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Lake Tahoe is home to a marvelous collection of flora and fauna but how many of us know what we are actually seeing? When I first started putting out bird feeders years ago, I remember saying to myself, “Look at all those birds!” Before long I realized that there were actually several different species of bird dining at my bird feeders and I could not name them. Read more...
Columns
Toree Warfield, founder and developer of saveourplanetearth.com writes a bi-weekly column for her local newspaper. In case you have missed some, find each column below, in the order in which they were published.
Find articles about birds, flowers, trees, bears and other wildlife, accompanied by photos and links to bird songs and calls.
Lake Tahoe is home to many species of colorful and interesting birds. Last week we looked at the Western Tanager and Audubon’s Warbler. This week I’ll introduce you to three more of my favorite birds: the Fox Sparrow, the Green-tailed Towhee and the Spotted Towhee.
I first heard the song of the Fox Sparrow in February of 2007. Read more...
When enjoying the outdoors, the best advice I have is to look up, look down, look all around, and listen to the sounds of nature but today we’re going to look down and discover some perhaps lesser known wildflowers that are found in the Lake Tahoe area. Read more...
If you haven’t yet been to Incline’s farmers market at Tunnel Creek, you might want to schedule a visit. Choose from a fresh selection of fruits and vegetables on Wednesdays from 4-7 p.m. The market will continue through September 25, offering selections of peppers, squash, carrots, onions, peaches, berries, grapes and other fresh produce. Find also bread and cheesecake, kombucha tea in several delicious flavors, popcorn, olives, nuts, essential oils, candles and gems! Read more...
“Quick-THREE-beer!” This is a common phonetic representation of the song of the olive-sided flycatcher. When you hear his distinctive song, begin looking for him perched at the very top of a tree. Between songs, he’ll make fluttering forays for bugs, returning to the same perch. Read more...
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Pennyroyal
Northern Flicker
A fascinating bird of prey that can be found in this area is the owl. A great horned owl flew in front of my house one time in the middle of the day, landing in my neighbor’s tree where he perched for a short time, swiveling his head. I think he was looking for the part of a mouse I found in my driveway a short time later! Read more...
There is a new game in town and it’s called Bear Smart Incline Village. Actually, this group formed as a committee about two years ago with a mission of eradicating bear/trash encounters. If the easy source of food can be eliminated, the bears will remain in the wilderness to forage for food, thereby reducing bear/human encounters, which ultimately endanger the bear. Read more...
It’s never too early to begin birding, I discovered, when I had the pleasure of joining a group of energetic birders in Incline Village one recent morning. This was a group of about 12 little people, led by Kirk Hardie from the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS) and Olivia Cushing, Science & Outdoor Education Coordinator for Incline Elementary School... Read more...
I never intended to have cats but somehow I ended up with four. They each found me in unique ways but I’ll tell you the story of how I came to adopt a stray cat roaming my neighborhood. Several of us noticed him but we could not get near him and assumed he was feral. We decided to try to catch him.
Perhaps many of us remember the Chips Fire near Lake Almanor, California in August 2012. I remember hearing about the bobcat kitten rescued by firefighters working in the area. In researching for today’s column on bobcats, I came across many stories about this lucky kitten, dubbed “Chips” by the firefighters who rescued her so I decided to pursue the rest of the story.
We are fortunate to live near this national treasure we call Lake Tahoe, enveloped by nature. I love all the creatures that thrive here—the plants, the flowers, the trees, the birds. But today I’d like to pay homage to the people.
I moved here about 25 years ago as a single mother and alas, single mother I remained. I managed to raise my three children, keep them fed, clothed and housed and even supplied with necessary gear like iPods. Read more...
Today was a day of many firsts—I saw a new bird for the first time, I heard him and was quickly able to locate him, and it was the first new bird spotted in the winter! I always go outside at lunchtime and immediately heard a new bird sound coming from behind the house. Read more...
Coming up this weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), an opportunity for any person to become a “citizen scientist” — an ordinary person who aids scientists in the understanding of the natural world. It’s free, fun, easy and for the birds! Read more...
Almost every day at lunchtime I go outside to sit on my deck in the sun, listen to the birds and read the newspaper. Today, as soon as I sat down, a bird began to sing. I wasn’t able to spot him but identified him through his unique song. Today I heard the Canyon Wren, whose unmistakable song is a descending cascade of clear, liquid notes. Read more...
Examining a caterpillar.
Saw-whet Owl
While it’s still possible that we will have some winter weather this month, and the next and the next, the birds are most definitely making the sounds of Spring. Last week I encountered on my morning walk what I call a “Steller’s Jay Conference”, which consists of a dozen or more birds, gathered in a condensed cluster, squawking. Read more...
Sierra and Chips
Mountain Chickadee
Snowy Owl
There is a handsome fellow I run into sometimes on my walks and his name is Hoss, so dubbed by the late Bill Bohn; therefore Hoss he shall remain. He is a red-tailed hawk. I may have also known him when he was young as I had a juvenile visiting my bird feeders a couple years back, trying to catch lunch. He was never successful, at least not when I was watching. Read more...
An elusive creature around Lake Tahoe that I’ve never been fortunate enough to see is the mountain lion, also commonly known as cougar, puma or panther. This magnificent beast once roamed all of North America but is now found only in the 12 westernmost states, and British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.
See this item in the store, at tahoetshirtsandgifts.com. Size medium for $14.95.
Anyone who lives in wildlife country, such as we do here at Lake Tahoe, owes it to himself to attend a presentation given by Ann Bryant, Executive Director and Founder of the Bear League, an organization dedicated to keeping bears safe and in their natural habit since 1998. Read more...
We all get the emails of the fabulous stories, happy stories with a moral at the end. I actually love those emails and read every one. A few months ago I got the email titled, “The Bear, the Bridge, and God”. How could I resist?
If you haven’t yet viewed the video of the 6-pound baby bear dropped off recently at the BEAR League, please add it to your viewing line-up. Access the video on the Bonanza web site to see this baby behaving like any other baby—enjoying a bottle and later, sucking and kneading her blankie!
The Rainbow Bridge Rescue
I’d be willing to guess that one of the most common plants all around the lake is the manzanita. Because it’s so common, we take it for granted, yet it covers itself with delightful clusters of pink blossoms every spring. Read more...
Incline Elementary Birding Club, conducted by the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS), wrapped up its spring session last week, which I was lucky enough to attend, observe and learn. Read more...
Birding Club spots a brown creeper.
With a name like pussypaws, it’s got to be cute, and it is. The pussypaw, in the Cistanthe genus, is a succulent flowering plant that grows flat on the ground, radiating out from a central point. It can grow in conditions where most other flowering plants cannot. Read more...
It was to be just another leisurely stroll in the meadow on Mt. Rose highway – dogs, friends, wildflowers – a perfect afternoon. Little did anyone suspect that that day, June 18th, would be the beginning of an 8-day search for a 15-pound Havanese named Roxie. Read more...
Walk with me for a moment on the dark side of life, as life is not all about pretty yellow birds and soft pink flowers.
The complete title to this column is Toree’s Stories: On Science and Nature…..and Life. Today we’ll be reaching into the shadows. Read more...
It’s one of those things I never thought would happen to me, but it did – I had a bear in my house.
I watch dogs and often have a posse of canines asleep in my living room with more in the bedroom but this particular night was just me, my dog and four cats.
Asleep we all were when there arose such a clatter! Read more...
Roxie, who will only sit in a chair since her ordeal.
"Bear Bells"
Music is composed of many sounds: harmonies between voices and perhaps a variety of instruments. A person singing alone can only make the song one note at a time. Birds, on the other hand, can produce notes simultaneously, which is part of what makes bird song so captivating. Read more...
It’s hard not to be creeped out by spiders, especially if one happens to be crawling up your arm, but they really are fascinating creatures.
Spiders are in the class Arachnid, a large class which also includes ticks and mites. About 40,000 species of spider have been described and classified by taxonomists, divided into 109 families. Read more...
Granite Spiny Lizard
....A tall, thin plant, appearing as a spike on the landscape is the woolly mullein. This is a non-native species found in disturbed areas, along roadways and streams. To appreciate its beauty, you’ll need to get close to view the five-petal flowers that pop open along the top of its stem. Read more...
Creepier than a spider, even more insidious than a snake and lurking around more corners than you might imagine is an autoimmune disorder.
The human body is designed to attack intruders such as bacteria, viruses, toxins and cancer cells. These invaders contain antigens, molecules which inspire the immune system to seek and destroy. Read more...
Woolly Mullein
Parasitic and symbiotic relationships abound in life, as well as in nature. Lichen is a symbiotic relationship consisting of a combination of two living organisms: green algae and fungus. Read more...
The Upper Truckee Marsh near the Tahoe Keys is a 600-acre marsh, where Trout Creek and the Upper Truckee River flow into Lake Tahoe, and the largest remaining wetland in the Sierra Nevada. It is managed by the California Tahoe Conservancy for the protection of habitat and breeding ground for the yellow-headed blackbird, among other species. Read more...
Yellow-Headed Blackbird
I was doing my usual walk one morning, a route I’ve traveled at least 10,000 times, perhaps double that, and I noticed a tree up on the hill covered in white flowers. I almost couldn’t believe it as I had not ever noticed it before.
A couple of years ago, I began noticing red growths on the manzanita leaves which appeared to be part of the leaf. I sent a picture of it to a friend who is also a genius when it comes to finding information and he discovered that it is a manzanita leaf gall aphid, Tamalia coweni. Read more...
My mom gave me a bread machine about twelve years ago. It sat on a shelf in the garage for about five years, until I finally opened the box, threw in the boxed bread mix it came with, added the liquid ingredients and turned it on. Even though it was just a mix, the ingredients of which were at least five years old, I was addicted at the first bite. Read more...
Close up of a Manzanita Gall Aphid
Birders, grab your binoculars. The annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC), sponsored for over one hundred years by the National Audubon Society, is upon us.
The 115th Annual Audubon CBC will take place beginning December 14 and runs through January 5, 2015. The longest running Citizen Science survey in the world, the Christmas Bird Count provides critical data on avian population trends. Read more...
Red-naped Sapsucker
I caught the recycling bug long, long ago when I was in college as I cleaned up after one of our numerous parties. I decided I could no longer throw away all this aluminum so I began saving it.
A couple of months and several garbage bags full of smashed beer cans later, I was ready to reap the rewards of my efforts so I hauled my loot to the recycling center, from which I drove away with around $8. Even back then, that was about enough for lunch. Read more...
Men at work on the recycle sorting line.
Photo courtesy of Waste Management
Lake Tahoe is home to world-class ski resorts as well as several smaller, niche ski areas. Visitors often come to the Tahoe area in the wintertime to go skiing. Whether massive snow falls from the sky or not, the resorts are equipped with snow-making equipment and the party is on.
Sometimes, however, visitors and locals alike might just be in the mood for a quieter, less strenuous pastime. So what is there to do? Read more...
Bay Area visitor, Rohit and a mountain chickadee, Mt. Rose Meadow area.
Photo courtesy of Rohit Bakshi
Each January, thousands of volunteers across the nation count eagles as part of a nationwide Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey, currently coordinated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The National Wildlife Federation introduced the survey in 1979. Objectives of the survey are to establish an index of the wintering bald eagle population in the lower 48 states, to determine eagle distribution around the nation, and to perhaps identify previously unrecognized areas of winter habitat. Read more...
Many of us already recycle but there is one more thing we can do to reduce household waste and that is composting. Not only does composting reduce waste, the process will create a product that your soil will appreciate.
It’s probably safe to say that most everyone living in or visiting Lake Tahoe has encountered a Steller’s jay, a mountain chickadee or a coyote, but what about the creature that is more elusive, lesser known or more unusual? Here is a look at a few species we don’t run across every day: Read more...
Walking into a grocery store, most of the time we forget to be amazed at the vast array of products we find there, especially since little of it is grown or produced here on the mountain where we live.
I ran into Ron Stanger, owner of the Village Market in Incline Village at a social gathering a few months ago and told him I was interested in tracing bananas from his store all the way back to the plantation where they are grown.
Gardening and composting
Beaver family, Taylor Creek, South Lake Tahoe
Photo courtesy of Sherry Guzzi, Sierra Wildlife Coalition
Last July, Steve and Jen McNamara with son, Lucas, were hiking around Griff Creek near Kings Beach Fire Station, when Lucas spied a dead fish that he had not seen before. Read more...
“Rat-a-tat-tat-tat” and repeat — the familiar drumming of the woodpecker is prevalent in the forest all over Lake Tahoe. Woodpeckers are in the family Picidae, and several species make their home here. Read more...
Serious birders can be patient and persistent – single-minded in the pursuit of a sighting, perhaps a little bit crazy and it has been so probably since the beginning of time.
I came across an account of one such birder from 1923, Claude Gignoux:
Nesting of Pigmy (sic) Nuthatches at Lake Tahoe
Hummingbirds are among the smallest of birds, most measuring between 3 and 5 inches long. For comparison, the pygmy nuthatch is about 4 inches long, the mountain chickadee 5 to 6 inches and the house wren 4 to 5 inches.
The smallest bird of all, the bee hummingbird, is only 2 inches long. Alas, this bird is not found at Lake Tahoe. You will have to travel to Cuba or the West Indies to see this tiny bird. Read more...
It isn’t often I spot a new bird, considering I walk the same route in the same area every day, but a little over a month ago I started hearing a new song. It took some time and a little bit of luck but I was able to identify the song as coming from a Cassin’s finch. Read more...
A small bird has a new lease on life, thanks to the intervention of several caring people. Carol and Frank, and Frank’s sister, Pat, were getting ready to go out late one afternoon last week, when they heard a thud. Read more...
A good way to learn about birds is to spend time with those who know more than you do, an option I took advantage of recently on a bird walk led by Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS) experts, Will Richardson and Kirk Hardie. Read more...
Pygmy nuthatch
Rufous hummingbird
Yellow warbler
...The dominant pine tree around Lake Tahoe at lake level is not the Ponderosa pine, as many people seem to believe, but the Jeffrey pine. In the summer, stand near a Jeffrey pine, place your face close to the trunk and take a big whiff – you will surely detect the aroma of butterscotch or vanilla, some say pineapple. Read more...
Taking a walk after a good rainstorm is one of my favorite things. Not only do the trees, the ground, the foliage and the air look and smell fresh, often interesting things have begun to grow. For example, mushrooms have sprung up seemingly overnight. Read more...
Wildflowers seem to be in denial of the drought because they can be found in abundance along just about every trail. Even the basic, rather dusty trail I walk along every day is alive with a profusion of color. Perhaps the generous May rains are responsible. Read more...
Lupine and mountain mule ears Photo courtesy of Franny Bryan
Tis the season of wildflowers, so we may as well continue looking at different species found on hiking trails and in the woods and along beaches —before they turn their energies from blooming to seed production.
In addition to the various guide books, I now have an on-line source to aid in identification of these wildflowers, thanks to a tip from John Roos, a 21-year resident of South Lake Tahoe who has explored the area and worked to identify plants around the lake. Read more...
...Meteor viewing is best after midnight, when the Earth is turning into the path of the debris stream.... Read more...
Beavers at Lake Tahoe are faring better than they were just a few years ago, thanks to the efforts of Sherry Guzzi and her posse of volunteers, collectively known as the Sierra Wildlife Coalition (SWC). Read more...
Beaver on Taylor Creek, South Lake Tahoe
Photo courtesy of Sherry Guzzi, Sierra Wildlife Coalition
This is a walk along the Lam Watah Trail which includes a willow-lined pond, a view of Rabe meadow, a sprightly stream, stands of pine forest and views of Lake Tahoe with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background. Interpretive signs placed alongside the trail provide insights into the natural and human history of the area. The hike ultimately leads to Nevada Beach, a sandy stretch of shoreline along Lake Tahoe. There is a minimal change in elevation on this 2.2 mile round trip hike, suitable for all age levels. Plan to have fun and take some memorable photos. Read more...
Willow-lined pond, found along the Lam Watah trail in Stateline, Nevada
Visitors to Lake Tahoe most likely come here from lower elevations; in fact, many visitors come from the coastal areas of California—essentially sea level. The change in altitude causes some physiological responses in the human body. Read more...
Many people look upon the coyote as a menace or a pest—certainly farmers whose livestock they raid and pet owners whose pet has been carried off by an opportunistic coyote. Read more...
Coyote, ever watchful
...The number one littered item around the lake and indeed the world, is cigarette butts. It is such a small thing—the excuses for throwing it on the ground are many but in the end, anything we tell ourselves is just rationalizing away bad behavior. Read more...
Imagine being out for a walk in the early evening and you happen to look up and see an enormous bat with a wingspan of about five feet, flapping overhead, peering down at you. It could happen, if you happen to be in the Philippines. Read more...
Don’t throw out those tattered jeans just yet—like many things that we already recycle such as newspaper, plastic and glass, tired clothing has another use besides being worn. Read more...
Intuitively, one would think birds migrate out of the mountains and into warmer climates for the winter and indeed, some do, but there are dozens of species of birds that over-winter at Lake Tahoe. Read more...
Statistically, 55% of American households include at least one dog. I did some rough calculations and research involving the populations around the lake combined with that statistic to conservatively estimate that the dog population in communities bordering Lake Tahoe is somewhere around 9,000.
... let’s travel to other regions and explore some of the more colorful birds.
One thing I always think about as I watch the birds that flock to my feeders in the wintertime is, how do these small creatures survive the Tahoe area’s cold temperatures and snowstorms? Read more...
Wonderful amounts of fluffy snow have been falling from the sky, blessing Lake Tahoe’s resorts and merchants with visitors eager to experience all that Lake Tahoe has to offer in the winter. Read more...
“Follow your feet, the Earth will teach”. Wise words worth pondering and the mantra of Mick Dodge, co-founder of The Earth Gym, a practice using sticks and stones, trees, rope and sand to recapture the bond our ancestors had with the land. Read more...
Spring isn’t officially here until March 30, but the birds are in the beginning stages of springtime mating rituals. For the first time this season I heard a mountain chickadee blast out his “cheeseburger” song, which means he’s starting to scope out his territory and is thinking about looking for a mate.
They are stashed in cupboards, under the sink in the kitchen, lurking in the garage, in storage sheds or even on shelves in the pantry. Nearly every home, including mine, has numerous cleaning products loaded with chemicals for polishing wood, cleaning glass, disinfecting bathrooms and un-clogging drains. Read more...
The bedraggled kitten stumbled along the road—eyes glued shut from infection, dehydrated and weak and would have surely perished if not for the family who happened to be driving by. Read more...
Four years ago, Santiago was a stray dog, roaming the streets of Sayulita, a small town in the state of Nayarit, located along the central western coast of Mexico. Read more...
Aside from that last (perhaps) little blast of winter, nature’s activities are springing forth with zest. It is well worth a stroll in the woods... Read more...
...Learning how to identify bird song is much like learning a new language. When first hearing a foreign language, it may sound musical and intriguing, but all the sounds jumble together making little sense to the untrained ear. Read more...
I was walking in South Lake Tahoe a few mornings back, when above my head there arose such a clatter, so I looked toward the skies to see what was the matter? Swooping overhead was a flock of violet-green swallows, snatching bugs out of the air and chattering as they hunted. Read more...
The feral kitten was destined for a burlap sack and a watery grave when a guardian angel stepped in and rescued her, along with 20 or so other kittens. Read more...
I still remember my first bear encounter. It wasn’t even my encounter, but that of my friends who were camping in our usual spot at Bear Lake in northern Utah, at the mouth of Logan Canyon. I didn’t go this particular trip as I had to work but I heard about it and it became my experience. Read more...
Snow bunting canstockphoto.com
The Salvation Army, sorting and baling facility
Mick Dodge
Photo Jacquie Chandler
Huckleberry oak produces acorns in the fall
Nearly everyone in town knew, or at least had heard of, Bob Wheeler. In addition to being an active managing broker and real estate agent at the time of his death in September of last year... Read more...
Fall is in the air—wood stoves are emitting the scent of burning wood, wood chopping rings in our ears along with the sound of weapons being discharged.
Summer is winding down, which means fall is not far behind. During the early fall months, Nature begins to prepare for the upcoming winter. Read more...
Mount Rose Wilderness is a protected wilderness area located between Reno and Lake Tahoe and is comprised of 28,000 acres. Treat yourself to an aerial view by making your way to the top of Mount Rose via the Mt. Rose trailhead ...
More than 700 bird species breed in North America. The nesting and breeding habits vary dramatically between the different species, yet some aspects are similar. Read more...
Every time, as I struggle to get ready for a camping trip: digging out the tent, the lantern, the sleeping bag—I ask myself, “Why do I love this so much?”
The only thing more fun than spotting wildflowers on a hike is knowing what they are—no easy task as there are over 2,000 species of wildflower in and around the Sierra Nevada. Read more...
In the coyote world, the female rules. Coyotes become sexually mature between 9 months and one year, but generally don’t begin breeding until age two. When the female goes into heat in mid-winter... Read more...
There is a crispness in the air that can only mean one thing—yes, fall is here and winter is around the corner. Ski buffs will be soon breaking out the boards, waxing and dreaming of that first snow. Read more...
Christmas Bird Count 2016
The Life of Pine Cones
Coming soon.....
We collect them by the bushel to display in baskets on our porches or living rooms. We smear them with peanut butter and sprinkle them with bird seed to function as natural bird feeders. We spray paint them gold and hang them as ornaments or weave them into wreaths. Read more...
The great horned owl is one of the largest and heaviest owls in North America, second only to the snowy owl of the Arctic. This owl is easily distinguished by its size, but also by its prominent ear tufts, called plumicorns. Read more...
Yearling bear cub, hugging a tree
Robins eggs, in a nest built on a deck in Incline Village
Cayetano Go Fund Me
Christmas Giving
Spring is Coming
TBD
Christmas Bird Count 2016 Results
Spring Splurge
TBD
Hunter has a Home
Snowshoeing
Visit Your Local Library
Migration
One Creature at a Time
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Sulfur buckwheat, as seen along the Mt. Rose summit trail
Crab spider on fleabane
Photo courtesy of Lisa Berry
Members of the Rifle Peak Hand Crew, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District
Two months ago, there was a deadly fire on Tomahawk Trail, a tragedy for the family and a devastating experience for the neighbors nearby. Read more...