River Birds!

Common Merganser (female) with 8 chicks - Mergus merganser

We have company this week, so I don't have time to write a lengthy blog. I did want to share these photos of Common Mergansers that I was incredibly lucky to see this week. I was on the bridge over the North Yuba River one morning, and saw a distant white object on the river. I zoomed in with my camera and realized it was a female Merganser. Then I noticed some little birds moving around as well. They were her 9 babies! Wow! As I watched, they cruised up-river along the shoreline in my direction. Within minutes they were underneath the bridge right where I was! What a delight it was to watch these beautiful ducklings and their mother on the clear water of the No.Yuba River! 

 Common Merganser ducklings - Mergus merganser

 American Dipper - Cinclus americanus

  
That same morning I also saw an American Dipper and a pair of Spotted Sandpipers!  How fun!  I'll write about them next week!

 Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularia

White Rein Orchid - Spotted Coral Root - Green Rein Orchid

Plantathera leucostachys - Corallorhiza maculata - Plantathera sparsiflora

Wild Orchids!

There are 8 species of orchids listed in John Muir Laws' book, Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada.  I have seen 6 of them so far.  They grow in both low and high elevations.  Most of them grow in wet areas, but some grow in the dry forest floor. The Spotted Coral Root (above, center) does not photosynthesize and depends upon the mycorrhizal fungus in soil for its nutrients.  Each orchid has a specific insect pollinator, usually a fly, bee, or moth, that is attracted to its scent!  

Giant Stream Orchid - Epipactis gigantea

The Giant Stream Orchids pictured above grow along Highway 49, a few miles past Downieville.  They have formed several colonies of hundreds of orchids in this one section of the highway!  They reproduce through rhizomes and seeds.  They are not usually noticed by motorists, as their coloring is a overall greenish brown.  However, upon close inspection they're gorgeous!  They are blooming right now so stop and take a look, but please don't pick the orchids!

Clockwise from top left:  

Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus ) 

American Robin (Turdus migratorious) - Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus giseus) 

Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata) 

Cherry Festival Ends! 

The wild domestic cherries in our neighborhood are almost all gone!  They've been eaten by the local critters pictured above as well as bear, fox, raccoons, and chickarees!  Once the cherries are ripe, the bird population seems to increase 10 fold! Band-tailed Pigeons can de-cherry a tree in a day!   It's been quite a commotion in the trees, with birds flying back and forth looking for the last cherry in the neighborhood!  Gray Foxes can also climb trees!  I've seen cherry pits in their scat, but there are also lots of edible cherries on the ground.  I've never seen a Gray Fox up in a tree, but my neighbor has!  Wouldn't that be marvelous to see!

 Bullock's Orioles (male & female) - Icterus bullockii

Bullock Tales!

This week it has been fascinating to watch the female Bullock's Oriole that I thought was recycling nesting material.  It turns out that she wasn't recycling, she was building a new nest in the same tree she built a nest in last year!  We also thought that there were two females building it, but it's a "first year" male and a female!!!  First year males don't have the brilliant orange/red heads that mature males have.  They are mostly all yellow like the females, but they have a black stripe on their throat (above, bottom left).  We watched the male follow the female as she flew around gathering nesting material.  We also saw him puff up and perform a mating display (above, middle left)!  We watched them for several days, fly in and out of the tree where the new nest is.  Then, two days ago, another male showed up and dove at the "first year" male!  Right after that, they stopped building their nest!  We didn't see them at all for the next few days!  However, my neighbor said that there were two "female" Bullock's Orioles pulling nesting material out of an old stuffed toy in her backyard!  I'll bet it's the "first year" male and the female that we have been watching!  That's exciting!!!  I'll check them out this week!

 Drummond's Anemone - Anemone drummondii

Were you able to identify those two blue flowers I posted last week?

They are Drummond's Anemones.  We came across them around 6,500' in elevation off the Mt. Elwell trail.  We first came across them three years ago in the Spring.  Even though they aren't listed as rare, I have never seen them before, and I've hiked in the Sierras for 30+ years!  What an exciting find!

What kind of spider is this?

Where are the reptiles and amphibians?

Where are the bear and the deer?

What kind of insect is this?

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

If all of a sudden you haven't been getting email notices of my blog being published, just sign up again on my blog.  I don't know why you got "unsubscribed".  It's some kind of problem with Blogspot.com and/or Feedburner.com.  I apologize for this glitch!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated!

Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com

Back Home

American Black Bear - Ursus americanus

There are lots of cherry trees in my neighborhood, and the cherries are starting to ripen.  Two mornings in a row, a big black bear has been climbing the trees right next to our house to eat the cherries!  He broke lots of branches in the process.  Earlier this week, the same bear tried to break into our garden shed where we had stashed a bag of garbage!  Luckily we were able to scare him off!  Another bear broke into a neighbor's car and did a lot of damage.  In Downieville, bears have been known to open unlocked car doors to get to food!  Bears are super strong, smart, and resourceful.  It's important to keep garbage out of vehicles, and in a secure storage area.  If a bear becomes too accustomed to human food, it can become a real problem for residents.  It may also lead to the bear's demise, as problem bears are occasionally euthanized by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.  

 Three bears have been seen lately in my neighborhood, and one of them is a tiny cub which I hope to see!  Black Bears are omnivores, but mainly eat insects, grubs, fruit, berries, roots, twigs, buds, honey, and tree cambium.  They will occasionally eat carrion when it is available.  They range in size from 203-587 pounds, as adults!  When born, cubs weigh from 4.5-11 pounds.  The cubs are weaned at 6 to 8 months, but usually stay with their mother through their first winter.  Adults can run up to 30 mph, and are powerful swimmers and climbers!  I was amazed at how quickly this bear climbed down the cherry tree and ran off, once it saw me!  It was gone and out of sight in mere seconds! Wow! 

        Chickaree - Tamiasciurus douglasii              American Robin - Turdus migratorius

The squirrels, birds, and raccoons have also been feasting on the cherries.  We can hear the raccoons at night (hence no photo) scrabbling on the rooftop eating fallen cherries.  The Chickaree/Douglas Tree Squirrels I see daily outside my window, eating one cherry at a time.  Some birds swallow the cherries whole.  Some eat them by pecking at them, one bite at a time.  Some pick them and roll them around in their bill to remove the flesh and discard the pit.  Still others will crack the pit open and eat the seed!! 

Brewer's Blackbird (male) - Euphagus cyanocephalus - Blackbird Nest

It's Nesting Time!

I finally found some nests!  Three pairs of Brewer's Blackbirds have built nests within a few yards of each other!  Typically Brewer's Blackbirds nest in colonies, ranging from a few to 100 pairs.  Two of the nests are well hidden, but one of them is easily visible.  I've watched the males bring food to the nest, but I haven't seen the females lately.  The females are most likely incubating the eggs.  Just yesterday I watched 5 male Blackbirds chase a Chickaree along the telephone wire and away from their nests!  Hopefully there will be some baby blackbirds hopping around in a few weeks!

  Western Tanager(female)-Piranga ludoviciana   Bullock's Oriole(female)-Icterus bullockii

These past few weeks, I've seen a pair of Western Tanagers and a pair of Bullock's Orioles in our garden every evening foraging for insects!  I've also watched the female Bullock's Oriole recycle nesting material (above right) from an old nest near our garden!  I am so thrilled to watch these beautifully colored birds, that have traveled all the way from Central America to nest in our neighborhood!

  Western Tanager(male)-Piranga ludoviciana   Bullock's Oriole(male)-Icterus bullockii

Western Tiger Swallowtail & Pale Swallowtail Butterflies

Papilio rutulus rutulus & Papilio eurymedon

An Abundance of Butterflies!

Right now there are butterflies everywhere! They're in the hot and dry areas, as well as up in the cooler elevations.  There is a northward migration of  butterflies happening in the Lakes Basin right now!  I'm not sure why they are flying north.  I need to do more research.  The photo above is of a group of male Swallowtail Butterflies "puddling" or drinking from wet soil, to extract minerals that aren't available in flowers!  A group of butterflies is called a "flutter"!

There are 165,000 known species of butterflies found on every continent except Antarctica!!!  I've seen several new species in my neighborhood, as well as the ones that are here every year.  Each species of caterpillar feeds on a specific species of plant!  Scientists thought butterflies were deaf until the first butterfly ears were identified, on their wings, in 1912!  Their eyes are made of 6,000 lenses and can see ultraviolet light.  Butterflies taste with their feet and smell with their antennae!

Edith's Checkerspot                      California Sister                     Pale Swallowtail    

     Euphydryas editha                    Adelpha californica               Papilio eurymedon  

   

Hummingbird Moth/Bumblebee Sphinx Moth             Four-spotted Skimmer(?)         

    Hemaris diffinis                                              Libellula forensis(?)

These two insects are new to my garden!  The Hummingbird Moth's wings move so fast, I can't even see them!  They also fan out their tail scales and hover in front of flowers, just like Hummingbirds!  I've watched it feed on mint flowers for several days!  They are a large insects!  At first I thought it was a Bumblebee, but then I realized the abdomen was much longer.    

The Four-spotted Skimmer is probably a young one, as the mature adults are dark brown in color.  It likes to perch on the dry sunflower stalks left over from last year.  Dragonflies catch insects in the air, with their legs, and then eat their prey while flying!  If you ever find a dead dragonfly, check out its enormous multi-faceted eyes!  

In their larval stage, which can last up to two years, dragonflies are aquatic and eat tadpoles, mosquitoes, fish, other insect larvae and even each other!  At the end of its larval stage, the dragonfly crawls out of the water, then its exoskeleton cracks open.  Over a period of up to 15 minutes, the fully mature adult climbs out of the exoskeleton.  The wings and abdomen expand, and then everything dries out and hardens over the next several hours to days.  Some adult dragonflies live for just a few weeks, while others live up to a year!

Howard Meadow - Tahoe National Forest

Wet Meadows 

While we were camping last week, we explored several wet meadows in the Lakes Basin. Thousands of Corn Lilies (Veratrum californicum) were leafing out and there were acres and acres of blooming wildflowers! It was heavenly! The dominant flowers were Common Camas and Water Plantain Buttercup, but there were lots of other species mixed in. If you go up to check them out, tread carefully (watch out for the flowers) and bring insect repellent!  

Sierra Bitter Root/Sierra Lewisia                      Water Plantain Buttercup           

Lewisia nevadensis                                Ranunculus alismifolius

    Common Camas - Camassia quamash     Meadow Larkspur - Delphinium nuttallialum

Buckbean/Bogbean - Menyanthes trifoliata

Wetlands 

Often there are large vernal pools, ponds, or lakes near wet meadows.  Buckbean is a native plant that thrives in these wetlands.  It has amazing flowers, with hairs on the petals that look like shredded coconut!  Native Americans used to eat the Buckbean root, after boiling it in water that was changed several times.

 Canada Geese and 3 goslings - Branta canadensis

 We also lucked out and saw several waterfowl with their young!  Canada Geese mate for life, and maintain their family group throughout the year.  The females build the nest on the ground and incubate 2-8 eggs, for 25-28 days!  The goslings are born precocial and leave the nest 1-2 days after they are born!  These geese will probably migrate to the Sacramento Valley, or other areas of southern North America for the winter.

 Female Mallard and 6 ducklings - Anas platyrhynchos

Mallards do not mate for life.  Male Mallards are not always monogamous.  Only the females build the nest and incubate 1-13 eggs, for 20 to 33 days.  The ducklings are born precocial and can leave the nest within 13-16 hours!!!  They usually stay close to their mother for their first month.  The "quack" that ducks make, is just the females talking!  Males don't quack, they make a softer, rasping sound!  Mallards live in California year-round.  These ducks will probably migrate to the Sacramento Valley for the winter.  

Red Fir and bedrock - Tahoe National Forest

Dry Woodlands

The drier forests are also in bloom!  Some forest plants thrive in the shaded areas, while others prefer the hot sunny areas.  This is an incredible year for Snow Plants.  I've seen more of them in blooming clusters than I ever have before!  Snow Plants don't produce chlorophyll, so they live in a symbiotic relationship with fungi.  The fungi live in the decaying matter on the forest floor, and are composed of fine white strands called mycelia.  This fungi grows in the roots of snow plants, and is also attached to the roots of pine trees.  The Pine tree provides carbon to the fungi, and in return the fungi provides mineral nutrients, water, and protection from pathogens.  The Snow Plant gets sugar from the fungi, which the fungi gets from the pine tree!  These plants are rare and protected by law, so please don't pick or disturb them in any way!

  Leichtlin's Mariposa Lily - Calochortus leichtlinii   Woolly Mule's Ears - Wyethia mollis

Snow Plant - Sarcodes sanguinea

What kind of bird is this?

What kind of fish are in the river?

What kind of flower is this?

Where are the foxes and the deer?

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

If all of a sudden you haven't been getting email notices of my blog being published, just sign up again on my blog.  I don't know why you got "unsubscribed".  It's some kind of problem with Blogspot.com and/or FeedBurner.com.  I apologize for this glitch!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated!

Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com

Gone Camping!

I'm camping this week, so no blog today. 

Check back next week for the latest 

natural history news from my neighborhood!

Thanks!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated, please send them to me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com.  

The North Yuba River Trail

North Yuba River 5/27/18

This week, a group of fellow naturalists and I hiked the lower section of the North Yuba River Trail. The trail travels along the north-facing side of the river and offers some lovely views of the river canyon. It was cool and lush in the shade. Soon it will be hot and dry as the summer temperatures rise.

In the beginning we walked past pile after pile of moss-covered rock tailings, left over from the Gold Rush. Between 1850 and 1870, thousands of men worked this section of the river, looking for gold. Most of them were gone by 1880. More information on the trail and the local mining history can be found in Hank Meal's book, Yuba Trails 2.

    Cantelow's Lewisia - Lewisia cantelovii       Small-leaved Montia - Montia parvifolia 

Yellow Cat's Ears/Yellow Star Tulip - Calochortus monophyllus

We saw lots of wildflowers (and Poison Oak) along the trail, in sun and shade.  I even discovered a rare and endangered plant that I had never seen before, Cantelow's Lewisia (above left).  Wow!!!  If you go to www.calflora.org there are several pictures of this species.  Additionally, none of us had ever seen Small-leaved Montia (above right).  Both of these plants have succulent leaves, which will make them more tolerant of dry conditions as the temperatures rise.  I was amazed at the "hairiness" of the Yellow Cat's Ears/Star Tulip, which must aid in its pollination.  We didn't see many birds, although we heard them in the sunny areas.  We did see one gopher snake!

We turned around after 1.5 miles, as we had other obligations.  It would have been great to continue hiking!  However, you can't walk the entire 7.5 miles of the North Yuba Trail as there are several big wash-outs and large trees across the trail.  It was a nice low-elevation hike to do before it gets too hot! 

    Unknown Wasp on  Bridge's Brodiaea/Rove Beetles on Silk Tassel - Staphylinidae sp.

Pollinators!

Whenever I look closely at wildflowers, there are always insects busy pollinating them!  Wasps, bees, and beetles seem to be the most common pollinators.  Last year I discussed native bees.  This year I'm focusing on beetles.  

About two months ago I asked www.bugguide.net to identify the beetles (above right) that I had found on the flowers of a Silk Tassel Bush.  They got back to me about a month ago, and identified them as Carrion/Rove Beetles!  Wikipedia states, "The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdomens exposed.  Most rove beetles are predators of insects and other invertebrates, living in forest leaf litter and similar decaying plant matter."  However, rove beetles eat just about anything!  Maybe this Spring, there wasn't much available for them to eat so they found the only plant that was blooming at that time, Silk Tassel, and fed on it! 

 Long-horned Beetle - Leptura propingua                             Common Checkered Clerid - Trichodes ornatus

unknown beetle species

Beetles are one of the most important pollinators in the insect world. 

The following information is from http://ucanr.edu/sites/PollenNation/. 

"Beetles make up the largest group of pollinating animals because there are so many of them! They are responsible for pollinating 88% of the 240,000 flowering plants around the world! Research has shown that beetles are capable of seeing color, but they mainly rely on their sense of smell for feeding and finding a place to lay their eggs. Many beetle species eat pollen, so the plants they visit must produce a lot of pollen to make sure that there is enough left to pollinate the flower after the beetles are done eating!"

Western Tiger Swallowtail - Papilio rutulus                  Western Branded Skipper - Hesperia colorado
Silver Spotted Skipper - Epargyreus clarus

Butterflies are another important pollinator of wildflowers.  The following information is from:  www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/butterflies.shtml

"Butterflies are less efficient than bees at moving pollen between plants. Highly perched on their long thin legs, they do not pick up much pollen on their bodies and lack specialized structures for collecting it.  Butterflies probe for nectar, their flight fuel, and typically favor the flat, clustered flowers that provide a landing pad and abundant rewards. Butterflies have good vision but a weak sense of smell. Unlike bees, butterflies can see red."

Anna's Hummingbird (male) - Calypte anna 

Birds, especially Hummingbirds, are also important pollinators.  

There are 2,000 bird species world wide that feed on nectar, the insects, and the spiders associated with nectar bearing flowers.  

Ornithophily or bird pollination is the pollination of flowering plants by birds.

There are several nectar feeding birds in my neighborhood, including Bullock's Orioles, Western Tanagers, Rufous Hummingbirds, and Anna's Hummingbirds.  I have watched them feed on a wide variety of flowers, including Bleeding Hearts, Columbine, Black Locust, and Bee Balm. 

The pictures above are of the same hummingbird!  A slight change in position makes a dramatic change in its appearance!  These photos show how the prism-like cells in their neck and head feathers refract the light and cause brilliant colorization!

Anna's Hummingbird (female) - Calypte anna 

Bee Balm - Monarda sp.

Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalus 

with nesting material

Nests

I haven't seen many birds' nests, even though there are lots of birds in the area.  Last year, I saw several nests before the trees leafed out.  This year I was too busy to look for them!  Rats!  It's not that easy to find bird nests.  The following quote from the book  Winter World, by Bernd Heinrich, says it perfectly!

"Finding a bird nest ...often depends upon a good deal of luck... Myriad clues give hints of nest building or progress.  These include seeing your bird with nesting material or food for its young in its bill.  Finally, you follow your bird, watching its every move, trying to divine its every intention, and all the while you try to be unobtrusive.  Finding a bird's nest is a bit like trying to capture a secretive animal, perhaps a water shrew or a pygmy shrew, that may be everywhere yet is nowhere seen."

Hopefully this week I'll find some nests!  

Last week I asked if you knew the names of these three species.  

The plant is Spotted Coralroot - Corallorhiza maculata.

I don't know what the butterfly is named.

The spider is a jumping spider, but I don't know what species.

I'll write more about them next week.

Where are the foxes, deer, and bears?

What's happening down on the river?

What kind of fish are these?

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

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated!

Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com

Thanks!