Birds & Blossoms!

Feeder Watch!

Black-headed Grosbeaks (male & female) - Pheucticus melanocephalus

About 40 Black-headed Grosbeaks arrived at our feeders this week!  You can hear them all day singing and chattering away, while they feast on the sunflower seeds!  Unique to this species, the males and the females BOTH sing!  The male is the more colorful of the two, with his black and rust feathers.  They've been busy finding mates, making nests, and incubating their eggs.  The females build their nests about 12'-15' high in leafy bushes or trees, in riparian  environments. They usually lay 2-5 eggs, which hatch in 12-14 days.  The altricial nestlings fledge in 10-14 days.  The babies that show up around our feeders look just like the adults, only they beg to be fed!  They should show up in a week or two.  I haven't found any active nests yet, but am determined to find at least one this week, before the nestlings fledge! 

The last of the Migrants!

American White Pelican - Pelicanus erythrorhynchos

I photographed this lone Pelican on the North Yuba River this week!  A few days later a small group of them flew over our neighborhood, headed east to their breeding grounds!  (Refer to my post from Tuesday, March 28, for more information on these pelicans!)

Wildflowers in the Woods!

The wildflowers have been starting to show up in the Douglas Fir forest surrounding my home!  I have found that when trying to identify wildflowers, common names can vary from book to book!  So I try to learn the scientific name of the wildflower, which remains the same from book to book.  Also, learning what "family" a plant is in, may help you narrow down your choices, when trying to identify similar wildflowers.  

Also, if you would like to find out if a plant is edible, or if it has medicinal uses, I would recommend that you research thoroughly on the internet before you use, or consume any plant. One very good resource is naturalmedicinalherbs.net.

Scarlet Fritillary - Fritillaria recurva

Liliaceae - Lily family

This beautiful, bulb forming perennial is native to California.

Hartweg's Wild Ginger - Asarum hartwegii
Aristolochiaceae - Birthwort family

This rhizome forming perennial is native to California.  The brownish flower can be found beneath the leaves on the ground, amid the stems.  Although "Ginger" is its name, it is not related to the commercial Ginger that is found in grocery stores, and should NOT be consumed.

 Grand Hound's Tongue - Cynoglossum grande
Boraginaceae - Forget-me-not family

This pretty, seed producing biennial is native to California. The name Hound's Tongue has two possible origins.  One originates from "the belief that it (Hound's Tongue) could ward off dog attacks if a leaf was worn in the shoe."  The other originates from "the broad shape of the leaves."  Which one do you believe?

Indian Rhubarb - Darmera peltata
Saxifragaceae - Saxifrage family

This large, showy, rhizome forming perennial is native to California.  The flowers bloom several weeks before the large leaves appear.

Going to Seed!

Willow - Salix sp.   &   Dandelion - Agoseris sp.

This week the willows and dandelions are going to seed!  The seeds are dispersed by the wind.  Each willow produces thousands of fluff encased seeds!  You can see these in the air everywhere this week!  Each dandelion produces hundreds of seeds, each with its own tiny "parachute"! 

Who's Scat is That?

Check back next week for the answer to this question, as well as the promised information on mammal babies, and Brown-headed Cowbirds!

Secretive Nesters!

Since my last post, I have had several comments about my statement that Steller's Jay are "secretive nesters"!  Many people have had Steller's Jays nest on their front porch, or in very visible sites next to their home.  I've experienced this not so secretive behavior myself!  

  Baby birds and bird eggs are readily eaten by a lot of different predators.  In wild areas, the ability to be a  "secretive nester" would definitely be an advantage!

Perhaps, living in plain view around human habitation offers some kind of "protection" from wild predators.  Living near humans may keep wary predators at bay! 

This is just a guess on my part!  

What do you think about the Steller's Jays nesting habits?

     Oriole nest                     unidentified nest
     Steller's Jay nest             Hairy Woodpecker nest

The sun finally came out for a while this week, so I spent a day cruising around my neighborhood looking for birds and bird nests.  Apparently, Steller's Jays aren't the only secretive nesters, because all I could find were old, empty, abandoned nests!  Hopefully next week I'll be more successful!

Evening Grosbeak - male (left) and female (right)
Coccothraustes vespertinus

I was so excited yesterday morning when almost FORTY Evening Grosbeaks returned to our neighborhood!  They were chattering loudly and flitting from one tree top to another in a seemingly joyous reunion!!  They are one of my all time favorite birds, with their beautiful coloration and enormous beaks!  Most of them will move to a higher elevation to nest, but hopefully a dozen or so pairs will stay and nest in our neighborhood!

The females will do all of the nest building, way up high in the tops of trees.  They usually lay 2-5 eggs, in a saucer shaped nest made of twigs and rootlets, lined with grasses and pine needles.  The female incubates the eggs for 12-14 days.  The altricial young fledge in 13-14 days.  Both parents feed the nestlings insects, caterpillars, and spiders!  If conditions are right, the female may lay a second brood!

As adults, Evening Grosbeaks mainly eat seeds and insects, as well as fruit and berries in season.  I just learned that they don't eat cherries for the pulp, but rather for the seed inside the pit, which they easily crack with their large beaks!

In winter these birds migrate to Mexico, where they live in the higher elevations of the mountains.  Unfortunately, due to logging, pesticides, and climate change, these beautiful birds are declining in population.  You can report their presence in your neighborhood, by joining Project FeederWatch.org.   Your input on this website, will greatly help ornithologists and the birds they study! Check it out!

House Wren -  Troglodytes aedon & White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys

New Arrivals!

This tiny male House Wren  (above left) showed up at my neighbor's house this week and started building a nest, and calling for a mate right away!  I've seen him every morning loudly announcing his availability to the neighborhood!  

Despite their diminutive size (approximately 4.5" in length), House Wrens are very competitive for nest sites, and can even take over the nests of much larger birds!  The males build their small cup shaped nest out of grasses and feathers.  The nest is housed in a natural or man-made cavity, which can range from an old tin can to a tree hole!

The females lay from 3-10 eggs, and have 1-2 broods per season.  The female incubates the eggs for 9-16 days.  The altricial baby wrens (Can you imagine how tiny they are?!!) fledge in approximately 15-17 days. Both parents feed the nestlings a variety of insects.
 Nest parasites, such as mites, can attack baby birds, so House Wrens include spider eggs in their nesting material.  When the spiders hatch, they eat the harmful mites!  As adults, House Wrens eat spiders, caterpillars, earwigs, flies, leaf hoppers, and snail shells (probably for the calcium!)  

A flock of White-crowned Sparrows also arrived in our neighborhood this week!  Unfortunately, I only got a photo of one of them (above right).  They stopped by on the way to their breeding grounds in Alaska. They will probably pass through again this Fall, on the way back to their wintering ground in So. California.  Their annual round trip flight is 5,600 miles!

Morels genus Morchella

While I was cruising around our neighborhood, I happened across these Morels!  They are a type of sac fungi that aren't that common!  Sac fungi get their names from the fact that they produce their spores, called ascospores, in special pods or sac-like structures called asci. Technically this group of fungi is known as the Ascomycetes or Ascomycota.  I don't know which species of morel these are, but aren't they cool looking?!!

Chickaree or Douglas Tree Squirrel - Tamiasciurus  douglasii  & Western Grey Squirrel - Sciurus griseus

Next week I'll talk about the nesting behavior of some
of the local mammals! 
How many babies do they have?
Where do they raise their babies?
Also, I'll continue to record the new birds that arrive, hopefully report on new active bird nests, and talk about Brown-headed Cowbirds!

I will also post the latest most interesting blooming plant in my "Now Blooming!" section.

Please add your comments, by clicking on "no comments" at the bottom of this page!  Thanks!

Something New from Something Old!

Last December I posted the photo, on the left, of a Robin's nest, and said that I would check back on it in the Spring.  Well here's a photo I took of the same nest yesterday.  I'm not sure if it just fell apart during this past heavy winter, or if the Robins have reused 

the nesting material for a new nest.  

I should have been more observant!

  

Since I got back from the desert, I've been out scouting for birds and bird nests.  Here's what I've found so far!

Old Bullock's Oriole Nests from last year

I spotted these two old Oriole Nests adjacent to each other in two different locust trees.  Right now there aren't any leaves or flowers on the locust trees, so these nests were easy to spot.  I haven't seen a Baltimore Oriole yet, but I got this picture of a female last Spring.  Females gather plant fibers, horse hair, and even fishing line and weave them into intricate hanging pouches for their eggs!  One nest, I found last year, also had thin strips of blue plastic tarp and rug fibers woven together!  I don't know if they will re-use or recycle these old nests.  I'll be sure to keep checking on them!

Bullock's Oriole (female) - Icterus bullockii

Northern Flicker (male) drumming on stove cap
Colaptes auratus

There have been a few Northern Flickers here all winter, but lots more have arrived in the past few weeks.  The males have been loudly calling and drumming, declaring their territory, on the metal cap of my neighbor's stove pipe!  They create quite a racket!  Flickers excavate nests in the trunks of dead or live trees. It takes both the male and female working together for 1 to 2 weeks, to make a new nest.  The entrance hole is approximately 3" wide.  The nesting cavity can be 13" - 16" deep!  Sometimes flickers will re-use an old nest, rather than make a new one.  European Starlings sometimes drive Flickers from their nest!  Starlings are not native to the United States.  They were introduced from Europe in the late 1800's, and have spread throughout North America.  In some areas, they have caused a decline in the native Northern Flicker populations!  I haven't found any nests yet, but hopefully I will!

Northern Flicker (female) & European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris
(The lack of red on the head indicates that this is a female Flicker.
Male and female Starlings, however, are undifferentiated in appearance.)

Hairy Woodpecker (male) & Hairy Woodpecker (female)

(note the lack of red feathers on the back of the female's head)

Leuconotopicus villosus

I took these photos 3 years ago, when a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers nested on our property!  The following year, they didn't return to their nest, but I still see them in our neighborhood.  Like the Northern Flickers, both the male and female Hairy Woodpeckers work together to excavate their nesting site.  It usually takes them 1 to 2 weeks to complete their nest, in a dead tree trunk or a large dead branch. Unfortunately, European Starlings have been known to take over Hairy Woodpecker nests.  A friend of mine found a dead tree on the ground, with an empty Hairy Woodpecker nest inside!  He cut it in half, to see how far down the nest cavity went!  Amazing isn't it!!!!

Old Hairy Woodpecker nest, cut in half lengthwise, displaying nest cavity

Steller's Jay (female) - Cyanocitta stelleri

(Females are usually the ones that incubate the eggs.)

Like most members of the Corvid family, Steller's Jays mate for life!  Both 

male and female build a new nest every year of twigs, dried grasses, and weeds, 

cemented together with mud.  They are very secretive about their nests, and stay quiet while they are near it!  I found this nest surprisingly visible in an alder tree near our creek, a few years ago.  I haven't found any occupied nests yet, but I am on the look out!

What other birds are going to show up soon?  

Are there other birds, besides European Starlings, that are a threat to native birds?

How long does it take for bird eggs to hatch?  

How long does it take for baby birds to fledge?

Is it usually the female bird that incubates the eggs? 

Check back next week for the answers 

to these questions and more!

Newts & (Desert!) Lizards

Sierra Newt - Taricha sierrae

Did you find any newts?  They should be out there in streams and ponds, probably with their eggs!  After overwintering under forest duff or logs, adult newts head for their birthplace to mate and lay their eggs.  The breeding time can last from September to May!  The females lay lots of jelly-like eggs, usually in Spring, which hatch out as larvae with gills.  You can see these larvae developing in their eggs in the top photo above. After several weeks these aquatic larvae transform into "efts", or immature juveniles, and leave their birthplace to live on land!  On land, they eat earthworms, snails, slugs(!), sowbugs, and a variety of insects.  The Sierra Newt in the bottom photo, is responding to danger by showing its bright orange belly and throat. It is warning potential predators that it is poisonous, with its aposematic coloring.  Not many animals prey on newts, except for garter snakes, which are known to develop a tolerance to the newt's neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin!  Handling newts does NOT expose you to this toxin, but eating one could kill you!

Black-Collard Lizard - Crotaphytus bicinctores

I was thrilled to come across this beautiful Black-Collared Lizard on my vacation in the Arizona desert!  They are largish lizards, and can measure up to 14" in total length!  They prefer to live in rocky, rather than sandy, areas of the desert.  Their favorite food is other lizards, but will also eat snakes, rodents, insects, and some plants.  They are the only North American lizard that uses bipedal locomotion.  When threatened they raise up onto their hind legs and race off at an astonishing rate of 15 mph!!!!  Unlike other lizards, their tails do not easily come off.  If they loose their tail, to a predator, it doesn't grow back!  
The orange stripes on his body, indicates that this is a male.  
Check out his "eyelashes" in the photo below!  
Also, see if you can find his "ear"!

Zebra-Tailed Lizard - Callisaurus draconoides

A few years ago I spotted this incredible Zebra-Tailed Lizard, in the same area of Arizona!  He's a bit smaller than the Black-Collared Lizard, measuring up to 9" in total length, but check out his feet!!!!  Those long and thin toes help him stay cooler, by having minimal contact with the hot desert surface.  He can even raise his toes off the ground, while standing, to further reduce the amount of surface contact.  They prefer to live in sandy open areas with plenty of shrubs that provide shade and protection.  They can run super fast, at about 22' per second, or 18 mph!!!  They are active during the day, and bury themselves in loose sand overnight. They mainly feed on insects and some plants.  Despite their camouflage and speed, they are the prey of snakes, birds, foxes and other lizards!  Like the Black-Collared Lizard the females are oviparous, and lay eggs in the Spring which hatch in July.

Due to the continued rainy weather in my neighborhood, I haven't seen any lizards locally!  Next week I'll catch up on what new birds have arrived, as well as what's blooming!  Maybe I'll even find
some new bird nests!

On Vacation!

I'm going to the southwest desert for a week of vacation tomorrow, so no new posts this week.  I'll have a lot to catch up on when I get back!  In the meantime, go looking for some Newts!  Now is the time!

Sierra Newt - Taricha torosa