jay then digs up the walnut but doesn't eat it! Apparently they're just curious! 

Honey Bees

Sunflowers also provide a lot of nectar and pollen for the local insects. 

Here are just a few of the ones I've seen this week. We used to raise Honey Bees, but we stopped a while back. However, we still see lots of Honey Bees in our garden every year, and like to think that maybe they are descendants from the bees in our hives!

Bee Wolf - Bombus vosnesenskii 

The Bee Wolf is a wasp that preys on honeybees. Their yellow eyes make them easy to distinguish from other wasps. Adult females dig underground, branching burrows. Each side tunnel ends in a brood chamber where 1-6 paralyzed bees are deposited. The female Bee Wolf lays an egg on each bee and seals up the tunnel. When the larvae hatch they eat the paralyzed bees, pupate, and dig out of the burrow as adults!!!

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee - Philanthus crabroniformis

There are LOTS of Yellow-faced Bumble Bees in our garden right now. During the Spring and Summer, these Bumble Bees live in an underground burrow with one queen and 200-300 female worker bees. At the end of the summer the queen will lay unfertilized eggs from which male Bumble Bees will hatch. After they mate with a queen they leave the hive and do not return. Many of the males spend the night on our flowers!

Almost Full Moon 9/5/25

It will be a full moon this coming Sunday at 7:30 PM. I hope to get some photos and maybe there will be some clouds again as well! I got this photo last night and there was a definite ring of color around the moon, coloring the clouds!!!

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

What's happening on the 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 September 20th for my next natural history blog.

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

Lakes Basin Mammals & Hikes!

Yellow-bellied Marmot - Marmota flaviventris

In the past 10 days I've had three glorious hikes in the Lakes Basin! Yay!!! Here are some of the mammals I happened to see! 

Last week, in an area I had seen marmots in the past, I spotted one sunning on a fallen log! What a surprise! It posed for us for a minute or so and then jumped off the log. A few seconds later it climbed back up! We snapped lots of photos and left quickly, hoping that we hadn't disturbed it too much!

Marmots live alone, in pairs, or in colonies. Colonies consist of one, or more, harems. The harems are comprised of one male, several females and their offspring. Females give birth to 3-8 pups.

Yellow-bellied Marmots are typically very social. Wikipedia states:

"They inhabit areas with rocky outcroppings, meadows, and forest edges, often near rock piles and boulders. They demonstrate social behaviors including the visiting of [underground] burrows, greeting of colony members, and play-fighting. Playing is most common between young, but also frequent between an adult and their young. Marmots communicate with each other through a high pitched whistle. Depending on how sharp the whistle, colony members respond by either observing their surroundings, or returning to their burrows."

They are mainly herbivores and eat a wide variety of plants including grass, seeds, leaves, flowers, and legumes (members of the Pea Family). They will also occasionally eat bird eggs and insects.

Yellow-bellied Marmot - Marmota flaviventris

They are true hibernators, and spend the winter months sleeping in their underground burrows. Burrows can be 5-7 meters deep for hibernation. Their usual burrows are about a meter deep during the summer months. They do not store food for winter. They spend most of their active months eating to accumulate enough fat to survive hibernation, which can last from Sept. to May. Their metabolism, heart rate, respiration rate, and body temperature are all lowered during hibernation.

California Mule Deer - Odocoileus hemionus californicus

Near the aspen grove in the Lakes Basin Campground, my friend Nancy and I spotted a Mule Deer on the trail! It was foraging on the leaves of Bitter Cherry bushes!  Deer don't have upper incisors and canine teeth and cannot nip off twigs. They press plant parts (leaves, stems, etc.) between their upper hard palates and their bottom teeth and jerk their heads up to tear them off! They also have small stomachs, so instead of large quantities of low quality forage, they select the most nutritious parts of certain plants that are high in fiber but low in starch. They are ruminantes with four stomachs, in which they ferment plant material before it is digested. This fermented material is then regurgitated, rechewed, and finally reswallowed! They mainly eat the leaves and fruit of shrubs, and the buds of trees. They also eat grasses, flowers, fruits, and seeds in season.

California Mule Deer - Odocoileus hemionus californicus

There are two kinds of Mule Deer in the Lakes Basin, the Columbian Black-tailed Deer and the California Mule Deer. The California Mule Deer have larger ears (20”-22” compared to 8”) than the Columbian Black-tailed Deer. Another way to determine which species you are seeing is to look at their tail. Columbian Black-tailed Deer have a more-or-less solid black tail. The California Mule Deer's tail is only black on the tip, sometimes with a thin strip of black running down the tail.

California Mule Deer (Doe and two fawns) - Odocoileus hemionus californicus

On the Bear Lakes Trail we also came across a California Mule Deer doe and two fawns! So cool! The following quote about fawns is from northernwoodlands.org.

"Fawns grow rapidly on their mother’s rich milk. By two to three weeks of age, they begin to nibble green vegetation. After a month, they will browse on tree seedlings. At this age, they begin to choose their own bedding sites and twins are reunited. By summer, young deer can outrun most danger, and trail their mother closely. Fawns usually are weaned at two to three months. In early autumn, a fawn’s spotted coat is replaced by the gray-brown winter coat of an adult deer. Female fawns usually stay with their mothers for two years; young bucks leave after a year. A buck fawn can be identified when only a few days old by the two round spots on its head where the antlers will grow."

American Black Bear - Ursus americanus

I saw this bear in the vicinity of the Lakes Basin two weeks ago. It had several long scars and puncture wounds on its face! Perhaps it had been in a fight with a Mountain Lion???

Bears are omnivores, but mainly eat insects, grubs, fruit, berries, roots, twigs, buds, honey, and tree cambium. Occasionally they will eat small to medium-sized mammals and carrion. They range in size from 3'-3'5'' in height, 4'6"-6'2" in length, and 203lbs.-587lbs. in weight. Adults can run up to 30 mph, and are powerful swimmers and climbers! Here in the Lakes Basin, Black Bears don't truly hibernate. They build up fat to live off of in the winter, and spend most of their time sleeping, but may become active if the weather is unusually warm.

California Ground Squirrel - Spermophilus beecheyi

I saw this California Ground Squirrel last year, near where I saw the Yellow-bellied Marmot this year. California Ground Squirrels hibernate in winter, so right now they are eating and bulking up as much as possible. Their diet consists of primarily seeds, including acorns, insects when available, berries, roots, and bulbs. They will also cache some food in their underground burrow. These squirrels are highly adaptable, and live at elevations from 0 - 7,215'! They prefer to dig their underground burrows on the edges of open areas, such as meadows or fields.

Chickaree or Douglas Squirrel - Tamiasciurus douglasii

Another noticeable squirrel is the Douglas Squirrel/Chickaree. They often scold me loudly from trailside trees! Conifer seeds are their main food, but they will also eat fruit, berries, seeds, fungi, bird eggs, flowers, and leaf buds. 

They are "scansorial" or adapted to climbing, and their hind legs are double-jointed for climbing up and down trunks! Douglas Squirrels/Chickarees do not hibernate in the winter! They store 100's of cones on the ground, in large caches for winter. They will dig down through the snow to eat the seeds in these stored cones. They do not live underground. In winter, their nests are mainly found in hollow trees, or abandoned woodpecker cavities, 15'-20' above the ground. 

Chipmunk - Tamias sp.

There are at least 5 different kinds of Chipmunks inhabiting the coniferous forests of the Lakes Basin. In the field they are very difficult to identify, as they are so close in coloration. Chipmunks are primarily fruit, nut, and seed eaters, but will also eat fungi (primarily truffles), bird eggs, and insects (caterpillars, aphids, termites, ants etc.). They are known for climbing trees and shrubs to find food. They all have fur-lined internal cheek pouches for carrying nuts and seeds. They cache food for winter as they do not hibernate. They sleep most of the winter and awaken periodically to eat. Their nests maybe be in an underground burrow, or in cavities of trees, logs, stumps, or snags.

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel - Spermophilus lateralis

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels are not as commonly seen as Chipmunks.  Visually they are easily distinguished from Chipmunks, by the lack of stripes on their head. They also don't climb trees and shrubs to get seeds, but prefer to eat them on the ground. In addition to seeds, nuts, fruits, and underground fungi (truffles), they also eat grasses and leaves. Although not as much of an insect eater as a Chipmunk, they will eat them if they are easily available. 

The following information about their burrows is from the website at https://vpcrac.org. 

"Golden-mantled ground squirrel burrows are located close to or beneath rocks, bushes, trees, logs, and stumps, although they may be out in the open as well. Burrow openings are inconspicuous as compared to those of other ground squirrels. Little or no excavated earth is left by the entrances. The openings are two to three inches in diameter, and often there are two or more openings to a burrow. The entire tunnel system may be 17 feet long, running, for the most part, about 8 inches deep. The burrow system may contain side tunnels and a nest chamber lined with shredded grass, bark, leaves, stems, conifer needles, and, perhaps, paper or cloth."

 They also hibernate in these underground burrows in the winter, and live off their stored body fat! 

Veronica Lake

The Round Lake Loop Trail

Last week I hiked the Round Lake Loop Trail with my friend Mary. It was a super-clear blue-sky day with a slight breeze. It was the perfect temperature, and no bugs! We passed several beautiful lakes on the 4.5 mile loop trail. It is probably the most popular trail in the Lakes Basin, but that day we had it mostly to ourselves!!! If you haven't hiked it, I'd highly recommend it for its scenic beauty!  Here are some of the lakes we saw!

Round Lake

Silver Lake

Long Lake

Big Bear Lake

Primrose Garden

Primrose Garden Hike

A few days later, my friend Nancy and I did our annual hike to the Primrose Garden near Round Lake. It is one of my most favorite areas in the Lakes Basin! Because the "garden" is shaded most of the day, snow can be there even in August!  This makes it possible for thousands of wildflowers to be blooming, even when most of the more exposed areas have already dried up.

On 8/4/25, there were two, solid, 4' tall snow banks still in the garden!

The last of the snow

Yesterday, on 8/21/25, there was only a small, three foot long, curved patch of snow that was a few inches thick, but there were still thousands of Sierra Primrose flowers blooming in the shaded garden!!!

Sierra Primrose - Lady Ferns

Primula suffrutescens - Athyrium felix-femina var. cyclosorum

A variety of wildflowers bloom in this garden, but the most numerous are the gorgeous magenta Sierra Primroses, with their yellow centers and evergreen leaves. There were thousands of them in bloom!  More than we've ever seen before! They grow in close proximity to hundreds of Lady Ferns and sedges that cascade down the mountain side!

Sierra Primrose -Primula suffrutescens

I've seen small groups of Sierra Primroses in other parts of the Lakes Basin, but they're not common. You can imagine our delight when we visit this garden!

Crimson Columbine - Rufous Hummingbird  (juvenile)

Aquilegia formosa - Selasphorus rufus

There are also thousands of gorgeous Crimson Columbines growing on the same rock ledge!  Rufous Hummingbirds were there feeding on this amazing abundance of late blooming flowers!

Rufous Hummingbird  (female) - Selasphorus rufus

These hummers breed north of us, from southern Oregon to southern Alaska, and then return to southern Mexico for the winter. They don't breed in our area. The males can be distinguished by their bright orange heads, throats, bellies, and backs! It was such a joy to be there, perched above Round Lake, in a garden of wildflowers and hovering hummingbirds! How lucky to have been here twice in three weeks!

Round Lake

The view is also spectacular from the garden, and we lingered as long as we could before we headed back home. Another day in paradise, surrounded by incredible beauty! We are SO lucky!

Where should we hike next time? The Old Growth Forest? Deadman Peak?

Hidden Lake? Lincoln Meadow? Jamison Lake?

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 September 6th for my next natural history blog.

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