Posted on behalf of Geoff Quine. Surely the same animal seen on the 5th (see Associated Observation). We spent many hours scouring the area for scat of fur for genetic testing, but no luck. Tons of coyote tracks in the area, and one came by the camera a few times this very night.
Just outside the hydrologic Tahoe Basin. P&S shots during White-tailed Jackrabbit work
Falcon chasing Turkey Vulture
Video with it calling and in flight
https://youtu.be/Tc3hWHPSE48
crossing street from lawn to a pond with willows along edges
Saw two together along here while driving by this morning and went back this afternoon for photos
Loads of latrines visible on the far (south and west) side of the river along here
Far off shore, got these shots before it dove and disappeared. Dusky chinstrap, dark back, white belly and under wing. A Pacific loon was seen in this area around the same time, as well as reports of a Common Loon (which I did not see in this area).
Rounded tail, larger head makes me lean towards Cooper's. Also has something interesting going on with its beak.
Light pattern, lighter tail feathers compared to immature Herring and California gulls recently observed.
Drama. These guys all normally get along pretty well, but here a squirrel decided to start something and nearly got kicked in the head as reward. Moments later they were back to munching sunflower seeds side-by-side again.
First spotted nectaring on a Bull Thistle, and then turned up in the nets a few hours later. Lots since, but this was the first documented Tahoe Basin record.
Ribes viscosissimum var. hallii, growing in the conifer understory south of the east side of the upper Angora Lake, and evidently very popular with these flies that it was covered with.
Typical of the plants of coastal ranges, it was notably distinct from more inland plants with its glabrous ovaries and reddish tinged hypanthia (as opposed to strongly glandular ovaries and green hypanthia in inland plants). In the past, this form was referred to under var. hallii, but this variety is no longer accepted by most botanists; I wonder if it ought not to be revived.
WP 0-8.
This bird covered a lot of territory during the 45 minutes I was trying to get looks and photos, from near the boardwalk bench where Jared found it yesterday, all the way upstream to singing from high in a large fir on the south side of 89. I had to squeeze this in very early in the morning, so it was dark and my photos are all rubbish, but I've lightened the exposure so you can at least confirm the ID. Hopefully it sticks around for better lighting/photos this weekend!
On the drive out to South Shingle Road, I spotted this Jackrabbit alongside of the Private road. It posed nicely for some photos before hopping slowly away.
My wife said that it was actually a "Jillrabbit" because it had such long eyelashes ..........
The year they nested in the Upper Truckee Marsh, and possibly the only year a female has been recorded in the Tahoe basin (as of 2020)
Creosote scrub in Greenwater Valley, near southeast end of Greenwater Valley Road, Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California, elev. approx. 2100 feet.
40+ Red-Necked Phalarope in marsh visible from the end of Bellvue St.
I followed these fresh tracks for over 100 feet to a tree and bare ground area. It clearly went up into the tree and then I spotted a gray squirrel but he was too quick in the super large jeffrey pine tree hiding from the camera. Measured 4-5 feet per leap at one point and a large leap across the creek.
jeffrey pine https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/152168336
Drama. These guys all normally get along pretty well, but here a squirrel decided to start something. Moments later they were back to munching sunflower seeds side-by-side again.
On a trip with greatly knowledgeable Bob Sweatt (https://www.inaturalist.org/people/231705), who graciously showed us around. Thank you so much, Bob!
Scavenging some roadkill
Male of the pair, mere feet from the nest. Female was incubating - see associated obs
On eggs already. Pretty disappointed to see that all the vegetation along the fenceline had been cleared, but happy to see that this pair had been able to find a new spot for their nest. The male was only a few feet away
Cordylanthus ramosus growing in a dense patch along the Rubicon trail, north side of Emerald Bay, Emerald Bay State Park, El Dorado County, California. This site is near the shore in an opening of forest of mainly Jeffery pine.
Bushy bird's beak is a native annual forb common to open dry sites throughout western North America (e.g., sagebrush steppe). Stems are often highly branched and flowering occurs from middle to late summer. Leaves have linear segments, leaves often purplish rather than green (the degree of purple pigment probably reflecting the degree of parasitism), flowers clustered 2-5 per stem tip, but also few-flowered clusters in leaf axils along the flowering branches, and corolla mostly yellow. Inflorescences are not glandular hairy like those of Cordylanthus capitatus, which has purplish corollas.