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Waucoba WewsA Contribution from th e Bishop Museum & Histor ical Society UIIe 1 No. 1Edited by: Enid A. Larson Winter .. 1977Box 225. Big Pine. Ca. 93513

G R E E TIN G S CONGRATULAT IONStofr9lft MARY DEDECKER, Owens Val1ey 8Q'tanlstSierra Nevada East Her recent collections have yielded one new

ttt11' . descrIbed genus of shrub In the Buckwhfa_l1y,DEDECKERA EUREKENSIS, froll the.sheet begins as a publIc service Last Chance Range In Eureka Valley'Is ' dedicate9 to the purpose of and natural history notes a newly described variety of Loco, this region of INYO - MONO counties. ASTRAGALUS LENTIGENOSUS PISCINESIS from theunique and highly diversified plant Fish Slough area north of Bishop.of this region of This varIety has been described by Dr.provIde limitless opportunity Barnaby In lew Ork, a specialIst in and Investigation, especially In the the field of Astragalus. of distribution of species In time and and for study of ecological rel.tlon- DEDECkERA Is the first new genus dIscovered" l ~ - , . t . . . . in tal ifornla since 1949 when MissAnnie Alexander collected the Dune':J Ithat are contributed to/this sheet mst Grass (Wallen)a alexandrae). Bothsub.itted in writing, giving place, time .' . ..... of these new genera are endemi c to thlocation of observations, observer's . Eureka Valley and to INYO COUNlY. species and species number if collected ' t t t t t well as the Institution at which the is placed on file. LEWISIA SIERBAE Ferris Is now known to exte

' t t t t t northward fra. Mt. Conness to AlpIneCounty, thanks to the report of Itsmaterials will be reviewed by range extension by its collector,Dr. Dean W. Taylor, Research Botanist.Botany - Hary deDecker, Independence He gives the new locations as Red LakeOrnithology" TOIl Heindel, Big Pine Peak, el. 2910 m., and HawkIns Peak,Entoaology - D. Giuliani, BIg Pine el. 3000 m. Specimens are on file atMammalogy .. EnId A. Larson, Big Pine CAS and at U.C. DavIs herbaria.Herpetology - t t t t tGeology -Palaeontology - John Mawby, OVIS CANADENSIS CAlIFORNIAHA:- The rarely. Deep Springs College, Dyer, Nev. seen Sierran Bighorn sheep are alwaysof deep interest. John W e h a u s ~ Big Pine, is making an Indepth study

wish to7.lve future" copies of of this species. He reports that thisNEWS and to be on the regu Ia r lIild wInter has seen 30 lambs added tol is t for the year. please send the Baxter Herd; that last year at STAMPED, SELF-ADDRESSED envelopes to least 20 laabs were produced. These additional numbers MaY brIng this herd

WAUCOBA NEWSBox 265 to a point at whIch i t Is rapIdlyreaching the 11_lts of its food supplBig PIne, Ca. 93513 f f ' t t t' t t t t t

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BUTTERFLIES reported fro. SalineValley by D. Giuliani. Hundreds werein a state of lethargy, hanging fromupper branches of the Creosote Bush,(barrea trtdentata) 15 Dec. 1976. Sofar as is known this is the first report of overwintering of this speciesIn the desert area of InyooCounty.Ambient Teaperature was 10 C at mid-day.Dick Westmeyer, BLM, reported seeingMonarchs flying In Willow Creek Cyn.in Saline Valley on a warm, sunny dayI n the second week of Janua ry, 1977.

WIITER BIRDS OF THE EASTERN SIERRAThis winter, 1976-77, has been . i ldand rather unspectacular from the birdwatcher's viewpoint.

To. and Jo Heindel report thefollowing:I . GREEN HERON - nr. Independence, 12 Dec2. RED-SHOUlDERED HAWK, BIg Pine, 20 Jan3. Six BAlD EAGLES (3 adults) atCrowley Lake. Bridgeport Res. 28 Nov4. Two DUNLI N, Owens Lake 12 DecLADY BUTTERFLIES:- Watch for Migration. 5. SHORT-EARED OWL, Big PIne 21 JanThese butterflIes migrate every 4 to 7 years. 6. ACORN WOODPECKER, nr . Independence 12 DThe last big mlgratTon was in 1973. 1977 7. NORTHERN SHRIKE, nr. Big PIne 23 Jan

c o ~ l d be another migration-year but 8. NORTHERN SHRIKE, Coleville 28 Novprobably this wIll not occur until 1978. 9. ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER InFlights tend to be to the north and west. Big PTne 17, 18, 30 JanObservers are needed to check by measurement 10. One GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FI NCHthe exact d.1 rectlon of flight. give nUMberscounted In any timed period passing aspecific poInt, time of day and height offlight above ground. Send records toDerh.. GIuliani, Big Pine, Ca. 93513.

DUNE BEETLES:- Click beetles of the genusCardlgphgCAs are active In January andFebruary. Several new specIes are Inprocess of beIng descrIbed from our area.Scarab beetles, genus Aegtatla are alsobeIng studied. Their populations showevolutIon In progress, not only In lossof flight with accompanying reductIon InwIng size but In changes In behavior.Those with wings and flIght are active Inmid-day. Flightless forms wIth reduced wingsize are active only at dawn and at dusk.PopUlatIons along a geographIc north-southgradient show IndivIduals wIth fullydeveloped wIngs to those wIth small-sizedfunctIonless wings.the rain beetle, emerges in BigPIne Cyn. with the melting of the snow,usually In January. ThIs year with nosnow at their elevation, only a few were

seen flying on 24 Jan., 2 days after a raIn.**'"'*CHIPMUNK:- Eut 'as minilUsscrutator, is the SMallest of all of thespectes of western chipmunks. AlthoughIts southern I t . l t of range was thoughtto be Mazourka Cyn., tn 1974 and again In1975, D. Giuliani and I located thIs speciesIn a large sagebrush basin, at least 30. t les farther south--between the old mtning

town of Cerro Gordo and Mexican Spring, nearthe crest of the Inyo Nts. (eal).

IN Wh Ite Mts. (no flocks) 2 Jan11. One GRAY-HEADED JUNCO In Big Pineand 1 at Oas Is 16 Jan12. HARRI S SPARRGW at Big PIne 17 Dec13. A WHITE-THROATED SPARROWat BIg PIne all winter

EUREKA VALLEYRain In September and agaIn In October 1976brought a large expanse of standing water to the Playa tn Eureka Valley. Early tn DeceMber, 1976, I collected crustaceans of the followIng genera:

APUSBRANCH ION ECTACEll ODAPHN IAKO INADAPHN IAESTHERIA

Evaporation of the water entrapped ..nyof these in the mud and they thenappeared as IIfoss I is in the maklngtl (eatt1'ttA GREAT BLUE HERON was sIghted by Larryover the water of the Playa In Nov., ,and also was sIghted there by Enid A.Larson and Derham GIuliani 4 Dec. 1976Egrets, ducks, sand pIpers, avocets werealso sighted in Nov. and Dec.tt1'ttTHE WHITE-TAILED KITE has not been seen thwInter near Big Pine. It has beenrecorded here In each of the prevIous2 wInters. (eal)