Sierra Valley in January

Winter Tules 

Sierra Valley in January

Last Friday we drove over to Sierra Valley to see if any raptors were around.  The weather was perfect with high clouds, patches of blue sky, mild temperature (40+ degrees), and no wind.  The whole area was a study in warm browns, pale grays, and muted deep yellows.  Just beautiful!  I highly recommend going there if you have the time!  What was totally surprising was that there was no snow on the road even at Yuba Pass, and no snow in Sierra Valley! This made for great driving conditions, but has me worried about looming drought and future wildfires. I sure hope we get a lot more winter storms soon! Fingers crossed!  

Sierra Valley  1-15-21

We headed over to the Steel Bridge, as it is one of the best easily-accessible birding areas. The dirt road to the bridge was in great shape, due to the dry conditions.  Bird life was minimal.  No ducks or shorebirds were in the water at the bridge.  There were Canada Geese and some distant ducks further along the road, as well as some very distant Tundra Swans.  However we did see a Rough-legged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels (male and female), and a Northern Harrier over the course of the day!  

American Kestrel (adult male) - Falco sparverius

We saw a handful of American Kestrels while we were in the valley.  Such beauty!  For the first time ever, we saw a few females!  We even saw a female on a post with a rodent in its claws!   We also saw an adult male with the typical red patch on its crown (above photo)!  These beautiful little (only 9" long) American Kestrels can be seen in Sierra Valley year-round.  In the summer 74% of their diet is insects.  In winter it is mainly small mammals and birds.

American Kestrel (adult female) - Falco sparverius

American Kestrels are sexually dimorphic (differ in appearance).  The obvious difference is that the male's wings are gray-blue in color, whereas the female's wings are brown with dark bars.  The male has a pale rusty breast and polka dots on its belly, but the female has brown stripes down its breast and belly.  The male has a solid dark orange tail with a black tip.  The female tail is barred in dark orange and black.  

Northern Harrier (adult female) - Circus hudsonius

Northern Harriers typically fly low, skimming over the tules and sagebrush while hunting for prey.  They are a medium size raptor, measuring 18" in length, with a wingspan of 43", and a weight of 15 oz.  They eat medium to small birds and mammals, as well as reptiles and frogs.  Unlike other raptors, they rely on auditory clues from their owl-like facial disc of feathers, which helps them locate prey acoustically!  They can be found in Sierra Valley year-round. 

Northern Harrier (adult female) - Circus hudsonius

These beautiful raptors are not "hawks" they are "harriers". They are pretty hard to photograph as they are always so distant.  I lucked out this week with the "flying" shot above!  The photo directly above was taken last year at a different wetland.

Rough-legged Hawk (adult male) - Buteo lagopus

When we were at the Steel Bridge this dark hawk was on a nearby telephone pole.  I guessed that it might be an immature Red-tailed Hawk, but iNaturalist.org identified it for me as a Rough-legged Hawk!  Wow!  I had seen an immature one last year, but it had a lot of white on its head (photo below).  Apparently the main way to distinguish the rough-legged from a juvenile red-tailed is the placement of the white feathers on its breast.  Red-tails have white feathers on their breast just below their neck.  Rough-leggeds have white feathers on their lower breast, with dark feathers just above.  Rough-leggeds also have a more Egyptian-like eyebrow that is dramatic in appearance.  

 

Rough-legged Hawk (juvenile) - Buteo lagopus

The Rough-Legged Hawk is only found in Sierra Valley in the winter.  In the spring it will migrate back up to its breeding grounds in Alaska or the Arctic! They feed on small mammals, rabbits and ground squirrels. They are not commonly seen in our area, except for Sierra Valley.  We were so lucky to see one of these incredible, long-distance migrants. 

Rough-tailed Hawk (juvenile) - Buteo jamaicensis

Red-tails are medium sized hawks, measuring 19" in length, with a wingspan of 49", and a weight of 2.4 lb. They are one of the mostly commonly seen raptors in North America, and are found from coast to coast in the U.S. and as far south as Venezuela.  They like to perch in trees, or posts on the edges of clearings or meadows, and watch for prey. Ground squirrels, gophers, rabbits, mice, snakes, lizards, kestrels, and meadowlarks are their main prey. They use the perch-and-wait method of hunting. Once prey is sighted they will drop from their perch, flap-and-glide downward, thrust their legs forward when about 3 m from prey, and grab prey with feet.  They live in Sierra Valley year-round.

Natural Land Art!

Earth!

On one of my recent hikes I saw the small pond (above) rimmed with pine needles above the water line, evidence of a time when the pond had more water.  It totally reminded me of the Land Art of Andy Goldsworthy of Scotland!! He is my absolute favorite, contemporary land artist!  His unique creativity with found natural materials is absolutely astounding and incredibly beautiful!  He never ceases to amaze me with his unending outpouring of completely innovative work. If you aren't familiar with his work, search on Google for Images for Andy Goldsworthy Land Art.  Or better yet, check out his books and videos.  You will be amazed!!!  

 

Land Art or Earth Art, which began in the 1960's, is art that is made directly in the landscape, sculpting the land itself into earthworks or making structures in the landscape using natural materials such as rocks or twigs. There are many artists and websites devoted to the subject on the internet.  The following information about Andy Goldsworthy is from mymodernmet.com.

"British sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist Andy Goldsworthy is known for his site-specific land art made from natural, found materials. He crafts his installations out of rocks, ice, leaves, or branches, then carefully documents how the ephemeral installations change and wither over time. “It’s not about art,” he explains. “It’s just about life and the need to understand that a lot of things in life do not last.”

Nature is always astounding me with its beauty!  Andy Goldsworthy takes that beauty and pushes it a little farther, by combining natural materials in unnatural but startlingly beautiful ways.  He is truly a gifted artist, completely in tune with nature!  Here are a few examples of the natural land art I've seen on my wanderings!

 Filled Crevice                                          Ice Window

Cresting Pine Needle Wave

Weather Update!

Last week was un-seasonally warm and sunny during the day, with some intermittent clouds, but clear and cold at night.  We surprisingly got .08" of rain one night!  NEWS FLASH!!!  It's snowing heavily right now (Friday morning), and it's supposed to continue into next week!!!  Yahoo!  Hopefully we'll get some significant moisture out of these storms!  Fingers crossed!

Frozen Rain Drops!

More Damp Earth Art!

Since the local rainfall total at this point is way below our normal amount, I am once again sending out a "Call for Art" in celebration of rain. My intention is to focus on the need for rain, and through collective positive energy invoke rain to fall. It is just a wish, a thought, and a hope. If you would like to submit some art, or writing, or a photo please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Check out what's already been submitted at dampearthart.blogspot.com

You can view what was submitted last year at dampearth.blogspot.com.

I will be posting new art weekly. Check it out and pray for rain!

Dark-eyed Juncos - Junco hyemalis

How is Project FeederWatch going?

What's happening at the local ponds?

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

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