Spring Migration

Bullock's Oriole (male) - Icterus bullockii

The weather has warmed up, plants are blooming, bugs are flying, and birds are returning to our neighborhood! Just this week the Bullock's Orioles returned from Central America, and the Evening Grosbeaks returned from the California foothills. The Black-headed Grosbeaks returned from Mexico a week ago. They will all make nests and raise their young here! All three species are sexually dimorphic, with the males being the most colorful. The orioles feed on nectar and insects, and both species of grosbeaks feed mainly on seeds, berries, and some insects.

Black-headed Grosbeak (immature male) - Pheucticus melanocephalus

This is an immature male, but I thought the feather pattern on the top of its back was so beautiful!  As it matures, this pattern will become less visible as the feathers turn mostly black.

Evening Grosbeak (male) - Coccothraustes vespertinus

Small flocks of Evening Grosbeaks were eating the dried seeds of the locust tree pods in our neighborhood!  The trees themselves look dead, but new tiny green leaves are just starting to show up!  It won't be long before the trees are covered in leaves and large, pendulant clusters of fragrant, white flowers.

Lesser Goldfinch (male) - Chipping Sparrow - House Wren

Carduelis psaltria - Spizella passerina - Troglodytes aedon 

A few Lesser Goldfinches, Chipping Sparrows, and House Wrens have also migrated to our neighborhood. These birds are all short-distance migrants, and probably spent the winter in the foothills, central valley, or coastal areas of California.  The wren mainly eats insects.  The goldfinch and sparrow mainly eat seeds, berries, and insects.  

The Lesser Goldfinch is probably just passing through.  They normally nest at lower elevations. The Chipping Sparrow will probably nest here.  They prefer to make their nest in a conifer, in clumps of dense needles at the outer end of a branch.  The House Wren has nested in the same spot in our neighborhood for several years, behind a loose board on my neighbor's house.  You should hear it sing.  It is a tiny bird, only 4.5" in length, but it has a BIG voice!!!  One year I even got pictures of the tiny fledglings!!!

American Mink - Neovison vison

Local Mammals

A local resident and fellow naturalist, Cy Rollins, found this dead Mink on the highway and brought it to me.  It was extremely unfortunate that it had been hit by a car, but it was a real privilege to look at it closely.  I had never seen one before.  In fact no one I know has ever seen one or even talked about them, even though they are found across the U.S. (except for Arizona) and Canada!  It was so beautiful!  It measured about 2' in length and weighed a few pounds.  It looked really healthy.  The fur was super soft.

Minks aren't seen that often because they are mainly nocturnal, and are especially active at dawn and dusk.  They are called "aquatic weasels" because they can pursue prey underwater. They eat muskrats, crayfish, frogs, ducks, waterfowl, and fish, in rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes.  They can swim a distance of 100' underwater, and can dive to a depth of 15'!!!  They also hunt on land and eat shrews, mice, and rabbits. They are mainly solitary, except briefly during mating.  Both males and females are polygynandrous, and have multiple mates. Mating takes place in the winter.  The female makes the nesting burrow in the bank of a stream, river, or lake and lines it with grasses and the fur from prey.  1-8 young are born sometime between April and May.  The female solely feeds and cares for the young.  I found the track above at the river's edge.  It could be a Mink track, but I'm not positive.  

 Columbian Black-tailed Mule Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

I've been seeing small groups, or pairs, of female deer lately.  Does usually travel with other females, that are almost always related by maternal descent.  They are probably pregnant right now.  Their fawns will be born sometime between June and July.  Always on alert, their large ears help them detect predators and intruders!

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

I still see this young Gray Fox on our property at least once a week!  It is definitely maturing, but still has a way to go before it will be full-sized.  Just beautiful! 

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

Raptor Report

The Red-tailed Hawk that I've been watching all winter is still in our area!  It is definitely a  year-round resident!. Hopefully I'll find its nest this year.  New this week I saw an Osprey on the river, and a Bald Eagle down on the South Fork!  All three of these raptors prey on small mammals, reptiles, and other birds.  The Osprey and the Bald Eagle also eat fish.  I wonder if the Osprey is the one that was in my neighborhood all summer last year!  The Bald Eagle has been nesting down in the South Yuba River State Park for the past 12 years!  It was pointed out to us while we were on an Audubon Bird Walk a few weeks ago!

Osprey - Bald Eagle

Pandion haliateus - Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Common Garter Snake - Thamnophis sirtalis

Reptiles!

With the temperatures in the 80's, the reptiles have become active in our neighborhood.  Three Garter Snakes checked me out one afternoon, as I was working in our garden!  They have probably just emerged from their underground hibernacleum (winter den).  Brumation is a cold-blooded form of hibernation, or condition of sluggishness/torpor.  They often overwinter in groups of 20 or more, and mate as soon as they emerge in the spring.  The young are born in August.  These snakes are ovoviviparous, and carry their eggs (20-50!!!) internally!  The young emerge from their mother after hatching, and spend their first year preying mainly on earthworms!  Adult Garter Snakes feed on frogs, toads, fish, salamanders, slugs, leeches, lizards, other snakes, and birds.  Snakes don't have eyelids or ears, and communicate through movements!

Western Fence Lizard - Sceloporus occidentalis

I've also seen several lizards scurrying around in our garden.  This one is really scaly/spiny.  I think it is a Western Fence Lizard as they are the most commonly seen lizards in California.  When fence lizards are cold they don't display patterns or colors, and appear mainly black!  They have a distinctive blue patches on the sides of their belly and throat, which I failed to check out.  Lizards brumate in cracks between rocks or in tree trunks.  After they mate in the spring, the female will lay 3-15 eggs in sandy soil, or rotten vegetation. The eggs will hatch in about 2 months. Young and adult lizards eat insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, butterflies, wasps, and ants!

Sierra Buttes 4/18/19

Lakes Basin Update

The snow is melting fast, the river is rising, and the Road Department is starting to plow the Gold Lake Road! Last week we walked up to Lower Sardine Lake and Salmon Creek Campground.  We walked on top of 2-3 feet of snow, but there were many bare patches.  The temperatures have been in the 80's during the day and the 40's at night.  Blue skies have become the norm!  Spring has finally arrived!  Yahoo!

What's blooming?

Where are all the bird nests?

What other birds will show up?

How cold and fast is the river?

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

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Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please email me at northyyubanaturalist@gmail.com.

A Desert Adventure!

Mourning Doves on Ocotillo

Zenaida macroura - Fouquieria splendens

Last week I drove 800 miles to a favorite camping spot in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, that I've been going to since 1979! I saw lots of flowers, birds, insects, a few mammals, several reptiles, and an amphibian! True to form the desert was hot, then WINDY, and finally breezy and warm. We camped out for three days and hiked up the local washes and ridges and reveled in the flora, fauna, and clear blue sky! It looked just the same as it did 40 years ago! How lucky I am to be able to return to this beautiful untouched wilderness year after year!

House Finch on Saguaro Cactus

Haemorhous mexicanus (male) - Cereus giganteus

Desert Birds

Many desert dwelling birds don't need to drink water.  They get enough moisture from the food they eat.  The Mourning Doves, pictured at the top of the page, and the House Finches, pictured here, need to drink water daily.  In the past we have watched the Mourning Doves fly in from the bajada in the evenings, to get a drink at the tanks.  The tanks are natural, bedrock pools that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have enhanced and dammed to hold water year-round for wildlife. Large populations of Mourning Doves and House Finches can be found across most of the U.S.  Some of these populations seasonally migrate. However, the desert dwelling populations are non-migratory and live here year-round.  

Mourning Doves are seasonally monogamous, and produce 2-5 broods (of 2 eggs each) annually.  The nests are usually constructed in trees, or on the ground.  This year we saw a Mourning Dove nest with two eggs in it!  Wow!  Once the eggs are laid, both parents incubate them.  The male incubates from mid-morning to late afternoon.  The female incubates the remainder of the day.  The eggs typically hatch in 14 days.  Both parents feed the nestlings with "crop milk", a secretion from their crop walls!  Squabs (baby doves) usually fledge within 12-15 days.  As soon as they fledge, the female leaves to start a new brood, and the male alone feeds the fledglings for another 12 days!  The young doves typically stay in the area of their parents for the next 21 days.  They will roost with their sibling and/or parents at night.  As mature adults they will fly up to 3 miles to a water source twice a day, usually in the morning and evening.  They can suction up water, and do not need to tilt their heads back to swallow!  Surprisingly, Mourning Doves have a short life span of just 1 year in the wild!

House Finch (male & female) in Palo Verde tree

Haemorhous mexicanus 

The House Finch was originally only a desert dweller, but has expanded its home range to include most of the U.S.  They are seed, berry, and fruit eaters.  They travel in small to large flocks.  We came across a flock of 5 House Finches at a natural bedrock pool of water.  The female (above right) looks slightly damp.  Maybe it just took a bird bath!  The red color in the feathers of the male House Finch (above left) comes from the food it eats. This one must have found a lot of red berries! 

House Finches raise up to 6 broods in a season, with 2-7 eggs per brood!!!  3 broods are the average number. Both the male and female choose the nest site.  Only the female builds the nest and incubates the eggs.  The male will feed the female while she is on or off the nest, during the incubation period.  Both parents feed the nestlings.  The male alone feeds the fledglings until they can fend for themselves, while the female builds a new nest and lays a new clutch of eggs!  The young birds will reach sexual maturity within a year. A House Finch's life span is 8-10 years in the wild.  

 Ash-throated Flycatcher

Myiarchus cinerascens

The Cornell website https:birdsna.org states, "Ash-throated Flycatchers are tolerant of high temperatures, do not need to drink water, and can nest in relatively small cavities, they can breed even in sparse desert scrub as long as adequate food resources and nest sites are available."  They are cavity nesters, and like to nest in abandoned woodpecker holes.  They have 1-2 broods annually, of 2-7 eggs per brood. Both parents make the nest and feed the young.  Only the female incubates the eggs and broods the nestlings. They feed on a wide variety of insects, as well as the fruit of several cacti.  The average life span of an Ash-throated Flycatcher is 12 years.  This one came quite close to me one morning and curiously checked me out!

Great-tailed Grackle in Yellow Turbans

Quiscalus mexicanus - Eriogonum pusillum

From a distance I thought this bird was a Raven! However, it is not in the Corvid family, but rather the Icterid family. This family of birds includes New World blackbirds and orioles, cowbirds, meadowlarks, bobolinks, oropendolas, and caciques.

Great-tailed Grackles are polygynous, and individuals of both sexes are frequently nonfaithful to their social mates. Nest are made as high as 60' up in a tree.  They have 1-2 broods annually, of 1-5 eggs per brood.  The males defend the nesting territory, while the female incubates the eggs, and cares for the young. They eat a variety of insects, reptiles and amphibians, small mammals, as well as other eggs and nestlings of other birds!  The life span of a Great-tailed Grackle is approximately 12 years.  Apparently, they can form huge flocks numbering in the tens of thousands, and roost communally all year. However, they are not very common in desert areas without water. We only saw a couple of them during our stay in the desert.

Cactus Wrens
Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus

Cactus Wrens are xerophiles, and get all the water they need in the food they eat.  Their diet consists of a variety of insects, seeds, fruits, and occasionally small reptiles and amphibians.  They are socially monogamous.  Both male and female build a football size nest in thorny cacti or shrubs. Unlike most birds, they use their nests year-round, not just for breeding, and will sleep in them at night.  They have 1-3 broods annually, of 2-7 eggs per brood!  Only the female incubates the eggs, and broods/feeds the young.  A male will bring food to the female for the young. The average life span of a Cactus Wren is 7 years. I watched the wren on the left repeatedly visit a nest in a cholla cactus!  The pair on the right were flying around together in a Palo Verde tree.  These beautiful birds are the state bird of Arizona!

Black-throated Sparrow (male)

Amphispiza bilineata

More Desert Birds!

Here are some more birds that I was lucky enough to see in the desert, but don't have the time to write about!  They were all gorgeous and fun to watch!  Small flocks of Black-throated Sparrows were some of the first ones to start singing in the morning.  I saw a number of them with grubs/caterpillars in their beaks!

Scott's Oriole (male)

Icterus parisorum

I saw 2 of this strikingly beautiful male orioles in the area where we camped.  What a gorgeous surprise they were!  So tropically colored in the dry desert! 

Western Kingbird

Tyrannus verticalis

This kingbird posed for me in the early evening at Joshua Tree National Park. 

It stayed on its perch for 10+ minutes!  Just lovely!

Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottos

The Northern Mockingbirds serenaded us loudly throughout the day with their incredible repertoire of songs!  The distinctive flash of their black and white wings makes them easy to identify in the field.

Brush Mouse - Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Peromyscus boylii - Lepus californicus

Desert Mammals!

One late afternoon a friend of mine noticed that there was a large mouse sitting on the wheel hub of one of our vehicles!!!  It stayed there for several hours, probably because there was a dog in camp!  It had HUGE ears!  We couldn't exactly identify it, as it wasn't in full view, but our best guess is a Brush Mouse.  It's about the right size for a Brush Mouse, 8-9", but we couldn't tell if its tail was bicolored or if it had "dusky ankles".  They are known to be good climbers, so maybe...  At any rate it was super fun to watch it!  It stayed on the wheel hub for several hours, but was gone in the morning!  So cute!

Black-tailed Jackrabbits

Lepus californicus

These Black-tailed Jackrabbits were foraging at dusk in Joshua Tree National Park. They were super easy to photograph, as they froze in place when they saw me! They are not actually "rabbits". They are hares. The following quote from www.Britannica.com clearly explains the difference between the 2 species. 

"In general, rabbits are smaller and have shorter ears than hares. They are born without fur and with closed eyes after a gestation period of 30–31 days. Rabbits prefer to hide, rather than run, from their enemies. They prefer habitats composed of trees and shrubs, where they live in burrows dug into the soil. Hares, in contrast, are larger, and they are born fully developed with fur and open eyes after a gestation period lasting about 42 days. They are runners, preferring open-area habitats such as prairies, where they make their nests in small open depressions." 

Jackrabbits rarely walk, but hop 5'-10' at a time. When panicked they can hop up to 20' at a time, and can travel at 30-35 mph! They are preyed on by coyotes, bobcats, foxes, hawks, owls and snakes. They are mostly active from dusk to dawn. The female black-tailed jackrabbit can have as many as four litters a year. The young are born in a fur-filled depression, or form. Most litters have 3-4 young. The mother will separate the young and put them in individual forms, to help reduce the chance of predation. They will nurse for only the first 3-4 days of their life. During the remainder of their lives, they eat green plants in the spring and summer, and woody, dry vegetation in the winter.

Long-nosed Leopard Lizard

Gambelia wislizenii

Desert Reptiles and Amphibians

We came across this Long-nosed Leopard Lizard in a gravely wash.  Wow!!! I had never seen one before!  It froze in position, and we watched it for some time!  They are large lizards, sometimes reaching 5'5" in length!!!  The one we saw was probably around 3' in length, from snout to the tip of the tail.  Unlike other lizards, they do not cast off and regrow their tails.  They have powerful jaws and eat grasshoppers, beetles, moths, wasps, caterpillars, lizards (including its own kind), and even small mammals.  This one is a gravid (pregnant) female, identified by the bright orange dots and stripes!  What a beauty!

Red-spotted Toad - Bufo punctatus 

We saw several Red-spotted Toads near and in the bedrock pools we passed while hiking.  They toads are about 3" in length, and have round, bulging, parotid (salivary) glands at the back of both sides of the head.  They breed in Spring and lay eggs singly or in small strands at the bottoms of pools.  The tadpoles take 1-2 months to mature!!!  These toads can withstand a 40% loss of body fluids and still remain active during the day!  They eat ants, beetles, bees, bugs, and recently metamorphosed tadpoles!!!

Ground Snake - Sonora semiannulata

My friend spotted a Ground Snake as we walked back from some tanks in the early evening.  It scooted under a rock, so I didn't get a photo of it.  The photo above was taken by Randy Babb at www.reptilesofaz.org. This was a small snake, about 19" long, and only as wide as your finger!  It was beautifully marked with a bright orange stripe down it's back!  These snakes are non-poisonous, and eat insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and lizards!  They are very widespread in the Sonoran Desert, ranging from near sea level to 5,000'!  I'd never seen one before!  How exciting!

I traveled through the Mojave Desert in California, on the way to Arizona, and it was in full bloom!  There were yellow, blue, white, and purple carpets of flowers extending for miles along the roadside!!!  It was amazing to see, and the fragrance was heavenly!  The southern end of Joshua Tree National Monument was covered in flowers!!! Thousands of royal blue phacelias filled the dry washes!  WOW!!!

The Sonoran Desert of Arizona wasn't as profusely in bloom but the cactus and ocotillos were lovely, as well as the shrubs along the highway.  The dry washes weren't filled with flowers, but we saw many different species in bloom!  I relished them all!  Here's a few photos for you to enjoy!

Mojave Desert Wildflowers - Sonoran Desert Wildflowers

View of the snowy Sierra Nevada from Bishop, CA - 4/12/19

I spent the night in Bishop, CA on the way home.  In the morning there were clear blue skies and the sun was shining on the snowy Sierra Nevada.  It was absolutely, spectacularly beautiful!  What a perfect way to end a fabulous trip!  I am so filled up with beauty!

What's happening in my neighborhood?

Are the Grosbeaks and Orioles back?

What's blooming?

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

If you suddenly stop receiving my blog in your email, you need to sign up again.  This is a problem with Blogspot.com, that I can't fix. Thanks!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated.  Please email me at northyyubanaturalist@gmail.com.

Down in the Desert!

I'm down in the desert right now, 

checking out the spring blooms!  

It's incredibly fabulous!  

I'll tell you all about it next week!  

Check back then!  Thanks!

Your questions & comments are greatly appreciated!  

Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com!

A Few Mammals!

Chickaree or Douglas Squirrel - Tamiasciurus douglasii

I was down watching the birds visit our bird feeding station yesterday, for my last Project FeederWatch count, and I counted 7 Chickarees feeding right alongside the birds!!!  I've seen 1-2 of them before, but not 7 at one time!!!  I guess the word has spread about the abundance of easy-to-get seeds!  One Chickaree has been living in our woodpile, under the plastic tarp, all winter. All of them still have their gray winter coats.  They should get their redder, summer coat within a month or so.  The females use their shedding winter coats to line their nests!  It's mating/nesting time right now.  They usually only have one litter of 4-6 kits per year.  Nests are built in hollow logs or trunks, or abandoned woodpecker cavities.  The babies are born sometime between May and June, but they are kept well hidden and not usually seen until August!

Gray Fox (juvenile) - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Another frequent visitor to our bird feeding station is this beautiful young fox!  I've seen it many times during the day, feeding on the birdseed on the ground!  Wow!  Although it's not obvious in the above photo, it's quite small and only about half the size of an adult fox!  I love seeing it!  It must be tough hunting right now, with all this rainy weather!  Seeds, acorns, nuts, berries, tree buds, fungi, eggs, birds, small mammals (including rabbits), and insects make up their diet.  I'll have to stop putting birdseed on the ground soon, as the black bears should be out of hibernation and we don't want to encourage them to come around.  I'm sure this little fox will be able to find enough wild food as the temperatures warm up and critters become more active.  It's been such a thrill to watch this little fox!  Such beauty!

  

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

I've also seen this beautiful adult fox several times, always in the area of the young fox.  Perhaps it is its mother!  A few years ago a Gray Fox raised 3 pups on our property.  Maybe this is one of pups full grown!  It looks so healthy, and even a bit stocky!  I also noticed that the reddish fur is much more saturated in color than the younger fox's fur. Mating happens sometime between January and March.  1-7 pups (usually 3-4) are born approximately 53 days later.  Dens are made in fallen rotten logs, rock ledges, underground burrows, or in hollow tree trunks with the entrance up to 30' above the ground!  Gray Foxes are the only North American canines that can climb trees!  They will climb trees to nest, get to food, rest, or escape predation! I have never seen one in a tree!  Wouldn't that be amazing!

Mule Deer (female) - Odocoileus hemionus sp.

It's been another rainy week, and living out in the elements can be tough for local wildlife. Light rains don't affect deer much and they tend to just keep moving and foraging if the storm isn't too bad.  In heavy rains they will seek cover in an area with a dense canopy that also has protection from the wind.  The doe pictured above still has her gray winter coat that has hollow hairs, which will help keep her warm. At least the rains have promoted plant growth, and new green leaves and shoots are available everywhere for deer to eat! 

Brewer's Blackbirds - Euphagus cyanocephalus

New Arrivals!

New birds are showing up here every week! This week more Brewer's Blackbirds arrived bringing their total number to 26! They are already checking out the area where they made their nests last year. I also spotted one male Red-winged Blackbird among their flock.  He probably won't spend the summer here. Perhaps he'll fly over and join the "cloud" of Red-winged Blackbirds in Sierra Valley!

Yellow Warbler - Yellow-rumped Warbler

(Males)

Dendroica petechia - Dendroica coronata

I was also thrilled to spot a Yellow Warbler and several Yellow-rumped Warblers yesterday morning!  Both of these colorful birds spend their winters in warmer climates, and are some of the first warblers to return to our area in the spring.  

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states: "Long distance migrants,Yellow Warblers breed across central and northern North America and spend winters in Central America and northern South America. Short to long-distance migrants, some western Yellow-rumped Warblers move to the nearby Pacific Coast to spend the winter. Other populations migrate to wintering grounds in Mexico and throughout Central America."

Redbud - Cercis occidentalis

 Since it wasn't raining, we decided to go down to the South Yuba River State Park yesterday to see how the spring bloom was progressing.  We were thrilled to find an abundant array of blooming wildflowers!  The park is located in the oak woodlands around 1,250' in elevation, much lower than where we live.  It was an overcast spring day, with perfect light for photographing wildflowers.  If you live in the area, I highly recommend visiting this beautiful park in the next few weeks.  You won't regret it! 

Hansen's Larkspur, Pretty Face, Bird's Eye Gilia & Miniature Lupine

Delphinium hansenii, Triteleia ixioides, Gilia tricolor & Lupinus bicolor

 Fiddlenecks, Blue Dicks, Caterpillar Phacelia

Amsinckia menziesii, Dichelostemma capitatum, Phacelia cicutaria

Common Raven - Red-shouldered Hawk

Corvus corax - Buteo lineatus

Birds in the Grass Valley Area

About once every week or 10 days, I travel to Grass Valley to do errands.  This week I had car trouble, and had to wait around for several hours at the mechanics.  I went birdwatching instead of sitting inside the waiting room, and had a wonderful time!  Many of the birds I saw don't live in our neighborhood.  

Ravens are found just about everywhere in the world, so I wasn't surprised to see some down there.  I just love their loud croakings and conversations!  The Red-shouldered Hawk, however, was a lovely surprise!  I spotted it about half-way to Grass Valley, where it was overlooking a pond/wetlands/meadow area.  They don't eat fish, but would gladly eat any frogs, crayfish, toads, earthworms, insects, or small mammals.  My first sighting of a Red-shouldered Hawk was on 12/18/18.  Since then, I've seen them many times in lower elevations.  It's amazing how once you see something that you never saw before, you suddenly see them everywhere!

California Scrub Jay - Acorn Woodpecker (male) 
Aphelocoma californica - Melanerpes formicivorus

California Scrub Jays are the foothill counterpart to our Steller's Jays! I think they're beautiful! Like our jays, they do not migrate and live in the area year-round. Pairs stay together throughout the year, and typically remain together for several years. Right now is their breeding/nesting season. Both the male and female will build a nest of twigs, in a tree or shrub 6'-14' off the ground. The female will do all of the incubation, but both parents will raise the young.

Acorn Woodpeckers are the most common woodpecker in the foothills. We don't have any of them in our neighborhood!  Acorns make up 58% of their diet!  They also eat fruit, ants, beetles, and other insects. They store acorns by drilling holes in dead tree trunks and putting an acorn in each hole! These acorn filled trunks are called "granaries". Granaries have been known to contain up to 50,000 acorns!  Each granary is only used by one "family" of Acorn Woodpeckers. It may take generations of use to create a large granary. The families consist of males, females, and offspring, ranging from 2 to 16 members. Usually there are about 5 members in a family. The adults practice "polygynandry", and breed with multiple females/males. All the females lay all their eggs on the same day, in the same nest cavity! The whole family helps incubate the eggs and raise the chicks!! At night, all of the family members roost in the same cavity!! Acorn Woodpeckers are amazing! 

 If you'd like to learn more Acorn Woodpeckers and their environment, check out this information filled book:  Secrets of the Oak Woodlands by Kate Marianchild.

Hooded Merganser (female) - Lophodytes cucullatus

Every time I go to the library, I walk up to the Charles Marsh Pond.  It's never full of ducks.  I've only seen one duck in the pond, a female Hooded Merganser, all the times I've looked this year!  Maybe it's too brackish and silt laden for most waterfowl.  The last time I was there I was lucky to see the Hooded Merganser pop-up out of the water with its head feathers all plastered down.  Then it poofed its head feathers straight up, probably to dry them out!  Wow!  What a lucky sighting!

Hairy Woodpecker (male) - Belted Kingfisher (female)

Picoides villosus - Megaceryle alcyon

Last week there was a Hairy Woodpecker pecking at the bark of a pine tree on the edge of the pond!  The tree trunk was missing large areas of bark, indicating that woodpeckers had visited it often!  

I also see a female Belted Kingfisher just about every time I visit the pond.  There must be fish there for the Kingfisher to eat.  It always sees me way before I see it and flies across the pond rattling loudly!  I've even watched it hack up a pellet of undigested fish scales and bones!  Wow!!!  I had thought that owls were the only birds that produced pellets, but that's not true.  LOTS of birds regurgitate pellets of undigested material including hawks, crows, jays, dippers, herons, grebes, swallows, and some songbirds!  Pellets usually contain undigested bones, fish scales, or hair.

You never know what you might see, even in a small area, once you start looking!  Visiting the same area repeatedly can be so rewarding!

Sardine Lake (frozen) & the Sierra Buttes  3/31/19

Weather Update!

We had another rainy week, except for a beautiful sunny weekend.  Our total rainfall was around 1.5", which brings our water year total to approximately 69.78"!  The river flow rate increased to 2,600 cfs on Tuesday.  It will probably get much higher, if it warms up and the snow starts to melt.  I skied up to Sardine Lake last Sunday and found it to be almost totally frozen, with only a few areas of open water near the shore.  It was gorgeous!  There's still about 7' of snow on the ground at the 6,000' level!  The skiing is great!  Get out there if you can!  

What is this a picture of?

What's happening on the river?

Are birds building their nests now?

What insects are out and about?

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

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Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. 

Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com!