The one that got away!

Rainbow Trout (fingerling) - Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus

I don't fish, but I went looking for them in the North Yuba River this week!  I found a few "fingerlings" (above) in the shallow, slow waters along the river, as well as lots of "fry" (below).  I also spotted a medium size fish in some shallow water but it spotted me too, and zipped right out of that area before I got a photo!  Rats!

Fish start as eggs which hatch into larvae. The larvae are not able to feed themselves, and carry a yolk-sac in their bellies which provides their nutrition. At this stage they are called "alevins". When they have developed to the point where they can feed themselves (mainly zooplankton), the fish are called "fry". When they develop scales and working fins they are called "fingerlings". This juvenile fingerling stage lasts until the fish is fully grown, sexually mature, and interacting with other adult fish.

It sounds like the most common fish in the North Yuba River are Coastal Rainbow Trout, which are native to California, but have been planted locally. There are also non-native German Brown Trout, that swim up to spawn from Bullard's Bar Reservoir. Occasionally you might also find a non-native Brook Trout that has flowed out from a higher elevation lake, during the high water of Spring.

Maybe all these fish will attract a River Otter to our local stretch of the North Yuba River! I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Rainbow Trout "Fry"- Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus

Signal Crayfish claws - Pacifastucus leniusculus

top side (left) & under side (right) 

Crayfish or Crawdads?

I also found the claws of a Signal Crayfish in our river!  Signal Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans, that are native to Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.  They were introduced to California in 1912, and have spread throughout the state.  I only noticed them in our river, about 4 years ago, at the beginning of the California drought.  I don't see lots of them, but they are definitely residents.  Large fish, raccoons, minks, river otters, and Great Blue Herons all eat adult crayfish.  I don't know who got this one!  

Crayfish mate in the Fall.  After mating, each female lays 200 to 400 eggs, which she carries under her tail until they are ready to hatch the following Spring.  The eggs hatch into juveniles and molt 3 times before they leave their mother!   The main predators of crayfish eggs and young, are other crayfish and fish.  They reach sexual maturity in 2-3 years, and can live as long as 20 years!  As youths and adults, crayfish feed on animals and plants, living or deceased, and detritus.  They are omnivores!

A Crayfish is the same thing as a Crawdad!  They are also commonly called Mountain Lobsters, Freshwater Lobsters, Mudbugs, and Yabbies! 

Water Strider Nymphs - Gerris sp.

Water Striders!

I also found 100's of these tiny, wildly spinning bugs on top of the water, in a side pocket of  the river!  I  looked and looked through all my natural history books and couldn't figure out what they were!  Looking on-line I found a website, www.whatsthatbug.com, and they had an "Ask Us" section!  So I emailed them this photo (above) last night, and this morning they emailed me the answer!  WOW, that was fast!

It turns out that they are the nymphs of Water Striders!  Water Striders start out as eggs which hatch into nymphs.  The nymphs have 5 instars (periods of growth) between molts.  In about 60 to 70 days the nymphs become adults.  As adults they prey on spiders and insects that land on the water, as well as nymphs of their own species!  Birds are the main predators of the adults. To avoid predation the adults can fly away or dive under water!

Water Striders are known for their curious ability to "walk-on-water"!  They are able to do this for a variety of reasons.  They use the natural surface tension of water, along with a water-repellent body covered in LOTS of fine hairs (up to several thousand hairs per mm), as well as long thin legs that distribute their body weight over a large area.  The round shadows they cast, from the tips of their legs, are caused by the dimples their feet create on the surface of the water!

Hummer Summer!

My neighbor is gone on vacation, and I'm keeping her bird feeders full of sugar-water, for all the local Hummingbirds.  I'm not sure that I've identified them correctly, but most of them appear to be Anna's Hummingbirds.  It has been a blast watching them!  They are also feeding on flowers in our garden, especially the Bee Balm!  I have really enjoyed photographing them!  Check out the Hummer's feet in the photo below!  Wow! 

Anna's Hummingbird (female) - Calypte anna

Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of any warm blooded organism!  They have to eat a lot to stay alive, but they actually spend 75-80% of their day perching, and only 10-15% of their time eating!  The wildflower nectar that they eat is 55% sucrose, 24% glucose, and 21% fructose!  They also supplement their diet with insects, such as mosquitoes, gnats, aphids, and spiders!  At night they go into a state of torpor, to conserve energy, which slows their metabolic rate to 1/15 of their normal rate!  Torpor also causes their body temperature to drop from 40 degrees to 18 degrees, their  heartbeat rate drops from over 1,000 beats per minute to 50-180 beats per minute, and their respiration rate (normally 250 breaths per minute) slows down as well!  If you want to feed hummingbirds sugar water, use only white granulated sugar, diluted to 1 part sugar to 4 parts water.  Food coloring is not needed to attract them, and can be harmful to hummingbirds!

Hummingbirds beat their wings at an amazing 50 beats per second!  I used a slower shutter speed on my camera to create the "ghost" wings in the photo above.  The wings move so fast, that at a slow shutter speed they disappear!  During their courtship displays the male hummers ascend an incredible 35 meters, then they dive down and up past the female, going 27 meters per second!   That's twice the speed of a Peregrine Falcon in pursuit of prey!  Wow!!  Hummingbirds also travel long distances during Fall and Spring migrations. Most migrate south from North America to Mexico, and Central America.  One of our local hummers, the Rufous Hummingbird, travels an incredible 3,900 miles from Alaska to Mexico in late summer! 

Above is a photo of a female Anna's Hummingbird in the sun (left) and in open shade (right). In the bright sun some of her feathers are shimmery and iridescent, but in the shade the same feathers look black and gray. This is because Hummingbird feathers get their color from some pigment in the feathers, as well as from structural coloration. There are prism-like cells within the top layers of feathers of the head, throat, breast, back, and wings. When sunlight hits these cells, it is split into wavelengths that reflect back to the viewer in varying degrees of intensity. By merely shifting position, some plainly colored Hummingbird feathers can instantly become flashy red/magenta or brilliant green! Amazing!!!!

Rock Creek!

Rock Creek is one of the two creeks that join together and flow behind our house.  I hadn't been up there in years, because of all the poison oak, but decided to check it out this week.  It was well worth the effort!  It is an incredibly beautiful sculpted bedrock creek-bed, with lots of small waterfalls, and clear deep pools, lined with Indian Rhubarb plants!  So lovely!  We reached the waterfall (above) after hiking for about an hour, along with some easy climbing up a few bedrock walls!  The water was ice cold but felt great in the heat!  Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to really explore and look for wild critters, but came away filled with beauty!  I'll have to go back up there again soon!

Rounded boulder in rounded bedrock!

Sun and splash, and shadow!

Next week I'm going on vacation in Yosemite, so I probably won't be posting my blog.

 I'll have a new Post by Monday, August 6th, for sure!

Check back then for an update on the natural history news in my neighborhood!

It's Summer!

The temperature has been in the high 80's to low 90's and the North Yuba River is warming up!  It's also slowing down, clearing up, and turning its beautiful glass-green color!  I spent several days cooling off and exploring in the river this week!  It was wonderful! 

Stonefly nymph and Adult - Plecoptera sp.

I found quite a few different aquatic insects in the river! Biologists can gauge the health of a stream by taking a census of the aquatic insects that live in it. Because the insects I'm featuring this week cannot tolerate pollution, high sedimentation, and high amounts of algae and fungi, their presence in our stream and river is an indicator of good water quality!

Pictured above are a Stonefly nymph exoskeleton (left) and an adult Stonefly (right). Stonefly nymphs will live underwater for 1 to 4 years, depending on the species. They prefer running rivers and streams, not lakes and ponds. They feed on algae, detritus, and plant materials under water. When their nymphal stages end, the nymphs will crawl out of the water onto rocks, their exoskeletons will dry out and crack open, the adult will pull itself out of the exoskeleton, pump up its wings, dry out, and fly away! As adults they feed on nectar, as well as algae and lichens. The adults usually live for about a month, just long enough to mate and lay eggs!

Caddisfly larvae - Trichoptera sp.

Pictured above are Caddisfly larvae in their cases.  These larvae can be found in streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds!  The material used to make the cases varies between species.  The cases I saw were a combination of wooden pieces and small stones.  Inside its case, a Caddisfly larva makes a silken cocoon around its body.  It will pupate in this silken cocoon before it becomes an adult.  As larvae they feed on algae, as well as aquatic and terrestrial vegetation.  As adults, Caddisflies feed on nectar!   The larvae live for about a year, whereas the adults live for about one month!  Thousands of these adults have been clinging to our window screens for the past few nights!  They are attracted to light, just like moths!  I'll get a photo of them tonight and post it next week! 

 Mayfly nymph - Water-penny

Ephemeroptera sp.  - Eubrianax edwardsi

I found the Mayfly nymph pictured above (left) in the stream behind our house, they can also be found in rivers, lakes and ponds.  Nymphs will live for 1 to 2 years, depending on species.  They scrape and eat algae and other micro-organisms off of underwater rocks.  As adults, Mayflies do not eat, and live for less than 24 hours!  Just long enough to mate and lay eggs for the next generation!  

I found the Water-penny Beetle larva above (right) in the North Yuba River.  They prefer to live in aerated rushing rivers and streams, but are occasionally found in wave-washed lake shores.  As larva they live for approximately 1 year, and survive on algae scraped from the surfaces of submerged rocks.  I couldn't find information on how long the adults live other than, "they live for a short time and eat little to nothing"!!

Up in the Lakes Basin there were LOTS of dragonflies and flying insects!  We also watched a dragonfly nymph (top right) crawl up out of a lake!!!  

Last week I asked, "Why do you think dragonflies are commonly seen hovering over rivers, even though they are born in ponds?" Well, it turns out that dragonflies can be born and live in the slow moving sections of streams and rivers, not just ponds! I have never seen dragonfly nymphs in rivers or streams, but a watershed biologist I know has seen many of them! I apologize for posting the wrong information! So maybe dragonflies are commonly seen hovering over rivers because they were born there, and/or because there's lots of flying insects they can prey on! Probably both!

              Western Yellow-bellied Racer Snake - Thamnophis elegans                       Southern Alligator Lizard - Elgaria multicarinata

Photos by Carl Butz ©2017

Reptiles in Combat!!!

A local resident and friend of mine, Carl Butz, took these amazing photos last week of a Western Yellow-bellied Racer Snake and a Southern Alligator Lizard locked in combat!  WOW!  What amazing photographs!  He only had time to get a few shots before he had to leave.  When he returned to the same site later, there was no sign of these reptiles!  Racer snakes like to eat lizards, but it looks like this Alligator Lizard used a defense strategy that may have saved his own life!  Unfortunately, we don't know who won.  Who do you think walked away alive?

 Leopard Lily - Lilium pardalinum

What's Blooming? 

This past week I camped up in the Lakes Basin for three days!  There were LOTS of flowers in bloom!  There were hundreds of Leopard Lilies (above) along a path that ran through an aspen grove!  Such beauty!

Death Camas - Zigadenus venenosus

In the wet meadow areas, one of the main flowers was Death Camas!  This flower grows from an underground bulb.  All parts of the plant are poisonous, particularly the bulb!  There was an abundance of these lovely flowers in the meadows I saw!

Spreading Phlox - Phlox diffusa

I found this phlox growing on just about every rocky, sunny slope that I saw!  Their fragrance is heavenly!  Get down on your knees and smell them!  They start out white in color and turn lavender with age!

Nesting News!

The American Robin is no longer incubating her eggs, but no chicks have hatched.  Apparently she has abandoned her nest, or her eggs were eaten by a predator.  I don't know what happened!  However, up in the Lakes Basin their were lots of baby birds!

Common Merganser with Chicks - Mergus merganser

I saw this female Common Merganser with her chicks in Grassy Lake, in the Lakes Basin Campground. I watched them for about half an hour and even saw the chicks jump up and ride on her back!! Common Mergansers make their nests in a natural cavity or woodpecker hole in a live or dead tree, up to 100 feet off the ground and within a mile of water. The chicks are born precocial and can feed, swim, and fly within 1 or 2 days! As chicks they mainly eat aquatic invertebrates, including the aquatic insects featured in this blog! As adults they mainly eat fish, but supplement their diet with aquatic invertebrates. These Common Mergansers live in fresh water lakes and rivers. I saw three of them down on the North Yuba River just this morning!

 Mountain Quail chicks - Oreortyx pictus

We came across these Mountain Quail chicks on one of our Lakes Basin hikes!  Their mom really made a racket and rapidly flapped her wings to distract us from her chicks!!  They were so tiny, and so well camouflaged, we could hardly see them when they "froze" in place!  Mountain Quail make their nests on the ground.  Their chicks are born precocial, and can readily follow their mother!  We think we saw about 9 chicks altogether! WOW!  Mountain Quail are uncommon so we were really lucky to see them!

What's happening up in Rock Creek?

What's happening with the fish in our rivers and streams?

What are the Hummingbirds feeding on, now that most of the flowers have dried up around here?

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

A day on the river!

I spent a whole day on the North Yuba River this past week!  It was SO beautiful!  It's still fast and cold, but I did jump in for a few minutes!  Lots of different critters were active along the shore, as well as in the river!

Side-blotch Lizard - Uta stansburiana      Foothill Yellow-legged Frog - Rana boylei

I am not a herpetologist, so my identification of these critters may not be correct.  Why don't you try to figure out what species these herptiles are? 

 Let me know what you find out!

The Side-blotched Lizard (above left) was sunning himself on the boulders along the river.  They like to eat scorpions, ticks, spiders, mites, sowbugs, and insects.  They are primarily ground dwellers, and are one of the most commonly found lizards 

in my neighborhood.

The Foothill Yellow-legged Frog (above right) jumped into the water along the edge of the river when I approached.  They prefer to live along rivers and streams, not ponds.  They mate from April to late June, but do not lay their eggs until the local streams and rivers subside.  They eat moths, ants, grasshoppers, hornets, beetles, flies, 

water striders, and snails!

I also caught a glimpse of this Western Yellow-bellied Racer Snake (above) as he zipped by!  Perhaps he was out looking for something to eat.  They prefer to  eat rodents, frogs, toads, lizards, and other snakes.  Even though they have the word "constrictus" in their Latin name, they are not constrictors!  What did I tell you a few months ago about their hunting methods?  Let me know what you remember!

Swallowtail Butterflies - Papilio sp.

These male Swallowtail Butterflies are "puddling".  They are sipping nutrients from the damp soil near the river's edge.  Only the male Swallowtail  Butterflies practice this behavior!   Why don't the females "puddle"?  Let me know what you think!

Western Aquatic Garter Snake - Thamnophis couchii

I was just about to grab onto this dead tree, to navigate a deep spot in the river, when I realized there was a Western Aquatic Garter Snake draped along the branches!  It was easily 4.5 feet long!  What a surprise that was!  I wasn't worried about getting bit by the snake, as they generally want to get well away from you, and they aren't poisonous.  I waded back to shore and watched it for another 5 minutes while it unhurriedly slipped into the river!  How fun!

Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularia

This Spotted Sandpiper (above) was walking along the edge of the river, and flew out to the rocks in the middle as I approached.  The spots are very obvious on its breast, which makes this bird easy to identify!  It is the most widespread, breeding, fresh water shorebird in North America!

They are usually solitary, except during the breeding season.  Uniquely, the males incubate the eggs and raise the young, while the female defends the territory!  They may be monogamous or the female may practice polyandry, and mate with up to 4 different males!  The nest is a shallow 2"-3" depression on the ground, under broad-leaved plants, located within 100 yards from the shore of a river or stream. The young are born precocial, with downy feathers, open eyes, and the ability to walk and eat within one day of being born!

Sandpipers feed on aquatic insects, midges, grasshoppers, beetles, worms and snails.  They infrequently dive underwater and feed on the bottom of a river!  I'm going to go back to the river and spend a LOT more time watching this Sandpiper!  I'd love to watch it dive underwater!  Maybe I might even find a nest or two! 

     Twelve-spotted Skipper - Libellula pulchella         Dragonfly nymph exoskeletons

This beautiful dragonfly landed right next to where I was watching that Western Aquatic Garter Snake!  Such fancy elaborate markings it had!  Dragonflies are born underwater from gelatinous "eggs", that are laid on submerged plant stems in lakes and ponds, not rivers!  Nymphs will hatch from the eggs and live underwater for several years.  In Spring, the nymphs will crawl out of the water on a plant stem.  They will stay there for some time while their exoskeleton dries and cracks down the middle of their back.  The adult dragonfly will emerge from this dried exoskeleton, pump up their wings, dry off, and fly away.  As an adult, dragonflies feed on a wide variety of flying insects.  They catch prey with their legs, and eat them while they are still airborne!  The adults may only live for a few days or a week!  Why do you think dragonflies are commonly seen hovering over rivers, 

even though they are born in ponds?  

Nesting News!

As of today, Saturday, July 8th, the American Robin (above) is still on her nest!  Her eggs should hatch soon!  I'll keep you posted!  This is the only occupied nest that I've found in our neighborhood recently.  Most of the other local birds have completed their nesting season for the year.  Right now, in preparation for their Fall migration, they are busy eating, gaining weight, and molting their feathers!

American Robin (Juvenile)       Black-headed Grosbeak             Band-tailed Pigeon

 Cherry Eaters!

The last of the cherries were eaten by the local birds (above) this week!  Surprisingly I didn't see any Orioles!   In fact I haven't seen any Orioles since the nestlings fledged a few weeks ago.  Maybe they'll come back when the blackberries ripen up!  

I'll keep you posted!

Leopard Lily - Lilium pardalinum

What's Blooming?

Except for the shady creek side areas, everything has dried up around here!  Along our open water ditch, there are places where these lovely Leopard Lilies (above) are blooming!  I even watched a hummingbird feed on them, but it was too quick for me to get a photo!  They grow from bulbs, and bloom in the Summer.  They are one of my all time favorite wildflowers!

These lilies are frequently, incorrectly named "Tiger Lilies."

Leopard Lilies and Tiger Lilies look alike, but they are not the same plant.  Leopard Lilies are native to California, whereas Tiger Lilies are native to Asia.  So if you come across an orange lily with brown spots, in a wet meadow or stream side area in California, odds are it is a Leopard Lily! 

Giant Stream Orchid - Epipactis gigantea 

I had to drive a little higher in elevation to find this beautiful wild orchid!  It grows along one shady, wet stretch of highway 49, about 2 miles above Downieville.  These orchids have formed a colony of several thousand plants in this area!   They reproduce through rhizomes and seeds.  The flowers themselves are about 1.5" in length, quite a bit larger than other local native orchids.  I've never seen these orchids in any other area, in all my years of exploring!

I haven't seen any bears or rattlesnakes, although my neighbors have!  Maybe this week I'll see them!

Are there insects living in the river?

Are there insects living in this creek?

What are the hummingbirds feeding on besides Leopard Lilies?

What else is blooming?

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