You Want to See the Kokanee Salmon at Lake Tahoe
The kokanee are the landlocked version of sockeye salmon which normally roam the ocean off the Pacific Northwest and spawn inland. In the case of the Lake Tahoe fish (They ended up in Lake Tahoe in the 1940s when thousands of young fish escaped from a Tahoe hatchery) the lake replaces the Pacific. In autumn they leave the lake and move upstream on Taylor Creek (and others) to spawn.
September into October is the perfect time to visit the Taylor Creek Interpretive Center, near Camp Richardson at the south end of Lake Tahoe. The display is cut into the ground so that you get a direct look into the stream for an eye-to-eye visit with Oncorhynchus nerka! If you wait until next October, you can enjoy the Kokanee Salmon Festival. It's free.
Along with a chance to see the fish, the short walk around the Visitor Center is a great opportunnity to enjoy the changing vegetation as fall colors should be starting. There are nice views of the backdrop mountains, the aspens and grasses are beautiful to enjoy, and it's possible you'd like to take a drive out Hwy 89 to go past Grass Lake and into Hope Valley. This is a very popular "leaf peeper" trip. Either return to Lake Tahoe or continue up and over Carson Pass for a return to Placerville down Iron Mountain Road.
Meet the Crab Spider: Misumena vatia
Introduced on the butterfly page, this spider takes a little extra looking if you want to see one for yourself. The crab spider has a clever method of hiding itself from predators (and you) by turning itself white or yellow, depending on the flower it will hide on. It then sits and waits for an unsuspecting bee, wasp, or butterfly to come visit that flower, then the spider grabs the prey, injects a venom, and has its meal.
They are also called Goldenrod crab spiders because they are commonly found hiding in goldenrod, which attracts large numbers of insects, especially in autumn.
Defense from predators is important, as the spider is fed upon by birds and a variety of omnivores and carnivores. The poison of the crab spider is potent enough to incapacitate most insects very quickly, despite their size. However, against larger predators, such as birds, a new strategy must be arranged: color change! This makes it "invisible" to predators using ultraviolet vision, and despite the fact that the spider's pray can see it, it is seen too late. This guy can change colors within a few days if it has to move to a different flower.
Watch for these as you admire the flora, but don't expect to see it easily! Read more...
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