A remote spring on the Yuba

A spring feeding the North Yuba River, Sierra County, CA

Red fir logs had blocked the spring and created pools in several places. 

I chose this one, about 75 yards below the source to set a camera because it seemed most accessible to wildlife. 

Ferns, Delphinium, various unidentified herbaceous plants, and a few small mountain alders blanketed the stream for much of its length. 

The rest of the area was practically devoid of ground cover, which I understand is typical of red fir forests.

A few species of birds visited the pool -- and you birders out there, don't hesitate to correct my identifications.

Hermit thrush

Townsend's solitaire

Saw whet owl

Robin and unidentified fledgling assumed to be a robin

I expected the usual rodents -- red and gray squirrels, golden-mantled ground squirrels, shadow chipmunks, and perhaps a wood rat. 

 

Aplodon crosses the rotten log forming the pool.

But here where I found no signs of aplodon -- burrows or plant cuttings -- one showed up on two consecutive nights. 

Aplodon wades through the water on its way to who-knows-where.

 

I thought I was starting to know where to predict their occurrence, but I guess I am still climbing the learning curve.

The sierra got its first snow this past weekend and soon the roads will be closed, but next spring I'm going back to this ravine and I am going to look for burrows and other sign very carefully.

I am also going to camera trap the length of the spring to see if there is a resident population. 

More plans, more work, more fun. 

Toyon stake out

The botanical explorer Frank Kingdon Ward would have called it "berried treasure". Toyon or Christmas berry (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is one of the chaparral's most colorful shrubs, and an irresistable attraction to birds. Last winter the birds had gobbled up most of the toyon berries by the end of January.

This year I decided to stake out a bush with a camera trap, and so far the only visitors have been American robins. The birds were leary of the camera, and spent a lot of time staring at it, but eventually relaxed enough for a few pictures of berry gobbling. This was a trial, and the pics leave a lot to be desired, but one thing I learned is not to stake the camera too close. The weight of the bird can pull the berry cluster down and out of sight.

Toyon fruit is apparently edible by people. California's settlers used to eat the mealy little berries fresh and dried, and also made them into custards and wine.

I learned a long time ago that while bird berries may be edible they don't always make for a pleasant dining experience. The realization came about when I talked the redhead into making a mulberry pie. I believe that Euell Gibbons had talked it up in his book Stalking the wild asparagus. There was a huge mulberry next to the house, and I handpicked the choicest fruit. The redhead labored to pull out the stems against my advice, and added sugar, and then lemon to zest up the flavor.

The smell of that baked pie just didn't temp us like blackberry pie, and nothing short of starvation could have made me take a second piece.

The chickens enjoyed it immensely.