The River!

North Yuba River - 11/04/18

Due to the lack of rain, the North Yuba River is really low right now. Many places in the river channel that would normally be underwater are now exposed. The Ospreys have left, along with the Spotted Sandpipers and most of the waterfowl. The temperatures have dropped, insects have diminished in number, and the aquatic snakes and frogs have left the river. What is more visible now are our year-round residents. Although they are not as numerous as our seasonal residents, they are easily seen if you take the time!

Coastal Rainbow Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus

I have been looking and looking for trout in the river, but have only seen a few.  This particular trout (above) has been hanging around in the same area of the river for weeks now!  It is large, about 16" in length!  Because it is so camouflaged, I usually see its shadow on the rocks before I see the actual fish.  It is in a deep, fairly swift, part of the river.  I am always surprised to see it every time I look for it!

Right now the river is a chilly 42 degrees!  Being coldblooded, trout become less active when the the water temperature drops below 40 degrees.  Their metabolism and respiratory rates slow down.  Adult trout usually stay in deep pools during fall and winter.  To keep from being eaten, young trout stay away from adult trout!  They tend to spend the winter in shallower pools near the shore, where overhanging branches provide cover. 

Belted Kingfisher (female) - Megaceryle alcyon

One of the main predators of young trout are Belted Kingfishers.  They live on rivers, creeks, lakes, and estuaries where the water is clear enough to detect prey.  They dive into shallow waters to catch small fish, crayfish, tadpoles, and frogs.  They dive with their eyes closed, and grab prey with their bill!  WOW!!!  They rarely submerge.  After the prey is caught, it is carried to a perch and pounded against it.  This stuns the prey, which allows the kingfisher to turn it and swallow it head first!  You can figure out what a kingfisher has been eating, if you examine one of their regurgitated pellets.  I have never found any of their pellets, but apparently they usually contain undigested fish bones and scales.

I've seen the above kingfisher in our neighborhood, many times this year.  My neighbor has seen it perching above her pond.  I have also heard it flying up and down our creek!  This one is a female.  Females have a rusty-red band across their chest, and males don't.  We are excited to have a kingfisher in our neighborhood again!  It has been a few years since one has lived here!  We hope she stays!

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias

There are two Great Blue Herons living on the river in our neighborhood.  Most of the time I only see one of them.  Herons are usually solitary, except during breeding season.  Their main food is fish.  They will also eat frogs, newts, aquatic insects, and crayfish.  Sometimes in winter they will hunt small mammals on dry land.  They cast pellets, like kingfishers, but they only contain mammal hair.  Apparently they can digest fish bones and scales!  Lately, in the morning, I've been seeing them perched in trees instead of in the river.

Cold air tends to sink to the lowest areas overnight.  In our neighborhood, the lowest area is the river corridor.  We had several hard frosts this week, with the lowest temperature being 27°!  Staying warm might be tough if you're a tall bird standing still in the cold river, with an air temperature below freezing!  Perhaps that's why the herons have been perching rather than wading in the morning!  

  

Common Merganser - American Dipper

Mergus merganser - Cinclus mexicanus

I haven't seen any Common Mergansers on the river since the beginning of October.  To my surprise, two of them came back this week!  If fish are available in winter they will stay year-round.  If fish aren't plentiful they will migrate down to clear-water rivers, lakes, or reservoirs at lower elevations.   Mergansers will also eat aquatic insects, molluscs, crustaceans, worms, frogs, small mammals, and plants.

American Dippers live here year-round.  They hunt for aquatic insects and their larvae, small fish, and snails, in fast moving rivers and streams.  A dense layer of downy feathers keeps them warm in the cold water.  They also waterproof their outer feathers with oil.  Using their tails as rudders, they swim with their wings!  They do not have webbed feet, but have long, sharp toes for gripping slippery rocks!  At night Dippers sleep in trees with dense foliage, with their bills tucked under their wings.

Western Gray Squirrel eating Indian Rhubarb
 Sciurus griseus - Darmera peltalta

I've been watching for River Otters in the river but I haven't seen any for weeks.  Instead, I watched this Western Gray Squirrel scurry along the edge of the river, grab a leaf off an Indian Rhubarb plant, and start to eat it! Wow! I've never seen that before! My neighbor said she had heard that the plants were poisonous, but they're not. According to Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties, "Native Americans ate the young shoots raw. The fleshy leaf stalks were also peeled and eaten raw, the flavor being similar to celery. Pulverized roots were mixed with acorn meal to whiten the meal."  This plant can be found all along the North Yuba River corridor. I've never eaten any of it, but I will next Spring!

Steller's Jays - Cyanocitta stelleri

Project FeederWatch!

This will be the second year that I have participated in Project FeederWatch.  It began yesterday, Saturday, November 10, and is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  By recording the type and number of the birds that come to our feeders, I will help with the study of bird populations in winter, across North America.   I'll be a Citizen Scientist!  New this year, we have 3 hummingbird feeders and a birdbath!  It will be fun to see who uses them!   We have the feeders down by the garden, away from any windows.  The garden will also provide food for birds, and will be included in my bird counts.  I really enjoyed participating in Project FeederWatch last year.  I saw lots more birds than ever before and learned a lot!   If you are interested in joining this project, check it out at their website: feederwatch.org.  Below are photos of the birds I saw on my first day of observation!

Lesser Goldfinch (male - left, female - right)  -  Carduelis psaltria

Anna's Hummingbirds - Calypte anna

Fox Sparrow - Dark-eyed Sparrows (Oregon subspecies) - Spotted Towhee (male) 

 Passerella iliaca - Junco hyemalis - Pipilo maculatus

 American Robin - Golden-crowned Sparrow 

Turdus migratorius - Zonotrichia atricapilla

  Skippers sp.  (Skippers are difficult to identify!)

Skippers are in the same scientific order as butterflies and moths, Lepidoptera, but they have their own family, Hesperiidae.  The main obvious difference is their hooked antennae.  They feed on nectar, and have a life cycle just like moths and butterflies. This week my garden got frozen and almost all of the flowers have been damaged.  There's not much nectar available anymore.  I hope these adult Skippers have already laid eggs that will overwinter. 

What's happening with the deer?

Where are those lovely foxes?

How long will the Fall colors last?

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

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Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com