Western Tanager (male) - Piranga ludoviciana
Since the Lakes Basin is approximately 4,500' higher in elevation than my neighborhood, spring has just arrived! In some high places it still looks like winter! Migratory birds are arriving, the snow is melting fast, and the flowers and shrubs are starting to bloom!
I saw this beautiful, male, Western Tanager in an old snag around 7,000' in elevation near Wades Lake! These unbelievably colorful birds migrate all the way from Costa Rica, to breed and raise their young here!
Western Tanager - Piranga ludoviciana
female, left - male, right
They also breed in lower elevations, including my neighborhood. I photographed the Tanagers (above) in my neighborhood last year. I saw another pair of Tanagers just this week in our garden! The Western Tanager is a great example of sexual dimorphism! The males are brilliantly colored to attract the females. The females are plainly colored, and blend in with their surroundings. This camouflaged coloring is advantageous for a female sitting on a nest!
Red-breasted Nuthatch (female) Hairy Woodpecker (female)
Sitta canadensis Picoides villosus
Yellow Warbler (male) - Dendroica petechia
Yellow Warbler (male) - Dendroica petechia
We saw the Red-breasted Nuthatch (above left) with a bug in its beak a few days ago! We also saw a tiny round nest hole in a tree trunk near by! These tiny (4.5" long) birds usually live year-round in coniferous forests between 3,000'-5,000' in elevation. They store seeds, insect larvae, and spider eggs to feed on in the winter. If a cone crop fails, they will spend the winter in lower elevations where food is available. The male and female both excavate the nest cavity. Curiously, the male plasters tree resin all around the outside of the nest hole, and the female plasters resin on the inside of the nest cavity! No one knows why they do this, but speculation is that it deters predators or perhaps nest competitors! I'm not sure if this nuthatch was bringing an insect to a nestling, a female on a nest, or if he was going to eat it himself. I was surprised to see how red the insect was, and have no idea what it was!
The Yellow Warbler (above center) was one of three Yellow Warblers we saw in a bunch of bare willows near Grassy Lake. There were two males and one female!
These little (5" long) birds migrate to our area from Central America and northern South America! They prefer to nest in stream-side forests of alders, willows, or cottonwoods, with thick understories of tangled shrubs, from the Foothills to the Upper Conifer zone (5,500'-7,500' in elevation). The female will build a deep cup-shaped nest from grasses, and bark strips on the fork of a branch, and line it with fine plant fibers, feathers, and deer hair. Yellow Warblers typically form monogamous pairs that sometimes last more than one breeding season and reform the next year. They will have 1-2 broods. The incubation period is 10-13 days. The nesting period is 9-12 days. If a Brown-headed Cowbird egg lays an egg in a Yellow Warbler's nest, they will often build a new nest on top of the old nest! We were so lucky to see these beautiful bright yellow birds going about their business!
I spotted the female Hairy Woodpecker (above right) up by Lost Lake this week! I don't think I've seen a female before! These medium-sized birds (9.5"-10.2" long) also live in my neighborhood year-round. This female might have been out looking for a nesting cavity, or looking for insects to eat. Woodpeckers have amazingly long tongues that can be retracted up the back and over the top of their skull! Their tongues are barbed, and are used to pierce wood-boring insect larvae inside the heartwood of a tree! They will probably be excavating a cavity soon, to lay their eggs and raise their young. These woodpeckers are monogamous, and often re-pair the follow year. The female usually lays 4 eggs. The incubation period is 11-12 days, and both the male and the female incubate the eggs. The nesting period is 28-30 days. The young usually leave the nest about a month later.
Sierra Buttes - 5/17/18
Due to all of the late rain we've been getting, it looks like it might be a fabulous wildflower year up in the Lakes Basin! Just like migratory birds, the wildflowers show up regularly every year! The ones pictured below are the early blooming plants, that blossom right after the snow melts. I was particularly thrilled to find the Steer's Head, as the flowers are only about 1/2" long! They're pretty tiny and easily overlooked! There were also LOTS of Corn Lilies unfolding their beautifully ribbed leaves. It was gorgeous!
Spreading Phlox - Phlox diffusa
Steer's Head - Dicentra uniflora Bitter Cherry - Prunus emarginata
Snow Plant - Sarcodes sanguinea
Snow Plant - Sarcodes sanguinea
View to the east from the Deer Lake Trail - 5/24/18
On our way back on the trail, the clouds to the east were an imposing, dark navy blue presence! We got a few sprinkles during the day, but were back in our car before it started to rain heavily. How lucky we are to be getting rain this late in the season. The damp forest smells heavenly!
Brewer's Blackbirds - Euphagus cyanocephalus
competing males (left) and female (right)
Neighborhood Birds Update!
It's mating and nesting time in my neighborhood, and the birds are super busy! I watched the two male Brewer's Blackbirds (above left) clash repeatedly one afternoon! They flew towards each other and grappled with their feet. They posed and squawked with their beaks pointed skyward, and eventually went "face-to-face" with each other! They were competing for the attention of the female blackbird pictured above right! She didn't seem that interested, but kept her distance and flicked her tail up and down. Later, that same day I saw the blackbird below puff himself up to about twice his size! He was obviously displaying for that female!
Brewer's Blackbirds are monogamous for the breeding season. Although they don't mate for life, the may have the same partner for several years. Brewer's Blackbirds also nest colonially, with a colony ranging from 4-100+ couples. The females build cup-shaped nests out of grasses, plants, or discarded paper on the forks of bushes and trees, always covered by dense foliage. They will have 1-2 broods per season. Clutch size varies from 3-7 eggs. Incubation takes 11-17 days. Nesting takes 12-16 days. The young are born altricial. The male Blackbirds fiercely defend their nest and territory. Just this week I saw blackbirds "mobbing" two Ravens, on two separate occasions!
Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalus
male in regular state (left) and in mating display (right)
Violet-green Swallow (male) - Tachycineta thalassina
In just the right light, the back of a male Violet-green Swallow can be a beautiful teal green. The females lack this green coloration, but have a striking combination of black and white feathers. These Swallows have been flying over my neighborhood for weeks now. They nest in rock crevices and ledges, holes in man made structures, and hollow logs. They will nest solitarily, or in small colonies of less than 20 pairs. Their primary food is insects, which they catch high in the air. They can fly fast, up to 28 miles per hour!!! They will fiercely defend their nest against intruders, such as other Swallows, Starlings, Bluebirds and Chickadees.
All swallows cannot walk, but they can perch! That explains why you don't see them on the ground! I watched this pair of swallows repeatedly check on a nest, or a potential nest site, up in the eaves of my neighbor's roof. Last year, a pair of Starlings nested there! That was interesting! They have traveled to our neighborhood from southern Mexico and Central America! Wow!
Violet-green Swallow (female, left - male right) - Tachycineta thalassina
female investigating possible nest site (center)
Canada Goose (adult) - Branta canadensis
Canada Goose nest on the North Yuba River
My in-laws found this empty Canada Goose nest on the other side of the river! It was about 100 yards from the edge of the river, at the base of a Douglas Fir Tree, in the shade. I haven't seen any goslings yet this year, so maybe this clutch failed. I couldn't believe the amount of downy feathers that lined the nest! The nest was probably 2.5' wide and long, and filled with 1,000's of feathers! It was amazing!
Canada Geese mate for life, and they maintain family groups throughout the year. The female selects the nest site, does all the nest building and incubation. They usually have one brood a year, with 2-8 eggs in a clutch. Incubation takes 25-28 days, and nesting takes 42-50 days. They mainly eat grasses and aquatic plants at this time of year. In winter they eat grain and berries.
Bullock's Oriole (male, left - female, right) - Icterus bullocki
their partial nest (center)
The Bullock's Oriole that nested in a tree right near our garden last year has returned! She and her male partner started building a nest in the same tree she nested in last year!!! I was SO THRILLED to witness her return to our neighborhood, and to the same tree! It looks like some of the fishing line they tried using, to make this year's nest, was too old and brittle so they have stopped making it. They are still in the area, and I'm sure they've started another nest. A few evenings ago, I watched them forage for caterpillars in a Live Oak tree near our home! I am amazed that these beautiful birds can fly all the way from Guatemala to our neighborhood! We are so lucky to have them here!
What kind of plant is this (above left)?
What kind of butterfly is this (above, top right)?
What kind of spider is this (above, bottom right)?
Who made this underground den?
Where are all the bird nests?
How are the foxes, bears, and deer?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated.
Email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com
Thanks!
