Winter Birds

Steller's Jay - Cyanocitta stelleri

Birds have a variety of strategies to survive the cold of winter.  Puffing up their feathers keeps in the warmth and keeps out the cold.  Eating as much food as possible when it's available, helps them survive leaner times.  When there isn't much food, they tend to puff up their feathers and rest to conserve energy.  Roosting together or in a cavity keeps them warmer.  When resting or roosting, they perch out of the wind to conserve heat.  When it's raining, their outer feathers are good for shedding water up to a point.  They do have to be careful not to get thoroughly soaked, as they could easily die from hypothermia.  During long periods of heavy rain, most birds seek shelter and become inactive.  Additionally, some birds can drop their body temperature and go into a controlled torpor to conserve energy!  It amazes me that they can survive out there in the rain, wind, snow, and cold temperatures while living on seeds, berries and a few insects! 

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodius

I've been seeing the Great Blue Heron on the river again!  We also saw it fly by yesterday evening at dusk!  I noticed that it was standing on one foot on a rock, and not in the water.  Apparently, standing on one foot is a strategy used to keep their feet warm. "Warm" is a misnomer!  In winter, most birds have very cold feet.  Usually they are just above freezing in temperature.  They don't get frostbite because there's not much fluid in the cells of their feet.  Also, the circulation in their feet is so fast, that the blood doesn't have time to freeze!  The blood vessels going from the feet to the body and body to the feet are right next to each other.  The cooled blood going back to the body is warmed by the warm blood going to the feet from the body!  Wow!

American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus

American Dippers live year-round on our river. Their main food is aquatic insects and their larvae!  They swim and walk underwater searching for their prey!  To stay warm and dry, they have enlarged oil glands for waterproofing their outer feathers, as well as a thick undercoat of down feathers!  Lately I've been hearing them sing on the river!  They are the only "swimming" songbird in North America!

Grizzly Peak 12/26/18

Weather Update

The last time I reported our precipitation statistics was on 12-16-18.  Since then we have had an additional 3.31" of rain, bringing our total rainfall to 12.72"!  It was wonderful to get the rain!  Mists and clouds were in abundance!  However, it has been about a week since any rain has fallen, and it's been clear and COLD!!!  Temperatures at our house have been in the 30's and 40's!  

   

Sierra Buttes - weasel track - 12/27/18

Lakes Basin Update

We hiked up to Lower and Upper Sardine Lakes this week, which are around 6,000' in elevation.  It was freezing, windy, cloudy, and gorgeous!  There wasn't much snow on the ground on the south facing slopes.  It was patchy with about 3"-5" in the shaded areas!  The Sierra Buttes had a lot more snow, as they are at 8,587' in elevation.  We saw lots of animal tracks, mainly Chickarees, but also saw a lone weasel track (above right)!  The tail drag mark is distinct for a weasel!  

Both lakes were only partially frozen, but the ice patterns were gorgeous!

We could see wind blown "snow banners" up on the crest of the Buttes!  

The wind must have been roaring over the ridge tops!

Upper Sardine Lake 

We had the area to ourselves!  The clouds kept it dramatic and the wind was wild!  We even had a few snow flurries!  It was wonderful to be back in the Lakes Basin in the winter!

Anna's Hummingbirds - Calypte anna

I thought all the Hummingbirds had left our neighborhood, because I hadn't seen any for days.  However, two showed up at our feeders today!  I'm glad I hadn't taken the feeders down.  Maybe these two will spend the winter here.  

Fox Sparrow - Spotted Towhee - California Towhee

Passerella iliaca - Pipilo maculatus - Melozone crissalis

The Fox Sparrows and Spotted Towhees are still feeding regularly down at our feeding station.  New this week, I spotted a California Towhee!  I saw one of these in our garden in October.  Apparently, they can live here year-round!  They are overall grey-brown in color, with an apricot blush on their face and undertail.  They eat seeds, berries (especially Poison Oak!), and insects on the ground.  

  

Hermit Thrush - Gray Fox tracks

Catharus guttatus - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

I also spotted a Hermit Thrush near our feeders, eating Virginia Creeper berries!  Its name comes from its solitary elusive behavior.  Although they are supposed to be common in our area, I rarely see them!  They are well camouflaged when foraging in shrubs.  Hermit Thrushes flit their wings about and pump their tails when they're perching.  They feed on fruit and berries in winter. 

I haven't seen the fox lately, but I see his tracks regularly at our feeding station!

View of the North Yuba River off the Canyon Creek Trail 

12/22/18

The Canyon Creek Trail

Canyon Creek Trail begins where Highway 49 first crosses the North Yuba River.  It parallels the river downstream, and ends at the confluence of Canyon Creek and the North Yuba River.  It is approximately an 8 mile round-trip, fairly level, snow-free hike at 2,300' in elevation.  It's a lovely hike in the winter!     

Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus

I always look for birds at the beginning of this trail, and last week I got super lucky!  I spotted a dead tree with what looked like a limp, orange, Maple leaf on the top!  I zoomed in with my camera and was delighted to find out that the orange color was from the feathers of a hawk!!!  I excitedly took tons photos, not knowing what kind of hawk it was.  I stopped in the library and looked it up, and identified it as a Red-shouldered Hawk!!!  I had never seen one before!  Wow!!!

Apparently these hawks are common in the central valley and foothills, but have increased their range into our area in the past few years!  They eat small mammals, frogs, snakes, crayfish, insects, earthworms, Mourning Doves, and sparrows!  Riparian areas and marshlands are their preferred habitat.  While perching they scan for prey on the ground, and then swoop down to catch them.  I was thrilled to see this beautifully feathered hawk!  I watched it for 10 minutes, before it flew off downstream.  Hopefully I'll see it again this winter! 

Mule Deer sp. - Convergent Lady-beetles

Odocoileus hemionus sp. - Hippodamia convergens

I also saw several deer take off into the woods, as well as 1,000's of Lady-beetles in the shrubs, on the sunny beginning of the trail.  If you get a chance, hike this trail this winter!  Let me know what you see!

Whose feet are these?

What's happening with the moss and lichens?

Are there any fungi in the forest?

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

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Another Year!

I started my blog two years ago on December 23, 2016! It has been an incredible experience! I have learned so much, and have so much still to learn! This year I followed the progression of things with a welcoming of the familiar. The return of Bullock's Orioles, the blossoming of Scarlet Fritillaries, and the awakening of tree frogs all felt so wondrously right! I was also continuously surprised by seeing many new things happen! The arrival of a Hooded Oriole, the short-term residence of a Yellow-billed Magpie, the surprise of a Black Bear swimming across the river, all were all such unexpected gifts! Delight, surprise, joy, and bliss have filled my days! I am so grateful for seeing and experiencing such incredible beauty, and look forward to this coming year of observation and adventure!

I also enjoy sharing my discoveries and photos with the world!  Thanks go to all of you for following my blog, and for sending me your encouraging comments! This year I had 5,934 hits on my blog, from 14 different countries!  The most frequently visited post was (surprisingly!) "Early Birds & Bugs", on Feb.10, 2018. 

Here are some of my favorite photos from this past year!  

It was another incredible year!  Enjoy!

My thanks go to Cornell University for the incredible internet resources they provide for the public.  Their websites are numerous, my favorites are www.allaboutbirds.org and www.birdsna.org.  I am also so grateful for the input of other naturalists/scientists on www.inaturalist.org, who have identified many bird species for me.

I am also so grateful for the www.calflora.org website.  It is an incredible resource for identifying flowers/plants, with 1,000's of photos.  The www.bugguide.net website has been my source for identifying the local bugs.  It too provides 1,000's of photos and an identification service!

Watching wildlife is amazing!  If you see them, they've already seen you!

There are many websites about mammals available on the internet, my favorite is www.animaldiversity.org.  It provides tons of scientific information on the habits of our local wildlife.

The landscape I live in is stunning! 

I never tire of watching the light change. Such beauty!

Best wishes to all of you for the coming New Year!  

Check back next week for the latest edition of 

northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com!

Your comments and questions are greatly appreciated!

Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com

Cold & Gray

North Yuba River - Winter

This week it was mostly cold, gray, and misty. The temperature hovered in the 40's. The river was low and COLD! I measured it, and it was a chilly 43°!  I haven't seen any fish, Mergansers, Kingfishers, or Great Blue Herons lately!  It feels really quiet and still.  I wandered for hours watching the mists rise on the ridges and canyons.  The damp cold chilled me completely, but I relished the moist air! 

 On Friday, .2" of rain fell, and more was predicted for Sunday.  So far our total rainfall for this "water year" (10/01/18 through 9/30/19) is 9.41".  Our average rainfall is around 60".  Hopefully the next couple of days will bring our total up a bit. 

old Alder cones up close - this year's Alder cones

After the rain fell a few weeks ago, the river was an opaque mocha color. Within a few days it changed to a clear brown, and now it's back to its beautiful glass-green color. The opaque milky-brown color occurs when sediments are first washed into the river. As the sediments settle, the river changes to a clear-brown color which is caused by all the tannins leached from plants.  Last week I posted this photo (above, left) of old alder cones.  I think the water drops on the cones are amber in color because they contain tannins!  I'm not 100% positive, but it seems the most plausible explanation.

The following excerpt from an online article explains tannins well.
"Tannins occur in many species of coniferous trees as well as a number of flowering plant families. These tannins can leach out of the plants. The water in the soil becomes rich with tannins and seeps into the ground water or drains into lakes and streams. These waters become brown in color and look like tea. Tannins are found commonly in the bark of trees, wood, leaves, buds, stems, fruits, seeds, roots, and plant galls. In all of these plant structures, tannins help to protect the individual plant species. Tannins that become stored in the bark of trees protect the tree from being infected by bacteria or fungi. Many bud scales on woody plants contain tannins to protect the inner leaf tissue from being consumed and in many seed plants the initial set of leaves from a germinating seed are also high in tannins."

  You can read the entire article at https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ethnobotany/tannins.shtml

Western Bluebird (female) - White-breasted Nuthatch

Sialia mexicana - Sitta carolinensis

South Yuba River State Park

Last Thursday, we went for a hike down in the Bridgeport area of the South Yuba River State Park.  It is a beautiful oak woodlands with the South Yuba River on one side and the combined forks of the North and Middle Yuba Rivers on the other.  Because it is at a much lower elevation (567') than where I live (2,674'), some of the birds are different!  

We saw several Western Bluebirds while we were there.  In the summer Western Bluebirds are primarily insectivores.  In winter they eat fruits and berries, such as juniper, poison oak, wild grapes, and elderberry.  They also particularly love to eat mistletoe berries, and will sometimes sleep overnight in a clump of mistletoe to defend their find!  They like to live on the edge of open areas, such as meadows or burned areas.  They are short-distance migrants, and generally move down slope in winter.  Males have brilliant plumage, and females are dully colored in comparison.    They are SO beautiful with their brilliant powder-blue feathers!

We also saw one White-breasted Nuthatch!  These are tiny birds, measuring only 5.75" in length!  In general they can be seen foraging head downward on tree trunks and large limbs, but they will also forage in any direction and on the ground.  They chip away bark looking for food, as well as probe in crevices.  They "pair bond" all year long, and will stay together unless one of them dies!  A lot of their time is spent hoarding food throughout their home territory, with only one item per cache!  They do not migrate, and remain in their home territory year-round!  Their name comes from their habit of cramming a nut into a tree trunk crevice, and then hacking it open with their beak!  We all thought it was a little woodpecker when we first saw it, because it seemed to be pecking away at a tree trunk!

Toyon Berries - Mistletoe Berries - Osage Orange fruit

Heteomeles arbutifolia - Phoradendron sp. - Maclura pomifera

As we drove down to the park, we drove past 100's of Toyon bushes loaded with berries!  Toyon berries form in June or July, but don't ripen until December! When they are green they contain cyano-glucosides in their pulp. When a bird tries to eat a green berry, cyanide gas is released and deters the bird! The unripened berries are also full of bitter tannins that discourage foragers! Over time the cyanide compounds gradually move into the seeds and the tannins diminish. In December, when the berries are bright red, they aren't bitter and the pulp no longer contains cyanide compounds! Approximately 20+ species of birds eat Toyon berries during winter! In addition to Western Bluebirds, you might see Band-tailed Pigeons, Cedar Waxwings, Hermit Thrushes, and Varied Thrushes feeding on them! Foxes, Brush Rabbits, Black Bears, and Coyotes also feed on the ripened berries!

We also saw lots of mistletoe with berries in the oak trees.  Over 28 species of birds in California eat the berries, as well as gray squirrels, raccoons, pine martens, chipmunks, porcupines, and ringtails!  Mistletoe plants are dioecious, with the male and female species being separate plants. The female plants are the ones that produce berries! Apparently mistletoe berries are so popular that some mammals and birds, including Bluebirds, actually spend the night in them! They may do this to establish "ownership" of the berries, or for the warmth of the dense clumps, no one knows for sure! If you squish a mistletoe berry between your fingers, it will stick to your finger and you can't shake it off!  They have a thick, viscous substance that makes them sticky.  Being sticky, the seeds are easily transported to new areas by birds. 

On the ground near the parking lot, we found several grapefruit-sized fruits of the Osage Orange trees. They are such strange fruits!  We opened one up and it looked like a pineapple inside!  The plant contains latex, which causes the fruits to be bitter and unpalatable to humans and wildlife.  This latex can also cause dermatitis in humans. The plants are dioecious, with the female producing the large fruits.  Osage Orange trees are not native to California.  They are indigenous to the Red River drainage of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, as well as the Blackland Praries and post oak savannahs.  They were planted across the US by settlers, mainly for hedgerows. .  The name is derived from The Osage Nation, a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Great Plains, who prized the plant for its wood, to make their bows.  The wood is heavy, hard, strong, and flexible, capable of receiving a fine polish.  Today, the heavy, close-grained yellow-orange wood is dense and prized for tool handles, fence posts, and other applications requiring a strong wood that withstands rot.

California Scrub Jay - American Robin

Aphelocoma californica - Turdus migratorius

California Scrub Jays live in the foothills year-round.  They are highly dependent on oaks and acorns.  Acorns are their main food during fall and winter.  One Jay will bury up to 5,000 acorns in small holes in the ground during the months of fall! These acorns will all eventually be dug up and consumed in the following seasons! Like other members of the Corvid family, Scrub Jays are quite intelligent and have excellent memories. They will also eat insects, other nuts and seeds, and ticks off of deer.

All the American Robins have left my neighborhood, but they are abundant down in the foothills right now.  They are short distance migrants, and usually just move up and down in elevation with the seasons.  When looking for food such as insects and worms, they forage on the ground. They catch worms by watching and listening for them!  Wow!  In the fall and winter Robins often roost in large flocks, and spend more time in trees and bushes eating berries and fruit.  

Gray Fox - Chickaree/Douglas Squirrel

Urocyon cinereoargenteus - Tamiasciurus douglasii

Mammal Update

I saw the Gray Fox again!  It watched me one evening, from a distance of about 100 yards, for a minute or so!  As soon as I started heading its way, it quickly left!  I hadn't noticed when I was looking at it, but in the photo its legs look kind of short!  Maybe this is a young fox that's still growing!  Hope I continue seeing it this winter!

The Chickaree that lives in our woodpile, has been busy harvesting and eating dry sunflower seed heads!  We plant sunflowers every year in our garden for the birds to eat.  This is the first year I've noticed a Chickaree eating them!  

Immature Cooper's Hawk (?) - Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter cooperii - Accipiter striatus

Raptor Identification

Figuring out raptors, especially immature ones, is often quite difficult! I use www.inaturalist.org for help with identifying them. Last week, my neighbor Cy found the small dead Hawk in the above photo. It was so small, only 11' in length including its tail, that I thought that maybe it was a Merlin. I posted the photo on inaturalist.org and within hours it had been identified as a Sharp-shinned Hawk, not a Merlin! 

One of the commentators also provided some very helpful info on identifying Merlins. "Merlins have narrow white bands on a dark tail, and white spots on dark backgrounds on the primaries and secondaries. Being falcons, they also have little tubercles in the nostrils, which would be clearly visible in the portrait shot." Wow!

I really hope this little Sharp-shinned Hawk isn't the one I've been watching down by our garden.  The other dead bird I found several years ago on the ground.  It might be an immature Cooper's Hawk, but I'm still waiting on the ID from inaturalist. I'll keep you posted on the result! In the meantime check out www.inaturalist.org, it is an incredible resource!

Sharp-shinned Hawk - Accipiter striatus

Where are all the fungi?

Are the moss and lichen thriving with all this moisture?

What is that Black Phoebe eating this time of year?

What's happening up in the Lakes Basin?

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

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This is a glitch with blogspot.com, and I can't figure out how to fix it. Thanks!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. 

Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com!

Lingering Color

Dry grasses - North Yuba River - 12/08/18

Although most of the Fall leaves are gone, there's still a trace of autumn color in our neighborhood. Along the river corridor, the golden-yellow willows and dry grasses still dominate the landscape. On the forest floor, thousands of fallen leaves create tapestries of layered colors, in an infinite variety of patterns. The low angle of the sun at this time of year, enhances this dramatic beauty! 

The weather was cold and dry this week. No measurable rain fell, but heavy frosts, high cloud cover, and ever-changing mists indicated that winter is officially here! The river is low again, with the flow rate at around 150 cfs. Light rain is predicted for today, tomorrow and the end of this coming week. Hopefully, frequent heavy wet storms will be coming in the near future. At least for now, the danger of forest fires has decreased significantly. However, we are not out of the drought yet!

North Yuba River - 12/02/18

Willow leaves

From our Backyard!

Spectacular Sunsets!

This week the sunsets were absolutely gorgeous!  On several evenings the clouds briefly lit up in brilliant golden-pinks!  It was mesmerizing!  

  

Fir Cap - 12/07/18

Grizzly Peak - 12/02/18

A Dusting of Snow!

On last Sunday morning, the ridge tops were dusted in snow in our neighborhood!  It was our first snow of the year!  The surrounding ridges are approximately 1,000 ft. higher than the river corridor, so we didn't get any snow at our elevation.  The snow was all gone by mid-morning.  Hopefully we'll get more soon!   

Apple leaf

We did get a heavy frost, that decorated the fallen leaves on the forest floor.  The frost crystal patterns varied from leaf to leaf!  Frost crystals, or surface hoar, forms when temperatures are cold and water vapor is available.  These frost crystals continue to "grow" when daytime temperatures are warmer than freezing.  As the night air cools, water vapor crystallizes on the surface.  If conditions are just right, these ice crystals can build up and get quite large!  Some of the frost I saw looked like tiny sugar crystals.

Ladybird Beetles - Hippodamia convergens

Insects in Winter

Most insects are dormant in the winter.  They replace the water in their cells with anti-freeze like substances (glycerol etc.), to keep them from being damaged by frost.  Some insects overwinter as adults, while others overwinter as eggs, larvae, or pupae.  Our local ladybugs converge in large groups to mate in the Fall.  As temperatures cool they cram themselves, by the thousands, into the cracks and crevices of tree bark for protection.  During the winter, if the weather is warm, they emerge and crawl around on the tree trunk.  They don't eat in the winter, as there aren't any insects (mainly aphids) available!  Not many critters eat ladybugs, as they don't taste good, so they don't need to hide and can overwinter out in the open!  

Ceanothus Silk Moth cocoons and adult - Hyalophora euryalus

When I was photographing the local bedrock mortars, a month ago, I found an empty Ceanothus Silk Moth cocoon on the ground! I have found several of these cocoons over the years. They are large, about 1" in length, silvery-gray in color, and quite noticeable. These cocoons were once used by the local Native Americans to make ceremonial rattles! They would attach several cocoons to one or both ends of a stick, that was sometimes decorated with feathers!  Wow!!!

  The gorgeous adult moths are large, 3.5"-5" in length.  As an adult, its primary purpose is to reproduce, and does not feed.  After mating and laying eggs the adults soon die.  The larvae hatch from the eggs, as caterpillars, and feed for months on a wide range of plants including buckbrush (Ceanothus), manzanita (Arctostaphylos), gooseberry (Ribes), madrone (Arbutus menziesii), willows (Salix), alder (Alnus), and mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides).  After feeding all summer, the larva spins a silken cocoon that hangs from a branch or twig.  Within its cocoon, the larva transforms into a pupa. During the fall and winter months the pupa gradually undergoes metamorphosis and by late winter or early spring, an adult moth emerges from its pupal case!  I don't think I've ever seen the caterpillar stage of this moth.  I'll have to look for them next summer. 

Anna's Hummingbird - Chickaree or Douglas Squirrel

Calypte anna - Tamiasciurus douglasii

My bird counts down at our feeders have become pretty much the same these past few weeks.  I've seen Steller's Jays, Spotted Towhees, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, Oregon Juncos, Anna's Hummingbirds, and Mourning Doves.  This week I watched a hummer and squirrel check each other out! After a minute or so of careful scrutiny, they both took off!  How fun!

Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura

Mourning Doves aren't new to our feeders, I just haven't written about them before!  They live here most of the year, but will probably migrate down to lower elevations when the snow comes to stay.  They mainly eat seeds all year.  Open feeding areas near water are their favored habitat.  As stated in The Sibley field guide to birds of Western N.A., "Doves, like pigeons, can suction water into their esophagus, so they can drink without raising their heads.  Other birds must dip their bill into the water and then raise it up to let water run down their throat. Related to this ability is the fact that pigeons and doves have an unusual need for water, drinking up to 15% of their body weight each day."  Right now they burst up off the ground in unison and fly away, whenever I approach the feeders.  I love their soft cooing calls!

  

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Here's a few photos of the fox that posed for me last year.  Scroll down to last week's blog to see the difference between this one and the one I recently saw near our garden.  They are quite different in appearance!

What kind of Accipiters are these?

What are these slimy looking things, and why are the drips amber in color?

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

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This is a glitch with blogspot.com, and I can't figure out how to fix it. Thanks!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated.  

Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com!

Fox Sighting!

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

A fox showed up near our compost pile this week!  It's not the same one that seemed to "pose" for me last year, but I recognized it!  All the foxes I've seen look different.  Their fur, size, and faces are all unique!  This one showed up a year ago last Fall.  I was thrilled to see it again!  Foxes will eat berries and fruit, but probably not the decaying vegetables in our compost pile.  However, I'm sure our compost pile attracts local mice, voles, and woodrats that a fox would gladly eat!

  

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Surviving in the winter can be tough for foxes.  There isn't as much food available, so they have to spend a lot more time hunting.  Although mostly nocturnal, they will also hunt during daylight if necessary.  To stay warm, they develop a thick coat of fur in winter.  They also like to sunbathe on sunny days!  Curiously, they seldom sleep in a den during winter.  They usually just curl up in a protected area, such as under dense, thick, brambles, or in a rocky crevice or rotten log!  A grey fox’s home range usually extends from about two to seven miles, but they only cover a small portion of this every day.  Since this home range is not large they know it very well, including the behaviors of their potential prey!

Sharp-shinned Hawk

 Accipiter striatus

Project FeederWatch Update

As part of the FeederWatch Project, I also record the birds that I see frequenting the area around our bird feeders.  In our garden, which is right next to the feeders, there is an alder tree with a dead top.  Lots of birds perch in these dead branches.  This week our local Sharp-shinned Hawk decided to stop by!  I luckily got a photo before it took off.  This time it was facing towards me so I saw its breast feathers.  Sharp-shinned Hawks like to eat song birds so I'm sure this one has been watching our bird feeders closely.  How lucky to see it again!

 Downy Woodpecker (male - left, female- right)

 Picoides pubescens

Surprisingly, a male Downy Woodpecker also perched in the same tree top this week!  The bright red feathers on the back of its head, indicated that it was a male.  I also spotted a female Downy Woodpecker on the trunk of a dead locust tree, that's about 15' from our garden.  Woodpeckers don't eat seeds or songbirds, so clearly the male was just perching to take a look around.  The female was searching for insect larvae under the bark of the locust tree.  These woodpeckers are here year-round.  It's always great to see them!  Such beauty!

Sierra Buttes 11/26/18

A Snowy Lakes Basin!

Last Thursday, after the big rainstorm had passed through, we went up to the Lakes Basin for a hike.  To our surprise there was 4+" of new snow on the ground, starting around 6500' in elevation!!!  We spent several hours walking around on the snow enjoying the beauty.  It was incredibly lovely!  More snow fell this week, and more is predicted for next week.  It looks like winter is here!  Yahoo!

Large Wolf Spider with egg sac -  Black Bear Track

Alopecosa kochii -  Ursus americanus

To our surprise we came across a large (1.5" long, including legs) female Wolf Spider carrying an egg sac on its bum!  It was just scooting along on top of the snow.  Wolf Spiders don't build webs.  They pursue or ambush insects, as well as other spiders.  Unlike most other arachnids that generally have poor vision, Wolf Spiders have excellent eyesight.  The females spin an egg sac out of spider silk, which they carry until it hatches in the spring or summer.  I was really surprised to see it carrying an egg sac at this time of year!  Do they make their egg sack before winter, as a survival technique?  I'll have to do some more research!

We also came across the track of a Black Bear!  Black Bears don't truly hibernate.  They spend most of the winter sleeping, but can become active if the weather is mild.  In late summer and early fall bears gorge on insects and berries, and gain up to 5" of body fat!  They don't eat anything during the winter, and live off this stored up fat.  Bears den in a variety of places, including brush piles, underground root systems of trees, hollow standing dead trees, and rocky caves or crevices.  If a bear is disturbed in its den, it will often relocate.

Common Goldeneyes (foreground) - Common Mergansers (background)

 Bucephala clangula - Mergus merganser

At Salmon Lake we saw a lot of ducks!  At first I thought the majority of them were Buffleheads, but they weren't!  They were Common Goldeneyes, one of the few species of duck that overwinters above the foothills of the Sierra.  They eat fish, aquatic vertebrates, seeds, and tubers.  When the lake freezes, they will possibly move down to the North Yuba River for the winter.

Common Mergansers feed on fish.  They too will migrate down in elevation to spend the winter.  I was actually surprised to see them up this high (6,500') this late in the season!

Common Ravens - Corvus corax

When we were eating our lunch, two Common Ravens flew past us and perched in a nearby tree.  I went to investigate, and ended up watching them preen each other for several minutes!  Wow!!!  I've never seen this before!  The term for this preening behavior is "allopreening".  "Allo" means "other: as in differing from normal or usual".  This behavior, although common among primates, is very uncommon among birds!   Most birds do NOT preen each other!  Apparently these ravens preen each other in the hard to reach areas around the head.  They are removing parasites, such as feather mites and hippoboscid flies.  To me it seemed that they preened each other so tenderly, so gently.  I felt so privileged to see them apparently caring for each other!  It was incredible and beautiful!

 Common Ravens - Corvus corax

Common Ravens - Corvus corax

I came across this congress of Ravens on Highway 49 last week.  They were all trying to eat one roadkill Opossum!  I've seen lots of roadkills, and usually there will be one or two Ravens feeding on it.  Why were there so many ravens at this roadkill?  Ravens regularly communicate with each other when there is food available.  Usually it is vagrant, non-breeding, young ravens that direct other ravens towards food through verbal and gestural communication.  Scientists think that they do this because a local territorial adult, that wouldn't normally share food with a vagrant youth, is forced to share when a large group of ravens arrive!  I've seen pictures of raven groups feeding together, but usually it's a whole deer carcass they're consuming.  I wonder why they all gathered to eat one small Opossum?  Maybe food was scarce?  Maybe Opossum is a delicacy?  Maybe it was just a good day to catch up on the neighborhood gossip!  Whatever the reason, it was really fun to watch them!

More rain fell since my last post, and it's falling right now!  We're even supposed to wake up to snow tomorrow morning!  So far we've received another 2.27" of rain, and the river flow is up to almost 800 cubic feet per second!  I'll keep you posted on what's happening.  In the meantime, go out and do a rain dance!

Rain, rain, come on down.

Come and quench this thirsty ground.

Come and let wet smells abound.

Fill the air with a joyful sound!

(repeat!)

This is a Black Phoebe!  What is this flycatcher eating at this time of year?

Will the Pine Siskins show up soon?

What are the ladybugs doing in the rain and snow?

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

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