This week, clouds and heavy thundershowers brought rain and hail to my neighborhood! It poured rain for a solid hour last Tuesday and drenched everything, diminishing the ever-present threat of fire! Yahoo!!
It also really cooled off this week! The daytime temps dropped from the high 90's to the mid 70's! The nighttime temps dropped from the high 60's to the low 50's! The crickets have stopped chirping at night and we're sleeping better!
In just a few days, Sept. 22, Summer will officially end!
Fall is definitely beginning! It all happens so quickly!
Western Gray Squirrel - Sciurus griseus
There are about 3 Western Gray Squirrels living close to our home, that have been busy burying Black Walnuts from our neighbors' tree. They are called "scatter hoarders" because they store small caches of food in many different places, rather than one main location. These caches are not what the squirrels solely subsist on in winter. They actively search for food in winter, foraging for pine nuts, acorns, tree buds, and mushrooms.
Their nests are called "dreys" and are made of twigs, leaves, sticks, moss, lichen and shredded bark. They prefer to make their nest in the top third of a tree, but will also nest in hollow tree branches or trunks. During the winter, and in the nesting season, their dreys are covered on top. In the summer they may also construct and open-air sleeping platform!
Like some birds, these squirrels molt twice a year! The molt goes from head to tail in the Spring. In the Fall, the molt goes from back to the front (excluding the tail)! The tail only molts once, in the Spring, and the molted tail hairs are used to line the nests! Pretty ingenious! I wonder if they use their Fall molted hairs to line their nests for winter! What do you think?
Douglas Squirrel or Chickaree - Tamiasciurus douglasii
There are 2 Chickarees that live right near our home! They too have been busy storing seeds and nuts! Unlike the Western Gray Squirrel, they will store lots of green cones for the winter in only one or two main areas. During winter they will dig down through the snow to these caches, or "middens", and feast on the seeds in the cones! They will also forage for food such as nuts, acorns, berries, tree buds, fungi, and insects!
In winter they mainly nest in hollow trees or abandoned woodpecker cavities. They may also build a ball or cup-shaped nest 15'-20' up a tree, from twigs, moss, lichen and shredded bark. In colder northern areas they may even dig a burrow underground, right under one of their food caches!
In summer their fur is reddish brown in color, in winter it is grayish brown. Like the Western Gray Squirrel, they molt or shed their fur twice a year, except for the tail! The tail only molts once a year in the summer! I'll bet they use it to line their nests, like the Gray Squirrels!
Long-eared Chipmunk - Neotamias quadrimaculatus
Two of my biologist friends confirmed that the photo of a chipmunk I posted two weeks ago, is a Long-eared Chipmunk! This is a new species for me! Apparently it's pretty hard to identify chipmunk species, as they are so similar in appearance. Knowing what elevation and habitat they are found in narrows down the choices. I saw this one up at approximately 6500' in elevation, in a mixed conifer forest.
It was busy eating the seeds from green fir cones (above right)! Unlike Western Gray Squirrels and Chickarees, Long-eared Chipmunks hibernate in an underground den during the winter!
Gray Foxes - Urocyon cinereoargentus
Gray Fox Update!
The foxes surprised me this week! There were three of them instead of two, and maybe even four! I think I see another pair of ears just above the middle of the blurred green area!!! Can you see them? Wow! The younger ones didn't stick around at all, and split as soon as they saw me! The mom remained cool and calm as I slowly slipped away! How exciting!!! I sure hope to see them again!
River Update!
The river has dropped quite a bit and cooled off a lot! My time IN the river has definitely shortened. Brrr! The good thing is that the algae on the underwater rocks is diminishing, so it isn't so slippery when you walk on them!
Water Strider Nymphs (?) - Gerridae sp. Flame Skimmer - Libellula saturata
In the shallows, the Water Strider Nymphs (above left) are still swimming around in groups! They don't look much bigger than they were a few months ago! It takes 60 to 70 days for the nymphs to mature to adults. I first noticed them in late July, so they should be maturing soon! One of my biologist friends thought that maybe these aren't nymphs, but rather the adults of a different Water Strider species! I'll have to research that more and let you know what I find!
Right now, above and along the length of the river there are hundreds of big dragonflies zooming around! They are probably catching and eating insects, as well as mating and laying eggs. These adults will die off before winter, but their eggs will overwinter and hatch in the spring. It is so beautiful to watch the metallic glint and gleam of their wings above the river in the late afternoon sun!
American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus
This week I came across an American Dipper foraging for insects
in the shallow rapids of the river!
Instead of totally submerging itself, it was standing on the submerged rocks
and only sticking part of its body underwater! It was obviously finding
insects to eat in the aerated rapids! Wow!
American Dippers are year-round residents, and will continue feeding in the river
throughout this coming winter!
Garden Update!
The daylight hours are definitely getting shorter. The sun leaves our garden by
4:30 pm now, as compared to 7:00 pm in the middle of Summer! I got the photo (above) of corn tassel shadows on corn stalks one late afternoon this week!
Just last night a bear feasted in our garden! This morning 2/3 of the cornstalks were broken down and all the cobs had been eaten! The bear also broke up two squashes and ate all the seeds! Luckily I had picked most of the squash yesterday afternoon! The bear has also eaten most of the apples off our 3 trees, as well as some of the chicken manure we had in a bag! I'm going out right now to pick the plums off our tree before it's too late! That bear has an amazing appetite!
Lots of the dried Sunflower heads in our garden still have seeds, but the birds are leaving! There's only a few Lesser Goldfinches still feeding in the morning! The Bee Balm and most of the other flowers are past their prime and wilting. We're down to 2 hummers, and we only see them infrequently now! New birds are passing through! I got the above photos of an unidentified Sparrow (left), a Yellow Warbler (center), and a possible immature American Goldfinch (right) one morning down in our garden! I wonder how long it will be before the hummers are all gone!
What kind of bird is this?
If you guessed that last weeks photos were
a Western Gray Squirrel's tail,
and a Gray Fox's ears
you're right!
Unless I happen to get a photo of a bat (highly unlikely!),
I probably can't figure out what kind of bats live here!
My apologies!
I've found out that Crayfish retreat into underwater burrows and enter a state of torpor in winter. It's not winter yet, but maybe the colder water temperatures have affected them and that's why I'm not seeing them.
Where are the deer?
What birds are going to stay through the winter?
Did the fish fry mature?
Whose tail is this?
Check back next week for the answers
to these questions and more!
Your comments & questions are greatly appreciated!
Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com!
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