Tuolumne Meadows - Yosemite 10th August 2022

On our third, and final, day, Jayne and I travelled to Tuolumne Meadows, at a height of approximately 10,00ft. The landscape was very different here, with a much more open feel and fewer trees.

We started at the Visitors’ Centre, before taking a short 2-mile  across the meadow to the River Tuolumne and Soda Springs. We had great views of several Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers, Mountain Chickadees, White-crowned Sparrows, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Dark-eyed Juncos, American Robins, Brewer’s Blackbirds and a Red-tailed Hawk. The birding highlight of this trip, however, was a pair of breeding Killdeer, with 2 well grown young on Soda Springs.

Killdeer (juvenile)

Mammals seen here were: Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Belding Ground Squirrels, Lodgepole Chipmunk and Yellow-bellied Marmot.

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

Belding Ground Squirrel

Yellow-bellied Marmot

Insects seen were: Mormon Fritillary, Orange Sulphar, Clodius Panassian and a Meadowhawk (dragonfly) sp (possibly Cardinal).

Mariposa Grove, Yosemite - August 2022

On our second day in Yosemite, we travelled a little bit further south to visit Mariposa Grove and the Giant Sequoias. To say the trees were unbelievable is an understatement! Their size and volume is indescribable and truly mind-blowing. The tree pictured below is called Grizzly Giant and stands at 63.7m (209ft) with a circumference of 29m (96 ft) at the base. A recent investigation estimated its age to be around 2900 years old!!!

Grizzly Giant (and me!)

Whilst there, we walked around a small area of the forest, seeing a single White-headed Woodpecker, Mountain Chickadee, a warbler sp that was most likely Yellow-rumped (Myrtle), Western Wood Pewee, Steller’s Jay and Northern Goshawk. Mammal species seen were: Mule (Black-tailed) Deer, Chickaree (Douglas Squirrel) and Lodgepole Chipmunk. 

Chickaree

A single Acmon Blue butterfly was also seen.

Acmon Blue

Yosemite Valley - August 2022

Whilst staying in California, Jayne and I got a 3-day pass to visit Yosemite National Park. 

The first day was spent in and around the Yosemite Valley area. Whilst there, we took a 2-hour guided tour, to take in the main sites, including El Capitan, Half Done, Yosemite Falls and Tunnel View.

Half Dome and Cook Meadow

Bird species seen included: Raven, American Robin, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, Steller’s Jay, Acorn Woodpecker, Turkey Vulture, Black Phoebe, Common Merganser (adult and juveniles), and my best ever views of Hairy Woodpecker. In addition, we had very brief views of a Swift sp, flying around Yosemite Falls, that was most likely Black Swift.

Hairy Woodpecker

One evening, at around 7pm, we saw an American Black Bear feeding in Cook Meadow.

American Black Bear