For almost the whole month of December we've had sunny, warm, and dry weather! The river was incredibly clear and a beautiful glass green in color! I spent many hours on the river photographing! How lucky to have the time to linger and explore!
The weather has changed, and in the past 10 days we got a series of rainstorms that dropped a total of 4.5" of rain! The river has risen a good six inches, in places, in the last 24 hours, and its raining more right now. The green clarity of the river has diminished (below right) but, we are all relieved that the winter storms have returned to our area! Fingers crossed that they keep coming!
A section of the North Yuba River - 1/7/18 Same section after the rain - 1/9/18
American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus
More year-round Residents!
Every morning when I take our dog for a walk along the North Yuba River, I see this lone American Dipper busily diving underwater for food! With a heavy coat of oil on their outer feathers coupled with a dense coat of downy feathers underneath, Dippers can tolerate the frigid winter river. As they dive under the water, special scales slide to cover their nostrils and nictitating membranes cover their eyes! The scales keep water out of the Dipper's nose, and the membranes make it possible for it to see underwater. They eat aquatic insects and larvae as well as tiny fish. They have powerful legs, long toes (NOT webbed) and streamlined bodies that makes walking on underwater rocks, in swift currents, possible. They also swim underwater using their wings like flippers and their tail like a rudder. They live here year-round, because our river doesn't freeze. They are North America's only aquatic songbird, and are truly amazing to watch! They were John Muir's favorite bird!
Common Mergansers - Mergus merganser
I got this photo of Common Mergansers a week ago! They were in a loose group of eight males and females, and were floating down the river! I was surprised to see them! Apparently, some Common Mergansers stay at middle to high elevations year-round, while most migrate down to low elevation lakes, rivers, and reservoirs for the winter. Mergansers are mainly fish eaters in winter, and need clear water to catch their prey. They have serrated "teeth-like" projections on their bills, that makes them able to grasp slippery fish! They can stay underwater for up to 2 minutes, but usually stay about 30 seconds. A few winters ago, when the river was clear, I was lucky enough to watch them swim underwater! It was amazing!!! I wonder if some of these Mergansers were the ones I watched grow up this year (photos below)! That would be cool!
Common Mergansers - female & juveniles - Mergus merganser
Canada Geese - Branta canadensis
These Canada Geese showed up last month and they're still here! Usually they migrate to lower elevations in winter, but due to the warm weather they've stayed. Canada Geese usually stay in family groups year-round, so these 4 geese are probably related. In winter they feed on the ground, eating mainly grasses and sedges. If the weather stays mild, do you think they might become year-round residents? We'll just have to wait and see!
Western Bluebird - Sialia mexicana
I photographed this Western Bluebird in a large open field, up by the cemetery. It's the same area where I saw a group of five Bluebirds earlier this winter. I only saw this one male, but I was happy to see him. His colors are so striking! Bluebirds like to live on the edge of open meadow areas, where they can hunt for insects. There were lots of bugs flying around in December, due to the unusually warm weather, so that's probably what he was looking for! I photographed these insects (below) the same week, but have no idea what they are. Since then the temperature has cooled off, insects aren't flying around anymore, and the Bluebirds have gone back to eating berries. Will he stay here all winter? I'll keep watching!
Unknown insects in December!
Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
Mammal Update!
I photographed this deer about a month ago and that's the last time I saw any deer in my neighborhood! I've looked for them in the cemetery, along the river, along the water ditch, and on my neighbor's property, but they aren't there! They must have migrated to a new area to forage. In winter, deer mainly forage on the growing tips of young trees and shrubs, as well as acorns and berries. They will also eat grass, but it is usually only 11-26% of their diet during winter. Deer do not have upper incisors or canine teeth. They cannot nip off buds of trees. They have to press the twig between their upper hard palate and their bottom teeth, and jerk their heads up to tear it free! Deer are ruminants, and have four stomachs in which plant material ferments before it is digested! Deer will regurgitate this fermented material, re-chew it, and re-swallow it! Wow!
Western Gray Squirrel - Sciurus griseus
This Western Gray Squirrel is a frequent visitor to my bird feeding station. Everyday it cautiously climbs onto the garden fence and makes its way to the sunflower seeds. Once on the feeding station, it will proceed to eat the seeds rapidly, one after another. It is very wary of me, and zips away if I get too close. It is probably living in a hollow log or limb nearby, or even in a nest up in a tree. In winter, they will cover a nest with a dome of twigs, leaves and grass, which protects them from stormy weather.
I have only seen glimpses of the fox that used to live near our garden. She has obviously moved to a warmer, drier area for the winter. I do miss seeing her and her two young foxes! Hopefully, I'll see them again in the near future!
Waterfowl along Hwy. 99
Central Valley Wetlands
Over the holidays I traveled to San Francisco to visit my family and friends! On the way there (and back!) I was amazed at the number of birds there were in the irrigated fields along Hwy. 99!! I stopped briefly to get a few photographs and was greeted by a LOUD cacophony of honks and bird calls! It was LOVELY! Immediately a large group of Snow Geese flew in and landed in the crowd of waterfowl that was already there! There were hundreds perhaps even thousands of birds there! Tundra Swans, Pintails, Mallards, and White-faced Ibis were a few of the common ones I saw! I'm going to go back down there this month and spend a whole day bird watching! I'll post what I see!
Tundra Swans - Cygnus columbianus
These Tundra Swans have flown down from the high Arctic, where they breed, to spend the winter in California's Central Valley. They are large birds weighing in at 16 lbs, and with a wingspan of 7'!!! They mainly feed on the leaves, stems, and tubers of aquatic plants, but will also eat the seeds and shoots of rice and other grains. They will be here for a few months before they had up north again. Their round-trip journey is a total of 5,000 miles long! Wow!!!
A Not-so-Full Moon in January!
We had SUCH a bright moon on the nights of January 1-3! It was SO bright our neighborhood was totally lit up! It would have been a great night to be out wandering and watching for critters, but it was too cold! It turns out that it was a "Supermoon", or in other words, "a full moon while at its closest orbit to earth." The next full moon is on January 31st, but it sets early and their will be a full lunar eclipse that same night before it sets! I'll have to check that out! I think I'll spend the night out a few days before the lunar eclipse, and watch for animals!! Should be fun!
What are these little orange-brown pods?
What kind of plant are they growing on?
How many kinds of evergreen trees are in my neighborhood?
What is the opposite of "evergreen" (in trees)?
Are there any Chickarees around?
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,
or
click on the comments just below, to post a comment!
Thanks!
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