Rainy Weather!

It POURED this week, for a total of 7.38" of rain!  This brings our "water year" total to 24.68"!   The river has really risen, with a peak flow rate of 4,000 cfs occurring last Wednesday night.  The large logs that have been visible in the river for the past few weeks are gone, carried away by the high water!  Surprisingly the river wasn't full of sediment this time.  It kept it's glass green color, and was just a little cloudy.  I found these underwater grasses to be incredibly beautiful, bent over in the swift flow of the newly risen river!  We really hope these heavy, wet storms keep coming!  It finally feels like winter!

North Yuba River 1/19/19

When the river was at its height you could hear the boulders clunking in the churning water.  The prediction is for 1-2 more inches of rain today.  It's raining heavily right now.  Up in the Lakes Basin the snow level stayed high this week, at around 6,000'-7,000'.  At Yuba Pass (6,709') there's approximately 4' of snow on the ground.  Yahoo! 
  

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

Red-tailed Hawk!

While I was wandering in the rain, I saw this Red-tailed Hawk perched in a Douglas Fir Tree!  They are medium sized hawks, measuring 19" in length, with a wingspan of 49".  They are one of the mostly commonly seen raptors in North America, and are found from coast to coast in the U.S. and as far south as Venezuela.  If the winter is snow-free, they will live year-round in our neighborhood.  Locally I have also seen them in Spenceville, the Lakes Basin, and in Sierra Valley (photo below).  They like to perch in trees, or posts on the edges of clearings or meadows, and watch for prey.  Ground squirrels, gophers, rabbits, mice, snakes, lizards, kestrels, and meadowlarks are their main prey.  I watched this hawk for a few minutes, while the mist rolled in and out.  Such beauty!

Red-tailed Hawk in Sierra Valley - Buteo jamaicensis

The wide open Sierra Valley is a haven for raptors!  Last Fall I spotted this Red-tailed Hawk and several others over the course of a day.  Aren't its feathers amazing?!!

Anna's Hummingbird (male) - Northern Flicker (male)

Calypte anna - Colaptes auratus

A little Snow! 

Two weeks ago we got about 2" of heavy wet snow. The birds were super active, eating all day long!  I was thrilled to see an Anna's Hummingbird still feeding at our feeders, as well as a Northern Flicker pecking bites out of one of the few remaining local apples!  Flickers are normally insectivores, but consume seeds, berries, fruit and grains during the winter.  Although Flickers are woodpeckers, they do most of their hunting on the ground.  They drum on tree trunks in the Spring to attract a mate, but normally do not peck on trunks to find insects.  If the snow sticks around and accumulates, this Northern Flicker will move down to the foothills where the ground is bare, and food is more readily available.

Mule Deer tracks - Raccoon tracks - Gray Fox tracks

Odocoileus hemionus - Procyon lotor - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

A ton of animal tracks were visible in the newly fallen snow!  Most of them were down by our bird feeders.  Raccoons, Striped Skunks, Gray Foxes, Chickarees and Mule Deer tracks were all over the area!  We've seen the skunk at night several times, but haven't seen any raccoons yet. 

Raccoon tracks with smaller Striped Skunk tracks - Chickaree tracks

Procyon lotor - Mephitis mephitis - Tamaisciurus douglasii

 Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

Mammal Update!

I've seen several deer off the highway during this rainy week.  Apparently, if rain is warm and not too heavy, deer will remain active.  When a rainstorm is heavy and cold, they tend to seek shelter and bed down.  But there are always exceptions!  Nature is not that predictable.  Rainy weather also has some advantages.  Rain makes dry leaves limp and quieter to walk on, increasing the deer's ability to be stealthy.  The increased moisture in the air also increases their sense of smell and hearing.  This young buck (above), bounded across a field of damp, dried grass when it saw me. The size of its antlers indicated its young age. 

 Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

The Gray Fox posed for me this week!  I was down on our property one late afternoon, and noticed this fox watching me!  It stayed for several minutes while I took lots pictures, and then slowly wandered off!  Wow!  I was happy to see it looking so healthy!

Gray Foxes are solitary most of the year. In winter they mainly hunt for small mammals from dusk to dawn, including cottontails, tree squirrels, voles, mice, and wood rats.  They will also eat fruits, seeds, and berries.  When it's rainy they will remain active.  If the storm is severe, they may seek shelter in an underground den, dense shrubbery, hollow logs or limbs, or rock crevices.

Gray Squirrel - Sciurus griseus

I saw this Gray Squirrel one morning before the rains started.  He looked so healthy!  There are 2 of these squirrels living on our property.  In winter they forage for seeds, acorns, tree buds, and mushrooms.  They also eat from small caches of stored food that they buried in the Fall.  Rain doesn't seem to bother them at all during their diurnal search for food.  At night they sleep in arboreal nests call "dreys".  A drey is  made from sticks and leaves, wrapped with long strands of grass.  The inside is lined with moss lichens, and shredded bark.  During winter they are large, round, and covered on top.  I'll have to see if I can find one!

What kind of birds are these?

What kind of ducks are these?

Who made these tracks?

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

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

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