American White Pelicans in the headwaters
of the Feather River on 6/20/26
(looking south from the Steel Bridge in Sierra Valley)
This past week we had company for three days, and we decided to go over to Sierra Valley to see what we could see. I had also been over there twice, a month before, but hadn't had a chance to post my observations. So this month, I've combined those three trips to Sierra Valley in this blog! One trip was on June 20th, one on June 23rd, the other was on July 26th. Enjoy the adventures!
On June 20th, I was lucky enough to watch these five American White Pelicans fishing together!
American White Pelicans - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
They paddled along the shore in a tight group. Apparently herding fish into the shallows!
American White Pelicans - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus
On July 23rd, I drove over to go bird watching at the Steel Bridge fairly early in the morning by myself. To my complete delight, right away I saw a very distant American Bittern in the reeds, before I even got to the bridge!!! Wow! I hadn't seen an American Bittern in several years! These Bitterns are secretive and uncommon, so every time I see one I am thrilled! This one fortunately froze in position and didn't move for a couple of minutes!!!
The following information is from the Cornell Website at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/."American Bitterns are solitary foragers, standing motionless or walking slowly with outspread toes in search of food. They hunt during the day and especially at dawn and dusk. Possibly the most famous aspect of bittern behavior is the stance it assumes when it perceives a threat. It points its bill skyward, elongates its body, and even sways with the breeze, all to blend in with its reedy surroundings. This pose is so ingrained that bitterns sometimes adopt it even when they’re out in the open."
American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus
After lingering for some time observing that Bittern, I drove on to the Steel Bridge. When I got there, there was a Bittern in the tules to the left of the headwaters! Wow!!! I watched this one for five minutes before it disappeared in the tules! I was totally thrilled to have seen two Bitterns within 15 minutes!!!
American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus
Bitterns are large birds, though not long legged. Their body is 28" long, their wingspan is 42" and they weigh 1.5 lbs! The following information is from the Cornell Website at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/.
"American Bitterns eat insects, crustaceans, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals. Their most common insect prey include water striders, giant water bugs, water beetles, water scorpions, grasshoppers, and especially dragonflies, which the birds sometimes manage to capture in midair. Frequently consumed fish include eels, catfish, pickerel, sunfish, suckers, perch, killifish, and sticklebacks. Rayfish, crabs, frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, garter snakes, water snakes, and meadow voles round out the diet. American Bitterns usually forage in dim light, at shorelines and the fringes of vegetated areas."
American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus
"A foraging bird may sway its neck, perhaps to see past glare from the surface of shallow water, or to warm up its muscles for a quick strike. A characteristic strategy is to stand stock-still with bill held horizontal, gradually aiming the bill downward with nearly imperceptible movements—until, with a sudden darting motion, the bittern seizes the prey in its bill, bites or shakes it to death, and swallows it head first. Indigestible parts of prey animals are regurgitated as pellets."
Sage Thrasher - Oreoscoptes montanus
Just last weekend, on July 26th, we saw numerous Sage Thrashers in the vicinity of the Steel Bridge! I was privileged to hear their beautiful song in the springtime! They will migrate down to Mexico for the winter.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states; "The Sage Thrasher has a long, melodious song of great variety, reminiscent of a mockingbird's song, and is found mostly in shrub-dominated valleys and plains of the western United States. It is considered a sagebrush obligate, generally dependent on large patches and expanses of sagebrush steppe for successful breeding."
They feed mainly on insects, but will eat small fruits and berries if available. They generally nest in or under Sagebrush bushes. Both the male and female construct their bowl-shaped nest with twigs, lined with grasses, fur, and horsehair. They will both incubate their 4-5 eggs for 11-13 days, feed the nestlings for 10-14 days, and care for the fledglings for 7 days or more.
Yellow-headed Blackbird - Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
In the spring, Yellow-headed Blackbirds migrate to the Prairie Pothole wetlands of the U.S. and Canada to breed, as well as to the wetlands along the eastern side of the Sierras. We've seen them in Sierra Valley in the spring, where they nest every year! This week we were surprised to come across this group of males! Where were the females??? In another month or more they will begin the migration to their wintering grounds in the southern U.S. and down into Mexico.
Blue-winged Teal (males & female) - Anas discors
We saw four young Blue-winged Teals in one of the small ponds. These ducks feed during the day on seeds, snails, aquatic insects and crustaceans, and roost on shallow water at night. Blue-winged teals spend the winter in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as parts of the southern United States. They are long-distance travelers that leave their northern breeding grounds early.
American Coot (juvenile) - Fulica americana
There were lots and lots of juvenile American Coots at the Steel Bridge and in the small ponds. They will spend the winter in California's Central Valley, or Mexico, or even as far south as Central America and Panama!
Virginia Rail (juvenile) - Rallus limicola
To our complete surprise we came across 7+ juvenile Virginia Rails cruising around in a shallow pond near the Steel Bridge! They feed on seeds, small fish, frogs, worms, slugs, and snakes! In the winter, seeds make up most of their diet. Most will migrate south to Mexico or west toward coastal regions for the winter. Virginia Rails are listed as "uncommon and secretive", but these juveniles were out in the open looking for food and jabbing each other once in a while!!! How lucky we were to see them!!!
Virginia Rail (juvenile) - Rallus limicola
View of Beaver dams looking north from the Steel Bridge
To our delight the beavers had built some small dams right by the Steel Bridge. On June 23 they had just started cutting down plants. Now there is a 6" mud dam that ran parallel to the bridge and connected with their lodge!!!! In the distance I saw a beaver swim across the channel to an underwater path in the tules, but it was too quick for a photo!
Beaver - Castor canadensis
Then when I looked on the other side of the bridge I saw this furry, rounded backside of a Beaver!!! Wow! I've never seen one at the Steel Bridge before, even though we've seen their lodge there for a little less than a year! I surprisingly don't have a photo of their lodge, but it is right at the Steel Bridge, quite large, and covered with branches!!! I thought when I first saw it that it was manmade because of all the branches. Where did the beavers get them, out in this vast wetlands? It remains a mystery to me, unless somehow they're old sagebrush branches??? Anyway it's exciting that they're there! I will write more about them after I do some research!!!
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What's blooming in the Lakes Basin?
What's happening in my neighborhood?
What's happening on the North Yuba River?
Check back in two weeks for my next blog on August 16th, for the answers to these questions and more!
Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!
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