June 12, 1923

Volume II June 12, 1923 Number 1 W. B. Lewis, Superintendent Ansel F. Hall, Chief Naturalist SERVING THE Yosemite visitor. The federal government serves the Yosemite visitor in many ways besides providing for his physical comfort. It is the aim of the National Park Service to help the vacationist not only to see and enjoy the wonders of the Park, but also to understand Nature in its many phases. Accordingly there has been a great development of educational activities during the past few years.

NATURE GUIDE SERVICE BEGINS FOURTH SEASON.

The Yosemite Nature Guide Service began its fourth season on June 1st. This service, established in 1920 by Dr. Harold Bryant, through a cooperative arrangement between the National Park Service and the California Fish and Game Commission, is designed to furnish an opportunity to visitors to become acquainted with the fauna and flora of Yosemite National Park, and the means to be taken for its conservation. During the past season forty thousand persons took advantage of the trips afield and the campfire lectures that are provided free under the guidance of competent scientists. Demands for equal privileges in other National Parks have lead to the establishment of the Nature Guide Service in three other parks and the assurance that eventually equal opportunities will be afforded in all of the national parks. The Park Service also maintains a zoo and a permanent wild flower show. Last season this small weekly, Yosemite Nature Notes, was started to bring to the attention of those interested in Yosemite some of the interesting features of the wild life of the Park and to point out some of the unique natural curiosities to be seen along the trailside. The items herein presented may be republished if acknowledged. Schedules of lectures and field trips can be procured at the various resorts in Yosemite Valley, at the Superintendent's Office, and at the Yosemite Museum. The service is free to all.

"LEARN TO READ THE ROADSIDE AS A BOOK."

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WATER OUZEL REBUILDS NEST OF LAST YEAR.

The pair of water ouzels which have annually built their nest on Tenaya Creek, affording many visitors a chance to see this interesting species, have again remodeled the nest and set up housekeeping. Weekly nature guide excursions will afford an opportunity to see the nest and the parent birds feeding the young. Those planning to visit the nest should read the account of this bird in John Muir's "The Mountains of California."

GRAY SQUIRRELS STILL ABSENT.

Whereas a trip on the Valley floor a few summers ago would have disclosed numerous tree squirrels, yet this year not one has been seen. A serious epidemic two years ago so decimated the number that one is now a great rarity. It is to be hoped that the species will again establish itself, for no more beautiful or conspicuous a mammal inhabits the floor of the Valley than the gray squirrel.

HIGH MOUNTAIN BIRDS SEEN BY HIKERS.

Those who accompanied a Nature Guide to the head of Yosemite Falls and Eagle Peak on Saturday, June 2nd, obtained a list of twenty-eight birds seen and heard. A pair of golden eagles high overhead, and near views of the Clarke crow, the slender-billed nuthatch and the junco were most thrilling, while the songs of the canyon wren and ruby-crowned kinglet most pleased the ear.

YOSEMITE ARTIST DONATES INDIAN BASKETS TO MUSEUM

Chris Jorgensen, known for many years as "The Yosemite Artist," recently donated a large number of his Indian Baskets to the Yosemite Museum. It seems most fitting that these old relics, most of them made in the Yosemite, should return to the Valley after many years to be housed in the very house that they decorated in earlier days. The Yosemite Museum Building was at one time the Jorgensen Studio and has been a historical landmark for years.

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ROBIN RETURNS TO ITS OLD HOME

For four years in succession a robin has built its nest near the administrative building at Camp Curry. Four years ago a robin nested on the porch, the following year on the limb of a cedar over the studio, and last year above the doorway to the garage. This year the nest has again been built in the studio pergola. In that birds have been proven to return and build nests in the same situation, it seems reasonable to believe that the same pair of robins has selected these nesting sites, which are all within a few feet of each other. In recent years the marking of birds by small bands about their legs has furnished valuable information as to the migration and constancy of mated pairs.

STRAWBERRIES ALL RIPE

The boys are now to be seen industriously gathering ripe strawberries; yes, grownups too, for strawberries and cream or "strawberry shortcake" are delectable dainties when wild strawberries with their richer flavor furnish the material for making. The strawberries in the meadows are evidently "escapes" from cultivated varieties.

SEE THE BABY ELK

Two baby elk are to be seen in the paddock north of the Museum. Hope for an increase in the small herd of California Valley Elk from Kern County, placed in the paddock by the California Academy of Sciences, has been realized. The antlers of the adult males are growing rapidly.

Digitized by Yosemite Online Library Dan Anderson