North Yuba River - 9/15/18
This week, welcomed clouds passed by for several days in a row! It was wonderful! The clouds came in all kinds of shapes and arrived at different times of the day. One day it was solidly overcast for the whole day! We kept our fingers crossed and hoped for rain. On Friday morning around 9:00, I was out walking and it started to rain! Everything instantly smelled richly damp, the dust quieted down, raindrops landed on the backs of ducks and created concentric ripples in the river, and the plants glistened! It was heavenly! The rain only lasted for 5 minutes, but I'm so grateful for what we got!
The temperatures also dropped quite a bit this week, with low 40's at night, and mid 70's during the day! This should really help reduce the threat of fires, but they are still an ever-present worry. Hopefully more rain will come soon!
One bank of clouds had rainbow colored sundogs in it!
One sunrise colored the morning clouds a beautiful tawny yellow!
Several banks of clouds formed and dispersed during the week. Such beauty!
Lesser Goldfinch (juvenile with wings flapping - female) - Carduelis psaltria
Down in the Garden!
There are lots of Lesser Goldfinches gleaning sunflower seeds down in our garden. More keep showing up every week! I'm still seeing juveniles beg for food, even though they look full sized. It seems that family members stick together in loose groups, while they're feeding in our garden. I've only seen the female feed the juveniles. When the temps get cooler, these little birds will migrate down to the foothills and valleys of California for the winter. It is so fun to watch these little birds (4.5" in length), the smallest of all goldfinches, feast in our garden!
Lesser Goldfinch (male) - Carduelis psaltria
These little birds eat LOTS of seeds! On average a bird will eat 1/4 to 1/2 its body weight daily. A Lesser Goldfinch only weighs 0.33 oz. So it might eat 0.0825 - 0.165 oz of seeds in a day. How many sunflower seeds do you think that will be? How many thistle seeds? I'll measure it out and count the seeds. Check back next week for the totals!
Common Side-blotched Lizards (?) - Uta stansburiana (?)
Tiny Lizards!
I've been seeing lots of these little lizards in our garden. Most of them are only 2.5" long! I think they might be Side-blotched lizards, but I'm not sure. I'm hesitant to try and catch them, because I don't want to stress them out! They are so camouflaged in the dry grasses and weeds! These little ones won't be full-sized till next Spring. Soon, cool temperatures will cause them to bury themselves under the decaying leaves on the forest floor, where they will spend the winter in a state of torpor.
Monarch - Fritillary sp. - Two-tailed Swallowtail
Danaus plexippus - Speyeria sp. - Papilio multicaudatus
Battered Butterflies!
Butterfly adult lifespans range from 2 weeks to 9 months! By the end of their adult life their wings can be quite tattered! Right now most of the butterflies flitting around in our garden are looking pretty worn. Before it gets too cold, some will lay eggs that will overwinter. Some have already laid eggs, which have hatched into caterpillars. Some of these caterpillars will overwinter as caterpillars, others will overwinter in a chrysalis. Some butterflies even overwinter as adults!
Spotted Towhee (male) - Pipilo maculatis - Green-tailed Towhee - Pipilo chlorurus
Towhees
Towhees are seed and small insect eaters. They search for food on the ground, using their characteristic hop forward followed by a back-thrust with both legs. The Spotted Towhees live here year-round. The Green-tailed Towhees pass through our neighborhood on their southern migration to northern Mexico. Although Green-tailed Towhees are common they are difficult to spot. We count ourselves lucky to have them visit our garden!
Twelve-spotted Skimmer (male) - Black Saddlebag Skimmer
Libellula pulchella - Tramea lacerata
Dragonflies
Dragonflies are in the order "Odonata", which means "toothed ones"! Their sharply serrated mandibles earned them this name! They will catch an insect in the air, tear off its wings with their mandibles, and eat the prey while still flying! Dragonflies can move each of their wings independently and can fly in any direction, including sideways and backwards. They can also hover in one spot for a minute or more! Some dragonflies can fly fast, up to 18 mph! They can also fly long distances! One species of dragonfly holds the record for the world's longest insect migration, a distance of 11,000 miles! Dragonfly eyes have 30,000 facets and a near 360 degree vision! They also see in color, usually up to 4x more colors than humans see!
With over 1,000 species, Skimmers are the largest dragonfly family (Libellulidae) in the world. The Twelve-spotted Skimmer is one of the most common species in our neighborhood. Female Twelve-spotted Skimmers don't have white markings on their wings. Black Saddlebag Skimmers are new to our neighborhood! My neighbor, Tammy, found this one (above right) and brought it to me! We have never seen them before! They are usually found at stagnant ponds and ditches, but they were flying above the river this summer. They have transparent wings with distinctive black blotches that look like saddlebags. Both of these dragonflies can be found flying over our garden, which is really close to the river.
Libellula pulchella - Tramea lacerata
Dragonflies
Dragonflies are in the order "Odonata", which means "toothed ones"! Their sharply serrated mandibles earned them this name! They will catch an insect in the air, tear off its wings with their mandibles, and eat the prey while still flying! Dragonflies can move each of their wings independently and can fly in any direction, including sideways and backwards. They can also hover in one spot for a minute or more! Some dragonflies can fly fast, up to 18 mph! They can also fly long distances! One species of dragonfly holds the record for the world's longest insect migration, a distance of 11,000 miles! Dragonfly eyes have 30,000 facets and a near 360 degree vision! They also see in color, usually up to 4x more colors than humans see!
With over 1,000 species, Skimmers are the largest dragonfly family (Libellulidae) in the world. The Twelve-spotted Skimmer is one of the most common species in our neighborhood. Female Twelve-spotted Skimmers don't have white markings on their wings. Black Saddlebag Skimmers are new to our neighborhood! My neighbor, Tammy, found this one (above right) and brought it to me! We have never seen them before! They are usually found at stagnant ponds and ditches, but they were flying above the river this summer. They have transparent wings with distinctive black blotches that look like saddlebags. Both of these dragonflies can be found flying over our garden, which is really close to the river.
Anna's Hummingbird - Calypte anna
There are still lots of hummers in our garden and at our feeders. I think they are Anna's Hummingbirds and Rufous Hummingbirds! They might be staying here, or just stopping by on their migration south. We're happy to have them as our guests!
Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
Mammal Update
I've seen 4 bucks and 1 female deer several times this week! Two of the bucks have large antlers. The other two have smaller antlers. All of them were out in the open field next to the cemetery this morning! They were incredibly camouflaged in the dry grasses. Most of them have shed their reddish summer coats and have gray winter coats. However, one of the young males was still quite reddish in color. The males were in a small group, while the female was some distance away by herself. There is a lot of ripe fruit available in our neighborhood right now, mainly apples. My neighbor frequently sees the 4 bucks eating from her apple trees in the morning.
California Ground Squirrels
Spermophilus beecheyi
Last week I asked what kind of squirrel was poking its head out of an underground burrow. If you guessed "California Ground Squirrel" you're right! I spotted the mother squirrel first, and then one of her offspring popped out of the burrow! These female squirrels can mate with several different males, and have litters of 5-11 babies! These squirrels are highly adaptable, and live at elevations from 0 - 7,215'! They prefer to dig their underground burrows on the edges of open areas, such as meadows or fields. Luckily we don't have these squirrels living in our garden, as they can cause a lot of damage making their burrows!
Western Screech Owl - Otus kennicottii
Western Screech Owl
My friend, Carl Butz, found this beautiful little Western Screech Owl on the side of the highway this week. Unfortunately, it had been hit by a vehicle and died. I have never seen one before! They are small owls, measuring 8.5" in length, with a wingspan of 20". They are nocturnal and hunt for a variety of prey including mammals, insects, birds, earthworms, and crayfish! Sit-and-wait is their method of hunting. These "night owls" forage for food from 12 minutes before sunset to 27 minutes before sunrise! Abandoned woodpecker cavities, in deciduous, riparian areas, are their preferred habitat. They are year-round residents. This winter I hope to see one in the area where this one was found.
Western Screech Owl (feathers- feet) - Otus kennicottii
It was very sad that this beautiful little owl died.
We felt so privileged to be able to look at it so closely.
Such incredible beauty!
Why are these leaves skeletonized?
What is this?
What are the bears eating?
Where are the foxes?
This is a Great Blue Heron and an American Dipper.
What do these two birds have in common?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
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Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com
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