Waucoba News Vol. 1 No. 4 Autumn 1977

8/14/2019 Waucoba News Vol. 1 No. 4 Autumn 1977

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·'Waucoba WewsSponsored by The Bishop I1useum &. Historical Society, Bishop, Ca. Vol. I No. 4

Au tURn - 1977Founded&. Edited by: Enid A. larson, Box 265, Big Pine, Ca. 93513 4 issues per year

-WAUCOBA: A Paiute word for "pine tree"; also, highest peak In Inyo Hts., 11,027 ft.

G R E E TIN G S

W.ucoba News closes i ts first year ofpublication with this Issue, No.4.The response by subscribers hasbeen most gratIfying. Clrculat Ion I s ca. 700.

RENEWALS

Renewal for 1978 is now in order.Send 4 stamped (13C) selfaddressed envelopes to

WAUCOBA NEWS

Box 265Big Pine. Ca. 93513

OR

A $5.00 Membership per year In TheBishop Historical SocietyBishop, Ca.,93514

Special THANKS to those of you whohave so generously sent donationsand to Mary W. Gorman who kindlycontributed her time to help withthe initial mailing. Hrs. AliceBoothe at the Museum has been ofconstant help and encouragement.

As a C O O P E ~ \ T I V E VENTURE Waucoba Newsis prov Ing ttse1 f a 9ratl fylng

and successful endeavour.

t t t t t t t ••• t t t t t t

RECENT PUBLICATIONS: "An EcologicalStudy of Mono Lake, Cal I fornia l

ed. David W. Winkler for theMono Basin Research Group,Inst. of Ecology Publ. No. 12,Unlv. Calif., Davis, June, 1977,95616. Order direct.

HONO LAKE

MONO LAKE AT THE CROSSROADS: See articleby David Gaines, in AUDUBON IMPRINT,vol. 2, #2, Aug. 1977, Santa MonIcaBay Audubon Society.

OWENS

lr\KE

Matson, John O.--"The distribution of rodentin Owens lake Region, Inyo County, Ca."Contributions in Science from Nat. HlstMuseum, Los Angeles County, No. 276.June 1976. This paper gives the distrl,

associa ted.

tnt'tun-un

BIRDS

/\pp rox Ima te 1y 380 spec I es 0 fb i rds havebeen recorded from the eastern regIon of theSierra Nevada encompassed by the counties ofInyo and Mono in California. This autumn anew bird has been added to this I 's t ; also,another bird has been recorded' for the fIrsttime in 'nyo County--it had been recorded prvIously but once for Mono County.

The bird new to the area Is the SCARLEHEADED (or Streak-backed) ORIOLE, Icteruspystulatys, an Immature male. , I t was discov

by Jon Dunn at Furnace Creek Ranch in DeathValley National Monument, Sunday, 6 Nov. 19this bird is normally found In Ceatral SonoMexico. south to Costa Rica. There are lessthan 10 previous records in the UnIted Statefrom southern Arizona and southern CalifornThis sighting by Jon Dunn is the northernmorecord for this species of Oriole.

The bird new to Inyo County Is a RED-NE

GREBE, PQdjceps grisegena. this bird was a

found in D.V.N.H. but at Stovepipe Wells on6 Nov. 1977. The one p rev lous record for thspecies is of a breedIng plumaged bird at T

Lake, extreme northern Mono Co., 13 Mar. 19\



contln\Jed from pg. 1, col. 2

GREBE.--This species breedsprimarily in Canada and Alaska andwinters along the Pacific Coast. Itis a rare migrant Inland.

--Thomas HeIndelt1Htnnnn

INSECTS

'lit

Sierra Harmot (M.armota flayent[ii). Marmot.are establ ished as a small outlying \colony in Big Pine Cyn, at 7600 ft. el."This seems to be at the lowest elevationfor this species on the eastern side ofthe Sierra Nevada south of Alpine CountyIn successive years since 1972,these marmots have gone In and have .not been seen above ground after JUly22. In the following spring the

Dr. John Pinto, Entomologist, Riverside.f . , wri tes that "CgrdyJQspasta fIJI Jeri

heretofore one of the rarest meloids inregularly in

June, ca. 2 miles eaSt of Big Pine, Ca.the many beetles that Derham Giuliani

collected recently, are some range

schWArtz; (Wellman) Saline ValleyNorthernmost known record for species.

Kirby Beverage Cyn, 9600 ft . in

Inyo Mts., is typical Sierra Nevadaphenotype

laY!A (Horn), Saline ValleyNorthernmost known record for species.

magister Horn, Collected in EurekaValley. Northernmost record for Ca.

J. Pinto

MAMMALS

Ground Squirrel (SperrnatgpbiJus

b e e c h ~ y i ) Big Pine Cyn. drainage: Observed at 9800 ft. by D. Giuliani, 1976and at 10,200 f t . by E. A. Larson, 1975.At these locations, thIs squirrel isliving above the Jeffrey Pine forest andat the fringes of a sagebrush basin, near

a large stand of Mt. Mahogany (CerCQcarpusJedifpllys). Perhaps this species ofsquirrel has become established at thishigh elevation in the past 3 warm wintersbut i t seems questionable from the knowledgeof their l ife history that they couldsurvive heavy winters at these elevations

in the Sierra Nevada. Their first-yearyoung are known as non-hibernators.Please send in any observations of thisspecies at unusually high elevations.

adults emerge in March-April and theyoung have appeared In June, ususally inthe first week. This time spanallows the young not more than 7 weeksin their aboveground activities in whichto forage. Is i t any wonder that mortalduring their underground period appearsto be very high? At higher elevations,Grinnell & Storer (Animal Life of theYosemite) report that marmots are activeabove ground until mid-November.

Panimint Chipmunk (EutAmjAs p a D i m i n t i D Y ~ ) In the White Mts., Along Westgard Rd.have found this chipmunk at 6200-9000 ftel. at the upper and lower edges of thepinyons. Hall & Kotson (Hanvnats of NortAmerica) report i t at 5800 ft. but a record seems to have been established inthe Inyo Mts., where in Saline Valley,Derham Glul iani observed. one f o ~ l nDesert Almond shrub at 3200 ft . weI Ibelow tbe pinyons in a deep gorgerocky canyon. I have also observed Ita long Waucoba Road, Dev i Is Ga te ou tcrop, below the pinyons. These observa

tlons establish that this chipmunk will,in foraging1follow rocky ridges andcanyons to points below the fingeringof f.i..oJLi. npogphy 11 i .

--Field notes, E.Larson

Rodents of OWENS LAKE REGION: Matson, Johnconcludes his study with the following:lithe 16 native species of rodents inhabiing the Owens Lake Region do not show thsame ecotonal relationships as do theplants. Host species of rodents are ofwidespread occurrence In both noihern an

southern deserts. However, inspection othe range maps In Hall & Kelson (1959)show most of these species having theirgreatest distribution south of OwensValley and may have invaded the valleyfrom the south. Two species, DjpodgmYlmjcrops and PsrgfflYscus ,rinijYi have morextensive ranges east and north of thevalley and may have invaded fromthose directions."

--John O. Matson

His rodent l i s t of species will follow

in another issue of WAUCOBA NEWS.(Ed.)



VAUCOBA MEWS Vol. 1 No. 4Aut_, I 1977 SUP P L E ME. T

Grasses

Notes on Inyo County Grasses - 2 The Barley Tribe (Hordeeae) in the Inyo Sierra

by John Thomas Howell

1. The Cereals

This is. the tribe of historically and economically important cereals, so let 's take them first. Introduced from the Old World, they occur where ITain spil ls, usually not persisting.

Hordeum vulgare L. Barley. Along roads and trails; spontaneous at CarrolCreek corrals in 1958.

Secale cereale L. Rye. At Carrol Creek corrals in 1958.'riticum aestivum L. Wheat. No Inyo record seen bu t undoubtedly i t occurs

as a transient.

2. Floristic elements, native or introduced

Agropyron. Wheat Grass •

.cristatum (L.) Gaertner. Crested Wheat Grass .. Seeded along roads and

trails and in open forests by the U.S. Forest Service to preventerosion and improve range fodder. Introduced. A. desertorum ofCalif. refs.

Pringlei (Scribner &Smith) ·Hitchc. Not reported in Inyo Co. but foundwithin "a stone's throw" in Fresno Co. above 11,000 ft . on theside of Mono Mesa.

- - ~ ~ ~ : ~ : ! ! m - ( ~ ~ ~ f t = ~ i ~ b ~ ; I : : r I : t t , r n : · L ~ ' t ~ u ~ ' w ¥ ; : r t ; ] f f o " @ ' ~ t . · . - Lakes Basin). ,

trachycaulum (Link) Malte. Rather common in subalpine meadows andgroves, 9000 to 11,200 ft .

Elymus. Wild Rye. cinereus Scribner & Merri 11. Great Basin Wild Rye. In 1'greasewood scrub" in Owens Valley; probably also in Sierran foothills.

glaucus Buckley. Blue Wild Rye. Common and widespread in meadows and open forests, Inyo records up to 10,700 ft.

triticoides Buckley. Creeping Wild Rye. Widespread; a pubescent form, var. pubescens Hitchc., in Owens Valley.

Hordeum. Barley.brachyantherum Nevski. Meadow Barley. This common Sierran grass has

not been reported from the Inyo-Sierra but, since i t has been foundin 14 other counties from Plumas and Lassen to Nbno and Kern,i t must be in Inyo tool Hordeum geniculatum Allioni, the introduced

Mediterranean barley, is also not reported from the Inyo-Sierra.glaucum Steudel. Confused Barley. Weedy in Owens Valley and on

Whitney Portal Road at 7000 ft . I t resembles the more commoncoarser I Ifarmer , s foxtail," H. leporinum Link, but )that has notbeen reported for the Inyo- Sierra. Both are annuals andintroduced.

jubatum L. Foxtail Barley. This has been collected in low ground n e a ~ Bishop; Peirson reported i t from the Rock Creek Lake Basin at10,700 f t.



• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Inyo Co. Grasses - 2 \ .

•Lolium. Rye Grass.

perenne L. Perennial Rye Grass. Has been reported from the RockCreek Lake Basin; in the Sierra i t is sometimes seeded toimprove meadow pasture. The closely related Italian rye

grass, L. multiflorum Lamarck, has not been reported fromInyo C o ~ but is to be expected.

World.Both are native in the Old

Sitanion. Squirrel-tail .Hansenii - see XElysitanion Hansenii.~ y s t r i x var. californicum (J.G. Smith) F.D. Wilson. California

\ Squirrel-tail . The commonest Sierran squirrel- tai l , ascending

" from foothills to alpine crests and flats , 12-13,000 f t .

Hystrix (Nutt.) J.G. Smith var. Hystrix. From pinyon belt to alpine~ ~ l - f i e l d s (at 12,400 f t . on Inconsolable Range).

longifolium J. G. Smith. Some plants from Mono Mesa at 12,000 f t .have all florets fert i le at each node of the rachis, acharacteristic o f ~ . longifolium. Other collections vary

towards Hystriwwith some florets reduced to glume-like awns.Sierran alpine squirrel-tails are in need of study.

3. Hybrid Barleys

Members of the Barley Tribe are notoriously promiscuous when they

get together, as so often they do in Sierran woods, brush, and meadows.Although they are so commonly interfer t i le , most of their offspring arester i le . These "mules" can usually be detected. because in ! i l 1 2 ' p e ~ r ~ . they are intermediate between thei r quite' different parents . . Th'e followingintergeneric hybrid barleys have been found in the lnyo-Sierra or may beexpected:

XAgrositanion Saundersii (Vasey) Bowden. Agropyron trachycaulum X Sitanionsp. Agropyron Saundersii of Calif. floras. Rock Creek Lake Basin;

Big Pine Lakes, 10,800 f t . ; Little Cottonwood Creek, 9800 f t .XE1ysitanion aristatum (Merrill) Bowden. ~ l y m u s trit icoides X Sitanion

Hystrix; Elymus aristatus of Cali f . floras. Not reported south of MonoCo., but to be expected.

XElysitanion Hansenii (Scribner) Bowden. Elymus glaucus X Sitanion sp.;Sitanion Hansenii of Calif. floras. In pinus flexil is belt , Big Pine

Creek Trail, 9000-9500 f t .

********u*

P nstempn papjllatus, the Big Pine penstemon, is an e n ~ e m i c . r e s ~ r i c t e d theI east side of the Sferra Nevada more or less opposlte,Blg Pine. It IS

known

by its spreading mat ofyellowish-green

elliptic to roundspatulate leaves and erect stem of purplish-blue flowers. The,corollasare tubular 1 to I 1/4 inches long, rose-purple below, deepening tobright blue'ln the flaring lips. The lower lip exceeds the upper.Its presently known range is between 7000 and 9500 feet, from TabooseCyn to the Bishop Creek drainage. The sites are i n f r e q u e n t ~ however,and limited, If you should have the privilege of seeing ~ h l s handsomespecies, you must regard i t as a special treet, to be admired but not

--Mary DeDeckerp1 k d•e

Documents

Waucoba News Vol. 1 No. 4 Autumn 1977