An Incredible Morning!

Hooded Oriole - Icterus cucullatus

Orioles!

On Thursday morning, I went down to refill our bird feeders and saw this unbelievably beautiful bird on one of the hummingbird feeders!  WOW!!!  I was so excited!  I took a bunch of pictures, and then went and looked it up in my field guide.  It turned out to be a Hooded Oriole, which I have never seen before!  Apparently I was super lucky to have seen it, as this is not its usual habitat!  

Hooded Oriole - Icterus cucullatus

When I went back down to the feeders there were TWO brightly colored birds!  At first I thought the second bird must be another Hooded Oriole, but it turned out to be a male Bullock's Oriole!  The two orioles were taking turns at the hummingbird feeder!!!

The one at the feeder in the picture below is a Bullock's Oriole, and the one waiting for a turn is the Hooded Oriole!  After the Bullock's Oriole finished he took off, and the Hooded Oriole took his place!  It was unbelievable!!!

Bullock's Oriole on feeder while Hooded Oriole awaits turn!

I am so curious as to why and how they showed up here together!  Both the Hooded Oriole and the Bullock's Oriole overwinter in southern Mexico, and sometimes as far south as Costa Rica!  They have flown approximately 3,000 miles from their winter habitat to our neighborhood!!!  Literature states that the Hooded Oriole has been known to have an agonistic (combative) relationship with Bullock's Orioles.  They have also been known to nest and forage for food near each other!  These two look like they're cooperating with each other!  It's all so intriguing and amazing!

Hooded Oriole (male) - Icterus cucullatus      Bullock's Oriole (male) - Icterus bullockii

Bullock's Orioles nest in our neighborhood every year.  This is their normal habitat.  Typically, males arrive in mid-April, a week or two ahead of the females.  They seem to prefer the Black Locust trees for their nesting sites.  The male above was the first one I've seen this year!  More of them should be arriving soon!

At this time of year, Hooded Orioles are common in north-western Mexico, parts of the American southwest, as well as the coast and southern end of California.   Riparian areas that have palm trees are their preferred habitat.  Palm frond fibers are their usual nesting material.  If there aren't any palm trees available, they will also nest in cottonwoods or sycamores.  They eat large insects, nectar, and fruit, and often feed at hummingbird feeders.  Apparently the range of these orioles has expanded into suburban areas and ranches in the foothills of the Sierra, where palms have been planted.  We don't have any palm trees in our neighborhood, but there are a few cottonwood trees. 

Both of these orioles hung around for most of the day on Thursday, but I haven't seen them since.  The Bullock's Oriole should stay and nest in our neighborhood.  Will the Hooded Oriole nest in the local Cottonwoods?  Hopefully next week I'll have more oriole tales to relate!  I feel so privileged to have seen these two extraordinary birds together at our feeder!  

Black-headed Grosbeaks (female - left, male - right) - Pheucticus melanocephalus

These Black-headed Grosbeaks also showed up last Thursday!  They too have migrated thousands of miles from their winter habitat in southern Mexico to our neighborhood.  Every year, they breed and nest in this area.  Seeds, fruits, and insects are their preferred food.  Last year I only found one of their nests, even though there were approximately 40 of them coming to our sunflower seed feeders!  Hopefully I'll find more nests this year! 

California Scrub Jay - Aphelocoma californica

This Scrub Jay also showed up last Thursday!  He appeared in our garden in the late afternoon, and is still in the area today (Sunday).  Scrub Jays aren't usually seen in our neighborhood!  They prefer to live in the oak woodlands of the foothills, where there are plenty of acorns to eat!  They also like sunflower seeds, and there are plenty of them in our feeders.  It will be interesting to see if it stays in the area! 

       Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus      Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 

(both males)

Also on Thursday, while I was watching the orioles and grosbeaks, a Downy Woodpecker landed in the top of an Alder tree near our garden!!!  You can really see the difference between them, in the two photos above.  The Hairy Woodpecker is definitely bigger, and has a much bigger bill than the Downy Woodpecker.  Both of these birds are found year-round in our neighborhood.  This is the first time I was able to photograph a Downy Woodpecker!   

South Yuba River State Park - 4/9/18

Spring in the Foothills!

On Monday, my friend Nancy and I went down to the oak woodlands in the South Yuba River State Park.  It was SO beautiful!  Everything was blooming, including the grasses and trees.  We walked most of the trails and spent the whole day botanizing!  If you live in the area, you should really go check it out soon!  It's gorgeous!  Here are just a few of the flowers that we saw!

 Pallid Owl's Clover                         Lotus Silverleaf                      Fawn Lily

     Castilleja lineariloba                 Acmispon argophyllus             Erythronium sp.

            Redbud Tree                     Hansen's Larkspur              Chinese Houses     

         Cercis occidentalis              Delphinium hansenii         Collinsia heterophylla

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly - Battus philenor 

 Wild Hyacinth - Dichelostemma multiflorum

There were also hundreds of  Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies, sipping nectar from all the wildflowers.  They weren't in large clusters or groups, but they were flitting around the whole park!  I wondered why they weren't getting eating by birds.  It turns out that they are inedible to predators, because they ingest toxic aristolochic acids from their Pipevine host plant when they are caterpillars.  These acids stay in their bodies even when they pupate into adults!

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies mating - Battus philenor

After Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies mate, the female lays her eggs (which also contain toxic acids) on the underside of Pipevine leaves.  When the caterpillars first hatch, they stay together in small groups and feed on Pipevine leaves.  When they grow larger they head out on their own to feed and pupate.  It takes approximately one week for an adult to develop and emerge from it's chrysalis.  The adults usually live for a month, feeding on wildflower nectar.  

Pipevine or Dutchman's Pipes - Aristolochia californica 

 Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar - Battus philenor

The Pipevine or Dutchman's Pipes is one of the earliest blooming native wildflowers.  We were lucky to find a few of the flowers on the trailing vine, being green and brown in color they are somewhat hard to detect!  These plants are not carnivorous, but they have an odor that attracts carrion-feeding insects.  These insects crawl inside the pipe-shaped flower and pollinate the blossom!  Amazing!

It's nesting time!  What kind of nest does a Northern Flicker make?

Where are those deer?

What other birds will show up?

The scat in last week's blog was mostly deer hair, 

and was probably from a young Mountain Lion!

What plant is making these tassels?

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

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated!

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email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com

Thanks!