Color spotting need not be done or appreciated only by grown ups. Paige Kermen, age 7, proves that with her photograph of dogwood, dripping with red in Durham.
Good eye, Paige. You can now say your photography has been published.
This Sacramento Valley farm town, south of Chico, is peaking as walnut orchards turn golden, sycamore turn chartreuse and the last of California’s dogwood are heavy with bright red berries.
Robert Kermen was looking skyward to find these hawks watching him from autumn posts spare of leaves.
Accipiters are the largest genus of birds, writes Encyclopaedia Brittanica, with more than 50 species of falconiform birds.
Kermen found these on one morning in Northern California. Though, many others have been attracted to Northern California to prey on migratory waterfowl.
In autumn, hundreds of thousands of duck, geese and other migratory birds pass through the Central Valley, providing a flying feast for these raptors.
After looking skyward, Robert looked down to see another form of living autumn color in full bloom… exotic Asteraceae, a flower native toSouth Africa.
Monument RV Park, South Shore, Lake Camanche (10/31/17) Terry Willard
When the Central Valley begins to perc, Terry Willard at Lake Camanche is one of the first to report.
Lake Camanche is a popular destination east of Lodi, known for camping, fishing and just getting away. In autumn, the lake’s shimmering waters are lit with the reflections of autumn colors from exotic tree of heaven, Chinese pistache, flowering pear and plums.
South Shore, Lake Camanche (10/31/17) Terry Willard
Tree of Heaven, South Shore, Lake Camanche (10/31/17) Terry Willard
Native cottonwood are now crested with bright yellow and Valley oaks have not yet turned.
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00John Poimiroohttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngJohn Poimiroo2017-11-01 19:16:562017-11-02 16:01:54Lake Camanche Begins to Perc
Unlike the Eastern Sierra, which is a week to two late, we’re getting early reports of fall color from the Northern Sierra and Cascades.
Admittedly, the color is at the starting to patchy phase, but still, the photos don’t lie. Even valley locations in the northern Central Valley, like Colusa, are showing early color.
We’re not close to issuing a GO NOW! alert, as too few photos have been received to indicate a trend, though will be watching closely. What a weird year!
Westwood (Lassen County) – Patchy (10-50%) – Chris Gallagher, Lassen County District 1 Supervisor, sent a photo of patchy cottonwood near a Westwood barn to score a First Report. Westwood was a lumber mill town, east of Lake Almanor and beside the lovely (bring your kayak) Mountain Meadows Reservoir and Dyer Mountain, the northernmost point in the Sierra Nevada.
Fall River (9/29/17) Martha Fletcher
Fall River – Patchy (10-50%) – Martha Fletcher reports that the Fall River area, particularly Upper Fall River near the Spinner Fall Lodge remains Patchy with the color at 50% and showing shades of yellow, gold, some reds and green from willow, black oak and river grasses.
Mountain Ash, Colusa (9/29/17) Nancy Hull
Colusa – Patchy (10-50%) – Mountain ash have brightened in Colusa (Central Valley), Nancy Hull reports. Several National Wildlife Refuges are located near Colusa, which is a great location for wildlife viewing in autumn.
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00John Poimiroohttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngJohn Poimiroo2017-09-30 11:47:462017-09-30 11:47:46Shasta Cascade on Pace for Early Peak
Sandhill Cranes, Woodbridge Ecological Reserve (11/10/16) John Poimiroo
As trucks and motorist sped by silently in the distance at dusk, the Sandhill Cranes began arriving by the thousands.
Sandhill Cranes, Woodbridge Ecological Reserve (11/10/16) John Poimiroo
Sandhill Cranes, Woodbridge Ecological Reserve (11/10/16) John Poimiroo
Black ribbons of the big birds could be seen above the horizon at first.
Then, they shouted as they flew in, trumpeting, squawking and cawing as they descended and found the perfect spot in the middle of the wetland to stand together, feed and guard each other from foxes and coyotes that might be hidden in the grass along its edge.
This scene has been replayed each autumn night for millions of years. Seeing it is a touchstone to eternity and to the essence of life in California.
The spectacle is free at a number of Central Valley and northeastern Shasta Cascade wildlife areas. Some of these areas require guided escort. Others are open 24/7.
Sandhill Cranes can be recognized in flight by their fully extended necks and feet and on terra firma by their red crowns, that contrasts with the ash-gray of their long-legged, long-necked bodies. A white cheek and black legs and toes signify mature cranes, a California Fish and Wildlife folder advises.
CLICK HERE to learn more about crane tours and how to find their wildlife refuges.
Blue oak, Folsom Lake sunset (11/7/16) John Poimiroo
Autumn sunsets are the best of the year, particularly as seen across the Central Valley.
Sunsets are particularly spectacular in autumn because blue light is scattered easiest by nitrogen and oxygen air molecules, whereas “longer wavelengths — reds and oranges – are not scattered as much by air molecules,” The Weather Channel reports.
During sunrise and sunset, sunlight must pass through more of the atmosphere before we see it. TWC explains, “so it comes into contact with even more molecules in the air.” And, “As days grow shorter, the skies at sunset glow with the most spectacular hues, blooming with pinks, reds and oranges.”
Autumn weather patterns also bring drier, cleaner air from the north, allowing more colors of the spectrum to “make it through to our eyes without getting scattered by particles in the air, producing brilliant sunsets and sunrises that can look red, orange, yellow or even pink,” concludes TWC.
In the Central Valley, agricultural haze from farmers burning off their fields adds carbon molecules to the air, making the sunsets downright awe inspiring.
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http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00John Poimiroohttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngJohn Poimiroo2016-11-07 17:28:122016-11-09 21:49:23Sunsets Over The Central Valley
Leaf Cookies, Freeport Bakery, Sacramento (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
The most satisfying leaves of autumn are Leaf Cookies sold at the Freeport Bakery in Sacramento.
Buying a half-dozen of them has become a sure stop on a routine fall color drive that I take each November along the American River to Sacramento and back.
Mormon Island (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
Mormon Island (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
The drive begins in Folsom where Mormon Island Wetlands and the boulevards of Folsom are near peak. Frémont cottonwood at the wetlands preserve (part of Folsom Lake State Recreation Area) began showing yellow in September, though they still have lots of green, lime and fresh yellow in them.
Guarding Rooster, Fair Oaks (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
Posing Rooster, Fair Oaks (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
Plaza Park, Fair Oaks (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
Continuing west on US 50, I exit at Sunrise Blvd. for a visit to downtown Fair Oaks where, near Plaza Park, roosters hold court, crowing, scratching and otherwise guarding their turf.
The roosters are part of the charm of Fair Oaks, a rural town that is now surrounded by suburbia and has become an oasis of authentic shops, cafes and restaurants.
Strutting Rooster, Fair Oaks (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
Curious Rooster, Fair Oaks (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
Seeing Red Rooster, Fair Oaks (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
Returning to US 50 and traveling on to Sacramento, I exit and tour “the 40s,” Sacramento’s tony residential area, so named because it is comprised of avenues numbered in the 40s.
16th Avenue, Sacramento (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
41st Avenue, Sacramento (11/5/16) John Poimiroo
Along the avenues, leaves that have fallen from the capital city’s towering London planetrees are blown into piles to be scooped up by city street cleaners and taken away.
London planetrees are a variety of sycamore. Their leaves are a mix of chartreuse and orange-brown. Presently, they’re near peak.
Sacramento prides itself as a city of trees and nowhere is that more evident than at William Land Park, south of downtown or on the drive into Sacramento International Airport, where trees are planted by species in a grand arboretum that leads to the airport’s terminals.
No wonder, Leaf Cookies are so popular in Sacramento.
American River and Sacramento – Near Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! –
As color descends throughout California, the bold stands of aspen have disappeared. The last remaining big show are the black oak, which continue to show orange color at elevations below 3,000′.
Oregon splitleaf birch (11/2/16) John Poimiroo
Pacific dogwood (11/2/16) John Poimiroo
Color spotters turn to California’s urban forests for bright color, as I did this past week in my garden in El Dorado Hills (800′).
Chinese pistache (11/2/16) John Poimiroo
Chinese pistache (11/2/16) John Poimiroo
There, Eastern redbud, Pacific dogwood, breeze-brushed Oregon splitleaf birch and Chinese pistache were backlit and beautiful.
Today, I head out on a search for more exotics showing color in Sacramento’s urban forest.
California’s Urban Forests – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
[wunderground location=”El Dorado Hills, CA” numdays=”4″ showdata=”daynames,icon,date,conditions,highlow” layout=”simple”]
