Today ecologist Susan Harrison returns with an attempt to find Spring. Her comments are indented and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Looking for early spring in southern Oregon
In late March, signs of spring were evident at the Denman Wildlife Area and adjacent Table Rocks near Medford, Oregon. This wildlife area is a floodplain on the south side of the Rogue River; the Upper and Lower Table Rocks are basalt mesas just across the river, each with a hiking trail to the top.
Denman Wildlife Area (foreground) and Upper Table Rock (background):
Wildflowers were strikingly abundant for so early in the season, hinting at the prospect of a splendid spring. In amongst the flowers and the Oregon Oaks (Quercus garryana), you can also see a profusion of red-leaved Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) in most of these pictures.
Shooting star (Primula hendersonii), a classic harbinger of spring:
Henderson’s fawn lily (Erythronium hendersonii), an endemic of this area:
Grand hound’s tongue (Adelinia grandis):
Grass widows (Olsynium douglasii):
Scarlet fritillary (Fritillaria recurva):
Nuttall’s larkspur (Delphinium nuttallianum):
Migratory songbirds had yet to arrive and some overwintering waterfowl were still hanging around. However, a few of the resident songbirds had begun to sing and set up territories, including the kinglet and towhee below.
Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris):
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula):
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus):
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus), always a reliable resident:
California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica), an even more reliable resident:
View to Mt. McLoughlin from the top of Upper Table Rock:
I gotta get out more .. inspiring!
Recalculating….recalculating….oomph-er-ugh-ah…there! Oregon is now boosted up several notches on this old codger’s “destinations” portion of my bucket list.
Beautiful flowers, thanks!
Ah yes. Spring!
Lovely to see the photos of spring flowers popping up. I love the photo of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet nestled in all the twisted branches. It’s such a wonderful moment.
Judging from your lovely photos, I’d say Spring is Springing up in Southern Oregon.
yes — warblers, orioles and tanagers should be just around the corner! 🙂
I am curious about what looks like a parasite in the tree at the top left corner of the first photograph. Could it be mistletoe?
Yes, there’s a lot of mistletoe around, and this one is most likely Pacific mistletoe or oak mistletoe, Phoradendron villosum. Its fruits are said to be a great food source for Western Bluebirds, American Robins, Black-capped Chickadees, Western Gray Squirrels and other critters.
Thank you.
Thank you for these lovely spring photos! They brighten up the grey soggy day here in the Midwest!
I found the lovely pictures of early spring wildflowers interesting because I had never thought about how many early flowers point downward. I’m guessing that this is to avoid damage from late snow or spring rain. Some other early flowers (California poppies for example), close their petals whenever it is dark (on grey rainy days and at night), I’m guessing for the same reason.
That is a super cool idea! Someone ought to study it….
Isn’t Hound’s Tongue a bad invasive weed? It sure is where I live (southern Washington state).
The invasive hound’s tongue is a different species (Cynoglossum officinale), although the two are closely related. Until recently, our native hound’s tongue (as seen in my photo) was placed in the same genus as the European invasive.
Yes, a very springy post. I started seeing towhees up here in Washington, but no ruby-crowned kinglets yet- I love those little guys, esp. when you catch the crown. I might have read on WEIT that Spring is “arriving” a few weeks earlier nowadays, because of you know what. Thanks for the lovely photos.
Thank you! Yes, the ruby crown is dashing, and the kinglet also has a lovely song which I had never heard before starting to spend time in OR. In CA all we hear from them is “chit-chit chit-chit!”
Love seeing those flowers. The shot of Denman and Table Rock is gorgeous! Beautiful region.
Interesting plants and flowers -thanks!
Wonderful spring introduction. Thank you for such good photos and sharing. I wonder if you were on Table Rock for the mountain photo. Photographers are a resilient sort!