Natural History Journal

Okay, so technically it's not quite summer yet.  But that detail aside, the weather was beautifully warm, the meadows were green, the waterfalls were roaring, and the birds were singing their hearts out on a recent trip to Yosemite National Park.   Following John Muir's historic route from the Central Valley up through Coulterville and Greeley Hill, and finally into Yosemite, we made our way up into the cool green cathedral that is the Sierra Nevada.  For the nth time, I thanked God for his glorious creation, and for situating me so near to these mountains, that I might marvel at his divine power on display at such a massive scale on a regular basis.  And, not least of all, I thanked God for giving us time to get out and enjoy it! During four days of hiking and birding, and three nights of camping, we encountered abundant breath-taking mountain scenery at every turn, and a total of 60 species of birds.  Here are just a few of my favorite photos from the tri...

It is the height of summer, and I often feel that at this time of year there is no place I would rather be than in the Sierra. Summer in the meadows and forests of the Sierra Nevada mountains is one great rush of all that is poetic, romantic, magical and sublime in this world: the heady scent of resinous pine and mountain misery hanging thick in the warm mountain air; riotous colors of wildflowers bedecking green meadows surrounded by spires of tall conifers; thickets of lush and verdant dogwood, willow and alder bisected by clear, cold streams murmuring as they flow over smooth stones; the ethereal call of thrushes rising from the undergrowth as the chatter of chickadees and warblers drifts down from the canopy above; billowing thunderheads rising in the azure sky to crest snow-capped peaks. Tunnel View, Yosemite National Park Here in the Sierra, as John Muir once wrote, "... The sun shines not on us but in us.  The rivers flow not past but through us, thrilling, tingl...

Of all the birds in the Sierra, perhaps none is more handsome, more regal, more raucous than the Steller's Jay.  Stop at any picnic table or parking lot in the Sierra Nevada at any time of year, and you're almost guaranteed a good look at the crested silhouette of this fine forest dweller.  Like other corvids (the family consisting of crows, ravens and jays), the Steller's Jay is not shy, not subtle, and not silent.  The Steller's Jay commands attention, and usually gets it! The Steller's Jay ( Cyanocitta stelleri ) inhabits coniferous forests in the western United States where its dark blue and black coloration blends in with the deep shadows of the woods.  In California, they are found living in flocks from the forests of coastal and northern California to the Sierra.  (In the eastern United States, they are replaced by the ubiquitous and closely related Blue Jay of the same genus.) Like most other corvids, Steller's Jays will feed on nearly anythi...

With bright red heads and brilliant yellow bodies, Eric calls them "Popsicle Birds."  Western Tanagers ( Piranga ludoviciana ) are abundant in the mixed conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada during the summer months, filling the canopy with their beautiful song.  (For a few weeks during migration, they can be seen in the Central Valley, particularly along riparian corridors.)  Though they are one of our most brilliantly colored songbirds and their voice is a staple part of any summer soundtrack in the Sierra, they tend to keep to the canopy and are not as frequently glimpsed as might be imagined.  You have to really want to see a Western Tanager - or just get lucky, like I did with this bird that was having a snack at our campsite's picnic table when we pulled in. While true tanagers are birds of the neo-tropics, Western Tanagers are more accurately placed in the Cardinal family, along with Grosbeaks and Buntings.  The Western Tan...

Mountain Bluebirds ( Sialia currucoides ) are one of the West's dazzling surprises; no bright Painted Buntings or Northern Cardinals* for us Californians, but we do have our own little collection of brilliantly-colored birds, which happily includes two bluebird species (Western Bluebirds ( Sialia Mexicana ) being the second).  Female Mountain Bluebirds, pictured below, are doe-eyed beauties in their own right, modestly showing only hints of bright blue along their wings and tails.  Female Mountain Bluebird at Tuolumne Meadows Male Mountain Bluebirds are the real lookers: they are as vividly blue as the clear sunny heavens above the alpine firmament they call home.  To see one of these gems flutter from above to perch on a branch, you may even believe a little piece of the sky has just fallen before you.  They are absolutely breathtaking. The unfortunate and less poetic truth of the matter is that as of yet, no male Mountain Blue...

A week or two ago, while hiking in the Wawona area of Yosemite National Park (taking in the glorious fall colors and hoping beyond hope to see a Great Gray Owl), I came across a dried up stalk of Woodland Pinedrops ( Pterospora andromedea ) growing on the forest floor.  I'm sure most people would have walked right on by, but of course I was thrilled!  I stopped to take a bunch of photos (Eric wondered, I'm sure, what all the fuss was about over something so seemingly unspectacular) and once home, decided it was time to introduce you to a few of California's magnificent monotropes! Dried stalk of Pinedrops - unassumingly beautiful! Pinedrops are a lesser-known cousin of the showy Snow Plant ( Sarcodes sanguinea ), both of which are included in the heath family, Ericaceae.  Other plants in this family include California's 40+ manzanita species, John Muir's beloved Cassiope, the abundant Salal of the Pacific Northwest, and...

Commas, members of the family of butterflies known as the Brushfoots, are typically woodland butterflies.  I've seen several Hoary Commas ( Polygonia gracilis ) fluttering about Sierra Nevada woodlands recently, and always stop to admire them.  Many species of commas rarely feed on flower nectar, instead obtaining nutrients from tree sap, carrion, dung and mud.  The Hoary Comma, found predominately in the mountains of the western part of the North American continent, is more likely to visit flowers than other species of commas.    The main larval foodplant for the Hoary Comma is currant ( Ribes spp .), and eggs are laid on petioles (leaf stems) and the undersides of leaves.  Hoary Commas have a lifespan of about one year.  Breeding takes place in the spring, and eggs hatch in the summer.  Commas overwinter as adults by hibernating during the winter, often in the crack...

Summer in the high Sierra is rapidly coming to an end.  Nighttime temperatures are already dipping below freezing, and daytime highs remain in the sixties (Fahrenheit) or lower.  The seasons are changing, grading gently from summer into autumn, and Sierra Nevadan wildlife are busily preparing for the long winter ahead.  On a recent visit to Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows, the Belding's ground squirrels ( Urocitellus beldingi , syn. of  Spermophilus beldingi ) were particularly busy.   Belding's ground squirrels live in high meadows between 6,500 and nearly 12,000 feet in elevation.  Other open areas favored by Belding's ground squirrels include sagebrush flats and areas of mixed shrubs and grasses.  In addition to the Sierra Nevada, Belding's ground squirrels can be found in eastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, and parts of Nevada.  They typically remain fairly close to a source of water. Belding's ground squirrels eat a var...

Many people are familiar with our state bird, the California Quail ( Callipepla californica ).  Less well-known are North America's other quail species: Gambel's Quail ( C. gambelii ), Scaled Quail ( C. squamata ), Montezuma Quail ( Cyrtonyx montezumae ), and Mountain Quail ( Oreortyx pictus ).  Of the aforementioned species, three are found in California: California Quail, Gambel's Quail and Mountain Quail.  California Quail range across most of the state, as well as into Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Baja California.  But they are replaced in the desert portions of the state by Gambel's Quail, and in the Sierra Nevada by Mountain Quail.  (Scaled Quail and Montezuma Quail are found in the southwestern United States, including parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas; their ranges also extend south into Mexico.) Male Mountain Quail ( Oreortyx pictus ) Mountain Quail are found in the Coast Ranges and northern part of the state, as well as the ...

'Tis the season for wildflowers!  If you live in any of California's lower elevation locations (as most of us do), now is the time to get outside and see the blooms!  White Fairy Lantern (or Globe Lily) ( Calochortus albus ), bedecked with raindrops  Valleys and hills are springing to life, but the window of opportunity is small; by about mid-May, most of the blooms will be gone from low elevations and we'll have to hike higher up in the mountains in search of wildflowers (not that that is a bad thing, of course!)  Lupine ( Lupinus sp .) Hite Cove Trail, located off of highway 140 near El Portal on the road to Yosemite National Park, is one of the best places in the central Sierra Nevada foothills to see an array of spring wildflowers. Twining Snakelily ( Dichelostemma volubile ) The trail follows the south fork of the Merced river, wending along the river canyon cliffs for the first 1.5 miles before dropping down to follow th...