Sierra Valley!

Light Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

This week I luckily had to travel over to Sierra Valley to help hang up my art for the upcoming Art Show at the  FRLT Sierra Valley Preserve and Nature Center! On the way home I saw several raptors perched on posts and fences! It turns out that the ones I saw were possibly Light Juvenile Red-tailed Hawks. Unlike adults, their eyes are light in color, and they have black and brown banded tails and no "red" coloring at all! The do have the characteristic white chest of an adult. I find the feathering absolutely beautifully complex and striking!!!

Light Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

Red-tailed Hawks are classified as "buteos" which are medium to large, stout bodied hawks, with broad wings and fan shaped tails. Many species have a variety of color phases. Red-tailed Hawks are large birds with a wingspan of 49", a length of 19", and a weight of 2.4lbs. They are one of the most common buteos seen in North America.

Light Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

Red-tailed Hawks do not eat fish, but rather hunt in meadows and fields for small mammals, snakes, lizards, and other birds. They use the perch-and-wait method of hunting. Once prey is sighted they will drop from their perch, flap-and-glide downward, thrust their legs forward when about 3 m from prey, and grab prey with feet. Birdsna.org states, "During the ensuing struggle, mammalian prey frequently bite the toes and legs of hawks (especially juveniles); many Red-tails bear scars of these encounters."

View North of Sierra Valley from the Steel Bridge - 10/16/26

And of course, I drove out to the Steel Bridge to see what was going on. The vegetation had dried to beautiful rusts and blond colors, and most of the birds were gone.

American Coot -Pied-billed Grebe

Fulica Americana - Podilymbus podiceps

However I did see one American Coot, and one Pied-billed Grebe! I also spied some very distant ducks that were too far away to identify. 

Beaver Lodge by the Steel Bridge

What was interesting was that the Beaver Lodge was quite a bit bigger, with a distinct mountain shape!

Beaver Dams

And, the Beaver dams were taller and were causing water to flood the previously drier areas near the lodge! Although I didn't see any Beavers it was interesting to see how busy they had been!!!

 The FRLT Sierra Valley Preserve + Nature Center

The Feather River Land Trust is a an amazing preservation/conservation organization. Sierra Valley is one of my favorite places to visit and see wildlife, and thanks to the FRLT it will stay like it is forever! The following information about them is from their website at frlt.org. 

"The Feather River Land Trust protects critical headwaters and habitats for thousands of wildlife and plant species in the Sierra Nevada’s largest watershed—a source of drinking water for 27 million people. Since 2000, FRLT has protected over 110,000 acres of ecologically and culturally important landscapes in the Feather River Watershed.

Together with visionary landowners, we’re protecting priority private lands for fresh water, wildlife, working ranches, outdoor classrooms, and community spaces where people from all walks of life can cultivate a love of place. Our knowledgeable team works on the ground with experts, partners, and communities to ensure important ecosystems remain intact.

As a nationally accredited land trust, we’re experts in conserving lands forever. Our diverse partnerships—from local landowners and tribal communities to state and federal agencies—make us effective at permanently protecting crucial lands and water resources at a landscape scale.

We conserve land in two ways: Conservation easements and Land We Own.

Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements between landowners and the land trust to permanently protect their land and limit development.

We purchase land when we want to ensure community access to a beloved place and conserve unique wildlife habitats and cultural resources."

"American Kestrel" Ⓒ k.ohara kelly 2026

The Art Show I'm in is being held by the Feather River Land Trust at their Sierra Valley Preserve + Nature Center (see the above photo)! We just hung my art up on October 16th, and it will be on view till sometime in the end of October! Here are three of the 21 pieces of mine that will be on display. Several other artists will also be showing their artwork.  The reception for the artists is on Saturday, October 24th, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. Hope you can join us there!

"Carman Valley" Ⓒ k.ohara kelly 2026

"Yellow-headed Blackbird" Ⓒ k.ohara kelly 2026

No time to hike or explore last week, just too busy with the Art Show preparations!  Hope to get out there this coming weekend, and I'll report on what I see in my next blog on Sunday, November 1st!

Your questions and comments are always appreciated. Please contact me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com!  Thanks!

Cloud Watching!

 

These past two weeks I've been super busy getting ready for an Art Show that I, and several other artists, will be featured in this month! It will be at the Feather River Land Trust's visitor center, the Sierra Valley Preserve and Nature Center on road A23.  The reception for the artists is on October 24th from 4-7 pm. If you live locally come and enjoy the show! (the painting above, and the painting to the right, are both my artworks!)

Cyclone Cloud

Since I was SO pressed for time, I didn't get out and hike last week. Instead, my friend Mary drove my husband and I out the Church Creek Meadows road, to see what we could see! The fall colors were just starting, but the sky was filled with gorgeous clouds and the wind was blowing! We found a small wind-protected meadow where we had our picnic lunch. As soon as we sat down a cloud show started!!! We watched one unusual cloud after another stream by for an enchanted hour!!! Each one was totally unique and amazingly beautiful!  Here's a collection of photos of what we saw, with titles that were inspired by their varying forms!

 Misty Snowy Mountains

Leaping Luminosity

A Trout Carrying Clouds

Double Exposure

I walked down the road a little from our picnic area, and discovered a giant meadow I thought we had never been too. So we packed up our picnic, and Mary drove us all down to the meadow, where we blissfully lingered and watched clouds for another hour!  How lucky we were to witness this amazing cloud show! We drove home from there, and realized that we had been at the far north end of Howard Meadow!!!  Now that was a surprise! We'll definitely be back soon!

Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

In my next blog, in two weeks from today, on Sunday, Oct. 18, I promise to give you an update on the North Yuba River, as well as the Lakes Basin!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

Clark's Nutcrackers!

Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana

In the past month, I have seen Clark's Nutcrackers in three different areas; near a pond off the 09 road in the Lakes Basin, off the trail to Frasier Falls, and in Carman Valley! 

Nutcrackers are one of my favorite birds, but I don't often see them. They are in the Corvid family of birds, including our local Ravens, Crows, Yellow-billed Magpies, and Stellar Jays. There are 113 species of corvids world wide. They are found on all the continents of the world, except for Antarctica, and all the countries, except New Zealand!

Corvids are the smartest birds in the world! Many studies have shown that they are capable of modifying their inherited behavior patterns, and can solve challenges/problems that arise!!  In the past, it was believed that because birds have a small cerebral cortex in their brains, that they were not very smart. It has been since discovered that they have an additional organ in their forebrain, the hyperstriatum (which mammals lack), which is their organ of intelligence! 

Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana

My friend Mary and I saw this nutcracker on our way to Babbitt Peak, several years ago! The following information is from the Cornell website at https://birdsoftheworld.org/.

"They use their dagger-like bills to rip into pine cones and pull out large seeds. They will cache 1,000's of pine seeds, usually Whitebark, Pinyon, and Jeffrey Pine, to live on during the winter. They have a sublingual pouch at the base of their tongue, that can hold up to 150 seeds, which is used to transport seeds to caches! It is estimated that one nutcracker alone can store 22,000 to 33,000 seeds in 7,500 different locations!!! They only store a handful of seeds in each location, and have an unerring ability to find these cached seeds in the winter, underneath the snow! "

WOW!!! Additionally, seeds they don’t retrieve play a crucial role in growing new pine forests.

Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana

I saw this pair of nutcrackers in the forest near Upper Helgramite Lake, two summers ago!

Clark's Nutcrackers live year-round around at 7,500'-9,500' in elevation in the Sierra Nevada. They are altitudinal migrants. They spend spring and summer in the higher elevations and move to the lower elevations in the fall.

Clark's Nutcracker (fledgling) - Nucifraga columbiana

To our complete surprise, several years ago we saw two adult Clarke's Nutcrackers that were accompanied by a downy fledgling! WOW!!! Apparently young birds will stay with their parents for several months after they leave the nest! The following information about them is from the Cornell website at https://birdsoftheworld.org/

"Nest Structure and Composition"

"Nest consists of a platform of twigs woven together and secured to small branches on a supporting limb(s), and an inner nest cup lined with fine material, resulting in good insulation. Twigs are typically 1.0–5 mm in diameter and 20–30 cm long. One nest consisted of 247 Douglas-fir twigs and another of 193 Douglas-fir twigs, weighing 256 and 144 g, respectively. The outer nest bowl is built of rotten wood pulp, and inner lining of dried grass and fine strips of inner bark from Douglas-fir, with layer of mineral soil on floor under lining. Nests are also constructed of juniper and incense cedar twigs and bark; the lining may include moss or animal hair.

Nest are sometimes placed in outer branches on fork, on the leeward side of a tree, which is suggested to shelter the nest from prevailing winds. Some nest trees are located on south-facing slopes or in canyon bottoms, which is suggested to be for warmth. Thick nest walls likely insulate against severe cold and wind, and conserve body heat.

The Clark's Nutcracker feeds its nestlings pine seeds from its many winter stores (caches). Because it feeds the young on stored seeds, the nutcracker can breed as early as January or February, despite the harsh winter weather in its mountain home."

A pond off the 09 Road

A pond off the 09 Road

 I hiked to the beautiful pond pictured above with my friends Marilyn and Terry about a month ago. To our delight a Clark's Nutcracker started calling in a tree right above us!

It flew across the pond and hung out in a very distant pine tree for a minute or two, so we got a great sighting of it!

View east from the trail to Frasier Falls

Frasier Falls

My husband and hiked to Frasier Falls a week ago on a beautiful stormy cloud day!  I saw this cool, dead, lichen-covered spire and hiked up to check it out. Just as I rounded the corner to take a photo, a Clark's Nutcracker flew off from the top of it!  WOW!  Too quick to get a photo, but great to see! (The inset photo above, was taken years ago on the way up to Mt. Lola!)

Mount Beckworth and a Carman Valley wetland

Carman Valley

This week, my friend Mary and I went over to Carman Valley to explore. The clouds were absolutely gorgeous and the breezes were fabulous. The wetland was quite a bit drier than when we had gone there almost two months ago, but we still loved it! Such beauty!

Clark's Nutcracker - Sulphur Butterflies on Asters - Mallards

Nucifraga columbiana - Colias sp. on unknown sp. - Anas platyrhynchos

Mary identified the call of a Clark's Nutcracker on the way to the wetland, and sure enough they were there! Unfortunately they were quite a distance away and hard to photograph, but we were thrilled to see them!  There were just a few scattered flowers in bloom, including Asters. We lucked out and caught a photo of two Sulphur butterflies on them! There was a fairly large group of distant ducks, which took off as soon as we saw them. Mary identified them as mostly Mallards, with her binoculars. 

Beaver Lodge - Castor canadensis

We also went to the Beaver Pond in another part of Carman Valley. We didn't see any beavers, but it was lovely to be there!

Clark's Nutcracker - Cattails - Wood Duck

Nucifraga columbiana - Typha latifolia - Aix Sponsa

There were tons of cattails ready to go to seed as well as a few Wood Ducks, and surprisingly, three Clark's Nutcrackers! Look how long its beak is!!!

Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana 

To our delight, the Nutcrackers landed on a partially submerged tree in the Beaver Pond, and proceeded to drink from the pond!  They were a lot closer to us, and I was able to watch and photograph them for several minutes. WOW!!

So who knows when or were we might see them again, but it has been a thrill seeing them in our area! I'm headed back to the Lakes Basin again this week, so my fingers are crossed!

Are there any signs of Fall happening?

What's happening on the North Yuba River?

Check back in two weeks, on October 4th, for the my next natural history blog.

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please email me at northyubanaturalit@gmail.com. Thanks!

It RAINED!!!

 

Rain bejeweled leaves

We got 1.81" of rain in twelve hours last Wednesday!!! It started raining around 5:00pm and quit around 5:00am. On several instances it POURED! In the morning everything was bejeweled with rain and glistening!  Nature's camphor was in the air and it was deliciously humid!  We haven't had any rain in quite some time and it's been unusually HOT, so this downpour was a real blessing. Additionally, the previously imminent danger of forest fires has been washed away! Yay!!  

The North Yuba River in the Rain

I could watch the rain fall on the river for hours! It is so beautiful! The concentric rings of water that fluidly overlap each other, the blurred greens of the underwater river rocks, and the ever changing movement of the raindrops is a performance in itself!

Rain in the forest

Years ago I wrote a small simple song to hopefully encourage rain to fall!  We sing it in the spring and fall when rains are so needed. Here it is, without any music, but make up your own melody!

Rain, rain, come on down,

Come and quench this thirsty ground,

Come and let wet smells abound,

Fill the air with a joyful sound!

           

(repeat in a round)

Sierra Buttes in the mists

Deer Lake to Salmon Lake Hike

The day the rains came, my friend Patti and I decided to hike up to Deer Lake and then down to Salmon Lake, in the Lakes Basin. The Deer Lake trail has incredible views of the Sierra Buttes along the way. That day the clouds were beautifully dark and  misty on the Buttes! We didn't get rained on but it was lovely to be out in the stormy conditions!

Beetle-engraved tree trunk

The overcast of clouds provided soft even light on the landscape. We came across a group of bark-less dead trees that had beautiful patterns engraved in them, from wood-boring beetles and their larvae. I think these dead "silver" trees are so elegant!

Deer Lake

We were the only ones on the trail and at the lakes that day!  It was quite cold and windy so we didn't go swimming, but enjoyed our lunch on the lake shore, then headed down the trail to Salmon Lake.

Dry Bunch-Grasses

The trail down to Salmon Lake is quite steep, but there were lots of beautiful, blond, dry grasses to see on the way!

Fall Color 

The fall colors were just starting. The dry grasses and silvered dead trees were lovely together, along with thin patches of dry Alpine Knotweed.

Mountain Ash - Sorbus californica

This year is an incredible year for wild berries!  We saw tons of  Elderberries, Silk-Tassel berries, and  American Dogwood berries along the trail.

Mountain Ash have bright red berries that are edible, however they are quite bitter to eat raw. It is recommended to freeze or cook them before eating. They contain cyanide, which reduces naturally as the berries get frozen. The berries also contain parasorbic acid, which can cause stomach upset. Cooking changes it to palatable sorbic acid.

Lots of critters eat Mountain Ash. Robins, Jays, Cedar Waxwings, finches, woodpeckers, and Chickadees all feed on Mountain Ash berries. Mammals also feed on the berries, or twigs, bark and foliage, such as squirrels, rodents, rabbits, bear and deer.

Blue Elderberry - Silk Tassel

Sambucus mexicana - Garrya fremontii

Most of the berries aren't edible for humans. Even elderberries aren't recommended! However, lots of wild birds and mammals have no trouble eating them!

The following information is from

The Law's Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada.

"Although Blue Elderberry fruits can be eaten raw, all other parts (even small stems) can produce a bitter alkaloid and also a glycoside that, under certain conditions, can produce poisonous hydrocyanic acid. I do not recommend eating this or other elderberries."

On the other hand, lots of birds and mammals feast on the berries. The following information about them is from https://nativeplantspnw.com.

"Blue Elderberry is an extremely valuable shrub for wildlife. It provides valuable cover and nesting sites for birds and small mammals. Its fruit provides food for many species of birds including: jays, woodpeckers, pigeons, grosbeaks, robins, thrushes, bluebirds, towhees, tanagers, and many others. Squirrels and other small mammals also eat the fruit. Flowers are mostly pollinated by insects but hummingbirds will visit the flowers for nectar. Elk and deer browse the foliage."

Silk Tassel is browsed by Mule Deer in winter and spring. Songbirds, mountain quail, gray fox, and rodents consume the berries. I got a video of a Mule Deer browsing on shrubs this Spring!!!

Video of Mule Deer browsing on shrubs

Mountain Dogwood - Cornus sericea

These whitish berries are unpalatable to humans, but are consumed by a variety of birds and mammals. The following information about them is from the website https://plants.usda.gov/Wildlife.

"The fleshy fruits of dogwoods are very valuable to wildlife. The fruit ripens in late summer, and besides being available through the fall, some of the berries may persist on the plants into the winter months. Wildlife browse the twigs, foliage, and fruits. Birds known to eat the fruit include: grosbeaks, orioles, robins, sapsuckers, tree swallows, tanagers, vireos, warblers, cedar waxwings, grouse, and woodpeckers. Mammals that eat the fruit and foliage include black bear, beaver, mountain beaver, cottontail rabbits, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and rats. Deer, browse the twigs and foliage."

Salmon Lake

Salmon Lake was gorgeous with the overhanging clouds and changing sunlight!

Salmon Lake and the Buttes

We ended our hike here at Salmon Lake! What a gorgeous day it had been!

Hope to be back again soon!

The North Yuba River has definitely cooled off with the recent change in the weather. However, although swimming may not be an option in the near future, it's still a lovely place to hang out for a day! You never know what you might see, and the cooler weather has made the algae on the rocks less prevalent. Which has made it easier to wade without slipping!

  

California Fuchsia - Epilobium canum

 One of my absolutely favorite flowers is the California Fuchsia. Right now they are blooming in profusion. I found this batch on a rocky peninsula that was bordered by the river. They are definitely fire-engine red and attract lots of pollinators!

possible Bobcat skull

I found this old very dry skull a bit inland from the river. I asked for an ID on iNaturalist, and I'll let you know what they think! Very cool find!

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodia

A huge Great Blue Heron flew past and then landed nearby. One or two of these herons live here year-round.

What fall changes are happening locally and in the Lakes Basin?

Are any migratory birds passing through?

Check back for the answers to these questions and more, in two weeks on Sunday, September 20th.

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com.