Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks / Giant Sequoia National Monument
Hmm, observation selection is kind of broken.
August 5-7, 2012.
I guess I'd heard "high Sierras" in the parks' descriptions and gotten the impression that the whole area was up over 7000 feet and would have perfect weather midsummer, but that was not the case! The foothills and canyon were blazingly hot. I went in the (lovely green, breathakingly cold) Kings River and within two minutes of getting out was completely air-dried. Also surprisingly populated for a weekday trip; all the reserveable campsites were completely full and I slept "dispersed" in the conveniently-adjacent national forest.
Particularly nice:
Star-filled night sky.
View from Moro Rock.
White-throated swifts shooting noisily past at approx. mach 3.
Caddisfly cases?
Leavis Flat campground by a creek.
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Καλιφορνέζικο Ορτύκι (Callipepla californica)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
A good-sized group of immature quail with little crests under an oak tree. Not that the photo turned out at all.
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Lots and lots of these all along the roads up in here, though they mostly eluded my camera.
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Leavis Flat Campground.
Small. When resting (didn't get a photo), held its legs bunched together and straight out, in a sort of T or X (I forget).
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Leavis Flat Campground.
I guess these are caddisfly larva cases? They seem kind of square, though. They were pretty small, stuck on securely, and had no discernible openings. They were on boulders in the creek, both above and below the water line.
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Δυτικός Γκρίζος Σκίουρος (Sciurus griseus)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Trail of 100 Giants.
Saw several.
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Σκίουρος Με Χρυσό Μανδύα (Callospermophilus lateralis)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Trail of 100 Giants.
Saw lots, including a couple groups of juveniles/immatures. (the photo is an adult, though)
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Πευκοσκιουράκι (Neotamias speciosus)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Trail of 100 Giants.
Photo isn't great, but there were a lot of these guys and I got a pretty good look at most of them. All quite small, lots of white on the backs of the ears and behind the ears, stripes dark brown/bright white, tails reddish with black tips.
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Trail of 100 Giants.
Yellow wings, blue on the "calf" of the jumping legs, sometimes but not always made sounds when flying away.
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Trail of 100 Giants.
I think this is the aphid and not the fungus (Exobasidium vaccini) because of the two different gall shapes, and because I don't recall the flatter ones being convex on the reverse side.
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Ερίγερο (Γένος Erigeron)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Trail of 100 Giants.
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Trail of 100 Giants.
Didn't get a photo of the leaves.
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Just past Trail of 100 Giants/Redwood Meadow Campground.
Slithering rather slowly and awkwardly. Not sure if it was having trouble getting purchase on the road, if it was trying to keep on eye on me and escape at the same time, or if rattlesnakes are naturally kinda dopey (hadn't seen one actually moving before, usually they just sit).
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Several species here, but I mean this for the orange one.
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Αμερικανική Μαύρη Αρκούδα (Ursus americanus)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Evening in the Crescent Meadow area.
Only one cub. Saw a different mother/single cub pair farther west along the road, too.
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Σκίουρος Του Douglas (Tamiasciurus douglasii)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Crescent Meadow area.
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Lots of them hunting and twittering over Moro Rock.
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Ασκομύκητες (Συνομοταξία Ascomycota)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Lots of this brilliant yellow lichen (also in Kings Canyon, I assume the same kind). Streaks of it visible from the main road far below.
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Next to the road in a little meadowlet somewhere between Giant Forest Museum and Wolverton Road.
Only Rudbeckia on the NPS checklist.
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Αμερικανική Τσίχλα (Turdus migratorius)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Big Meadow Campground unit 4.
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Καναδέζικος Τσοπανάκος (Sitta canadensis)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Big Meadow Campground unit 4.
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Αμερικανική Φαλαρίδα (Fulica americana)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangaroo
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Πρασινοκέφαλη Πάπια (Anas platyrhynchos)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Just starting to get mature plumage.
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Big fat dark snail on the lake edge. Opening sealed up tight by the snail inside.
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Not 100% sure, but seems like a good fit-- three dark areas on each wing, fat skimmer-like body.
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An incessant swarm on the feeders at Kings Canyon Lodge. "Tzippity-zippity-zip!"
Allen's or Rufous, not sure which. There were a whole lot of them of all different maturities and sexes, constantly switching places and running each other off, plus they tended to be either backlit or reflective. Definitely did not see any with all-rufous backs, though of course that doesn't necessarily mean anything.
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Salmo truttaΠαρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Zumwelt Meadow area.
Black spots all over the back.
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Πευκοσκιουράκι (Neotamias speciosus)Παρατηρητής
sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Red tail with black tip, lots of white behind ears/on backs of ears, brown/white stripes.
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sea-kangarooΠεριγραφή
Tiny little kangaroo rat-type thing bouncing across a mountain road at night. Didn't get a good look beyond that and the fact that it was brown, but this is the only hopping mouse species in range. (jumps were all very short and shallow, like a dropped ping pong ball just before it stops)
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