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W A U C O B ~ : A Paiute word fpr "pine tree" alsohighest peak In InyoMountalns, 11,127 feet.

Sponsored by the BishOp 'Museum & Historical Society, Bishop, CA 93514 VOLUME XIIFounded and Edited by Enid A. Larson, Box 26S,Bfg ~ I n e , C A : 9 3 S 1 ~ SPRING 1988Subscription: Four 8:' .Iong'8tamped,leH-acldrelled . r w e ~ . ' Of:-.- ".00 4 ue, P e r . . . . . . : y : . . . : : . : ; : : 8 ~ r ____~ ~ - " " m M _ l p . " , alshOp Museum..-& Hillor:ica', S e c l ~ ~ - ~ - = ~ . - . - - - -

westgard Road Looking southwest through the Narrows to the Sie r r a Nevada uunn

NOTES ON THE SQUIRREL FAMILY IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS I 6 t h ~ - ~ i n y o n - j u n i p e r woodland of th e White Mountains of Inyo County four species ofth e squirrel family 1 in habitats that overlap, ' Altitudinally there t ~ n d s to be bothzonation and habitat sharing. At 7500 feet elevation along th e White Mountain road,all four species occur.The Panamint chipmunk ranges throughout th e entire woodland from as low as 58009000 feet.The Sagebrush chipmunk along Westgard road comes to th e Narrows at (ca)6800 feet andcontinues upward to 9500 feet and on beyond th e woodland to as high as 13,000 feet.(D.G. sighting, 1987).The White-tailed Antelope squirrel ranges from the floor of Owens Valley at 4000 f t .to about 7500 feet.The Golden-mantled squirrel may be seen from 6500-9500 f t . in this woodland. I tcontinues well beyond th e Bristlecone forest at above 11,000 feet. This is th e most

frequently seen member of the squirrel family at Schulman Grove in the Inyo Forest.Con tinued .

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In their journeys and foraging there are frequent opportunities for inter-specificmeetings of individuals, yet hosti l i t ies have been rarely sighted while avoidance ofdirect confrontation is most frequently observed. Aggressive chases are sometimesundertaken. In chipmunk/chipmunk aggressive chases the Panamint chipmunk has been thepursuer. The smaller Sagebrush chipmunk easily out-runs i ts pursuer; the Panamintchipmunk infrequently is pursued by the White-tailed Antelope squirrel; also i t ispursued, seasonally, by the larger Golden-Mantled squirrel.Many more examples of mutual tolerance have been seen than aggressions. In Autumnoften both species of chipmunks harvest in th e same Large Rabbit Brush. The Antelopesquirrel and Panamint chipmunk often harvest from th e same Russian Thistle, one in thetop and the other on the ground beneath the shrub.The extension of body stripes characterize and serve to identify these members ofthe squirrel family. Each of tbese squirrels have their stripes limited to their backswhereas the stripes on t h e ' c h i p m u n k ~ extend forward on to their faces.In running across f lat surfaces the ta i l of the Panamint chipmunk is held horizontally whereas the Sagebrush chipmunk carries i ts ta i l upright in vertical tion.The White-tailed Antelope squI6rel is well named . - I f rTfcks i ts white ta i l rapidlywhen disturbed. The Golden Mantled squirrel is often called "Copper-head."Although 20 plants have been identified in the White Mts. from which the Panamintc!1ipmunk harvests developing seeds, more than 70% of these 20 involve only 4 species:pinyon, juniper, sagebrush and Russian Thistle. There is seasonal use of these foodsources. Pinyon seeds are harvested throughout an entire year when this pine producesa viable seed crop. Large Rabbit Brush is an autumnal source for both species of chipmunks. These chipmunks may be seen from September to November feeding voraciously inor beneath these shrubs that border Westgard and White Mt. roads.

This report is compiled from 17 years of recorded observations by D. _Guiliani andEnid Larson. - - Enid A. Larsonuuuu

PONDEROSA PINES OF THE EASTERN SIERRAThe Winter 1986 issue of Waucoba News reported on a census of the Ponderosa Pines alongB Pine Creek. Those figures showed that there had been a 37% decline in numberssince an identical census was made ten years earl ier , primarily as a result of a destructive flood in 1982.A total of 5 of these relictual populations of Ponderosa pine are now known f ~ o ~ theeastern Sierra and i t is doubtful that more will be found here. During 1986, fromJanuary 13 to February 7, I made a count of each population in the same manner describedin the above-mentioned report. Trees were counted from their lowest occurance up toabout 6500 feet elevation beyond which Ponderosa begins to be replaced by the similarappearing Jeffery pine and hybrids of the two species.Trees were divided into 4 size groups: s . under 2 feet ta l l (seedlA . 2 to 8 feet tal l

B . 8 to 25 feetC over 25 feetElevation Number PercentLocation

Rock CreekBishop Creek 4300-6400 3 5 71 294 373 1 79Pine Creek 4000-6500 24 59 119 528 730 3Independence Cr. 4600-6500 27 54 67 283 431 6 66S. Fork Oak Cr. 7 14 12 76 109 6 70Totals 4000-6500 181 435 513 2089 3218 6 14

uuunBIRDS

Taken from the Eastern Sierra Audubon Society 1988 - Sierra Wave Chapter. ."The Annual Christmas Bird Count gave the following totals:BISHOP -- 63 species. Two unusual sightings were a Virginia Rail and a Wilson'sWarbler. PINE -- reported 74 species with a total of 1393 individual birds.

DEATH VALLEY -- reported 50 species including the rarely seen in California ~ ~ ~ Ground Dove.In the count of 1986J 2 birds, natives of Asia, were seen in California for the f i rs ttime: a Brown Shrike, and an Oriental Goldfinch.CHINA LAKE reported -- 83 species, 6169 birds counted.Thanks to Mike Prather, Earl Gann and Ron Henry who provided the above information.

Range (ft) s A B C Total s4600-6400 120 303 244 908 1575 8