November 30, 1923

" CSBIm " 17 U ' OTS Published monthly by the National Park Service. Volume II November 30, 1923 Number 15 Yoserdte Nature Ali de Service

:ark Naturalist. _ 1s e11, This is one of a series of bulletins i.sued from time to time for the information of those interested in the natural history and scientific features of the park and the educational orvortunities the park affords for the study of these subjects. Utilization of these bulletins by those receivin;; there to the end that the information contained therein mi=;ht be as extensively distributed as;possible.will be aTpreciated. W. S. Lewis, Superintendent. IN ?TIE a.3

:117T"E _LLEY

The first =min of November was a sunny one, and ::ester's Bluebirds i and Nountain Bluebirds were in the elk paddock. flash of yellow and a cheerful chirp told of the presence of the audubon farblar. No flock of bluebirds seems complete without him. The.iester.n flue:bird, when i. full elumate, is deep blue- :urele, with a red breast, and can at a considerable distance be CistinFuished from the Muntain Bluebird, that in full bluma:;e is a shy blue. comes to the Yosemite Valley when the trees are bricht with autumn color and the su :hier birds have one to their winter homes. Tie comes to look over our crop of mistletoe berries and, if the crop is q;ood, he is likely to st)end the winter. A li 'yin he has for the Yosemite meadows but most often he is seen in the tree-tops, feeeinfs, uleon the mistletoe berries or sunnihs, himself after a feast. The bluebird of the meadow with hoverins fli :;I-..t, _plaintive voice, and -.;entle ways seems to acquire a new disposition when he eats the fruit of the mistletoe. He flies nervously in and out of the mistletoe bunches; his chatter is harsh and discordant as he hastily devours the tearl-like fruit. Several times aurin, the winter a flock of 'e'estern Bluebirds has been

seen to tease a Coorer Eawk. 21ying in the air above him, they confuse him TJith quick downward dives ahl derisive The Iouhtaih Bluebirds are occasionall y seen in the Yosemite Valley in the sprinj or in the autumn on their journey to or from their sun;aaer homes in the high mountain meadows. They may stay but a day or nerhaps they may play about our meadows for a week or._ore. Sometimes sterns in the hi gh country drive the I :ountain ".3luebirds into the Valley for a short stay., ountain Bluebirds perched about on weed stalks in a sunny meadow, that just raise then above the prass, are like blue f1ca-ers. and when they spread their winos in fluttering fli;ht or hover over the meadow, they are V vision of loveliness. --Enid 1 :ichael. ASS 'T x_:': 1-P • 31T,37 Ili Flowers have pronounced likes and dislikes. Certain of then, as the wild Uin-;er (.-sarum hartwe';ii), like shade of the forest floor. Gthers, as the azalea (7chododendron oeeidentale), choose the moist bank of the river or the damp meadow. Still other ilants prefer the bare stretches of :ravel of sand where there is neither shade nor apparent moisure. These are no mere whims on the part of plants but needs urgent to the de.;-ree that when denied them the plant eventually dies. There are several plants in the Yosemite that de_ and t' _got -ravel flat. 'Pessin-;-ia (Lessen-l;ia letocalda) and Bucke-teat vilssatum) are two of than and they bloom for :i_. months or more in the Yosemite 2.t the height of their season, which falls during -n:11st, these plants lend to wide areas the Gelid to color-3 or their- :eriad flowers; thebrighten the dusty roadside and create vast ereas of loveliness, areas that without them would be barren. and late in the year when most :lots have cast their seed and withered, these slant,: continue to flower and'. ' break the monotony of wide colorless :laces. with charming groups of plants in full bloom. ---Enid Irichael. 3leadlaL :SeL:SH dhat Yosemite hi:h-country hiker could fail to be impressed with theglassy granite surfaces found everywhere along the stream courses east of the Valley: 2v-en the native Indians round this natural wonder too much for their stolid disposition, and John relates how he was aerroached by a native who questioned, "shat make 'um the rock so smoeth at Tenaya?" The rock-carving of the high-country appears more recent and better preserved than do the erosional features of the Yosemite Valley and the canyons lower down, To the tourist who has also visited Rainier :rational Park and examined the nolished rocks of that region of mighty glaciers, it must seem that Sierra glaciers n-Itec but yesterday. For the granite of the old glacier paths of the Sierras in the sum it region exhibit the same smooth, glassy polish; indeed, for the most part it is a smoother, more mirror-like polish than the rocks of aainier, are cepable of taking. :fr. P. :f. 1atthes of the U. 3. leological Survey attributes this marked difference in freshness of the ice narks ih the Yosamite high-country and lower country to the divisions of the ice age into two or more epochs a succession of glacial extensions, separated by intervals of milder climate.

ith each period of low temmeratures there was a steadscree!-,ing of;seat ice

<!-- Page 3 -->.sgues from the stunnits down through the canyons to valleys of the lower.,evels. Then with the chamge to narmer climate there came the steady recesIon of the rivers of ice, until they drew back to the crests from which started. Ouch a condition of affairs resulted in the summit region's ) dergoing continual ice erosion, while the lower canyons were acted -anon rcr but a fraction of the time. Then, too, it is a fact that the last ice._ och is not yet ended. Sit the nresent time many lingering remnants of the.e mighty glaciers nay be found on the shaded. sides of the Sierra peaks. “e ice has beena slowly receding for thousands of years.' The Lranite sur-.eces of the lower canyons were uncovered long before the high-country was eed from its ice santle. Conseqnehtly, weathering Las -exerted its de-. omposing influence upon. the lower glacial. polish fon a much longer neriod than in the summit region. nithin the Yosamite Valley, where the most wonderful grosser features of ice canving are seen, none of. the finer glacial polish has persisted..L little above the Valley, in the Little Yosanite, small,atches of the mirnor-like surface may still be found on the hander parts.f the granite. Still higher, as at hOrced and Tenaya Lakes, great areas, e.cres in extent, are just beginning to yieldto ravages of the wnather. e:!.bove these places, in shaded cirques at the very crest, the granite is yet :-,ount by eternal ice, and the friction of the moving mass is today adding to the gloss of the surface below.. The autumn days have come, and the melodious chorus of the Pacific =orned Owls ip heard at night in the Yosamite forest. 6ometimos the evening stillness is bnoken by the sharp barking voice of the Spotted Owl. The i-igmy Owl is diurnal, and his song is heard in the morning as he takes his sun bath while perched in the top of somo tall pine. Iihy are the owls heard so often at this season and so seldom et other times? Because this is the hunting season for the owls in the Yossaite Valley.. Nice of*at least three species congregate here during the autumn and prepare. to spend the winter with the few villagers, and these mice that plague the Yosemite resident furnish sport and "beefsteak" for the owls. eat this :Lesson many owls come down fraa the forests above the rim snd perhaps somo cDmo up fraa the valleys below the Yosemite to join the fall hnnting parties. The Cwl,then, is a friend of man, and his voice should be emsic to ths ears of those Who know the torment of a hungry horde of mice..,:nn.d there are nice enough for all and to spare. --Enid Achael.

ATT)EFIS,UUTISPONSIVE TO FROST.

Conspicuous among the deciduous trees is the nhite.alder, which to date (November 12) has. stubbornlyrretained its leafy cover. Nor has it changed the hue of its summer dress one whit. Inlong stream barks it endures unchanged, while on either side neighboring willows bleach sickly yellow and became ragged, as the lifeless leaves are shod, and Creek Dogwoods take on gorgeous reds and. ('Luickly became naked brush. In moist woods the green alders stand amid golden leafed maples, variegated black oaks, deep-hued estern Dogwoods, and the naked black Cottonwoeds, which have carpeted the forest floor.With their creamy yellow leaves. Eventually the 41ders will shed their foliage, but no gaudy coloring

p. ll precede the falling..10,.ers retain their.leaves long and then drop than while they are still green..ken the leaves have been shed, tiny black cone- -like bodies will be seen on the naked limbs. These are female flowers which have. developed into cone-like fruiting bodice. _ :ear them :may be seen other small green bodies which are unmatured female flowers. The male flowers are fond on the sane S.t present they are reen cylindrical bodies about ftuo inches long. The flowers open in mid-winter when the male flowers will be 4 to 5 inches long. Li,sLIb2DS J-:T 703=2, For several weeks past a small flock of :.allard rucks have made the Yosemite Valley their home. One handsome male is invariably accompanied by three faithful females, while another male claims a single female. Frequently the pair. is seen with the other group, but it is quite apparent that they consider themselves independent, for when they are flushed the pair always separates from the others. mid-day or afternoon they nay be found on the quiet waters of I.Tirrer Lake. Luring the forenoon hours, while the sun is yet below the south wall of the Valley, they may be found feeding in the gressy coves along the 'Merced. Luring the spring months the swaapy meadows of Yosemite may shelter one or more females and young of this well-known species of duck. These broods of course, remain throuh most. 0:2 the stInIE.er. 1=lf= One day in Ifovember a musical ratchet was heard coming from a tall yellow pine. Tuo nuthatches were discovered. working on the under side of a pine branch and by' their snow white cheeks and throats, as well as by their call-notes, we knew them to be Slender-billed. Ifuthatches. learned this call-note in the* great red fir forests above the Valley - a clear, sweet call that breaks in upon the silence of the forest. ringing note: repeated very rapidly several times - a musical ratchet. This note is quite unlike the call of either the lied-breasted or ligT!y Ifuthatch. nuthatches are the only birds found in the Sierras that go un or down a tree trunk with equal ease. Their habit of goin down the tree trunks gives them an advantage in their search for food as they look into crevices missed. by the birds that go only up. The Slender-billed ITuthatch has an ektranely elaetic neck and when working up a tree trunk he often bands his head backward till his throat is visible. lie turns his head with equal dekterity in every direction. This is the first time in four year's study of the birds of the Yosemite 7-elley that this charting white-faced nuthatch has been seen. He probably cane to the Valley from his haunts above the -"rim" to ehare in the abundant crop of pine nuts, which are a favorite feed of the nuthatch. He stores them away in the cracks in the bark of trees or in Other crevices. ----Evict _ ::ichael. A Vl.:;IT,'3 =2.IOE be 0'7. Daily bird survevs durin "te last four Years in the Yosemite Val es

have brought out many interesting facts. ri study of the charts of daily records emphasize the peculiarities of bird migration. In this regard_ the western Crow occ" -: i o aprominent :position. The records show that a sin- :1e crow was noted October 22, 1920; Nove_'oer 3, 1921; i,ctober 21, 1922; and October 22, 1923. This single bird was the only cro.. noted durin :; the fall of the year. Sore gears he stayed but a day, other years he stayed two, and never.:'as his stay in the 1 lley pore than three days. The spring records are as follows; 'larch 30, 1921; Narch 28, 1922; and Aril ll, 1923. Durin :; the spring mi:;ration a -groep of several crows may pass through the Valley, but in the fall it is one lone: bird that uses the Valley route in returning. 2ror.i the above record it would appear that the crow is a transient, erel = using the Valley as a :ii_;ratoi y route between its summer and winter, uarters. It would hardly seem reasonable that some crow would hear'-en to pr-ear in the Valley at such coincident dates. :''lather would it seen t hat -one wise old clow with a likin g for this "_?a rticuler route manes the round rip year after year. S peculation leads to the theory that this crow winters in the San Joaquin Valley, or at some point to the west, and that each s 'ri p,e makes the trip across the crest of the Sierra to s pend the summer :months •n the shores of Iiono Lake. ----Enid ITichael. J !_vim :i... - tc..uliJ At this season one o_f the native animals of the.eational hark finds 'inself persecutes rather than protected. rountain Coyotes range the upper, eg ions of the -ark aad yearly take toll in °ie birds, fawns, and :Inch other 1d life that it is desirable to ?reserve.;,suite often are their slinking arias seen, just for a moment, as they cross some high-e;untry trail. Occasionally the remains of a "kill" is found. Now they are more numerous on the floor of the Valley, and daily heir dog-like tracks may be seen in the mud of the herded or in open sandy laces. Recently one was observed boldly stalking two fawns in the Bridaleil. 1. eadows. V ro animal is more wily and harder to trap. That the park rangers • e skilled in foiling the witty is ',)roved by the act that many are taken. s ome well-meaning friends of the _:ark system have urged tmt even Coyotes,e permitted to live their natural lives of unrestricted killing. If such thing were done, seddiilroads would be made u on the deer that we are proud o harbor. Thera is little dan er, indeed, of reducing;he coyote eoruiation o a point where his enistence as a member of the Yosemite Pauna is endan;ered-. e years of ei;perience of the Dialogical Survey have shown that with per-.istent and systeletic warfare against him, he is not to be exterminated. S.Tye 'D k, C T Ohl 1 ?S The presence of ":aterdogs" i n the Yosemite has been reported everal tines by worialen who have seen them in the road at Fern Springs. earc h for these amphibians =ailed to briny; a specimen to light. La November :9 two specimens of the 2acific Nett were found by the park Naturalist just •elow the power plant dam. They were on the surface of a drying muddy spot

and were badly stiffened by the cold, but both proved to be much alive when given an o o o_rtunity to warn u p. i3 hic h ucuntain : ori'1 of salalalider is kno':1n to occur on Lunt Lyell 1 ithin the lark. This species is known as the L: ell aal.anander. But two specimens of this ani-:al have been found. They were taken in the -lacial ciroue just below the, e_tistin Lyoll Glacier.

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