Wild Nevada

- This adventure is not so much about a destination as it is a time of year.

So get ready for a colorful fall time trip.

That's all coming up right now on "Wild Nevada."

- [Announcer] Support for PBS Reno and "Wild Nevada" comes in part from the William N. Pennington Foundation.

Bill Pennington was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and gaming pioneer who built a legacy of community service in Nevada.

- [Announcer 2] And by Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation, Christine Perry, Margaret Burback, Mark and Susan Herron.

In memory of Sue McDowell, Lloyd Rogers and Gaia Brown, Stanley and Neila Shumacher.

And by individual members.

(bright music) (bright music) - Hi, I'm Chris Orr, and I have people often ask me what my favorite time of year is.

When you live in Nevada, it's hard to answer because spring, summer, winter, fall, they're all beautiful.

And that inspired me to actually create a show around my favorite time of year, the fall.

Now, I could have chosen any number of locations to travel to, but this time, I decided to stay a little closer to my home base in the Reno-Tahoe area and enjoy some of the beauty right here.

Let's get going.

One of the popular places to enjoy fall colors in the Tahoe Basin is in the Spooner area, which is located on the east side of the lake and can be accessed in a variety of places.

For today's hike, we are on the south side of Highway 50, at the Spooner Summit Trailhead.

When trees begin to change colors in the fall, it transforms our landscapes and forests.

To learn more about what's going on inside the trees, we get the chance to talk with Kelcey Hein from the Nevada Division of Forestry.

Well, Kelcey, thank you for meeting me out here.

It's a little bit of a fall rain shower day, isn't it?

- We'll be seeing some changes very soon.

- Well, should we maybe head down and see if we can find some color before we get too much water?

- Yeah.

(both laughing) Let's head down the trail.

(bright music) - [Chris] This looks like such a pretty part of the forest.

You've got new growth and old trees.

It feels very healthy along here.

- And it is.

It's a very well-managed part of the forest.

Something else to note in this particular area is that there are different ages of trees.

Because there's that uneven age, it allows there to be multiple layers that accomplish different wildlife tasks.

You wanna have some broken up areas and allow some good spacing in between trees so they're not competing with each other for resources.

- What's the right number for the area based on all of those factors?

- Typically, healthy stocking.

You know, the historical record says that you can ride a horse at full gallop through this forest understory without hitting your head on anything.

So that's been the, you know, scientific metric for how many trees should be in an area.

(bright music) - [Chris] You know, it's amazing, when you think about forest, so often, you think just pine.

But there's so much more involved.

- Yeah, and so that brings into our concepts of biodiversity.

And so biodiversity just means that there's a lot of different species all interacting in one area.

- [Chris] This has gotten really pretty in here.

(bright music) - [Kelcey] Something very beautiful about seeing our aspens and our conifers together.

- [Chris] Is there a reason why when you see an aspen, you always see multiple?

- Aspen trees are very unique in their ability to reproduce.

And so the reproduction that they use is called clonal, which means that this is all part of one colony.

This is all one organism, potentially.

These aren't individual aspen trees.

These are all one organism that has different stems.

(bright music) In the fall, we're seeing that ending period.

They're cooling off, things are starting to dissolve.

They're going into a state of dormancy.

They start to shed their leaves.

And with that, that's signaled by the breakdown of chlorophyll.

And chlorophyll is the substance in plants.

It appears green to us.

A lot of people put it in their smoothies for health benefits.

It's what causes photosynthesis.

During the fall, that starts to break down.

This one still is intact and we have a quite a bit of chlorophyll in there.

This is breaking down into this one, so we're starting to see that fading.

And then it goes into this yellow in color.

And really, what we're seeing is, there's no more chlorophyll in this.

So the reason it's yellow and orange is because we're seeing the other portions of the plant coming through.

- [Chris] Well, it makes for a beautiful landscape.

- [Kelcey] Yes, it does.

- [Chris] This is a gorgeous grove.

And you can tell we hit it pretty prime, but we've got some more color to come, I think.

- You might not notice, like, the slow change right away, but then, suddenly, oh, man, it's all changed altogether.

But that change is happening very slowly and just moving through.

It just takes that keen eye to look for it.

(bright music) - Well, speaking of weather changes, I kind of feel like the next wave of the rain is moving in, huh?

- It does feel that way.

I might have to get out my jacket.

- [Chris] Well, should we head back maybe and get out the rain?

- [Kelcey] Yeah.

- The weather in Nevada's mountains is often referred to as unpredictable.

And the fall can increase the chance of extreme and unexpected changes, particularly when elements of summer and winter collide.

As we hike, Kelcey and the crew and I get the chance to experience some of that changeable weather.

(bright music) In addition to the visible signs of fall in our trees, this is a highly active time for bird migration as they start seasonal journeys to warmer climates.

At Crystal Peak Park in the community of Verdi, we meet up with Lauren Whitenack and Diane Wong-Kone of the Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance to get some tips on how to observe our migrating feathered friends.

Thank you, guys, for meeting me.

It's a beautiful fall day.

- It's gorgeous out.

- Yes, it is.

- It's a little chilly, but I'm guessing that doesn't matter for birds?

- No, actually the sun's out and the birds have been fasting all night, so they're ready to eat and we're ready to see them.

(bright music) - [Diane] Oh, the flicker is right here.

- Oh.

- Do you see it?

- [Chris] Oh, yeah.

Right there.

- Oh, there he is.

(birds chirping) (Chris laughs) They are deceptively big.

- They're big.

(Chris laughs) (uplifting music) - There's a little wren chattering in here.

(birds chirping) So I'm gonna try to call this guy out.

Pssh-pssh-pssh-pssh-pssh-pssh.

I see him.

Pssh-pssh-pssh-pssh-pssh-pssh.

- [Chris] Oh, oh, look at them.

- The noise I'm making sort of imitates the alarm call of a lot of birds.

Chickadees, titmice, wrens, they all have sort of converged on a similar call.

And so it's called pishing.

Birders use it to kind of draw birds out of the- - And that's why he came out, kind of looked at us, and then went back in 'cause he realized... - Oh, it's just humans again.

(bright music) - It's actually interesting when you get really into birding.

Most of it is by sound.

"Oh, that's a wren.

It's gonna be low in the brush."

Or, "Oh, that's a finch.

It's gonna be up high in the tree."

(bright music) - It's fall, so we're gonna be getting a lot of our waterfall moving in.

So, you're gonna see a lot of ducks moving into our lakes.

- Yeah, we call it weird duck season because it's not just mallards anymore.

Oh, actually, hey, there's, I think a sharp-shinned hawk.

- Yes, I see it.

It sounded like a (indistinct) to me?

- [Diane] I think it was a bird being chased by this guy.

Look at him, and you can see he's about the same size as that Steller's Jay that just landed in the same tree.

- Yeah, and they actually, they're pretty brave in terms of the size of prey that they'll take.

They will take a bird that's... See?

He just went after the Stellar's Jay.

- Oh yeah.

- So they will take bird that's their size or larger.

(bright music) - What's the best way for a person to learn more about birding and how to really approach it and what to look for?

- When you go out with people that know more than you, maybe they know more of the sounds or maybe they know more of the birds in the area than you do, 'cause you have just moved from a different place.

I think that's the best way to learn.

(bright music) - [Diane] Water's gonna attract a lot of wildlife.

And so when you think about, where do I wanna go birding, if you just think, where's there a lake?

Where's there a river?

Where's there a creek?

You're likely to find wildlife, and that's a good place to start.

- And I'm listening to?

- A flicker - flicker.

(both laughing) - I'm learning to identify that guy.

- That's a white crown sparrow.

- Oh really?

- (laughing) Yeah.

And see the dead stick sticking up.

- Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

- It's a chunky guy.

- Yeah.

- On the right side.

And this is an adult white crown sparrow.

So they have a black and white crown.

They have sort of- - Oh yeah.

- A grayish body.

Brownish sides.

- He's a chunk.

- Yeah, he's chunky.

He's very round.

- (laughing) He's chunky.

- He's chunky.

He came all the way down from Alaska.

- Oh, he's pretty.

- To hang out with us.

Yeah, they're beautiful.

I love them.

(bright music) - You can see the riffles and the rocks and the running water.

This is great habitat for a dipper.

- Yeah, so American dipper is a type of songbird that has adapted a lifestyle of, I guess a duck.

So they dive under the water and catch insects and then come back up.

They're only found in very, very clean, fresh water, in rivers that have sort of this rocky habitat.

- I think just the bin before.

Oh, there it is.

Right there.

- There's the dipper.

- Oh my God, that was so cute to watch.

You're gonna see it dip.

There it goes.

It's gonna dip and it's gonna come back up.

That is so cool.

They can run under water.

- [Lauren] You think about when you stand in water, how much of that force of that water comes against you.

And this little bird can run against it.

- [Chris] Especially the trekking.

I mean, he's- - It's an amazing bird.

It's eating something.

- [Chris] Oh my God.

It's got a fish.

- [Lauren] I've never seen them catch a fish before.

- [Diane] Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen 'em catch a fish.

Usually they're just catching insects.

He's smacking the fish on the rock.

- [Chris] Oh, he got it again?

Oh.

- No one wants to watch me eat.

- I know.

Nobody gets that excited when I eat something whole.

- [Diane] (laughing) When I'm swallowing something whole.

(bright music) (bright music) - Here we have sort of a small body of water.

And depending on the size of the body of water, it's gonna attract different birds.

We have dabbling ducks and we have diving ducks.

They're kind of like the two big groups of ducks.

And the diving ducks usually require larger and deeper bodies of water because they're foraging further under the water for different things.

Ducks are the perfect beginner birder birds to watch because they're larger than songbirds and they're out in the open and they're very colorful and a lot of them are easy to identify.

- [Diane] And they always smile.

- They do always smile.

They're enjoying the sun hitting them this morning.

- Yeah, and that's the thing too, is sometimes when you get a pond like this, the birds do get more accustomed to human activity.

And so you can get closer and you can see them without the use of binoculars.

You don't need any special equipment to see birds.

- Oh, this has been so much fun.

I really appreciate you guys helping me spot a few today.

- What a lovely way to spend the morning.

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

- Birding is such a fun way to get outside and observe wildlife and nature.

It's an activity that can be accessible to many throughout the year, and I could spend all day here with my binoculars watching these guys, but there's still more to explore.

In northern Nevada, one of the most striking, but sometimes underappreciated, fall landscapes is the way the season changes our river and wetland areas.

For a prime example of how pretty they can be, I head east from Reno on Interstate 80 and just off the Patrick exit, find the McCarran Ranch Preserve.

Here I meet Heather Giger, Protection and Stewardship Strategy Director for the Nevada Chapter of the Nature Conservancy.

Heather, thank you for meeting me out here today.

It's beautiful.

- Oh, it's a gorgeous day.

Chris.

Thanks for joining us.

- I don't think we could have timed it better 'cause the fall colors look amazing today.

- I think we're very close to peak at McCarran Ranch Preserve.

So it's a wonderful day to be out and experiencing the fall colors.

The Nature Conservancy has been working on the Truckee River for over 30 years now.

There's actually a ton of work that went into creating this river habitat because it had been straightened and turned into like much more of a channel.

And it took a huge amount of earth work to get dump trucks and dozers out here, to move all of this earth around, to recreate the meanders and to restore the flood plains of that.

The river's now connected.

We can grow these beautiful trees.

You see a lot of this upland sage coming back instead of just weeds.

- I'm excited to get to see a little more.

Should we go take a look?

- Absolutely.

I'll show you the trails this way.

- [Chris] Great.

(bright music) - TNC over the last 20 years or so has been able to do restoration work on 11 miles of the Truckee River, and there are trails that run through the entire preserve area, that are open to the public for hiking, for dog walking, bird watching.

We certainly welcome people to come fish in the river.

And there are several points where you can actually access the river to go fishing.

This is really my favorite time of year to be out here because the weather is just perfect.

You get these beautiful, cool fall days and the willows and the cottonwoods are changing.

And it also lets you kind of extend your fall season, right?

Because you can start with the aspens up at the higher elevation, and then as it gets colder, you can come down here and enjoy the the lower river area.

- Beautiful.

(bright music) - So there is a real trail system, or can you just meander through the preserve?

- [Heather] This is actually part of a larger Tahoe Pyramid Trail system that goes all the way from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake.

So it covers the entire length of the Truckee River.

- [Chris] Is really beautiful down here on the river.

It's so different from other places where you can visit the river.

It just has a unique feel to it.

- Oh yeah.

It's really kind of a hidden little gem where you can come and have a very quiet contemplative walk, get away from it all, and really you're mere feet from Interstate 80.

So it's a wonderful experience in that way.

And it's such a great resource that we have for the community.

(bright music) - This is such a beautiful stretch of river to come out and visit.

- [Heather] Oh yeah.

This is a great spot for things like fly fishing.

People can also raft or kayak through this area.

- And it's absolutely gorgeous to visit, I imagine any day, but today and this time of year, it's just beautiful.

- Oh yeah, this really is a great fall hike.

- Well, thank you for showing it to me today.

- Oh, thank you for coming out.

And by all means, please enjoy these beautiful meanders.

- [Chris] The golden light and vibrant color of fall along the Truckee River is amazing.

With the stunning visuals that this time of year brings, it's only natural to wanna preserve them in a photo, which is why the next stop of this trip is to get some tips about how to do just that.

At the Thomas Creek Trailhead, located just off of the Mount Rose Highway in South Reno, I meet outdoor enthusiast and photographer Jason Bean.

- It's a little green down here, but up higher, it should be pretty vibrant and pretty yellow.

I love coming up here, I love taking photos of the fall colors, and my dog does too.

You know, I think we're gonna see some really nice stuff today.

- [Chris] Well, let's get going.

(bright music) - You don't need expensive, fancy camera gear to come out here and get really beautiful photos.

Okay?

I have a theory that if the landscape or the scenery is nice enough, all you really need is a phone.

You already have it.

It's in your pocket.

Take advantage.

- So you're saying that you're not going to let me off the hook, that I have to use this too.

Is that what you're saying?

- Yeah, I'm dying to see what photos you get today, Chris.

It's not a competition.

It's more of a safari.

- Yeah.

- It's a safari.

- I like that.

It's a photo safari.

- It's a photo safari.

- All right.

(bright music) - It's all kind of personal preference, I think, or like what, you know, what you think is interesting or what might ruin a photo to one person might make it for another.

It's obviously a subjective activity.

- And that's where the art comes in, right?

- If you want to call it art, go ahead.

(Chris laughing) One piece of advice I would give to like, you know, an an amateur photographer is think about the entire frame.

Fill the frame, find a way to fill the frame, and think about every little part of the frame.

And that will aid in your overall composition.

Often also, especially with a phone, if your pictures aren't good enough, you're probably not close enough.

That's an old photographer saying.

Think about light and think about filling the frame in the overall composition, and your photos will probably get a lot better real quick.

(bright music) We have tremendous fall colors, literally just looming right on the edges of Reno.

(bright music continues) It's just phenomenal up here.

- [Chris] Do you feel like there is an orientation that's better?

- If you're just trying to shoot good photos, I would let your decision between horizontal and vertical be dictated by what you're photographing.

Let the scenery kind of dictate what you're gonna do.

I don't think there's a right way or a wrong way.

(bright music) - I don't think we could have asked for a better fall day for this.

- It's pretty perfect actually.

- Yeah.

Perfect, fall weather.

- [Jason] We are lucky to be out here.

- This is really pretty.

(bright music) It's not one day you can come up, and it'll change over the course of a couple weeks.

- Yeah, I mean, in a few weeks to a month, the trees higher up will probably have lost all their leaves, but the trees at the trailhead will probably be glorious.

Look, Pinto has leaves on her.

- [Chris] Yep.

- We've been hiking, but it really is kind of nice to stop and just take in wherever you're standing and listen to the water, listen to the wind.

You don't always have to be moving through the landscape.

It's nice to actually stop and just be in a place, be present.

- Being able to take a beautiful momento, like a good photograph after a hike means a lot.

- So it's really special to be out here for sure.

(bright music) (camera shutter clicking) - Yeah.

Beautiful spot right down here by the creek.

(bright music) Now the sun Now the sun Is coming - Looks like the perfect place- - Oh my goodness.

- To stop and maybe take a look and see what kind of photos we got.

- Yeah, I think so.

Maybe I got one on my phone that I really liked.

There's the ones right over here with the arborglyphs.

That's nice.

And here's the one that you- - Oh yeah.

- Inspired me to like get a cool reflection of the water.

- Nice.

- Yeah.

Get some yellow in the water.

- What do you think about this one?

- Okay, you're gonna have to send me that one with my dog.

(Chris laughing) Pinto must be documented.

- Yep.

She makes a great model.

Then I get reflection and her.

- Well, I think we did pretty good today.

- I think so.

- You know, it's a bonus that we get to take photos, get to make some memories, and like take 'em home with us.

But the main thing is just getting out for the day and being out here.

- Thanks for the hike.

- Yeah, appreciate it.

Thanks for inviting me.

(bright music) - When I think about enjoying fall colors, I often think back to when I was a kid and we'd pick a pretty destination and just go for a drive.

So the crew and I are just over the Nevada, California border on Highway 88 up in Hope Valley.

Let's go for a drive.

(bright music) I love living in a place that's gifted with four distinct seasons.

Fall here transforms this landscape into a vibrant display that beckons and encourages exploration.

And whether it's on foot or by wheel, the key is to answer the call and get out and enjoy the colors while they last.

(bright music) That's all I've got time for for this trip, but it's been great getting to enjoy some more of the fall colors.

You know, if you wanna get out and enjoy something like the seasons, all you've gotta do is step outside, whether it's a city park, your own neighborhood, or even your own backyard.

If you want more information about this or any of the "Wild Nevada" series, visit our website at pbsreno.org and stream us with the PBS app.

And until my next "Wild Nevada," I hope you get to have some colorful adventures of your own.

- [Jason] Pinto, come here, girl.

Come on, come on, come on.

She sees stuff in the water and she gets obsessed with it.

(bell ringing) - [Announcer] Support for PBS Reno and "Wild Nevada" comes in part from the William N. Pennington Foundation.

Bill Pennington was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and gaming pioneer who built a legacy of community service in Nevada.

- [Announcer 2] And by Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation, Christine Perry, Margaret Burback, Mark and Susan Herron.

In memory of Sue McDowell, Lloyd Rogers and Gaia Brown, Stanley and Neila Shumacher.

And by individual members.

(bright music)