With snow now covering the mountains, we are pleased to once again reacquaint ourselves with some of our favorite lowland habitats. Sacramento River Bend Recreation Area is one such lowland habitat, which we chose to access via Oak Slough Trailhead on this particular Sunday. From there we visited Osprey Pond and Inks Creek Crossing, sometimes hiking Yana Trail and the unmarked fishermen’s trail.
While our route on this hike was primarily cross-country and too difficult to describe, it is worth noting that we were surprised at the number of species already in bloom! They are not blooming in abundance, but they can certainly be found: yellow carpets, goldfields, common manzanita, Canadian horseweed, wild radish, and lowland shooting-star. Our plentiful fall rain and relatively warm temps seem to have jump-started spring!
Photo by Don Burk.
There were also an unusual number of very active birds, from hulking Turkey Vultures to dainty Vireos, especially noticeable around Inks Creek. So if you have a hankering to get out and see a preview of what is soon to come, we highly recommend the vicinity of Osprey Pond and Oak Slough Trail. See Chris Harvey’s great write-up on hiking out of Oak Slough Trailhead for more information. ~Laurie & Don Burk
