Bullock's Orioles Depart!

Bullock's Oriole (female) - Icterus bullockii

Bullock's Orioles nested in several different areas of my neighborhood this year. I spotted this beautiful female (above) just yesterday morning, near the cemetery! She will be departing soon for her winter residence in southern Mexico. Using the stars and land forms for navigation, Bullock's Orioles migrate at night! On their way south they will stop to molt for 70-80 days in areas where the Mexican monsoon occurs, such as New Mexico, parts of Texas, and northern Mexico. The actual molting takes about 47 days! Molting is the shedding of old feathers to make way for new ones. Most birds do not molt all their feathers at once. Molting usually occurs across the bird's body in a symmetrical pattern, one section at a time. Once the orioles' molt has completed, they will continue their migration south.

Bullock's Oriole (female adult) - Icterus bullockii - Bullock's Oriole (fledgling)

An Oriole Tale!

  Here is a summary of observations from this past nesting season, 

at a particular Bullock's Oriole nest near our home!

 In the middle of May, a pair of adult Orioles began making a nest in a tree near our home.  Last year, a pair of orioles nested in the same tree!  (Could they possibly be the same pair from last year?  That would be amazing!!!)  They worked on the nest for almost two weeks.  Unfortunately, the nest was abandoned near completion because (I'm guessing) the fishing line they had used was all broken!  The line was probably too old and brittle to re-use.  I didn't see the two adult orioles together again after the nest was abandoned!  However, about a week later I noticed a pair of orioles flying in and out of the same tree!  At first I thought they were both female orioles, as neither one had the bright orange-red head of an adult male, but later realized one was a first-year male.  They flew around together for a week or more gathering nesting material, and built a new nest in the same tree!  The female then began incubating her eggs.  A little more than a week later, I noticed her (above left) flying back and forth to her nest with insects for her nestlings!  I did not see the first-year male helping her feed the nestlings.  (Did he leave?  Was he injured?)  After almost two weeks I heard a lot of chirping and chattering coming from the nest one day!  I tried taking pictures to see what was going on, and luckily got a photo of the nestling (above right)!!!  Yahoo!!!  Then all of a sudden the nestling flew off and the female followed it!  WOW!!!  Neither one of them has been back since then, so hopefully they are on their way south!  I really hope the female returns again next year!  That would be wonderful!

Yellow-billed Magpie - Pica nuttalli

An Unexpected Visitor!

(all 3 photos are of the same bird)

For the past 3 weeks a Yellow-billed Magpie has been in our neighborhood!  These birds are RARELY seen in our area.  They are endemic to California, but are usually found west of the Sierra Nevada, in the foothills, central valley, and in the valleys of the Coast Range south of San Francisco.  They are year-round residents, and do not migrate outside of California.  Ground-dwelling insects, small mammals, grains, acorns, carrion, and berries are the main components of their diet.  They will also eat dog food and scavenge at compost piles.  They are in the corvid family of birds.  Typically they live in colonies, sometimes numbering over 800 birds in total!  

I have no idea why this Magpie is visiting us!  Apparently it's finding enough to eat!  I first noticed it because of its LOUD varying calls!  It is also quite large, with a wingspan of 25" and a body length of 19".  It seems to cause a stir among the Steller's Jays, which are also corvids.  They squawk loudly and act agitated whenever the Magpie is around.  I'll keep watch and see if it sticks around!  What a treat it is to see this large, strikingly feathered bird!  

Yellow-billed Magpie - Pica nuttalli

Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly - Fritillary Butterfly - Tiger Moth

Papilio rutilus rutilus - Speyeria sp. - Spilosoma sp.

Pollinators!

Our garden has lots of butterflies and moths busy pollinating the flowers right now.  They are also busy mating!  Most butterflies go through several generations in a season.  An adult butterfly usually only lives for 2-6 weeks.  The White-lined Sphinx Moths (below) finally showed up!  Last year they showed up early, when the Bleeding Heart flowers were blooming in April!  I've only seen a few of them.  Last year there were lots more of them flying around.  I'll have to do some research and find out what affects their populations.

White-lined Sphinx Moth - Hyles lineata

North Yuba River

July 2018 - July 2017

Hot and Smoky!

We have a lot of smoke in our area from some of the fires in California.  It has also been quite hot, with temperatures in the mid 90's.  It is super dry everywhere. Next week the temperature is supposed to drop down into the 80's.  Let's hope the winds die down as well, and rain comes in the not too distant future.  Be safe.  Be careful!

Here's a song I wrote one drought year.  My friends and I like to sing it to encourage the rains to fall!  Enjoy!

Rain, rain, come on down.

Come and quench this thirsty ground.

Come and let wet smells abound.

Fill the air with a joyful sound!

                                   (repeat)

Rufous Hummingbird  

Selasphorus rufus 

Hummingbirds!

 There are so many hummingbirds at our feeders!  They appear to be mostly juveniles.  I think most of them are Rufous and Anna's Hummingbirds.  It's just a delight to watch them, especially when the Rufous hummers fan out their tail feathers!  So beautiful!

Anna's Hummingbirds & Rufous Hummingbirds 

(juveniles)

Calypte anna - Selasphorus rufus

What is making the coppery glitter on the river?

How are the Hairy Woodpeckers doing?

What are the bugs on the left?  The bugs on the right are not alive!

They are Stonefly exuvia!  More on that later!

What was different about the last full moon?

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