North Yuba Naturalist: Mammals!

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Local Mammals

I've seen several foxes this week, including the one I photographed last year (above)! I was happy to see her(?) again! Gray foxes mate for life, and mating takes place sometime from January to March. Gestation is approximately 60 days. Now is the time for the pups to be born. They will be weaned in about 4 weeks. Both parents feed and take care of the young pups. The young stay with the parents for their first 10 months. Hopefully, I'll see some new pups in a few weeks!

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

This young fox might be one of the pups I saw last summer. Male and female foxes look the same in the field. This one was probably out looking for something to eat. They are omnivorous and eat rodents, insects, eggs, fruit, birds, rabbits, berries, squirrels, and rabbits. They are the only foxes in North America that can climb trees. Gray foxes are primarily nocturnal, but I also see them during the day.

Ringtail - Bassaricus astutus

I photographed this Ringtail up at the dump! It had climbed into one of the huge metal dumpsters and couldn't get out! The lady in charge of the dump, Sally, was having everyone dump their garbage in one corner of the dumpster, to create a pyramid the Ringtail could climb up to escape. When I was there, the "pyramid" of garbage was about half-way up to the top of the dumpster. A day later, the pyramid was complete and the Ringtail escaped! Yahoo! What a treat it was to see this beautiful animal!

Ringtails are nocturnal, and I've only seen them a few times in my life. They are omnivorous and eat rodents, rabbits, squirrels, mice, insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fruit, seeds, berries, and acorns! They are about the size of house cat, but are not in the cat family, Felidae. They are members of the raccoon family, Procyonidae. Their habitat extends from sea level to 4,600' in the Sierra! They are solitary except during mating season, which is right now. Young are usually born in May or June. Liters range from 1-5 in size. It is primarily the female that takes care of the young, but the males sometimes play with the young! Their den is usually under rocks, in a hollow log or stump, and is padded with lichen and moss. The young are weaned at 10 weeks, but stay with the mother for several more months.

Ringtails are often misnamed "Civet Cats". This name comes from the African Civet, Civettictis civetta, that produces "civet", a foul smelling substance, from its musk glands. This civet is used in perfume! Wikipedia states, "Its odor is strong, even putrid as a pure substance, but once diluted it is pleasantly and sweetly aromatic." Ringtails have musk glands that produce a foul odor, so do skunks!

Striped Skunk - Mephitis mephitis

I saw this Striped Skunk down by our bird feeders one evening this week. Skunks can discharge their musk as far as 10'-15'! If a skunk raises its tail, it's time to beat a hasty retreat! This skunk is so use to us, it scampered off without spraying when it saw me! Unfortunately, it went underneath my studio! I really hope it's not living under there!

Striped Skunks breed from February through April. Males will mate with several females. Once mating has occurred, the males are not welcomed by the females. The gestation period is 59 to 77 days. So it will be a while before any kits will show up. Hopefully not 10 of them, and not under my studio!

Although they are altricial with sparse pelage at birth, younglings have discernable patterns prior to birth. The younglings do not open their eyes until about three weeks of age and are typically weaned at six to seven weeks. It is at this time they learn to forage and hunt by following their mother in a single file line during her outings. Younglings rely on the protection of their mother, during this time she will display extremely defensive behavior. Male younglings become independent by July or August, while the female younglings may remain with their mother until the following spring. Both male and female younglings become sexually mature by the end of the first year, around 10 months of age on average.Although they are altricial with sparse pelage at birth, younglings have discernable patterns prior to birth. The younglings do not open their eyes until about three weeks of age and are typically weaned at six to seven weeks. It is at this time they learn to forage and hunt by following their mother in a single file line during her outings. Younglings rely on the protection of their mother, during this time she will display extremely defensive behavior. Male younglings become independent by July or August, while the female younglings may remain with their mother until the following spring. Both male and female younglings become sexually mature by the end of the first year, around 10 months of age on average.Although they are altricial with sparse pelage at birth, younglings have discernable patterns prior to birth. The younglings do not open their eyes until about three weeks of age and are typically weaned at six to seven weeks. It is at this time they learn to forage and hunt by following their mother in a single file line during her outings. Younglings rely on the protection of their mother, during this time she will display extremely defensive behavior. Male younglings become independent by July or August, while the female younglings may remain with their mother until the following spring. Both male and female younglings become sexually mature by the end of the first year, around 10 months of age on average.Although they are altricial with sparse pelage at birth, younglings have discernable patterns prior to birth. The younglings do not open their eyes until about three weeks of age and are typically weaned at six to seven weeks. It is at this time they learn to forage and hunt by following their mother in a single file line during her outings. Younglings rely on the protection of their mother, during this time she will display extremely defensive behavior. Male younglings become independent by July or August, while the female younglings may remain with their mother until the following spring. Both male and female younglings become sexually mature by the end of the first year, around 10 months of age on average.Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

I finally saw a deer this week! My neighbor saw 6 in her yard, and 8 up by the cemetery! Maybe that Mountain Lion that was in our neighborhood has moved on. Female deer usually travel in clans of females, that are related by maternal descent. Males either travel singly, or with other unrelated males. These deer mated last fall. The gestation period is 6.5 months. Most fawns are born in June or July. So it will be a few more months before any fawns show up in our neighborhood. Right now deer are shedding their winter coats. That's why some of them look so scruffy.

Chickaree/Douglas Squirrel - Tamiasciurus douglasii

Chickarees have been climbing the cherry tree outside my window for years now. They are incredible acrobats! I love watching them scamper through the trees! This one was pulling down the cherry blossoms and eating the ends! I don't know if it is a male or female. These squirrels only breed once a year. Breeding can occur from January through August, but usually occurs from March to June. The gestation period is 36 to 40 days. Baby squirrels are solely cared for by their mother, and stay in their nest until they are almost full-sized. They usually don't show up outside of the nest until mid-July or August.

Black Phoebe & Nest - Sayornis nigricans

Neighborhood Birds

Last week I posted a photo of this nest. If you guessed it was a Swallow's nest, you're wrong! It's a Black Phoebe nest! I didn't know that Phoebes made nests out of mud pellets! My neighbor showed me the nest! It turns out that the male shows the female possible nest sites. The female chooses the site and then builds the nest by herself! The female will lay 1-6 eggs, and incubate them for 15-18 days. After they hatch, they have a nesting period of 18-21 days. I'll check back for some chicks in a few weeks!

Yellow Warbler - Dendroica petechia House Wren - Troglodytes aedon

New to our neighborhood are these two tiny birds. They are both only about 5" long. The Yellow Warbler was such a surprise! The brilliant yellow color of this male is startling! Our neighborhood fits the description for Yellow Warbler breeding preferences. Hopefully there's a female Yellow Warbler here too, and they decide to stay! He has flown here from his winter residence in Central America or even northern South America, a 4,000 to 6,000 mile flight!!! WOW!

The House Wren comes back every spring and lives in the same cranny in my neighbor's house! His loud rattling call is filling the neighborhood, and has taken the place of the Northern Flicker's call! It's so wonderful to see him return year after year from his winter home in California or Mexico.

Sierra Valley 4/29/18

Sierra Valley Update

Last Sunday my husband and I drove over to Sierra Valley to check out the birds. It was a rainy, cloudy, windy, and beautiful day! We didn't see any Sandhill Cranes, but we saw birds (photos below) we hadn't seen earlier this year. It was wonderful! We hope to go kayaking out there in the near future!

White-faced Ibis - Plegadis chihi Red-tailed Hawk juvenile - Buteo jamaicensis

Yellow-headed Blackbird (center) - Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Lichen Heart-Hummingbird Moth/No. Fork American River/Sky Lupine-California Poppy

Stevens Trail

On April 26, my friend Nancy and I decided to check out the wildflowers on Stevens Trail near Colfax. Neither one of us had hiked this trail down to the No. Fork of the American River before! It was incredibly beautiful! Cascades of wildflowers covered the hillsides, butterflies and insects were everywhere, and a nice breeze kept the heat at bay. At first the trail drops down quickly in elevation, but then changes to a long gradual descent to the river, about a drop of 1200' in elevation in 3.5 miles. The view of the river was spectacular! I'd highly recommend this trail! Bring lots of water, as the temperature was quite warm!

Deer Lake - 5/3/18 Salmon Creek Wetlands 4/20/18

Lakes Basin Update

I went up to the Lakes Basin 3 times in the past 10 days! The higher north and east facing areas still have quite a bit of snow, but the areas that face west and south are basically snow-free. Some of the roads to trailheads still have a foot or more of snow on them! My friends, Judy and Diane, and I hiked up to Deer Lake last Thursday. About two-thirds of the hike was on a foot or more of packed heavy snow, that we punched in quite a bit, but it was worth the effort! The view of the Sierra Buttes was spectacular! I'm going back up again this coming week! Can't wait! It's so beautiful!