It's HOT out there!

Sierra Buttes - Tahoe National Forest

Temperatures got up into the high 90's this week!  To get out of the heat, we drove up to the Lakes Basin and went hiking for a day.  Due to its higher elevation, 5,000' to 8,000', it was a LOT cooler!  There are still several feet of snow above 6,500'!  The Lakes Basin is one of my favorite natural areas, and it's only about a 45 minute drive from our neighborhood.  We hiked up to the snow, along one of the trails to Long Lake, and encountered these lovely wildflowers along the way!

We also saw this little Red-breasted Nuthatch!  He (above left) was busy looking for something to eat in the crevices of the tree trunk.  It looks like he found some kind of seed.  Nuthatches move up, down, and sideways along tree trunks and branches in their search for food.  They live in high elevation coniferous forests for most of the year.  They will store nuts and insects for winter, in the crevices of tree bark.  If winter conditions are too severe, they will migrate to lower elevations.  These little birds don't live in my neighborhood, so it was a treat to watch him!

Steller's Jay - Cyanocitta stelleri

Back down in my neighborhood, it's still HOT!

 This Steller's Jay isn't squawking in alarm, it's panting and spreading its feathers to get rid of excess heat!  Birds can also keep from overheating by seeking shade, bathing in water, and becoming less active.  It was amazing how few birds we saw, and how quiet it was in the hottest part of the day!

Spiny Lizard - Sceloperus sp.

A Lizard's body temperature fluctuates with the temperature of its environment.  To keep from overheating, they move from sun to shade.  They also avoid activity during the mid-day heat.  I found this spiny lizard "basking" on the rocks in the morning sun!

Banana Slug - Ariolomax californicus

Banana slugs retreat into damp shade in hot weather.  They are mainly active at night, as well as morning and evening.  If it's severely hot, they coat themselves in a thick layer of slime and forest duff, roll up in a safe place, and estivate (become dormant)!

Last week I asked what Banana slugs eat, and what eats Banana Slugs. Well, they like to eat mushrooms, animal droppings, moss, lichen, and dead plant material.  They are called detritivores, because they consume dead and decomposing organic matter.  

It turns out that LOTS of animals eat slugs!  Garter snakes, ducks, geese, salamanders, foxes, porcupines, crows, beetles, millipedes, shrews, and moles all eat slugs!  Raccoons also eat slugs, but they roll them in duff before they eat them, to decrease the slime!  To keep from being eaten, Banana Slugs will roll up into a ball and produce lots of slime!

American Robin - Turdus migratorius            House Wren - Troglodytes aedon

Nesting News!

Unfortunately the Black-headed Grosbeak nestlings pictured in last week's blog didn't survive.  They were probably eaten by predators.  However, a Robin is incubating her eggs in the new nest I found (above left)!  Yahoo!  This new nest is only about 50 yards down the road, from the older failed Robin nest. The nesting materials are so similar that I wonder if it's the same Robin!  What do you think?  

Lots of birds in the neighborhood have just fledged. This morning I watched a fledgling Steller's Jay beg for food from an adult Steller's Jay, outside my studio window!  On my morning walk, a group of House Wrens (above right) decided to come by and check me out!  They are so tiny, but they have a loud rattling call!  The adults are only 4.5" long including their tail!  The young one I saw was even smaller!  I was so delighted to watch an adult come and sit by this little fledgling!  It was so cute when it begged for food!  

   Evening Grosbeak (female)       Bullock's Oriole (male)       Western Tanager (female)

Juveniles

I've also seen several juvenile birds in our garden.  There have been male and female Orioles, Western Tanagers, and Evening Grosbeaks!  They are so beautiful to watch!  

So it seems, that despite predators, quite a few nestlings have survived!

What insects are out there?

Lots and lots of different species of insects are flying and crawling around everywhere!  Here are a few that I photographed this week.  The ladybugs are back. The crane flies are still around.  The dragonfly larvae have changed into adults.  There are tons of beetles eating and pollinating the plants!  I'm afraid I'm not an insect specialist, and can't identify a lot of them!  There's so much to learn!

Okay, so next week I'll let you know what's blooming locally!

Also, I haven't seen any bears or rattlesnakes!  

Where are they?

Where do dragonfly larvae live?

Are there insects in the river?  

What do birds do after their babies have fledged?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

Nestlings, Fledglings, and Juveniles!

We had some COLD weather this past week!  Temperatures were in the high 30's  to low 40's!  We got 1/2" of rain, in about an hour and a half!  We even got some hail!  It looked and felt like it was Winter! I was SO worried about all the nestling birds!  Luckily, the parent birds weren't fazed by the weather and kept their nestlings fed and warm!  Now it's HOT and sunny, with temperatures in the mid 80's to low 90's!  Sheesh!

Nesting News!

The Bullock's Oriole that I thought was all on her own, had a male Oriole helping her feed the nestlings for the past two weeks!  How could I have been so oblivious?!!!  I had noticed another bird up by the nest, a few weeks ago but didn't think it was a male.  It never flew over to our garden, or its surrounding trees.  Finally this week, I watched the nest for a couple of hours straight and I saw him go to their nest repeatedly!  Yahoo!  I watched both of them zoom around in the pouring rain getting food for their nestlings.  They even visited the cherry tree outside my window to feast on the cherries!  The cold weather lasted for about 48 hours, and 24 hours later I think the nestlings fledged!  The parent Orioles are no longer going to their nest, and I have seen the female by herself up in the cherry tree.  Hopefully the fledglings are doing good!

I went and checked on the Robin nestlings (above left), but unfortunately the nest was empty.  It was way too early for the nestlings to have fledged, so I assume a predator got them. Snakes, weasels, squirrels, and other birds all prey on nestlings.  It's pure luck if one survives!  However, I did find a brand new nest (above right) just down the road that might be a new Robin nest.  They can have up to 3 broods in a season.  I saw a bird on it this morning, but it was too dark for a photo!  Maybe I'll have better luck later today!

The Starlings are still flying in and out feeding their young.  The Cliff Swallows aren't around anymore, so I'm assuming their nestlings fledged.

I also checked on the Black-headed Grosbeak nest, and their eggs have finally hatched!  Like the Robins I just mentioned, they had been incubating their eggs for 21 days!  I took the picture above, about 2 days ago.  It's the mom and 2 nestlings!  A tiny pink beak is the only part showing of one of the nestlings.  Can you find it?  I hope these nestlings survive! 

My neighbor has just spotted three active Bullock's Oriole nests on her property, as well as one active Black-headed Grosbeak nest!  I was lucky enough to get a photo of these two Oriole nestlings this morning!  How exciting!!!

 In our neighborhood there are LOTS of young birds that have made it past the nestling stage.  Parent birds kick their nestlings out of the nest before they can fly, but continue to care for them on the ground.  The nest is too cramped to stretch and practice flying.  These young birds, that can't fly and no longer live in a nest, are called fledglings.  Once they can fly and feed themselves they are called juveniles.

IF YOU FIND A FLEDGLING ON THE GROUND, PLEASE JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!  

If you pick it up, your human scent will make it easier for it to be found by a predator.  The parent birds will continue to care for the fledgling until it can fly.  The best thing to do is to leave wild things wild!  

There is a local group of experts, Wildlife Rehabilitation & Release, that can care for injured or abandoned birds.  If necessary, please call them for more information at (530) 432-5522 or check out their website at www.cawildlife911.org  

Last week I asked where butterflies go when it rains.  It turns out that they hang out or "roost" under leaves, in vegetation under overhanging trees, in caves, in thickets of woody shrubs, or under man-made objects.  They exhibit this same "roosting" behavior every night before they go to sleep, usually an hour or two after sunset!

Banana Slug - Ariolomax californicus

What do Banana Slugs eat?
What eats Banana Slugs?

 What's blooming?

What insects are out there?

Where are the Rattlesnakes?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

They've hatched!

American Robin - Turdus migratorius

The Robins have finally hatched! It looks like there are 3 chicks in the nest!  Using my telephoto lens, I watched their parents feed them for several minutes.  I didn't want to get too close and disturb them!  It was amazing to watch them open their mouths and BEG to be fed!  Robin parents have been observed making over 100 foraging trips in a day to feed their nestlings!! 

During the first four days of their lives, the nestlings are fed regurgitated, partially-digested food.  On the fifth day, their parents start feeding them pieces of earthworms!  The quantity and size of the food increases rapidly, as the nestlings grow into full sized adults.  After about 15 days, the nestlings fledge and leave the nest, but are still not able to fly.  The adults will continue to feed them for approximately 14 more days!  

Robins do not have a high success rate with nests and nestlings.  Only 40% of their nests produce nestlings!  Only 25% (of the 40%) survive until November!  I'll have to check back next week and see how this particular family is doing! I hope predators don't find them!  Keep your fingers crossed!

                   Cliff Swallow                                        Blackheaded Grosbeak

       Petrochelidon pyrrhonota                          Pheucticus melanocephalus

Nesting News!

The Cliff Swallows are still busy flying in and out feeding their nestlings!  I haven't caught a glimpse of the nestlings yet, but I'll keep trying!

I was SO surprised to see the male Black-headed Evening Grosbeak on the nest!!  I had only seen the female on the nest, every time I had checked it previously!!  It has been about 19 days that they have been sitting on their nest.  Hopefully their eggs will hatch soon!

 Oriole nest (insert) - Female Bullock's Oriole - Icterus bullockii     

I found another nest!  I have had the pleasure of watching this female Bullock's Oriole from our garden, for the past month!  I only recently found her nest!  It's about 50 feet up in a tall, skinny, maple tree.  The leaves are so dense that I only saw the nest after much looking and looking!  The past week she has been foraging for her nestlings, with LOTS and LOTS of flights back and forth to her nest!  According to the bird Field Guides, her mate should be helping her feed the nestlings.  Apparently something must have happened to her mate, as I haven't seen him around at all.  She is doing all the feeding by herself!  I hope she doesn't wear herself out!!!  To add to her stress, the past few days have been rainy and cold, and the insects aren't out!  Luckily the cherries are ripe, and she's been feeding on them! 

Crane Fly (insert) - Holorusia hespera    

Female Brewer's Blackbird  -  Male Brewer's Blackbird

Euphagus cyanocephalus

I don't know where the Brewer's Blackbirds' nests are, but they are busy catching insects for their nestlings.  It seems that the main insects they're catching are Crane Flies, also known as Mosquito Hawks. These insects do NOT catch mosquitoes!  They only live for a few days, just long enough to mate and lay eggs.  If they eat anything at all, it's nectar and dew!  The birds, however, love to eat them! 

  

Birds love to eat butterflies, but they don't eat their wings!  I've been finding lots of wings in our garden. Butterflies are in the Lepidoptera or "scale wing" Family.  
If you look super close, you can see the individual scales on the wings!  

The patterns they make are quite beautiful!  

The scales are not just randomly placed.  The scale patterns help the butterfly protect itself by concealment, camouflage, mimicry, and warning!  Bold or brightly colored patterns warn that some butterflies are NOT edible!  This is called Aposematic coloring!  In Batesian mimicry, edible butterflies mimic the coloring of an inedible butterfly!

Scales also provide insulation, and keep the butterflies warmer!  They also help increase the lift-to-drag ratio in gliding flight!

Western Yellow-bellied Racer Snake - Coluber constrictus mormon

I found this Racer Snake on the road this week!  I've never seen one before!  
It is aptly named, as its belly was a light lemon-yellow and it moved super fast.  
At first I thought it was a Rubber Boa, because of its uniform coloring.   
It turns out that the two snakes are quite different!

Racer Snakes don't constrict their prey, even though their Latin name says "constrictus"!  Rather they pin down their prey with their body, and then swallow it whole!  They move super fast when they do this!  They eat rodents, frogs, toads, lizards, snakes, birds, and bird eggs.  They mate in Spring.  About a month later,

they lay 3 to 30 eggs in a hollow log or rodent burrow.  The juvenile snakes hatch-out

months later in the Fall.  These snakes bite hard and often if you try to handle them.  They are not poisonous, but the bites can be painful! 

Rubber Boa (brand new!) - Charina bottae

Rubber boas never bite or strike humans, and are quite docile when handled!  I photographed this one several years ago in the local mountains.  It has the rosy coloration that is indicative of a recently born Rubber Boa!  The rosy color darkens to  grey with age.  Its diet consists of small rodents, fledgling birds, and lizards.  The birds and rodents are constricted, but the lizards are swallowed whole, as they are taken in the cooler hours when they are immobile.  This snake hunts at night, as well as at dawn and dusk.  They mate in the Spring.  They are viviparous, and do not make eggs.  They give live birth to up to 9 snakelets in the Fall.

The North Yuba River is running at a fast 7.4 cubic feet per second!  Not as fast as last winter, but it is very high and very wide!  It's also a very chilly 44 degrees!  There's still LOTS of snow to melt, so we won't be swimming for quite a while!  More rain and and cold temperatures are in the forecast for today!  Brrr!

 Will the nestlings survive this cold weather?
Where do the butterflies go when it's cold and rainy?
What other insects are out there?
What wildflowers are blooming?
Where are the Black Bears????

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

The Food Chain

The more I study about the critters in my neighborhood, the more I realize how they are all so interconnected!  Each animal has a specific need for food.  Some look for food on the ground, others nab food in the air!  Some eat insects.  Some eat plants.  Some eat animals.  Some even eat each other!  Each and every day their plan is to eat enough food for survival, AND to not get eaten in the process!  It's tough out there!  It is an amazing, complicated, web of interdependence!

Feathers for Lunch!

Last week I asked if you could guess what kind of bird this is, and what was going to be its next meal.  Well, this is a Band-tailed Pigeon.  These pigeons have been around for a couple of weeks.  In Fall, Winter, and Spring their main food is acorns, which they swallow whole!  Right now, they're eating seeds, fruit, and berries.  I'm not sure what they were eating up in the locust trees, but they were in the tops of them for days.  Perhaps they were eating part of the nectar filled flowers.  After all the flowers dropped their petals, it seemed as if the pigeons were just hanging out together, waiting for some food to appear!  Some of them decided to eat some bird seed my neighbor had put on the ground.  A wily forest critter took advantage of these ground feeding pigeons, and nabbed one of them for lunch!  All that was left was this pile of feathers!  Fortunately, the next big food source for the pigeons, has ripened-up in the trees. 

Cherries!

The wild cherries have ripened and many critters are starting to eat them!  Black Bears,  Chickarees, and birds (especially pigeons!), all want their fill of cherries!  Last year the Black Bears were climbing all the cherry trees and eating the cherries when they were green!  This year I haven't even seen one Black Bear yet, but I have seen their scat!  The bear scat below is full of cherry pits!

Last year, and the year before, Cedar Waxwings (above right) showed up to eat the cherries too!  These beautiful birds are rarely up in our area.  They prefer the foothills of the Sierra from Fall through Spring, and then migrate north to Oregon, Washington, and Canada during their Summer breeding period.  They are one of the few North American birds that specialize in eating fruit.  Brown-headed Cowbird chicks that are laid in Cedar Waxwing nests rarely survive, in part because they can't develop on a high fruit diet!  Waxwings sometimes come up to the Ponderosa Pine Belt to eat madrone and mistletoe berries.  We were just lucky, that during the past two drought years, they came this far looking for fruit!

Western Tiger Swallowtail - Papilio rutilus rutilus Pale Swallowtail - Papilio eurymedon

Butterflies have shown up in the last week and a half! Coincidentally, lots of baby birds have hatched and their parents are busily nabbing insects, including butterflies, to feed them!  I watched a Bullock's Oriole try to get one of these Swallowtail Butterflies, but she missed.  A few minutes later a Steller's Jay swooped down and nabbed one!

Butterflies are pretty amazing critters!  They taste with their feet, smell with their antennae, and listen with tiny "ears" located on their wings!!!!  Their eyes are made up of 6,000 lenses, and they can see ultra violet light!  They also magically transform from caterpillars to adult butterflies in 10-15 days!  WOW!

Nesting News!

  

The Steller's Jay nest (above) is empty!  I found a part of an eggshell on the ground, so I hope that means the nestlings hatched and fledged already!  I does seem way too soon for them have fledged, but maybe they were in the nest a long time before I noticed.  I'll have to be more observant next year!

          American Robin - Turdus Migratorius              Black-headed Grosbeak - Pheucticus melanocephalus 

The Robin has been sitting on her nest for 21 days!  That's a LOT longer than the average incubation time for Robins, of 12-14 days!  Her nest is in the direct path of cool down-canyon breezes.  We also had a cold spell during those 21 days.  Maybe the cooler temperatures made a difference!  The Black-headed Grosbeak has been on her nest for 12 days.  The average incubation time for Grosbeaks is 12-14 days!  So maybe they will all  hatch in the next couple of days!

The European Starlings are still actively flying in and out of their nest site, 
feeding their young!  

  The other American Robin has left her nest, and I haven't seen any eggshells on the ground.  Perhaps her eggs were eaten by a predator.  I don't know!  The Cliff Swallows, however, are very busy flying in and out feeding their babies!

  How long does it take for baby birds to fledge?

What eats baby birds and bird eggs?

Do both parents feed the baby birds?

How cold is the river?  How fast is it flowing?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

Douglas Tree Squirrel or Chickaree

Tamiasciurus douglasii