North Yuba Naturalist: Woodpeckers, Owls & More!

Acorn Woodpecker & Granaries - Melanerpes formicivorus

I had an errand that took me down to the foothills this week. While I was there I had a short time to check out the area and got a few photos of this Acorn Woodpecker! These woodpeckers don't live in my neighborhood, but are one of the dominant species in the oak woodlands. Acorns are the main food they depend upon in winter. They store acorns by drilling holes in dead tree trunks and putting an acorn in each hole! These acorn filled trunks are called "granaries". Granaries have been known to contain up to 50,000 acorns!

Each granary is only used by one "family" of Acorn Woodpeckers. It may take generations of use to create a large granary. The families consist of males, females, and offspring, ranging from 2 to 16 members. Usually there are about 5 members in a family. The adults practice "polygynandry", and breed with multiple females/males. All the females lay all their eggs on the same day, in the same nest cavity! The whole family helps incubate the eggs and raise the chicks!! At night, all of the family members roost in the same cavity!! Acorn Woodpeckers are amazing! If you'd like to learn more about them and their environment, check out this information filled book:
Secrets of the Oak Woodlands by Kate Marianchild.

Acorn Woodpecker Granary

Northern Pygmy Owl - Glaucidium gnoma

Owls!

I saw this Northern Pygmy Owl in the winter several years ago! It was an overcast day, with about a foot of snow on the ground. It was mid-day, and this little owl didn't seem to mind me coming up close! What a beauty! They are so small, measuring 6"-7" in length with a wingspan of 15". Unlike other owls, Northern Pygmy Owls are active during the day, mainly around dawn and dusk! They prey on songbirds, wrens, jays, hummers, and even quail! They have black markings (below right) on the back of their head that look like eyes, that may deter predators or mobbing birds! They rely on their vision for hunting, rather than sound, and lack the facial discs of nocturnal owls. They probably migrate down to the foothills during the winter, in search of prey. I feel super lucky to have seen this tiny owl in person!

Northern Pygmy Owl - Glaucidium gnoma

Northern Spotted Owl - Strix occidentalis

Photo by Anthony James 2008

Northern Spotted Owls prefer to live in dense old-growth forests, with a closed canopy to protect from predators. Standing dead trees are another important factor in their habitat as they are the preferred home of the Northern Flying Squirrel, the owls' favorite food! There also needs to be lots of dead and decaying logs on the forest floor, as they provide fungus for the fungivore flying squirrels! It's all connected! Once a Northern Spotted Owl finds the right territory, it will usually stay there the rest of its life, unless logging or other major changes take place! In winter they may expand their home range, but do not migrate. In addition to Flying Squirrels, they also eat mice and Bushy-tailed Woodrats!

Flammulated Owl (dead) - Psiloscops flammeolus

We found this beautiful little dead Flammulated Owl on our property, several years ago. A friend of mine cleaned and stuffed it, to preserve it for others to see. They are really little, measuring 6"- 6.5" in length, with a wingspan of 16". The name "flammulated" comes from their reddish flame-colored feathers. These little owls are completely nocturnal, and are not active at dawn or dusk. They prefer to live in dense forests where their feather coloration blends in with tree bark and branches. They are insectivores and feed on moths, grasshoppers, spiders, crickets, beetles, and scorpions! Unlike other owls, these tiny owls fly down to southern Mexico or Central America to spend the winter! Like most birders, I've never seen a live Flammulated Owl. Thanks go to the dedicated biologist that have chosen to study these little nocturnal owls, and have shared their knowledge with us!

False Chanterelle - Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca

Fungi!

This week we had WINDY and DRY weather, which has stopped the further sprouting of mushrooms! The ones that I photographed at the end of last week have already dried up! This may be the end of our mushroom season. However, they may sprout again once the rain returns! I'm going to the Fungi Foray this weekend, and I'll let you know how it goes! It should be great! Here's the info if you're interested: http://yubawatershedinstitute.org/events/event/foray2017/

Puffballs - species unknown Turkey Tail - species unknown

Sulphur Tuft (?) - Hypholoma fasciculare (?)

Deer - Odocoileus hemionus sp.

Mammal Update!

Another new buck (above left) has shown up in our neighborhood! The size of his antlers indicates that he is young! The young doe (above right) is always with an adult doe. I'm wondering what that odd looking hair tuft is on her right hind leg! I'll see if I can get some info about that! With all these deer around maybe I'll get lucky and see a Mountain Lion one of these days!!!

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Here's another portrait of my daily garden visitor! This time it was way after dusk when I saw her. I had to use the shutter priority on my camera, because of the low light, and for some reason only minimal color information was recorded! I actually like the black and white image! It's the same fox that's been around our garden for months now. I still haven't found her winter den. No snow fell after all, so no tracks showed me the way. I'll just have to keep on searching!

I haven't figured out what kind of spider made that

dew-filled web, but I will!

The Anna's Hummingbird has been gone from our garden, for about two weeks or more. I'm glad he moved on! It's been COLD here at night!

I haven't figured out what kind of fungi those orange slime balls are yet. I'll ask the people at the Fungi Foray!