Barnes Lake Trails with Hank
Hank & I have been getting to know the Barnes Lake Trails.
Yesterday, we arrived during light showers, and as the sun came and went, I photographed sagebrush galls while Hank did whatever he likes to do.
Near the lake, I came across an excited Say’s phoebe on top of a Douglas-fir.
There were mallards, wigeons, and scaups on the lake. The sun emerged, and a small troupe of violet-green swallows came out to eat, flying right overhead.
Near the lake, the sagebrush buttercups seemed to have reduced petals.
Closer to the trailhead, the sagebrush buttercup appeared to have highly-incised leaves.
Bunchgrasses, Thompson’s paintbrush, and large-fruited desert-parsley are well on their ways.
Wax currants are leafing out and yellowbells have emerged in the upper grasslands.
Saw this nice selaginella in the dry places. The oil from selaginella was used to light oil lamps in the olden times! I pulled this prickly-pear out of Hank’s paw near the lookout and was impressed with it’s root system.
We watched some golden-crowned kinglets in these Douglas-fir, and were surprised by a male yellow-rumped warbler!
The night before, I recorded this video by the lake. Please comment below if you think you know what is making the sounds.
I only ended up at the lake because Hank asked me to turn around – we had been heading toward the timber. He knew there were coyotes up ahead, and told me three times to turn around before I heard the soft bubble of a coyote-bark from the treeline and was finally convinced. He asked me to turn around again today, nearing the same area but from a different access point, and I obliged him immediately. He knows so much more about what is going on than I ever will.
Thank you Vanessa for this wonderful gallery of what is going on up at Barnes. There are many hectares of area to wonder in, and one always finds interesting surprises. I love the colourful lichens and wonder if some of the orange is Xanthoria. I might do an article on that.
Thanks for telling me about it! And I’d always like to read more about our lichen species.
Hi Vanessa
We enjoyed our virtual walk with you along the Barnes Lake trail. What a great place to explore! The Say’s phoebe was neat. Our phoebes haven’t arrived yet here in southern Ontario. We can only hope they will soon!
Your mystery sound may be some kind of chorus frog. They sound like someone running their fingernail along the teeth of a comb.
Aww geez thanks Auntie Bridget! The Say’s phoebe is new for me, do you ever get it out there? I was most excited about the warbler – first one of the season. I think you are right – sounds like it’s a Pacific chorus frog. It’s great to hear a lot of them – like the peepers outside the window at the farm in Alice when I was growing up – but hearing just a few at the start of the year is exciting in its own way.
The sound may be a spadefoot
That crossed my mind! I posted the clip on Instagram and did some more research and it looks like the likeliest candidate is a couple Pacific Chorus frogs. I’d sure like to hear spadefoots one day! Thanks for the suggestion.
Hey Rick sounds like the balance might be shifting to spadefoot toad!!
I am with Rick Tucker on the Spadefoot call. It does not have two syllables like Pacific Chorus Frog. Spadefoots are common in Barnes Lake. Check this link. http://www.californiaherps.com/frogs/pages/s.hammondii.sounds.html
Wow, thanks Rick!
Yes, I’d also go with Spadefoot toad.
Another for team spadefoot! Thanks for sharing, Paul!