North Yuba Naturalist: There's a LOT going on!

Bullock's Oriole - Icterus bullockii

The daylight hours are increasing, the temperatures are warming up, plants are blooming, trees and shrubs are leafing out, birds are arriving and making nests, reptiles and amphibians are waking up from their winter sleep, and insects are flying and crawling everywhere! It has become a noisy, active neighborhood once again! There is so much to watch and study!

I was so excited to see this male Bullock's Oriole (above) in the top of a Locust tree this week. It's the same tree that a male Bullock's Oriole perched in last Spring and Summer. I'll bet he's the same bird! He has flown here from his winter home in Mexico, approximately 3,000 miles! The females should arrive in a week or so, just in time for the leafing out and blossoming of the Black Locusts. Although many birds migrate during the day, Bullock's Orioles migrate at night and use the stars for navigation!!! Last year, I watched five different active Bullock's Oriole nests in our neighborhood. Hopefully there will be just as many nests this year.

Evening Grosbeaks - Coccothraustes vespertinus

(male) (female)

The Evening Grosbeaks arrived this week as well! I counted 10 of them on our bird feeders! These beautiful birds live year-round across Canada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and the northeastern part of California. In winter, they can also be found throughout the United States, but not in large numbers. They might nest in our neighborhood this spring, but will probably move up to the Upper Conifer Zone (between 6,000' and 8,000' in elevation), where there are Red Firs, Ponderosa Pines, and lots of ripe cones. We are enjoying their visit to our neighborhood! The coloration of the males is so striking! They chatter all the time, and amicably share the feeders with the Black-headed Grosbeaks!

Purple Finch or House Finch - Carpodacus purpureus or mexicanus

(male) (female)

This pair of finches stopped by this week at our feeder! I'm not sure if they're Purple Finches or House Finches, but the males are lovely with their strawberry red feathers. They usually travel in flocks, but I only saw this pair. They are year-round residents in California, and migrate short distances in winter. They nest in a wide variety of habitats from chaparral to coniferous forests, so they might nest in our neighborhood. Purple Finches eat tree buds, berries, fruit, seeds and insects. House Finches don't eat insects. They eat grains, seeds, fruits, and berries.

Rufous Hummingbird (male) - Selasphorus rufus

One evening this week I noticed this gorgeous male Rufus Hummingbird at our feeders! He was busy keeping other hummers from feeding! He won't be staying long in our neighborhood, as he is on his way to his breeding ground somewhere in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, northwest Canada, or southern Alaska! They spend their winters in Mexico, and travel up to 3,900 miles to their breeding ground! WOW!!! They not only drink nectar but "hawk" insects in midair, for protein to rebuild their muscle mass! Hopefully we'll see him again this fall, on his return trip to Mexico!

Scrub Jay - Aphelocoma californica

The Scrub Jay that's been hanging out near our garden for the past 3 weeks, isn't around anymore. I hope he went back down to the oak woodlands, where they usually live. It was fun watching him while he was here! Every morning, he would be off by himself down at one end of our property, foraging on the ground. He seemed kind of shy! Eventually he tried eating at our feeders, but usually flew away when other birds landed. I miss seeing him, but hopefully he's happy eating acorns down in the foothills! They don't swallow acorns whole, like Pigeons do. They hold the acorn between their feet and hammer on it with their bill to get to the nut inside!

Northwestern fence lizard - Sceloporus occidentalis occidentalis

Mountain Garter Snake - Thamnophis elegans elegans

Reptile Report!

With the temperatures warming up, the cold-blooded lizards and snakes have become active. They are out mating and looking for food! The Fence Lizard eats spiders, scorpions, centipedes, beetles, flies, wasps, ants, and sometimes buds and leaves. The Garter Snake eats amphibians and their larvae, fish, birds, mice, lizards, snakes, worms, leeches, slugs and snails. Both of them produce eggs. The lizard buries the eggs in the ground (oviparous), whereas the snake carries the eggs internally until they hatch (ovoviviparous). Another difference is that lizards can blink but snakes can't! Neither snake nor lizard can "talk", although some snakes do hiss. Most communication between lizards is in the form of body language!

Morels - Morchella sp.

Spring Mushrooms!

Just like last spring, the Morel mushrooms have popped up! There's one shady, damp section of our property that usually has morels. This year I counted six of them, last year I think I saw twice as many. I might be a little early, so I'll check back again in a week or so. The spores are found on the walls of the honey-combed exterior. They are hard to see in the forest, because they camouflage so well in the decaying leaf litter. When you finally see one, you will probably see a lot more that you hadn't noticed before! The first morels I ever found, were in a burnt out forest. Everything was black and brown and it didn't look like anything was growing there at all. Then I found one morel, and all of a sudden they were visible everywhere! I had overlooked about 50 of them! Go out and try it, it's fun and now is the time to do it!

North Table Mountain 4/17/18

North Table Mountain

About 10 days ago, I went to North Table Mountain with some friends to see the spring wildflowers. It was incredibly beautiful!! Table Mountain is a flat topped butte, next to the town of Oroville, Ca. The top of it is capped by an ancient lava flow. It is one of the few places in California that has never been impacted by agriculture. Some cattle are allowed to graze there in the wet months, but apparently cause little impact on the native wildflowers. It became an ecological preserve in 1993, when Francis Carmichael, a local rancher, sold 3,315 acres of it to the State of California, to be managed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Now it is open to the public. There are a few footpaths you can follow, but usually we just amble across the reserve through acres of wildflowers that are ribboned with small streams. Go there if you can, before it dries up! It is well worth the drive!

In this time of year the wildflower bloom is spectacular! Great swaths of yellow, blue, magenta, and white cover the 3,000+ acres of the preserve. Several hundred species of wildflowers thrive on North Table Mountain. Above are just a few of the beauties we saw! Take a hand lens with you. The beauty of flowers on the microscopic level is astonishing, amazing, and something you have got to see!

Lark Sparrow - Chipping Sparrow (?) - Savannah Sparrow (?)

Chondestes grammacus - Spizella passerina - Passerculus sandwichensis

Table Mountain also has a variety of resident birds to watch! Along the edge of the butte, small streams and forested ravines have formed on the steep slopes. Many birds prefer to live in areas with this combination of forest and grassland. We saw some Horned Larks at a distance, and the sparrows pictured above. I am just a beginning birder, so I'm not good at identifying sparrows. I am going to try the Merlin Bird Finder app., that is offered free through Cornell University, to figure out these sparrows. The Lark Sparrow is correct. Its markings are so distinct and colorful, it's easy to identify! The other two are my best guesses.

Interior Live Oak - male catkins - Quercus wislizenii

Blooming Trees!

Almost all of the deciduous trees in the area are blooming! They don't have blossoms like cherry trees but they have an amazing variety of pale yellow-green to reddish, flowering male catkins. The accompanying female flowers are usually some type of small bud, but not always. The male catkins are so elegant! Check out the trees in your neighborhood, and I'll bet you will be astounded at their blossoming beauty!

Black Oak - male catkins - Quercus kellogii

Shadows on Snow

Lakes Basin Update!

The last time I was in the Lakes Basin was about two weeks ago! There was still a good foot or two of snow in the shady areas, but not much in the sunny sections. We hiked to Volcano Lake on mostly bare ground, except for the last 3/4's of a mile, which had more than a foot of snow. The lake was totally frozen, but the sun was warm on our backs. It was gorgeous! I'm going up again tomorrow, and I'll bet a lot more of the snow has melted. I have heard that the Gold Lake Road is all plowed and open now. That opens up a lot of hiking possibilities! Yahoo!