I’ll keep posting ’em as long as you keep sending ’em. Do it!
Today’s photos come from Susan Harrison at UC Davis, who shows the flora and fauna of an “island in the sky”. Her captions are indented and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
A cool — in both senses — island in the sky
During the record heat of summer 2024, the summit of Mt. Ashland in Oregon was an attractive refuge. When the mercury reached triple digits in downtown Ashland, it was possible to drive one’s electric car only half an hour from the town to the 7,532-foot mountaintop and reach beautiful views, abundant wildflowers, and 30-degree cooler temperatures (by the standard formula of 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit per 1000 feet of elevation).
Rare plants were an additional enticement. Mt. Ashland has been designated a special botanical area thanks to the numerous unique plants found in the crumbly granite close to the summit. The reasons for this specialness include being an isolated “island” of subalpine habitat that was evidently never wiped clean by glaciers during the Ice Ages. Here are two examples.
Mt. Ashland Lupine (Lupinus aridus ashlandensis):
Jaynes Canyon Buckwheat (Eriogonum diclinum), a dioecious plant (the yellower and browner flowers may belong to individuals of different sexes):
Yet another attraction was the lush wildflower meadows just below the summit, where many birds and insects could be seen making use of pollen, nectar and seeds.
One of the flashiest of these was Rufous Hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) nectaring on the six- to eight-foot-tall Tower Larkspurs (Delphinium glaucum):
Orange-crowned Warbler (Leiothlypis celata) on Angelica (Angelica arguta):
Sand wasp (Bembix americana) on Bigelow’s Sneezeweed (Helenium bigelovii):
Unstable Longhorned Beetle (Judolia instabilis) on Ranger’s Buttons (Angelica capitellata or Sphenosciadium capitellatum):
Yellow-faced Bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii) approaching Sulfur-flowered Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum):
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti) on Mountain Coyotemint (Monardella odoratissima):
Another treat was to see a pair of White-headed Woodpeckers (Picoides albolarvatus) casually foraging their way up a massive Shasta Red Fir (Abies procera x magnifica):
Lovely, as always, Susan. Beautiful panoramas and birdies in the cool of the mountaintop bald. Seeing the hummingbirds feeding at the Larkspurs reminds me that my wife was unsuccessful this summer in our backyard with her new hummingbird feeder, but we did notice recent success as hummingbirds have accessed our recently flowering three- to four-foot tall Hosta stems for “natural” nourishment.
It is nice to be just thirty minutes from the mountaintop. Here at sea-level in eastern Virginia, we are three hours away and get the inverse effect with adiabatic warming of air coming off the 3000 foot high ridge of the Appalachin Mountains sliding slowly down to the Tidewater much of the Summer. But it makes the first days of Fall all the more welcome.
I enjoyed your photos and comments, thanks so much – very cool!
Beautiful pictures! I am especially partial to the insects.
Gorgeous
Gorgeous photos! Thank you.
I especially like seeing the underside of the Rufous Hummingbird with the feet tucked in close.
Also, the photo of the Sand wasp on that bright yellow Sneezeweed was a fantastic photo. Although all of them are incredible.
Fantastic collection. Mt. Ashland is almost within driving distance for me. (Probably a two-day drive.) Looks like a beautiful place!
Refreshing photos; thanks for this delightful respite from our lowland heatwave.
Really lovely diversity of photos. I want to know more about the Unstable Longhorn Beetle!
Great flowers!
Wow! I especially loved the hummingbird photos – amazing.
Thank you!
Very nice Susan, thanks.
Intriguing the “unstable” in the naming of
Judolia instabilis
So I had a look around and found,
Pachytodes_erraticus!
what does this mean I ask? are they perpetualy inebriated? 😊
My impression, from noted entomologist Dr. Google, is that ‘unstable’ refers to the beetle’s inconsistent pattern of black-on-green markings. 😸
Thanks for that…I get it for next time I see curious names, as you can tell I thought it was behavior 🙃… once again, nice photos.
Your shot of the Orange-crowned Warbler on the Angelica is really lovely — especially when enlarged. Very nice set. Thank you.
Beautiful pictures. I always enjoy seeing and reading your posts. Thank you for sending!