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!