Spring is at its peak in the Tehachapi Mountains
Spring is at its peak in the Tehachapi Mountains
By: Jon Hammond
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Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 979 times
1 response 0 comments The signs of spring are everywhere in the Tehachapi Mountains and their valleys. The weather can vary from day to day, but the plants and animals hold the vernal season more firmly in their grasp.
Bird song is one obvious indicator that winter has faded: birds can sing year-round, but they save their best performances for the spring season. Whether males are singing to attract a mate or serenading one they already have, the mockingbirds, meadowlarks, house finches, red-winged and Brewer’s blackbirds and other familiar singers are filling the air with their liquid notes.
In addition to heightened singing, birds also reveal the season by carrying nesting material, and birds ranging in size from Anna’s hummingbirds to American ravens can be seen with sticks, twigs, wool, horsehair, spider webs, mud and other building material in their beaks as they fly back to the nest site to continue construction.
Mammals are also showing signs of the new season, and many little cottontail rabbits (ta-vuts-seh in the Kawaiisu or Nüwa language) can be seen exploring their surroundings. Their cousins the jackrabbits (ka-ma in Nüwa) are also beginning to appear with little fluffball babies scampering nearby.
Rabbits and many other mammals love the weather we’ve had in recent weeks: rain means the grass and browse (leaves, new shoots, flowers) are new and fresh and the cool temperatures have meant that insects weren’t active. For wild animals that can be pestered by all manner of biting flies and parasites, colder temperatures that reduce insect activity are welcome.
Another pleasant sound for this time of year to accompany the bird song: running water (nukwid po’o in Nüwa). With all the wet weather we had in March and even into April, many of our little seasonal waterways have creeks and brooks running in them. Particularly in a place like this that can go for many months without a drop of rain, the soft chuckling laughter of a flowing creek as it tumbles past slopes of wildflowers is a gift to those who pause to hear it. . .
And there are wildflowers this year, though delayed rains and cool temperatures means it won’t be a banner year for them in general — but some species have evidently found favorable conditions: there is a abundance of chia on the way to Bakersfield on the south-facing slopes, especially at the Highway 58 notch a mile or so west of the Arvin cutoff. There the chia is visible as hundreds of little spiky purple balls rising from stiff stems.
Spring is just a passing phase in the mountains of Southern California, so you’d enjoy it while you can.
Have a good week.
Captions:
Caliente Creek meanders west down towards the San Joaquin Valley floor as fluff from Fremont cottonwood trees drifts through the air like random snowflakes.
Photos by Jon Hammond
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