A Snowy Spring in the Lakes Basin!

Sierra Buttes -  5/11/23

With the weather all of a sudden turning warm and being in the 80's last week, my friend Diane and I decided to hike up to Salmon Lake, at 6, 501' in elevation, before the snow melted.  She skied and I hiked on top of 6 feet of snow on the Gold Lake Road!  It was packed but not icy, and we weren't punching in at all.  So the hiking and skiing were great!  No one else was on the road that whole day, so we had the Lakes Basin to ourselves! What a treat!  

Compared to last year, on May 5, 2022, we drove on the newly plowed Gold Lake Road to the Graeagle Creek Trail (around 5,200' in elevation), and hiked on the snow-free trail!  On May 17th, I walked into Salmon Lake on patchy snow from the Gold Lake Road, and the lake itself was totally melted out and snow free!  The Water Year total for 2022 was 56.51".  The Water Year total-to-date for this year is 82.66"!  What a difference between the two years!  Looks like the hiking trails in the Lakes Basin might not open up until mid-June this year! 

Sierra Buttes from the Salmon Lake Road -  5/11/23

Being on the Gold Lake Road, we had incredible views of the Sierra Buttes that day!  I never tire of seeing them!  Such grand beauty!  It was great to be back in the Lakes Basin!

The Gold Lake Road had only been plowed less than a mile up past Salmon Creek Campground.  It has probably been plowed some more this week, and we're going back on Friday to check it out.  Hopefully we'll still be able to walk on top of the snow.

Salmon Lake - 5/11/23

It was about 2.3 miles to the lake.  When we got there we were astonished to see the lake almost totally frozen and still covered in a foot or more of snow!  Wow!  Only a small section on the east shore had melted out.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Setophaga coronata

We had lunch at Salmon Lake, and enjoyed watching the few birds that were along the lakeshore!  Two Yellow-rumped Warblers were "flycatching" insects from the leafless willows along the shoreline!  I couldn't help but wonder if they were the ones that had flown past me in my neighborhood last week! 

Dark-eyed Junco - Canada Goose

  Junco hyemalis - Branta canadensis

There were also a few Dark-eyed Juncos, a single Canada Goose, and a pair of unknown ducks (too far away) on the melted edge of Salmon Lake!  Spring has barely started in the Lakes Basin!

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

I had been wondering how the wildlife was faring with all the snow on the ground.  We didn't see many tracks at all, but the snow wasn't fresh and was quite hard.  To my delight I came across a Black Bear track on the Gold Lake Road on our way back!  It hadn't been there on our way in to Salmon Lake!  There were some bare areas around the shrubs on the west facing slopes, so hopefully the bears are able to find some insects or plants to eat!

Carman Valley - 5/15/23

Carman Valley

Carman Valley is a beautiful small valley west of Sierra Valley.  Right now, at one end of the valley, there is more water than I've ever seen there before!  It's a lovely little wetland that supports a variety of wildlife.  Cows don't graze there and in wet years the wildflowers are plentiful.  Right now the meadows are super wet and beginning to fill with blooming wildflowers! 

Spotted Sandpiper (adult) - Actitis macularia

The wetland usually contains a small variety of birds, including Tree Swallows, ducks, Sandhill Cranes, and shorebirds, but doesn't have the bird population found in Sierra Valley.  I usually see an Osprey, some Wood Ducks, Mallards, Mountain Bluebirds, and Killdeers.  

Wood Duck (male) - Aix sponsa

To my delight, this year we saw a Wood Duck right away, an Osprey, and a Spotted Sandpiper for the first time!  They're all so lovely!  I'm going to go back again in a couple weeks to see if more birds have arrived.

Hooker's Balsam Root filled meadow - Balsalmorhiza hookeri

Away from the wetland, there is a long band of wet meadows that follows a creek drainage.  In another couple of weeks they will be filled with thousands of Blue Camas flowers, Bistort, Larkspur, and more Buttercups!

Hooker's Balsam Root - Balsalmorhiza hookeri

Hooker's Balsam Root is another favorite of mine! It grows in the hotter, drier areas and is low to the ground. What's REALLY cool about it is that it smells like CHOCOLATE! Check it out next time you see some of them. The fragrance is unmistakable!

Wet Meadow filled with Buttercups

In the past, a few people lived in Carmen Valley.  There is still an old Barn and fencing in some areas. No one lives there now, but it's fun to imagine living there!  Such a beautiful, peaceful area!

Beckwith's Violet -Viola beckwithii 

These delightfully colored little Violets were scattered along the edges of the wet meadows.  Such lovely markings!

Water Plantain Buttercup - Ranunculus alismifolius

The super wet meadows mainly had Water Plantain Buttercups growing in them. Another variety of Buttercups will bloom as the meadows dry out!

Meadow Baby Blue Eyes - California Hesperochiron

Nemophila pedunculata - Hesperochiron nanus

These flowers were growing along the edge of the road in drier areas.  The Meadow Baby Blue Eyes were tiny, about the size of your little fingernail.  The only blue on the blossoms were little dark dashes on the white petals.  There is another Baby Blue Eyes that is totally blue with a white center, but I didn't see any in Carman Valley.  

The California Hesperochiron were about an inch wide. Most of them are bright white, but some are tinged with pink.  They make a lovely carpet on the ground!

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

My friend Judy spotted a Black Bear in the distance, grazing on the meadow grasses!  Wow!  He didn't stay visible for very long, and quickly disappeared into the willows.  How wonderful to see!

Sierra Valley - 5/15/23

Sierra Valley

Since we were so close to Sierra Valley, we decided to drive over to the Steel Bridge to see if the water level had dropped.  Due to all the snow melting now, it had only dropped some, but not enough for all the birds to start nesting.  Most of the the birds that live near the Steel Bridge build their nests among the tules and cattails, either floating or hanging.  I think it will be another week or more before the bird population re-establishes itself to normal levels.  Or maybe they've all moved to a different part of the Valley where the water isn't so high.  I'll have to go exploring soon!

Yellow-headed Blackbird (female - male)

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

This week there were a few female Yellow-headed Blackbirds around!

Cliff Swallows - Petrocheilidon pyrrhonota

The Cliff Swallow population has boomed with 1,000 or more of these lovely little swallows nesting under the Steel Bridge.  Here's a video of them in flight at the bridge!

Cliff Swallows at the Steel Bridge

Willet (adult) - Ruddy Duck (male)

Tringa semipalmata - Oxyura jamaicensis

What bugs and blossoms are showing up?

What new birds will arrive?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly.

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

Neighborhood Sightings

Bullock's Oriole (male) - Icterus bullockii

I saw two male Bullock's Orioles in our neighborhood this week!  They are SO handsome and colorful!!!  They've migrated here from their overwintering grounds in Southern Mexico!  They come here every summer to breed and nest.  One particular female has made a nest in the same tree for the past five years!  The females have not arrived yet but should any day now.  I LOVE seeing them return every year!

Evening Grosbeak (female - male) - Coccothraustes vespertinus

The female Evening Grosbeaks arrived last week, the males arrived about a week before them. Some will breed and raise their young here, others will fly up to slightly higher elevations to nest. The majority of these birds live year-round across Oregon, Washington, and Canada!  We never see any here in the winter, so they must migrate down to the California's Central Valley to overwinter.

Nashville Warbler (female?) - Yellow-rumped Warbler (female)

Leiothlypis ruficapilla - Setophaga coronata

As I was walking along the North Yuba River this week, I was thrilled to see several warblers foraging in the alders on the river's edge.  They appeared to be migrating up river!  Most of them were Yellow-rumped Warblers, returning from the overwintering grounds in central California or Mexico.  Locally, they will nest up in the Lakes Basin, or in Sierra Valley.  Such lovely lovely birds!

I also saw one Nashville Warbler that possibly overwintered on the California coast, or Mexico!  It too seemed to be migrating upstream. These lovely warblers will nest a little higher in elevation, in black oak to subalpine forests!

American White Pelican - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

The American White Pelicans flew over this week, on their way to Pyramid Lake in Nevada, to mate and raise their young.  They are returning from the  overwintering grounds in lower and/or coastal California, or the western coast of Mexico.  I just love seeing them on their annual journey!

Black-headed Grosbeak (female - male) - Pheucticus melanocephalus

The female Black-headed Grosbeaks showed up about two weeks ago from their overwintering grounds in Mexico. The males arrived a week or two before them. They will breed and raise their young here.  Black-headed Grosbeaks aren't related to the Evening Grosbeaks at all!  They are in the Cardinalidae Family, along with Cardinals and Buntings!  Evening Grosbeaks are in the finch family, Fringillidae! 

Yellow-headed Blackbird (male) - California Scrub Jay (adult)

Xeanthocephalus xeanthocephalus - Aphelocoma californica

We're still getting some unusual sightings at the bird feeder, including a Yellow-headed Blackbird and a Scrub Jay!  I have never seen a Yellow-headed Blackbird in our neighborhood before!  I've only seen them in Sierra Valley.  This one showed up in the pouring rain, stuck around for a few days, then left!  The Scrub Jay has been here for a few months!  Typically Scrub Jays live down in the foothills all year!  The crazy weather we've been having has made the birds change their normal routines!  During one pouring rain storm last week, I counted 33 Black-headed Grosbeaks feeding in our backyard!  Since it is sunny and hot now, and there are tons of insects around, I have stopped feeding the birds.  

Western Tanager (male) - Piranga ludoviciana

 

A beautiful male Western Tanager arrived from Central America this week!  It was in it's amazing mating colors!  I haven't seen any females yet, but they should arrive soon.  A few pairs will breed and raise their young here, others will go up to the Lakes Basin to nest.

Mountain Dogwood (native) - Cornus nuttallii

Our neighborhood is a mix of native and non-native trees.  Right now they're all blooming!  The non-natives are mainly domestic fruit trees. This year they are blooming while the weather is warm and will hopefully produce lots of fruit!  Last year it snowed and stayed cold while they were in bloom, so no insects could pollinate them and we had an overall crop failure!  A lot of the native trees were also in bloom during the cold weather last year, and experienced a huge crop failure as well.  I'm so glad that this year it's looking good for the availability of fruits, berries, and seeds this coming Fall.  Here's a gallery of blooming trees for you!

Wild domestic cherry (non-native) - Prunus sp.

These lovely Cherry trees fill our neighborhood with lacey clouds of blossoms in the Spring!  They produce small cherries that are mainly pit, but the local birds love them.  Every early Summer, when the cherries are ripe, a "Cherry Festival" occurs in our neighborhood!  For 3 or 4 days a whole variety of birds eat these cherries until they are all gone!  Tanagers, Grosbeaks, Robins, Orioles, Steller's Jays, Towhees, Pigeons, Cedar Waxwings, and Doves join in the feast!  It's a sight to see, and fascinates me for hours!  Hopefully it will happen again this year!

Calif. Black Oak male tassels/female acorn buds - Big leaf Maple flowers

(natives)

Quercus kelloggii - Acer macrophyllum

Usually most deciduous tree flowers are overlooked.  They appear before the leaves and from a distance are mistakenly identified as leaves.  Recently the California Black Oaks put on an incredible show of blossoms!  They are monoecious having the male and female parts on the same tree.  The male parts are long catkins of pollen laden flowers and the female parts are single, tight buds that become the acorns. 

The Big Leaf Maples are also monoecious, having both male an female flowers on the same raceme. The female flowers will make the big, winged seeds.

Domestic apple (non-native) - Malus pumila

There are lots of small apple orchards in our neighborhood, that are in full bloom right now!  There is a wide variety of types that birds, bears, deer, raccoons, skunks, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, and even foxes will eat in the fall! 

Creek Dogwood - Black Cottonwood  

(natives) 

Cornus sericea  - Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa

Creek Dogwoods are monoecious, the female flowers produce dark purple berries in the Fall. This plant is actually not a tree, it's a shrub.

Black Cottonwood Trees are dioecious, having yellow, male and female catkins on separate trees. We have about 5 of these in our neighborhood, all growing on the edge of the river.  One in particular is a favorite perch for local raptors and herons.

Pacific Madrone (native) - Arbutus menziesii

The Pacific Madrone is monoecious: male flowers take the form of long, pendulous, white, catkins, while female flowers are on a separate stem, a little above the males. The female flowers are like miniature cones, initially green, then turning red. The mature cones often remain on the tree until the following year, these are what eventually form the red berries.

Plums  - Bosc Pears

(non-natives)

Prunus sp. - Pyrus communis "Bosc"

There are several domestic plums in our neighborhood that bear small, yellowish fruits that are delicious to eat in the Fall.  We also have several pear trees that ripen in the Fall.  Often a bear eats the pears the day before we decide to pick them!

  

Scarlett Fritillary  - Fritillaria recurva

Local Wildflowers!

The wildflowers are really popping in our area, in both the shady and sunny areas.  I no longer have to travel to the foothills to see wildflowers!  They're right here in my "backyard"!  Enjoy the beauty!

Hooker's Fairybells/Drops of Gold - Hounds tongue

    Prosartes hookeri - Adelinia grandis

Hartweg's Ginger - Asarum hartwegii

Bolander's Woodland Star -  Prairie Star

  Lithophragma bolanderi - Lithophragma parviflorum

Plantain Buttercups - Blue Dicks

Ranunculus alismifolius  - Dichelostemma capitatum

   

Sticky Currant - Bleeding Hearts

 Ribes viscosissimum - Dicentra formosa

Naked Broomrape - Aphyllon purpureum

We got 2" of rain in the week before last, 

which brings our water-year total to 82.40"!

What insects are out and about?

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly.

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

A WET Spring in Sierra Valley!

 Sierra Valley is a little more than an hour east of where we live. I had read about it being flooded from all the runoff from the melting heavy snowpack.  I had also watched a YouTube video of Sierra Valley filmed from the air this past March that showed how extensively it was flooded,  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mor2HQeyfkU&t=67s)

To celebrate my birthday, my husband and I decided to drive over and see what was happening. To our  astonishment it had turned into a HUGE LAKE!!!  We had never seen this much water here before!  Wow!!!

 View north from the Steel Bridge - 4/23  

This water is the headwaters of the Feather River, and there was just as much water to south, the east, and the west!  It was incredible to see, and was such a contrast from last year!  Compare the difference with my May 7, 2022 blog - Spring in Sierra Valley.

Sandhill Crane - Antigone canadensis

We were able to drive out to the Steel Bridge, where we usually go to watch birds, but the road was flooded just a quarter mile further east.  Due to the high volume of water there weren't a whole lot of birds in the vicinity of the Steel Bridge other than Cliff and Barn Swallows, but in the slightly drier areas we enjoyed seeing a variety of birds.  We saw five Sandhill Cranes in the distance that day!  Always so elegantly beautiful!

Barn Swallow - Cliff Swallows getting mud for their nests

 Hirundo rustica - Petrocheilidon pyrrhonota

There were lots of Barn and Cliff Swallows at the Steel Bridge.  The Barn Swallows overwinter in Central and South America, as far south as the tip of Argentina!  The Cliff Swallows overwinter in South America, as far south as northern Argentina.  Both of these swallows make nests out of mud on the underside of bridges. Pictured above, Cliff Swallows are getting mud for their nests! 

It takes approximately two weeks for the male and female to construct a nest out of 9,000 to 12,000 mud pellets. The breeding pair will start sleeping in the mud housing, as soon as it is partially finished. Inside the mud housing, they create a nest made of dry grasses and feathers. Females will lay 1-6 eggs, and brood them for 10-19 days. Swallows will also lay eggs and/or transfer their eggs into neighboring swallow nests. The young are altricial when hatched, and are cared for by their parents for 20-26 days.

Yellow-headed Blackbird - Red-winged Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus - Agelaius phoeniceus

Along the road to the Steel Bridge there were lots of male Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds!  They were gorgeous in their bright contrasting colors.  I just happened to to catch this Red-winged Blackbird in a mating display!  How wild!  The Yellow-headed Blackbirds were making their loud, coarse calls, but we didn't see many females in the area.  The females of both species lack the bright colors of the males.  Both of these birds will nest and raise their young in Sierra Valley.  Both will make nests woven between upright stalks of vegetation such as cattails and tules, above water.

The Yellow-headed Blackbird overwinters in Mexico.  The Red-winged Blackbird probably drops down to lower elevations in California for the winter, and is not a long-distance migrant. 

Pied-billed Grebe (adult) - Ruddy Duck (male)

Podilymbus podiceps - Oxyura jamaicensis

Just past the Steel Bridge there is a smallish separate pond where we saw quite a few waterfowl.  Lining the pond, there were tules to hide and nest in, compared to the area near the Steel Bridge.  Perhaps that's why they congregated there.

Ruddy Ducks probably overwinter in California's Central Valley or down into Mexico.  Pied-billed Grebe's probably do the same thing.  Both will nest and raise their young in Sierra Valley, on floating platform nests made out of dried plants.

Horned Lark - Red-winged Blackbird

  Eremophila alpestris - Agelaius phoeniceus

These Horned Larks probably overwinter in California at lower elevations.  They will breed and raise their young in Sierra Valley.  The female alone makes the nest. She starts by digging out a cavity in the ground, which may take 2-4 days! She then weaves a nest of fine plant material gathered nearby, such as grass, small roots, and shredded plant stocks.  The inner part of the nest is lined with finer material such as down, fur, feathers, fine rootlets; even lint and string are sometimes used.

Here's a photo of a Red-winged Blackbird in a regular pose, not in a mating display!  Such glossy elegance!

Redhead (male-female) - Aythya americana

Last year, in Sierra Valley, was the first time I ever saw a Redhead.  I was so pleased to see several of them in the pond near the Steel Bridge this week!  The males are so strikingly colored!  They will breed and raise their young in Sierra Valley.  Their nest is made by the female, usually among cattails, but not always.  The female weaves together standing vegetation, and builds a cup-like nest out of dead vegetation, above shallow water, and lines it with down.  These Redheads will probably move to lower elevations in California for the winter, or perhaps as far south as Mexico.

Willet - American Avocet

Tringa semipalmata - Recurvirostra americana 

This Willet probably overwintered in California's Central Valley or coast. They will breed and raise their young in Sierra Valley.  They nest on dry ground in shallow "scrapes" lined with plant material.  We only saw one Willet in our visit to Sierra Valley.

American Avocets spend their winters in California's Central Valley, Baja California, or Mexico.  In Spring most migrate to north-central United States and Canada to breed, but some will nest in Sierra Valley.  When breeding, the feathers on the head and neck, of both the male and female, turn a rich rusty color, and the legs turn blue!  Beautiful!  I love their sky-blue legs, and their long, curved bills. They are SO elegant!  They are ground-nesters and build a nest scrape in the soft substrate of wetlands, dikes/levees, or islands. Nests are often near the water's edge, and usually on unvegetated ground or in areas with short, sparse vegetation.  Avocets nest on islands when available, which provides partial protection from predators.

American Coot - Fulica americana 

American Coots are not ducks, they are in the Rallidae Family and are classified as Rails!  They probably spend their winter in lower elevations in California. They will breed and raise their young in Sierra Valley.  They make floating nests out of tules and other dry vegetation, that are anchored to standing aquatic vegetation (cattails, tules etc.).  Last year I saw baby coots for the first time at the Steel Bridge, with their bald heads fringed in bright red-orange downy feathers!  Hopefully I'll see them again this year.

California Hesperochiron and Beckwourth Peak

Hesperochiron nanus

In the drier areas there were lots and lots of California Hesperochiron flowers blanketing the ground.  More than I've ever seen before!  Beckwourth Peak can be seen from almost anywhere in Sierra Valley, at 7,252' in elevation.  I went up on the peak in 2020, and you can read all about it in my August 16, 2020 blog -Exploring Sierra Valley.

Bulbed Woodland Star - Lithophragma glabrum

To my surprise there were large patches of Bulbed Woodland Stars growing along the drier roadsides!  I've only seen a few of these up in the Lakes Basin, so it was a pleasure to see an abundance of them.  I've never seen them in Sierra Valley before!

Sooty Grouse (female) - Dendragapus fuliginosus

On our way home, I was thrilled to see a Sooty Grouse walking along the edge of the highway!  WOW!!!  In July of 2021 I saw a female with two chicks and a displaying male up near Yuba Pass. That same month I saw a female with two chicks up near Hidden Lake.  However, I haven't seen any since then.  So I was SO pleased to see this female!  We pulled off the road and watched her as she walked along the edge of the highway!  

Sooty Grouse (female) - Dendragapus fuliginosus

These birds are large, with a length of 17-22", a wingspan of 26", and a weight of 2.3 lbs.  I loved the intricate feather pattern, that definitely provided camouflage.  They are listed as "uncommon" in our area, although they live here year round. In the winter adults and juveniles feed exclusively on conifer needles.  Right now they're eating the leaves and flowers of herbs; leaves, flowers, and berries of shrubs; conifer needles; and invertebrates.

Sierra Buttes - 4/29/23

Last Sunday we drove up the Gold Lake Road to where they had stopped plowing at Salmon Creek Campground.  The road to Sand Pond and Sardine Lake was unplowed and covered with three feet of snow! I don't know how much further they have plowed up the Gold Lake Road, but we won't be hiking up there anytime soon!  There is still so much snow on the ground!

What bugs and blossoms are showing up?

What new birds will arrive?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly.

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!