Arrowleaf balsamroot and ponderosa pine. Photo by David Lukas
Near-perfect weather and a mix of vibrant colors, sights, and sounds.
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Week in Review
Astonishingly, this year's epic balsamroot displays are still going strong (I wrote more about this topic here), but as you wander among the flowers you'll notice that there's a lot more going on besides balsamroot flowers.
Scattered amongst the balsamroots, chokecherry flowers are attracting huge numbers of pollinators. Photo by David Lukas
Depending on where you're walking, you'll almost certainly find lupines and larkspurs, and on drier rockier soils you might spot some of this year's surprisingly scarce bitterrooot flowers.
Nuttall's larkspurs (Delphinium nuttallianum) have distinctive long spurs on their flowers. Photo by David LukasBitterroot flowers are prolific some years, but have been hard to find this year. Photo by David Lukas
Many other flowers are blooming, including a rare and highly sought-after relative of bitterroot with equally beautiful flowers, Tweedy's lewisia, which favors higher rocky hillsides above the valley floor.
Tweedy's lewisia (Lewisiopsis tweedyi) is a large, robust plant with many blossoms. Photo by Agnes Almquist
Along with flowers, the variety of insects that are now active continues to astound, including newly emerging dragonflies and damselflies and many hidden jewels that you might overlook.
These mating beetles are so covered in balsamroot pollen that it must be hard to walk or fly. Photo by David LukasMylitta crescents add a fleeting dash of orange wherever they fly. Photo by David LukasWestern tiger beetles (Cicindela oregona) are common on sandy beaches but move so fast you don't realize how colorful they are. Photo by David LukasWait, that's not a hornet, it's an elm sawfly! Photo by Allison McDonald
Beyond all the flowers and insects, birds are active and conspicuous everywhere in the valley, making this one of the most exciting times of the year for bird enthusiasts. It's especially fascinating to get up before sunrise because the "dawn chorus" is in full swing right now and it's amazing to hear all the birds singing at once.
Sample of the dawn chorus
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Bald eagle babies are pretty far along but are still too small to appear over the rim of their nest unless they stretch their necks up. Photo by David LukasCommon mergansers are here year round, but now they're paired up and some are already raising babies. Photo by David LukasOspreys have arrived and are loudly courting overhead. Photo by David LukasWestern meadowlarks are one of the valley's most common birds. Photo by David LukasA male spotted towhee announcing his territory in the midst of balsamroot flowers. Photo by David LukasIt's thrilling to see that lazuli buntings are back. Photo by David Lukas
This is also the season for reptiles and amphibians, with many reports of snakes (especially rattlesnakes) and lots of other activity.
Please remember that rattlesnakes are highly vulnerable in the Methow Valley. Even if you don't like rattlesnakes, or don't want them in your yard, killing a single snake can significantly impact the population because females take a long time to mature and have very few babies in their lifetime. If you have questions, concerns, or would like to have someone help you with a rattlesnake in your yard, contact John Rohrer, a retired biologist who has spent years moving rattlesnakes and helping people understand their lives. John can be reached at (509) 429-8970.
Gopher snakes are commonly mistaken for rattlesnakes but lack the broad, triangular heads of rattlesnakes. Photo by David LukasFemale western fence lizards are much paler than the very dark males. Photo by David LukasThe Columbia spotted frog is one of the Valley's special but overlooked species. Photo by David Lukas
Observation of the Week: Camas!
One of the long-standing botanical mysteries of the Methow Valley is camas, a plant of great cultural significance and one of the most important food plants for First Peoples of the American West. I've read accounts of Methow People sharing meals of camas with early settlers, yet camas isn't found in the Methow Valley today. In fact, there are no known records of camas in Okanogan County, and David LaFever of the Methow Valley Interpretive Center says he's heard from Methow People that there are no camas in the valley.
The big showy flowers of camas. Photo by David Lukas
Methow naturalist, Dana Visalli has long searched for this plant, and he and I have often wondered why camas isn't here because it occurs widely in the Intermountain West and by all appearances should be present in the Methow Valley. Therefore, it was a tremendous honor and surprise to discover two camas plants in the Methow Valley this week!
These two plants are large and robust, which makes me wonder if they're elders that have been hanging on a long time. Photo by David Lukas
Why these two plants are here is a mystery. Maybe an early settler planted them around their homestead and two relicts somehow survived and remained hidden all these years, or maybe they are remnants of an unknown native population. Either way, I hope this small glimmer of hope can be protected and nurtured because it would be incredible to give this gorgeous flower a home in the Methow Valley! (In the meantime, I've passed this information on to David LaFever and I'll keep you posted if I learn more.)
