Saturday, October 26, 2019

On the Road

American Mink - Neovision vision

I'm on the road, but just wanted to share this new insight on one of my past blogs. 

This summer I identified the animals in the photo above as River Otters ("River Life" blog - July 21, 2019). Last week I received an email from another naturalist who thought they were American Minks, not River Otters. I have since really compared these photos with photos of River Otters that I had ("Fluid Beauty" blog - Sept.9, 2018) and have decided that I was incorrect. These ARE American Minks!!! Which is really exciting, because I have never seen any live American Minks. I did post a photo of a dead mink, and an accompanying article last spring ("Spring Migration" blog - April 27, 2019). Compare the photos of the two species and let me know what you think!


American Minks - Neovision vision

River Otter - Lontra canadensis


What's happening in the Lakes Basin?



Where are the Bears?



What are the Herps doing?



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

Sunday, October 20, 2019

View from the Bridge

River Sparkles 

Almost every day I watch the river from our local bridge.  I never know what I might see.  It's always changing!  It's pretty low, slow, and cold right now.  One late afternoon a section of the river was covered in fine sparkles that looked like glitter!  I climbed down to check out what was refracting the light and found several hundred water striders cruising around on the river's surface!   


Water Striders - Gerridae


The following information is from en.Wikipedia.org.

"Gerrids that live in environments with winters will overwinter in the adult stage. This is due to the large energy cost which would need to be spent to maintain their body temperature at functional levels. These water striders have been found in leaf litter or under stationary shelters such as logs and rocks during the winter in seasonal areas.  This reproductive diapause is a result of shortening day lengths during larval development and seasonal variation in lipid levels.  

Shorter day length signals the water strider of the coming temperature drops, also acting as a physical signal the body uses to store lipids throughout the body as food sources. Water striders use these lipids to metabolize during their hibernation. The length of the hibernation depends when the environment warms and the days become longer again. they often live in large groups.  These large groups usually form  during the non-mating season since there is less need to compete. Instead of competing to reproduce, water striders can work together to obtain nutrition and shelter outside of the mating season. Water striders will attempt to disperse when these groups become too dense. They do so by flying away or cannibalizing."


  
Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus

One morning as I approached the bridge, there were two Common Ravens on the road.  They took off when they saw me and landed on the bridge railing.  A few seconds later another large bird followed them and landed a few feet from them.   To my total surprise it was a Red-shouldered Hawk!  The three of them then flew off down the river together!  How unusual! 

I've only seen one Red-shouldered Hawk in our area before.  Typically they live in lower elevations, but have increased their range up into our area.  Riparian areas are their preferred habitat.  Red-shouldered Hawks eat reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, and occasionally birds, such as Mourning Doves, House Sparrows, and Starlings.  Common Ravens are not in their diet, thank goodness! 


Belted Kingfisher (female - male) - Megaceryle alcyon

Kingfishers live here year-round.  I have seen a female frequently, but just this week I spotted a male!  The female is the one with the rusty-brown chest band.  Males and females stay together to mate and raise their young, from April to August.  The rest of the year they live independently.  These birds dive into the river to catch small fish, crayfish, frogs, and tadpoles. I love hearing their loud rattling calls! 

American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus

American Dippers are also year-round residents.  I've talked about them many times in previous blogs.  Usually when I see them they are foraging in shallow water.  This week, I saw one repeatedly dive in about three feet of water.  I watched it walk around on the bottom of the river and "swim" with its wings!  I took a ton of photos and luckily caught it in underwater action!  Wow!!!

North Yuba River 10/18/19

I never get tired of our beautiful North Yuba River! 
 Right now the Fall colors are glowing!

Hermit Thrush - Pine Siskin
Catharus guttatus - Spinus pinus

Down in the Garden!

The regular fall migrants have been passing through our garden this month.  Some only stay for a few days, others stay for a week or more.  It all depends if they can find the food they like.  I spied this secretive Hermit Thrush in a dense thicket of bushes.  It was probably looking for berries and fruit to eat, such as toyon, madrone, blackberry, and elderberry.  I love it's brown spots that fade so subtly down its breast.  Pine Siskins are feasting on the sunflower seeds in the dry flower heads.   They usually travel in small to large flocks during the winter.

 Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum 

 Twice this week I witnessed the arrival of small flocks of Cedar Waxwings!!!  One morning they were feasting on dogwood seeds.  A few days later they were eating grapes!  They are so handsome with their dark eye stripes and crested head feathers.
Their name comes from their habit of eating "cedar" berries, which are actually juniper berries.  These birds specialize in eating flowers, buds, fruit, and berries such as mistletoe and madrone.  In the summer they also eat adult mayflies, stoneflies, and dragonflies.  During the winter they will migrate as far south as Costa Rica!

Woolly Bear Caterpillar -   Spotted Tussock Moth Caterpillar
Pyrrharctia isabella - Lamphocampa maculata

Is winter going to be mild or severe?

Can Woolly Bear caterpillars forecast the winter weather?

I spotted several Woolly Bear Caterpillars and a Spotted Tussock Moth Caterpillar this week.  They are both in the Tiger Moth Family, Arctini, but are different species.  Both of these caterpillars are cruising around and eating plants before they go dormant for the winter.  When they awake in the Spring, they will pupate in a chrysallis and emerge as adult moths a few weeks later.  Their yellow to brownish-orange mid-stripes have nothing to do with predicting the severity of  the coming winter.  The following information is from weather.gov/arx/woollybear.

"Even though it is widely believed that the woolly bear caterpillar can predict the upcoming winter's severity, the truth is that this caterpillar can't predict what Old Man Winter has in store for us in the upcoming winter.  The woolly bear caterpillar's coloring is based on how long caterpillar has been feeding, its age, and species.  The better the growing season is the bigger it will grow.  This results in narrower red-orange bands in its middle.  Thus, the width of the banding is an indicator of the current or past season's growth rather than an indicator of the severity of the upcoming winter.  Also, the coloring indicates the age of the woolly bear caterpillar.  The caterpillars shed their skins or molt six times before reaching adult size.  With each successive molt, their colors change, becoming less black and more reddish.

As far as the story about the woolly caterpillar's coat, this is how Mother Nature helps it survive winter.  The fur is called setae and it isn't there to protect them from the cold weather.  Instead it actually helps them to freeze more controllably.  Here is something truly remarkable.  Once settled in, the caterpillars hibernate, creating a natural organic antifreeze called glycerol.  They freeze bit by bit, until everything but the interior of their cells are frozen.  These interior cells are protected by the hemolymph."

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Foxes!

I saw a new fox this week, in addition to the one I see regularly on our property.  It's easy to tell the difference between them, just look at the markings in their fur. 
  
Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

I'm happy to say that the fox I frequently see is looking a lot better.  Earlier this year it's coat looked quite mangy, but now it has filled back in.

 Rabbit Brush - California Fuschia
Ericameria nauseousus - Epilobium californicum

Late Bloomers!

Right now the Rabbit Brush and California Fuschias are in full bloom!  Look for them along Highway 49 between Indian Valley and Downieville!

Who's eating the apples in our neighborhood?

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?



Where are the Bears?

What are the Herps doing?

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

If all of a sudden you haven't been getting email notices of my blog being published, just sign up again on my blog. I don't know why you got "unsubscribed". It's some kind of problem with Blogspot.com and/or FeedBurner.com. I apologize for this glitch!

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

Sunday, October 13, 2019

A Bird in my Hand!

Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa

We've had family visiting these past few days, so I haven't had time to blog.  However, I did want to share one incredible experience I had this week, while it is still fresh in my memory.

I was hiking on the PCT last Monday with my friends when I noticed a small bird on the trail that looked like it was struggling!  It had an incredible bright-orange and yellow patch of feathers on the top of its head, bordered by black and white stripes!  It was tiny, about 4" long.  Its back, tail, and wings were yellow-green gray in color, with a whitish-gray breast and belly.  I didn't know what it was.  I picked it up to see if I could help it in some way.  Its eyes were tightly shut and it seemed quite weak.  My friend put some water in a bottle cap, and surprisingly it took a few sips!  After it swallowed the water, its eyes opened up, it spread out its wing and tail feathers, adjusted it's "crown" feathers, and died!!!
  
Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa

There was no outward indication that it had died, no sudden movement. I just sensed that its spirit was gone. It was as if it had arranged itself and put everything in order just in time for its next journey! I have no idea why it died. There weren't any visible external wounds. We were sad that it had passed away, but felt so privileged to have held it and seen it so closely. Such beauty!

Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa

When I got home I figured out that it was a male Golden-crowned Kinglet!  These birds are found across North America.  I have since read that they are one of the most abundant bird species found in the dense forests of the Sierra, from 4500'-9000' in elevation.  They prefer to remain year-round in these forests.  They have unusually thick fluffy plumage that keeps them warm in the winter!  In areas of extreme cold, they may even huddle together overnight!  They specialize in eating insects at the tips of slender branches, under bark, and in tufts of conifer needles.  Their small size and their ability to hover makes this feeding strategy possible.  This strategy is apparently quite successful, as they outnumber all other bird species in these forests! 

I also read that it is rare to see the "Golden Crown" of this Kinglet, mainly because these birds nest and feed up high in the dense conifers.  We were so lucky to have seen this little jewel of a bird in the dark forest!  It was an amazing experience!


What birds are around?

Is anything blooming?

What's happening on the river?

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

If all of a sudden you haven't been getting email notices of my blog being published, just sign up again on my blog. I don't know why you got "unsubscribed". It's some kind of problem with Blogspot.com and/or FeedBurner.com. I apologize for this glitch!

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

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Early Snow!

Mountain Maple leaf on new-fallen snow

This past week we got 1.46" of rain over the weekend! Up around 6,000' in elevation, it got cold enough to snow and everything was blanketed in about 3" of newly fallen snow. Wow!!!  On Tuesday, my friend BJ drove us up the Saddleback Road to the Chimney Rock Trailhead! Although there was several inches of snow on the road, she was a fearless driver in her Jeep!  It was a beautiful blue-sky day and the air was super clear after all that rain.  The view was gorgeous!  This is the earliest I've ever seen it snow, in the 30 years that I've lived here!  

Black Bear tracks and young Fir trees in the snow

We hiked in the snow for many miles before we got to Chimney Rock.  It was incredibly beautiful!  There were lots of animal tracks in the snow, including Black Bear, mule deer, and squirrels.  The forest itself was hushed and quiet.  So peaceful!


On the ridge top we found wind-blasted snow on the tops of the trees, and a "cresting wave" of snow frozen in place!  The wind must have been howling over this ridge during the weekend storms!!!

view to the north from the Chimney Rock Trail

The view from the Chimney Rock Trail was spectacular!!!  To the north there were several rocky peaks and ridges dusted with snow.  We have never explored this area, but it definitely beckoned to us that morning!  

Friends at Chimney Rock (west side) 10/1/10

The area where Chimney Rock is located is full of spectacular basalt column formations (including Chimney Rock). I couldn't find exactly how old these formations are, but they were probably formed around 60,000-100,000 years ago! The following information is from https://blogs.agu.org/georneys, and explains how basalt columns are formed.

"Basalt is an igneous, volcanic rock. “Igneous” means that the rock formed from a melt and “volcanic” means that the melt erupted at the Earth’s surface as lava before it cooled to form the rock. After lava is erupted onto Earth’s surface, it cools. However, lava may take awhile to cool, and as it cools there may be a temperature gradient. Most commonly, the top of the lava flow will be cooler than the bottom of the lava flow.  

When the lava cools, it contracts. This is because hot things generally take up more space than cool things. When objects contract, they often crack or fracture. When contraction occurs at centers which are equally spaced, then a hexagonal fracture pattern will develop. If the contraction is not evenly spaced, then other geometries of fractures, such as 5-sided or 7-sided fractures, may occur. Contraction may not be equally spaced if, for example, the thickness or composition of the lava flow varies. The fracture pattern that forms at the cooling surface will tend to be propagated down the lava as it cools, forming long, geometric columns. Thus, as lava cools to form basalt, it may crack in a hexagonal (or other) shape and form columns. These columns form in a variety of sizes– some are fairly small, and some are wider and much taller than people!"

Chimney Rock - east side

By the time we left Chimney Rock and headed back to the jeep, a lot of the snow had already melted!  No more storms are predicted for the near future, so most of this snow will probably melt.  Once again, the danger of forest fire has been diminished by the wet weather in our area!  We are so lucky!!!

Fireweed gone to seed - Epilobium angustifolilum

Before the Storm

Prior to the weekend, I hiked with some friends up the Mt. Elwell trail to Maiden Lake, in the Lakes Basin.  We had the trail to ourselves and the weather was sunny and cool!  Fall color was just starting to show up, and many plants were going to seed.  Fireweed (above photo) is a luminous display when it's going to seed, a beautiful woven gossamer tangle!

Pennsylvania Yellowjacket Wasp - Bracken Fern
Vespula pennsylvanica - Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens

We also came across a Yellowjacket Wasp nest right on the trail.  A bear had ripped it open and the wasps weren't happy!  A friend of mine got too close and was chased and stung by a wasp!  Luckily he was only stung once, and wasn't allergic to it!  When we were camping another friend was stung on the lip and tongue, and ended up going to see a doctor!   Watch where you walk in the woods!  Be careful!  Yellow jacket stings can be serious.  The following information on Yellow jackets is from http://naturemappingfoundation.org.

"Yellow jackets are social insects that live in large colonies.  In the spring, the Yellow jacket queen collects wood fiber to make her nest. The nest is constructed of paper-like material made from chewed wood fibers mixed with saliva.  This paper pulp is formed into multiple layers of paper cells that look like a honeybee's comb.  At first the queen constructs a small nest and begins raising sterile daughter offspring. These workers take over the duties of enlarging and maintaining the nest, foraging for food and caring for the offspring while the queen functions only to produce more eggs. The queen bee lays all of the eggs in a colony. The queen fertilizes each egg as it is being laid using stored sperm from the spermatheca. The queen occasionally will not fertilize an egg. These non-fertilized eggs, having only half as many genes as the queen or the workers, develop into male drones.  The male drones' main function is to be ready to fertilize a receptive queen.  The mature colony consists of a queen, 2,000 - 4,000 winged infertile female workers, brood (eggs, larvae and pupae) and, in late summer, males and reproductive females. Yellow jackets are carnivorous, primarily feeding on other insects like flies and bees. They also feed on picnic fare, fruits, carrion, and the nectar of flowers. Yellow jackets will forage for about 1 mile from their nest.

All social wasps are capable of producing a painful sting, but none leave the stinger embedded in the skin, as do honey bee workers. Most stings occur when the colony is disturbed. The objective is for the wasps to protect the nest site. Wasps are very protective of their colony and will attack if someone approaches within a few feet of the nest.  When a bee or wasp stings, it injects a venomous fluid under the skin of the victim. Yellow jackets have a smooth stinger, so they can sting more than once and the sting can be very painful.  Drones come from non-fertilized eggs. Since drones are males, they have no sting.  

Nests are built every year. The abandoned nest is often destroyed by birds searching for food.  Queens are the only members of the colony able to survive the winter."

-----

The Bracken Fern (above photo) was turning a beautiful golden yellow.  It will decompose over the winter and resprout from underground rhizomes in the spring.  Other species of ferns remain green over the winter by replacing the water in their cells with glucose, that acts like an anti-freeze.

Sandhill Cranes - Antigone canadensis

We also heard and saw hundreds of Sandhill Cranes flying west!  Such beauty!  I love to hear their loud rubbery calls in the Fall.  I am so grateful that these Cranes are thriving and continuing their migratory lifestyle.  Right now they are flying down from their breeding area that extends north from northern California to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska and British Columbia!  Thousands of them will overwinter in California's Central Valley!

Sandhill Cranes - Antigone canadensis

These beautiful birds can live for 35 years in the wild!  They mate for life and remain in small family groups throughout the year.  They feed on corn, roots, seeds, cultivated grains, berries, small mammals, insects, snails, reptiles and amphibians.  Most often they hunt on land during the day, and roost at night on ponds and wetlands.  How lucky we were to see and hear them!  Such joy!

Who's poop is this?

What birds are around?

Is anything blooming?

What's happening on the river?

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

If all of a sudden you haven't been getting email notices of my blog being published, just sign up again on my blog. I don't know why you got "unsubscribed". It's some kind of problem with Blogspot.com and/or FeedBurner.com. I apologize for this glitch!

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