Amazing Raptors

Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

Raptors are birds of prey that have strong curved talons for catching or killing prey, strong feet for holding prey, a strong curved beak for tearing flesh, and excellent eyesight for finding food. They are carnivores and eat only meat in a variety of forms, including fish, birds, small mammals, and snakes. In contrast to most other birds, they are almost always solitary, to avoid competition for prey.

Their are many classifications (or subgroups) of raptors, such as accipiters, buteos, falcons, eagles, harriers, kites, ospreys, and owls.  Ospreys are the only bird in their classification!  They are unique among raptors in their hunting method of diving feet-first into water to capture fish.  They are usually successful in 1 out of every 4 dives.  No other raptors use this method of hunting.  They also have small barbs on the pads of their feet to help grab slippery fish.  After they have caught a fish and are back in the air, they maneuver the fish to face forward, using the fish’s streamlining to reduce aerodynamic drag.  They then carry the captured fish to an elevated and prominent perch to be eaten.  99% of their diet is fish.  They are large birds with a wingspan of 63", a length of 23", and a weight of 3.5lbs!!!

I saw this beautiful Osprey along the North Yuba River three times this week!  One morning I was on my usual section of the river, when I spotted the Osprey in a tree across the river.  It took off upstream as soon as I saw it.  I quickly ran up our road to the bridge, just hoping it might have landed near there.  When I got to the bridge I looked downstream and there it was, perched in a Douglas Fir tree about 20 yards away!  Wow!!!  I watched it for about a minute before it flew off upriver!  Such amazing beauty!

Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

On another morning, I was upstream from the bridge when an Osprey, probably the same one, flew right by me and landed in a nearby oak tree!  It intently watched the river for several minutes, looking for fish.  Not seeing anything promising, it flew off up-river and perched in a distant Cottonwood tree.  It watched it for several more minutes, from quite a distance, and got to see it plunge feet first into the river to catch a fish!!!  It was absolutely amazing!  

Red-tailed Hawk (juvenile) - Buteo jamaicensis

Red-tailed Hawk

Last week my neighbor told me she had seen an immature hawk down by the bridge, sitting in a dead tree.  The next morning I went down to the bridge pretty early, hoping to see the hawk.  To my delight, he was sitting right on the telephone line next to the bridge!!!  After I arrived, he flew to a nearby dead tree and perched.  I took tons of pictures before he eventually flew off and landed on a distant dirt bank above the river.  I wasn't sure what kind of raptor he was, so I posted my photos on iNaturalist.org.  Within a few days, it was identified as a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, in the Buteo classification of raptors!

 Buteos are medium to large, stout bodied hawks, with broad wings and fan shaped tails.  Many species have a variety of color phases. Their diet consists primarily of small mammals.  Although they are not as big as an Osprey, Red-tailed Hawks are large birds with a wingspan of 49", a length of 19", and a weight of 2.4lbs.  

Red-tailed Hawk (juvenile) - Buteo jamaicensis

Red-tailed Hawks are one of the most common buteos seen in North America.  

They do not eat fish, but hunt in meadows and fields for small mammals, snakes, lizards, and other birds.  They use the perch-and-wait method of hunting.  Once prey is sighted they will drop from their perch, flap-and-glide downward, thrust their legs forward when about 3 m from prey, and grab prey with feet.  Birdsna.org states, "During the ensuing struggle, mammalian prey frequently bite the toes and legs of hawks (especially juveniles); many Red-tails bear scars of these encounters."   

  I have never been that close to a hawk before, and it hasn't been back since!  How lucky I was to watch this beautiful raptor!

Sierra Buttes - 8/24/18

Camping in the Lakes Basin

We camped for 3 days up in the Lakes Basin this week, and it was lovely!  Cool nights and warm days were the norm.  We hiked all over the Lakes Basin and enjoyed the last of the wildflowers and the hint of fall color in the ground-cover and shrubs. The air was clear until the day we left, when smoke blew in from distant fires.

Nashville Warbler - Grass of Parnassus - Mormon Metalmark

Vermivora ruficapilla - Parnassia californica - Apodemia mormo mormo

We saw three new species!  A Nashville Warbler was busy flitting around in the pine trees one morning.  Probably looking for insects to eat.  Grass of Parnassus flowers were scattered throughout the wet areas and damp meadows.  These strikingly veined blossoms are only found at this time of year.  Mormon Metalmark Butterflies were sipping nectar from Rabbit Brush blossoms!  These butterflies are quite tiny, about the size of a quarter!

Chickaree or Douglas Squirrel - Tamiasciurus douglasii

Mammal Update

When we were camping this Chickaree scolded us from a Lodgepole Pine.  He kept up his scolding for many minutes, and drove us out of the area!  Right now these tree squirrels are busy storing food for the winter, such as green cones and seeds.  Unlike chipmunks, they do not hibernate in winter.  They remain active and eat the food they have stored.  Their nests can be in a hollow tree or in an abandoned woodpecker cavity.  Additionally, sometimes nests are made out of layers of leaves fashioned into a ball up in a tree!  

In the Lakes Basin the tops of the trees are totally filled with sappy cones.  You can often find these green cones on the forest floor, cut down by squirrels.  I wonder how Chickarees keep from getting cone sap all over their faces.  I'll do some research on that this week! 

 California Red Fir cones - Abies magnifica

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemonius columbianus 

On my friend's property in Sierra City, I luckily saw this female deer and her two spotted fawns last week!  What a surprise to see them!  The fawns are twins, and several months old.  They will stay with their mother until next Spring or longer.  Female deer often travel, throughout their life, in groups of females that are related through maternal descent.  These are the first fawns I've ever seen since I started my blog!  What a delight it was to watch them!!!  I need to research about when they lose their spots.

American Lady -  Skipper - Monarch

Vanessa virginiensis - unknown species - Danaus plexippus

Down in the Garden

There are still lots of butterflies flitting around our garden. I have never seen an American Lady (above left) before. What a beauty! The pattern in her wings is so gorgeous and elaborate! Skippers (above center) are not true butterflies, and have hooked antennae! The Monarch (above right) was exciting to see, as they rarely visit our garden. Next year I plan to grow several native milkweed plants for the Monarch caterpillars to eat. Adult Monarchs feed on nectar from a variety of native and non-native flowers and shrubs. This one flew all over our garden, but only landed on our Butterfly Bush to sip nectar. Lots of insects visit our Butterfly Bush! I'll talk more about that next week!

Lesser Goldfinches  - Spinus psaltria

male - fledgling - female

Goldfinches

The sunflowers in our garden are starting to go to seed, and goldfinches have started showing up!  I hear them nasally beeping away as they feed on the seeds!  I even watched a female goldfinch feed her wing-flapping, loudly beeping fledglings (below)!  How lovely!  

Lesser Goldfinches - Spinus psaltria

How is that Magpie?  Is it still around?

This Yellow-rumped Warbler fledgling has its beak pointed straight up, and its head is gray like the bark.  The central yellow puff is on its throat. The other two yellow puffs are near its shoulders. Can you see it now?

What kind of insect is this?

Where are the bear and the foxes?

What other birds have begun their migration south?

Are there crayfish in the river this year?

How low is the river?

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

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