Fall Goings-on in Central California

Every year after the long, hot summer, I eagerly await the arrival of fall.  The transition between seasons may be gradual or abrupt, but each year there is one moment when you sense it: change is coming.  There is a hint of autumn in the smell of the air, a certain color to the morning light, a crispness in the breeze that has long been absent.  As dusty browns mellow into pleasant gold and the cool wind blows, creatures begin to stir.

The wild world is waking up after a drowsy summer.

Yosemite Valley (mid-November of last year)

In central California, the changing of the seasons is not as vividly dramatic as New England postcards, but it can be just as markedly beautiful if you know where to look.  Fall is an excellent season to see wildlife, as many species are on the move.  Shorebirds and songbirds migrate, Sandhill Cranes and other northern breeding birds return to the valley from the Arctic; monarch butterflies migrate to their overwintering grounds on the coast; salmon make their way from the Pacific all the way up valley rivers to spawn.  Fall offers the last good opportunity to see Humpback and Blue whales off the coast before they begin their southern migration, and is the time to see (and hear) Tule Elk during their rut season.  And of course, the star of the autumn woods will always be fall foliage!

Below is a list of some of my favorite fall goings-on in central California.

Cedar Waxwings arrive in the Central Valley every autumn

Wildlife:

* Shorebird and seabird migration along the coast.  September is peak season, and Monterey Bay is a great location for birding (I love Point Pinos and Moss Landing).

* Songbird migration in the Central Valley.  During the fall, the diversity of songbirds in the valley is at its highest.  Try riparian areas and wetlands (wildlife refuges) in the valley as well as near the coast.

* Sandhill Cranes return to the Central Valley!  These impressive birds return in September, but their numbers will peak near the end of November.  Look for them in valley wetlands (especially Merced National Wildlife Refuge).

* Monarch migration.  These well-known butterflies are migrating across the Central Valley now, so you may spot one at any time.  But the best chance to see monarchs en masse is at their overwintering sites along the coast, most notably in Pacific Grove and Santa Cruz, between November and February.

* Tule elk rut.  If you're not even sure what that means, it's time for a trip!  Visit the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge or Point Reyes National Seashore to experience the bugling of bull elk.

* Salmon run.  The fall run of Chinook Salmon takes place each year as these special creatures make their journey from the sea to freshwater spawning grounds in rivers across the Central Valley.  November seems to be the peak of the salmon run, and the bridge over the Stanislaus River in Knight's Ferry is a great place to watch.

Pinecrest Lake (October)

Fall colors:

The star of the fall foliage show across the western United States is the Aspen.  But other deciduous trees put on quite the display as well.  Look for Big Leaf Maple, Black Oak, Mountain Dogwood, Black Cottonwood, willows and even golden ferns!  Also of note, Poison Oak, a beautiful keystone species in our woodlands, develops lovely red fall color (just don't touch it!).

* Eastern Sierra: Mono and Inyo counties are well-known for their splendid show of Aspens, which generally reach peak color in mid-to-late October.

* Western Sierra: Lassen, Plumas and Tahoe National Forests put on a display of mellow fall color in October and even into November.  More southerly national forests are worth investigating as well, like El Dorado, Stanislaus and Sierra National Forests.  In my experience, fall color in Yosemite Valley seems to peak during the first two or three weeks of November.

* North Coast: Not to be left out, Big Leaf Maples and other trees color the north coast forests of California as well. 

In California's forests, expect pockets of color rather than sweeping New England hillsides of fiery red maples.  Often, hidden gems of color are found along rivers and streams.  Weather plays a big role in intensity and timing of fall colors, so no two years are quite the same.  But the fall color show lasts quite a while in California, slowly progressing from high elevations to low over the season.

Black Oaks turn yellow and reddish-bronze in the fall

Even though summer is over, the outdoors are as enticing as ever!  Hiking, camping, wildlife viewing - it only gets better as the season progresses.  Don't let changing seasons keep you indoors; mild fall temperatures are ideal for exploring the wonderful world of nature!  Head out to explore today!

Comments

Post a Comment

You Might Also Like:

Birds of the Desert: Residents & Spring Migrants

Image
Nearly everyone knows the desert as a barren, desolate land of extremes: high heat, low precipitation; little available food and water; prickly, spiny, unfriendly plants growing in a sea of rocks and sand as far as the eye can see.  But for those who stop and look closer, the desert reveals itself as the beautiful, incredible, mesmerizing place it truly is, teeming with unexpected life. Juvenile male Costa's Hummingbird visiting chuparosa blooms next to our campsite in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I particularly love the desert in the spring, when the annual wildflowers, cacti, flowering trees and shrubs are all in bloom.  (I've experienced the desert in the searing 120 degree heat of summer, and the rainy, even snowy cold of winter... and spring wins every time!)  Eric and I just returned from a week in the Colorado desert, exploring the imperiled, accidental Salton Sea (more on that coming soon), the vital wetlands of the Sonny Bono Salton ...
Read more

All The Ducks!

Image
On a recent birding trip to Merced National Wildlife Refuge, I tallied up a list of sixteen different species of ducks.  Only a few more species, around twenty in total, are expected in the Central Valley of California's freshwater marshes during the winter, so I consider that to be an excellent day for ducks! North American ducks are broadly separated into two categories, largely based on their methods of foraging for food.   Dabbling ducks , also known as "puddle ducks," tend to frequent shallow water, where they are commonly seen tipping bottoms-up to feed on plant matter and invertebrates in the water and on the muddy bottom.  They are most at home in water, but walk easily on land as well, as their legs are positioned near the center of their bodies.  The wings of dabbling ducks are relatively large, which allows them to take off from the surface of the water, straight up into their air.  Dabbling ducks almost all nest on the ground, near water....
Read more

Joshua Tree Woodlands: A Tale of Sloths, Moths and the Trees that Need Them

Image
In 1844, early California explorer John C. Fremont gave a somewhat scathing review of Joshua trees when he wrote, "...their stiff and ungraceful form makes them to the traveler the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom."  Rather unkind, don't you think?  But when Joshua trees were formally described by scientist William Trelease in the 1890's, he noted that Joshua Trees are "the most attractive of all the Yuccas."  I am inclined to agree with this sentiment, and must disagree most heartily with Lieutenant Fremont! I, for one, adore Joshua Trees, with their whimsical shapes and great ecological significance!  If you struggle with plant identification, the iconic Joshua tree, hallmark of the Mojave Desert, is a good place to start.  With densely spiked tufts protruding from the ends of gangly arms stretched towards the heavens, this looks like a plant straight from a Dr. Seuss book....
Read more

A Shorebird Primer: Godwits, Curlews, Willets and Whimbrels

Image
For those of us living in the Great Central Valley, autumn is the time to head to the coast.  Of course, there is no bad time to visit California's magnificent coastline.  But as the heat and haze of summer drag on in the Valley, the sea becomes increasingly tantalizing: September and the onset of autumn bring sunny weather and an abundance of migratory seabirds and shorebirds to our coast. A new birder visiting California's Central Coast will undoubtedly be met with a splendid array of very confusing birds.  Among these are small shorebirds like  "peeps" (sandpipers), Sanderlings and various  plovers .  But the larger birds can be just as confusing, until you learn a few distinguishing features.  Four large shorebirds that are commonly seen (and commonly confused) along California's Central Coast are Godwits, Curlews, Willets and Whimbrels. Marbled Godwit (upper left), Whimbrel (upper right), Long-billed Cu...
Read more

Birding in Adverse Weather Conditions: Wind and Rain

Image
Though I often extol the virtues and merits of winter in the Central Valley , especially when it comes to birding, the whole truth is that we experience "bad" weather also, just like anywhere else.  But even when the winter weather rolls in, the birds are still out there!  And sometimes, despite our best planning efforts, a birding day happens to coincide with crummy weather.   In that case, what's a birder to do?  Usually, we go birding anyway!   Birders far more intrepid than I regularly brave the ice and snow of northern winters to see their favorite birds, so perhaps you should look to them for real tips on winter birding!  For those of us in the valleys of California, the worst weather we see - wind and rain - is really comparatively mild.  Birding on an extremely windy day! I don't know of anyone who actually likes birding in the rain.  But I would argue that birding in the wind is just as aggravating as trying to bird in the rai...
Read more

Winter Gulls: The Great I.D. Challenge

Image
Gulls are a fun challenge for birders, from beginners to experts.  A few things make gulls an interesting study: they are large and conspicuous in their open habitats, so they are easy to see, easy to put a scope on, and easy to watch and study for long periods of time.  Furthermore, gulls are almost always identifiable as gulls; none of this confusing warbler/vireo/kinglet nonsense! And yet, gulls are almost impossibly difficult!  (Though perhaps not nearly as difficult as Empidonax flycatchers!) An intimidating scene to many a birder: a mixed flock of gulls.  I see five different species of gull here. Oh, and one American Coot in the background. One of the reasons they are so complicated is most gull species take two or three years to achieve adult plumage, and go through multiple molts in a year.  So, you may be looking at three or four gulls together that look like four completely different species, when they are actually just different ages (...
Read more