The River Corridor

Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

Just this morning I came across this spectacular Osprey sunning itself above the river!  WOW!!!  It had its wings stretched out and really lowered!  I've never seen an osprey do this before!  They plunge feet first into rivers and lakes, up to a depth of 3', in their pursuit of fish.  Obviously, they can get really wet!  I watched this Osprey for about half an hour, until it folded its dried wings back into place and flew off!  It was such an incredible experience! 

Every year an Osprey appears in our neighborhood in the spring, and spends the entire summer on our river.  I have frequently seen one perched on this dead tree.  I think it must be the same one, but I'll never know for sure.  Apparently, most Ospreys spend the winter on the coastal areas, rivers, and lakes of Central and South America!  They are known to breed farther north in Oregon, Washington, Canada and Alaska.  This one must be an exception to the rule!  I was thrilled to see an Osprey back in our neighborhood!

Mountain Lion Track - Felis concolor / Stormy Sunrise

Right in the area above the river, from which I was observing the Osprey, I found Mountain Lion tracks in the snow!  They were HUGE, a little less than 5" wide!  The distance covered by four footprints was more than 5'!  I followed the tracks for 100 yards until they dropped down into a steep forested slope.  I didn't see the Mountain Lion, but my neighbors have seen one twice in the past two weeks!  They also found the remains of a fox that it had apparently killed and eaten!  Wow!  I have only seen one in my entire lifetime, crossing the highway at night!  They are mainly nocturnal, but have been seen during the day and in the evening.  I would love to see one, from a good distance!  (The sunrise, above right, was a dramatically beautiful sight this morning!)

Canada Geese - Branta canadensis

In the same spot earlier this week, I spotted two Canada Geese in the river alternately dunking their heads underwater!  They did it over and over!  First one would dunk its head, and then the other one would dunk its head!  I thought this was quite unusual, as it was a behavior I had never observed before.  

Canada Geese mating - Branta canadensis

I stayed and watched and sure enough, within another minute of head dunking the male climbed up on top of the female and mated!  The mating only lasted for a few seconds, and then they just went back their normal behavior!  Wow!!!  These lovely, elegant, large geese mate for life!  What a great sighting!

Common Goldeneye (2 males - 1 female) - Bucephala clangula

A little bit farther down the river, there is a big wide-open, unforested slope that drops down to a straight stretch of the North Yuba River.  I have watched Common Goldeneyes foraging on this part of the river all winter long.  They like to eat fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, molluscs, tubers, and seeds.  

Common Goldeneye - one on the surface, three underwater

Bucephala clangula

Luckily last week, before the snow melted, the river was quite shallow and I was able to watch them forage underwater on the river bottom!  They kept their wings pressed to their sides underwater, and swam with their webbed feet!  First one would dive, and then the rest would follow.  It was so cool to watch them probe under and around the river rocks!  Such amazing beauty!

 Common Merganser (male - female) - Mergus merganser

The Common Merganser males are in their full mating plumage and have paired with a female.  These mergansers pair off in the winter, and sometimes keep the same partner for several years.  The female will lay 6-17 eggs in a tree cavity sometime between May and June.  The incubation period for the eggs is 28-35 days.  So we should see ducklings in June or July!  Only the female cares for the young.

 Common Merganser (male - female) - Mergus merganser

Luckily I was on the bridge when these mergansers flew by.  

Interesting how they hold their wings as they fly down the river corridor!

American Pipit - Anthus rubescens

My friend and I walked down to a lovely beach on the river this week.  While we were there, two of these little (6" long) birds were foraging on the beach.  We didn't know what they were, but inaturalist.org identified them for me as American Pipits.  I have never seen them before, and apparently they are on the way to their breeding grounds in the high Arctic or perhaps alpine areas in the Sierra!  The following information is from allaboutbirds.org.  How lucky we were to have seen them!

"American Pipits are among the very few species of American songbirds that nest in both Arctic tundra and alpine meadows. American Pipits nest in tundra in the far North, including grassy meadows and dwarf shrub habitat. Farther south, they nest at high elevations including alpine and subalpine meadows, boulder fields, and fell fields (scree slopes above timberline). American Pipits eat mostly insects and their larvae, including mayflies, caddisflies, lacewings, stoneflies, dragonflies, moths, butterflies, grasshoppers, ants, aphids, and beetles."

After the Storm

Weather Update!

Last Sunday we got another 6" of heavy wet snow!  Our total precipitation for the week was another 4.04", bringing us to a water-year total of 33.94".  We had several gray and cloudy days during the week, but now we're into a sunny stretch!  If feels great!  Hopefully spring weather is here to stay!


Brewer's Blackbirds (male-female) - Sharp-shinned Hawk - Downy Woodpecker (male)
Euphagus cyanocephalus - Accipiter striatus - Dryobates pubescens

When the sun came out, so did the birds!  They love to perch in the top of my neighbor's walnut tree.  The first bird I saw in the morning was a Sharp-shinned Hawk!  Wow!  I haven't seen one here before!  It was up in the top of the tree, probably surveying the surrounding area for potential prey, including songbirds!  New birds are showing up all the time.  I'll write more about them next week!

Sierra Buttes - 4/10/20

Yesterday, we drove up to the Buttes to see how much new snow had fallen, and were happy to see that they were just as snowy as a month ago!  It will be a while before we're hiking up there again!  Yahoo!  So glad we have a good snowpack in April!

What's this?

What's blooming?

What's happening at the ponds and ditches?

Are birds starting to make nests?

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

During these days of Covid-19 and uncertainty, I hope you are all healthy and coping with this unusual stress. Get out in nature while you have the time! It can be so healing!

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Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com