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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