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
No comments:
Post a Comment