Wood Duck (male) - Aix sponsa
Back in November, a friend of mine told me where to go to see Wood Ducks in the winter. I had never seen them before. Just last week, I followed his directions to a lower elevation pond near Grass Valley and there they were! WOW!!! Oh my goodness, they were stunningly beautiful! I spent an enchanted hour watching them in the cattail-lined pond! They appeared to be in couples. The male is incredibly colorful, while the female is beautifully feathered in white, gray, and brown. The females are quite camouflaged in their environment.
Wood Ducks (male & female) - Aix sponsa
I have since read that pairing/courtship behavior begins in mid-winter. They are monogamous, and typically produce two broods of 10-13 ducklings per year!!! They nest in tree cavities that are 25' above the ground, or higher. Adults feed mainly on acorns off the ground, but will also forage for invertebrates and aquatic plants. I'll have to find out if they will nest near this pond and come back in the Spring! How lucky to see these incredible, gorgeous birds!!!
Hooded Merganser (males & female) - Lophodytes cucullatus
The males are usually really easy to see with their bright white and black heads. The females however are super camouflaged and blend into the vegetation. Can you see the lone female swimming behind the two males?
The males are usually really easy to see with their bright white and black heads. The females however are super camouflaged and blend into the vegetation. Can you see the lone female swimming behind the two males?
Sierra Buttes - 12/16/19
Lakes Basin Update
About 10 days ago, we hiked up to Sand Pond and Sardine Lake, in the Lakes Basin. We were the first ones to walk on the newly fallen 5" of cold, powdery snow. It was absolutely beautiful! I went back again this week but the snow has really diminished. The road to Sardine Lake is covered in patchy snow, but the lakes are now thinly frozen. More snow is forecasted for this coming week!
American Dipper - Buffleheads (females or immature males)
Cinclus mexicanus - Bucephala albeola
We also spotted a pair of Buffleheads swimming on the open water of Sand Pond!
Partially frozen Sand Pond 12/16/19
We spent a little while at Sand Pond, enjoying the sun and sparkles on the water.
Leafless Alders on the edge of Sand Pond 12/16/19
I just loved the abstract design of the forest reflected in Sand Pond!
Fresh snow on Evergreens 12/16/19
Everything was hushed and fresh and glorious in the powdery snow!
Lakes Basin Update
About 10 days ago, we hiked up to Sand Pond and Sardine Lake, in the Lakes Basin. We were the first ones to walk on the newly fallen 5" of cold, powdery snow. It was absolutely beautiful! I went back again this week but the snow has really diminished. The road to Sardine Lake is covered in patchy snow, but the lakes are now thinly frozen. More snow is forecasted for this coming week!
American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus
To my delight I spotted this American Dipper in the creek near Sand Pond! It was bobbing and diving in the freezing water! You can see a little piece of ice on one of its toes!
Their feet don't freeze in the frigid water, for a variety of reasons.
In heat exchange, the closer two temperatures are (eg. creek water and bird feet) the less heat is exchanged. So if you have cold feet, you don't lose much heat to ice or snow. Their feet are cold because of the counter-current heat exchange system between the arteries and veins in their feet. Warm arterial blood flowing to the feet passes close to the cold venous blood returning from the feet. The arterial blood warms up the venous blood, thus lowering the arterial blood's temperature. This makes the arterial blood relatively cool when it flows through the feet, and less heat exchange occurs. The cooled blood provides just enough oxygen and food to tissues, and just enough warmth to avoid frostbite! Surprisingly most birds only lose about 5% of their body heat through their feet!
Cinclus mexicanus - Bucephala albeola
We also spotted a pair of Buffleheads swimming on the open water of Sand Pond!
We spent a little while at Sand Pond, enjoying the sun and sparkles on the water.
I just loved the abstract design of the forest reflected in Sand Pond!
Everything was hushed and fresh and glorious in the powdery snow!
Questionable Stropharia - unknown mushroom
Stropharia ambigua - genus & species unknown
Mushrooms in January!
With the mild winter temperatures ranging in the 40's and 50's during the day, mushrooms are popping up! To me it's really surprising to see them in our neighborhood at this time of year. The photo I posted last week, was a group of Questionable Stropharia mushrooms. This fungi usually appears in the same area year after year. Several different animals eat fungi, including deer, squirrels, and mice. Flying Squirrels particularly like fungi, but will also eat seeds, nuts, fruit and insects. I have never seen a Flying Squirrel even though they live in our area. I mainly don't see them because they are nocturnal.
Polypore - Witch's Butter
genus & species unknown - Tremella mesenterica
We also went for a hike on the Hall's Ranch Trail which has a southern, sunny exposure. The moss was luxuriant on the trunks of the trees, along with Polypore
and Witch's Butter fungi!
Unknown mushroom - Turkey Tail
genus & species unknown - Trametes versicolor
Along the highway, I found a ring of these pale honey-colored mushrooms around the base of a pine tree, and Turkey Tail fungi growing on a decomposing log!
What happening in the Sacramento Delta?
What's happening on the creek?
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
No comments:
Post a Comment