There's a lot going on in my Neighborhood!

Sky Lupine after the Rain - Lupinus nanus

There is so much going on locally, that it's hard to keep up with it all! Plants are blooming, birds are nesting, insects are hatching, reptiles and amphibians are mating, it's warming up, and the river is rising from the melting snow! For a change, I didn't go anywhere this week and just focused on my neighborhood. It was fun!

The BIG news is that it rained this week! For three days, beautiful dark grey clouds moved in and brought scattered rain showers to our neighborhood. We only got a total of .50" of rain over the three days, but the damp earth smelled wonderful and everything was refreshed! I hope lots more storms keep coming, and keep the drought at bay. Fingers crossed!

Brewer's Blackbird (female - male) - Euphagus cyanocephalus

Nesting News!

The Brewer's Blackbird males arrived here a few weeks ago, and this week the females arrived.  There are two small groups of approximately 10 birds that I've been watching.  The females in both groups are starting to gather nesting materials!  One group prefers to nest in the small deciduous trees perched on a steep cliff, along the highway.  The other group prefers to nest in the Lilac Bushes along the road near our home!  In the morning I've seen the females collect nesting material on the ground among the Sky Lupines.    

Only the females build the nests, and incubate the eggs for 12-13 days.  The males stand guard and ward off predators or other males during this time.  Once the nestlings hatch, both parents feed them.  Fledging occurs 12-15 days later, but the parents continue feeding them for another 15 to 20 days.

 

Canada Geese with goslings - Branta Canadensis

For years now, there have been several pairs of Canada Geese, which mate for life, living in our neighborhood.  Sometimes they even stay all winter, if there isn't much snow.  Every spring, I wait to see their new goslings!  This year they appeared a month earlier than last year, just about two weeks ago!  One couple has two goslings, the other has three!  I am amazed at the amount of parental care the adults provide.  They are constantly with their young, and somehow are able to keep them safe.  With foxes and mountain lions in the area, I'm surprised the goslings survive, but year after year I've watched them mature into adults!  They get bigger quite quickly, and are full size in about two months.  The new goslings will remain with their parents for their first year!  

Valley Tassels - Applegate's Paintbrush - Lupine sp.

Castilleja attenuata - Castilleja appelgatei - Lupinus sp.

Wildflowers are popping up in the sunny areas, especially along the highway!  Sky Lupine (in blackbird photo) is one of the most commonly seen flowers and forms large masses of blue blossoms.  The bright reddish-orange paintbrush contrasts beautifully with the blue lupines.

Naked Broomrape - Aphyllum purpureum

I was thrilled to find these Naked Broomrape flowers on the Canyon Creek Trail.  They were growing in a wet, mossy seep alongside saxifrage, of which they are root parasites.  They were quite small, only about 2" tall.  I have never seen them before!  Their hairs glistened incredibly!  Their unusual name is derived from; "broom" = European plants called brooms, "rape" = rapum or cluster of tuber like roots, and "naked" = leafless.  

Hartweg's Ginger - Grand's Hounds Tongue - Hooker's Fairybell

Asarum hartwegii - Cynoglossum grande - Prosartes hookeri

In the shady areas, different flowers are showing up!  The ginger flowers are incredibly hairy and slightly stinky!  Their smell attracts flies, which are their main pollinators!

Say's Phoebe - Western Meadowlark - Cedar Waxwings

Sayornis saya - Sturnella neglecta - Bombycilla cedrorum

Mexico - Mexico - Costa Rica

Lots of birds are arriving in our neighborhood lately!  Some are just passing through, while others will raise their young here.  Most of them are long-distance migrants, and spend their winters far south of here.  I've labeled them with the name of the most southern country in which they are known to winter.  It's amazing to me that they can travel such incredible distances every year!

Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Cliff Swallow - Violet-green Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis - Petrochelidon pyrrhonta - Tachycineta thalassina

Costa Rica - Brazil - Costa Rica 

Black-headed Grosbeak (female - male) - Evening Grosbeak (male)

Pheuticus melanocephalus - Coccothraustes vespertinus

 Mexico - short distance migrant or Mexico - Mexico

Spotted Sandpiper - Osprey - Turkey Vulture

Actitis macularius - Pandion haliaetus - Cathartes aura

CA Central Valley or Chile - CA Coast or Brazil - CA Coast or Columbia

Mountain Dogwood - Cornus nuttallii

Trees are blooming everywhere!  Some have showy flowers, while others have tiny flowers on dangling tassels!  They are all gorgeous!  Next week I'll discuss the various insect pollinators that are visiting them.

Wild Plum - Prunus sp.

California Black Oak - Quercus kelloggii

Pacific Madrone - Arbutus menziesii

 What kind of beautiful creature is this?

What about those insects?

What are the amphibians doing?

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

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

Unfortunately you can no longer sign up to get my blog emailed to you.

Something changed at Blogspot.com. Oh well... However, my blog looks better if you just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com, rather than get the emailed version. I suggest that you just bookmark my blog and visit it every Sunday afternoon!

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

Reptile Weather!

Tiger Whiptail: subspecies California Whiptail

Aspidocelis tigris munda

Reptile Weather!

The daytime temperatures have been in the 70's lately, and reptiles have become very active and visible.  However, I'm not a herpetologist and find it pretty difficult to identify lizards, as they vary so much in coloration within a genus. To make it even more confusing most of my field guides have different common names and/or scientific names than internet sources.  So I use californiaherps.com as my main source of information. Their information is up-to-date, and the range maps they have for each species are a great help. So please don't take my identification of these lizards as absolutely correct! If I have misidentified any reptiles on this blog, please let me know!  

We saw this beautiful California Whiptail down at the South Yuba River State Park last week! I've never seen one before! They are long, slender lizards, measuring 13" in total length. Usually the tail is much longer than the body, sometimes even 2x the body length! The average size is a 5" body and an 8" tail. They prefer to live in dry open areas with shrubs to hide in, such as chaparral, but also live in forests, woodlands, and riparian areas from sea level to 7,000'. They eat small invertebrates including spiders, scorpions, centipedes, termites, and small lizards. They often dig in the ground to find their prey! Unlike some whiptail species that are entirely female, there are male and female California Whiptails. They usually mate sometime in May and the females lay the eggs shortly thereafter. The eggs will hatch sometime between May and August!  This one kept running ahead of us on the trail, and eventually dove off into the bushes.

Common Garter Snake (juvenile, last Fall) - Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi

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.  Garter 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!

Sharp-tailed Snake (top - bottom) - Contia tenuis

A few weeks ago I saw a Sharp-tailed Snake for the first time ever!  Unfortunately it was dead, but I was able to really look at it.  It was only about 8" long and slender as a pencil!  It was a warm gray/beige in color, with a faint dusty orange stripe along the length of each side.  The belly was strikingly colored with alternating black and white bands!  It turns out that these tiny snakes have long teeth for their size, which they use to nab slippery slugs!  Slugs are just about all they eat! They commonly live in the damp areas of a forest or meadow edge, often near a creek, underneath a log or rock.  They will lay eggs in June or July, which will hatch in mid-autumn.  The young snakes are only 3" long when they hatch!

Northwestern Fence Lizard (light phase) - Sceloperus occidentalis occidentalis

I also saw lots of lizards this week down in Canyon Creek. Mainly they were patterned in brown, rust, and beige zigzags. Others were an overall solid dusty black in color. It turns out that they might be the same kind of lizard, the Northwestern Fence Lizard! When fence lizards are cold they don't display patterns or colors, and appear mainly black! Males have distinctive blue patches on the sides of their belly and throat. These blue patches are faint or absent on females.

Northwestern Fence Lizard (dark phase) - Sceloperus occidentalis occidentalis

The following information is from californiaherps.com, a great website for information on reptiles and amphibians, and lots of good photos.

"These lizards are diurnal. Active when temperatures are warm, becomes inactive during periods of extreme heat or cold, when they shelter in crevices and burrows, or under rocks, boards, tree bark, etc. Found in a wide variety of open, sunny habitats, including woodlands, grasslands, scrub, chaparral, forests, along waterways, suburban dwellings, where there are suitable basking and perching sites, including fences, walls, woodpiles, piles of rocks and rocky outcrops, dead and downed trees, wood rat nests, road berms, and open trail edges. Common and easily encountered in the right habitat. This is probably the species of lizard most often seen in the state due to its abundance in and near populated areas and its conspicuous behavior.

Males establish and defend a territory containing elevated perches where they can observe mates and potential rival males. Males defend their territory and try to attract females with head-bobbing and a push-up display that exposes the blue throat and ventral colors. Territories are ultimately defended by physical combat with other males. Courtship and copulation typically occurs from March to June. Egg laying occurs 2 - 4 weeks after copulation. Females dig small pits in loose damp soil where they lay 1 - 3 clutches of 3 - 17 eggs usually from May to July. Eggs hatch in about 60 days, usually from July to September. Young and adult lizards eat insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, butterflies, wasps, and ants."

Sierra Alligator Lizard - Elgaria coerulea palmeri

I saw this Sierra Alligator Lizard in my neighborhood this week. It kept perfectly still once it saw me, and was so camouflaged it was difficult to see! The following information about this lizard is again from californiaherps.com.

"Sierra Alligator Lizards have large scales, a long alligator-like snout, light-colored eyes, and a longitudinal fold on the lower sides of the body. They can be fairly large in size. Active during daylight, they are frequently seen moving on the ground, and occasionally up in bushes. Alligator lizards do not typically bask in the sun out in the open or on top of a rock like many other lizard species."

Forest Alligator Lizard - Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata

"There's not much difference in appearance between the male and female Alligator Lizards. Eggs are usually laid between May and June, and hatch during late summer and early fall. Females lay two clutches of eggs per year, often in decaying wood or plant matter to keep them warm. Females will guard the eggs until they hatch. They eat small arthropods, slugs, lizards, small mammals, and occasionally young birds and eggs."

I saw this Forest Alligator Lizard down in the foothills. It was a lot more colorful than the one I saw in my neighborhood.

Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis

               

A Few more Foothill Observations

Two weeks ago, we went back to the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve to check out the waterfalls, canyons, and birds.  To our delight the entire top of the mountain was STILL covered in billions of wildflowers!!  The fragrance of the flowers was heavenly!  This time we hiked to Raleigh Falls to see a particular flower that I had read about in the Wildflowers of Table Mountain field guide by Albin Bills and Samantha Mackey.  

An unnamed waterfall  and basalt-column cliffs

 Crossing the flowering fields, there is a loose network of small seasonal streams that flow to the edges of the mountain.  To quote the field guide I just mentioned, "The erosional action of these creeks has produced a number of intriguing canyons and hollows, whose wooded sides and bottoms provide a striking contrast to the grasslands of the plateau. At selected points, these streams plunge over steep cliffs, creating magnificent waterfalls."

White Plectritis - Kellogg's Clarkia - Canyon Delphinium

Plectritis macrocera - Clarkia arcuata - Delphinium nudicaule

Near Raleigh Falls we found the flower I had read about, the Canyon Delphinium - Delphinium naudicaule!!!  It is a RED Delphinium which I had never seen before! All the Delphiniums I've ever seen have been blue, purple, or white.  This red one was startlingly beautiful!  There wasn't a field of them, only about 20 of them were growing in a shaded, forested area!  I felt so lucky to be there at the right time to see them in bloom! Such beauty!  

The White Plectritis was also new to us and was growing in the waterfall canyon as well.  The white flowers were so tiny!  We came across a few gorgeous Kellogg's Clarkias in a sunny field, another new species for us!  Up close, with a hand lens, they were spectacular!

Horned Lark (male) - Lark Sparrow (adult) - Meadowlark (adult)

Eremophila alpestris - Chondestes grammacus - Sturnella neglecta

There were LOTS of people at the waterfall so we didn't linger.  We hiked to an off-trail, unnamed waterfall where there weren't any people, and ate our lunch in the shade where birds serenaded us!  A few Horned Larks were feeding on the ground, Lark Sparrows came by to check us out, and Meadowlarks were singing from the tree tops!  What a privilege it was to visit this beautiful nature reserve twice this Spring!

Last week my friend Nancy and I decided to hike one more time down in the South Yuba River State Park, to check out the wildflowers. There were lots of flowers still blooming, and birdsong filled the air!

Blue-eyed Grass - Chinese Houses - Sierra Fawn Lily

Sisyrinchium bellum - Colinsia heterophylla - Erythronium multiscapideum 

New to us was the Sierra Fawn Lily!  We've seen the much smaller Plainleaf Fawn Lily in the Lakes Basin many times. This new Sierra Fawn Lily was easily twice as big as the Lakes Basin species.  It also only had one flower per stalk, rather than several. 

Sierra Fawn Lily leaf - Erythronium multiscapideum

The leaves were mottled with dark green splotches. 

Perhaps that's why another name for this plant is Adder's Tongue!

Northwestern Fence Lizard - Western Kingbird

Sceloperus occidentalis occidentalis - Tyrannus verticalis

There were lots of birds singing and lizards were lounging in sunny places.  We watched Acorn Woodpeckers chase each other through the trees, and Wild Turkeys stroll through the woods!  This Western Kingbird posed beautifully for me with a Northwestern Fence Lizard! 

  

Acorn Woodpecker (male) - Wild Turkey (fem.) - Yellow-rumped Warbler (fem.)

Melanerpes formicivorus - Meleagris gallopavo - Dendroica coronata

Wild Turkeys don't live in my neighborhood, so I don't know much about them.  The following information is from the Cornell website allaboutbirds.org.

"Wild Turkeys get around mostly by walking, though they can also run and fly—when threatened, females tend to fly while males tend to run. At sundown turkeys fly into the lower limbs of trees and move upward from limb to limb to a high roost spot. They usually roost in flocks, but sometimes individually. Courting males gobble to attract females and warn competing males. They display for females by strutting with their tails fanned, wings lowered, while making nonvocal hums and chump sounds. Males breed with multiple mates and form all-male flocks outside of the breeding season, leaving the chick-rearing to the females, The chicks travel in a family group with their mother, often combining with other family groups to form large flocks of young turkeys accompanied by two or more adult females."

Misty Sunrise

Damp Weather Ahead!

They are predicting heavy rain and even some snow starting Saturday night, all day Sunday, and tapering off on Monday!  Yahoo!  Hopefully it will be a deluge!  I'll let you know what happens.  In the meantime pray for rain!  We need all we can get!

What 's blooming locally?

What birds have recently arrived?

What about those insects?

What are the amphibians doing?

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

Unfortunately you can no longer sign up to get my blog emailed to you.

Something changed at Blogspot.com. Oh well... However, my blog looks better if you just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com, rather than get the emailed version. I suggest that you just bookmark my blog and visit it every Sunday afternoon!

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

 

Sierra Valley Revisited

American White Pelicans - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

American White Pelicans

Last week, my friend Judy and I returned to Sierra Valley to kayak and watch wildlife.  There wasn't enough water to kayak any distance, it was way too shallow, but the wildlife was amazing!  As we approached the Steel Bridge, a flock of American White Pelicans flew overhead.  To our delight a group of about 20 of them landed near the bridge and commenced "fishing"!  As we watched, they paddled along shoulder-to-shoulder in a tight-knit group.  Then all at once they would plunge their heads under water, presumably to catch fish, and then after a few seconds resurface in unison!  It was incredibly beautiful to watch!

American White Pelicans - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

These large Pelicans eat up to 3 lbs. of fish daily, which they scoop up in their large expandable bills as they swim along. They do not dive to catch fish. They will also scoop up crayfish and amphibians. They are one of the largest birds in North America. They are approximately 4 feet tall, weigh 16.4 lbs., and have a wingspan of 9 feet!

American White Pelicans - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

During breeding season the color of their feet, bills, irises, and the skin around their eyes becomes a really saturated-orange color! Also, the males and females both grow horns on their upper bills, which are shed once their eggs are laid. These pelicans do not breed in Sierra Valley.  This particular population is probably migrating to Anaho Island in Pyramid Lake, Nevada. Which is one of the primary inland breeding areas for American White Pelicans! 

Not all American White Pelicans breed every year.  David Lucas describes their behavior in the following quote from his book Birds of the Sierra.

"A significant proportion of the population does not breed each year and spends the spring summer, and fall loafing and wandering widely is search of places to feed. Nonbreeding birds are frequently joined by breeding adults who switch nesting duties every 3 days and use their days off to find food."

American White Pelicans - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

I was so thrilled to see this amazing small group of Pelicans fishing together in the vastness of Sierra Valley!  The grace and unison in their movement was overwhelmingly beautiful!  I've never been privileged to observe this behavior before!  I am so so lucky!

Sandhill Cranes - Antigone canadensis

Sierra Valley Birds!

More and more birds are showing up in Sierra Valley!  Some come here to breed, while others are just stopping to rest and feed on their migration north.  I have written about most of these birds in past blogs (use the "search this blog" bar on the top right), so this week I'm only writing in detail about the new species we saw.  I'll be returning to Sierra Valley later this month when even MORE birds will be present.  

Western Meadowlark - Tree Swallow - Sage Thrasher

Sturnella neglecta - Tachycineta bicolor - Oreoscoptes montanus

The Sage Thrasher was a new bird species for us!  We spotted it because it was singing a lovely loud song from the top of a fence post.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states,

 "The Sage Thrasher has a long, melodious song of great variety, reminiscent of a mockingbird's song, and is found mostly in shrub-dominated valleys and plains of the western United States. It is considered a sagebrush obligate, generally dependent on large patches and expanses of sagebrush steppe for successful breeding."

They feed mainly on insects, but will eat small fruits and berries if available.  They generally nest in or under Sagebrush bushes. Both the male and female construct their bowl-shaped nest with twigs, lined with grasses, fur, and horsehair.  They will both incubate their 4-5 eggs for 11-13 days, feed the nestlings for 10-14 days, and care for the fledglings for 7 days or more.  I hope to see these lovely desert birds again soon!  Maybe even on a nest!

Greater White-fronted Geese - Anser albifrons

Although these Geese are not new to me, this is the first time I've seen them in Sierra Valley.

Greater or Lesser Yellow-legs - Gadwall (male) - American Pipit

Tringa melanoleuca or flavipes - Mareca strepera - Anthus rubescens

 I am not a good enough birder to distinguish if the Yellow Legs was the Greater or Lesser species!  Do any of you know?

Brown-headed Cowbirds on a cow!

Molothrus ater

I've seen Cowbirds many times before, but NEVER on the back of a cow!  I've read that they hang around cows and horses and eat the ground dwelling insects that they stir up, such as grasshoppers and beetles.  I've never read that they eat insects off the cow itself, and can't seem to find any information about that. Perhaps these Cowbirds were just enjoying the warmth from the dark fur of the cow!  I have to do more research!

Pronghorn - Antiolocapra americana

Pronghorns in Sierra Valley!

We've gone to Sierra Valley twice in the past two weeks.  On both trips we lucked out and saw a few Pronghorns! The second time we saw them they were a lot closer, so the heat waves rising off the valley floor didn't distort my photographs.  They were SO different looking with their unusual horns, banded necks, and wide-spread eyes.  They were all so incredibly muscular!  We lucked out and watched them for a good ten minutes before they moved to a more distant location. 

Pronghorn (2 males, 1 female) - Antiolocapra americana

Pronghorns are not antelopes, and are not related to antelopes, but are often known colloquially in North America as the American antelope, prong buck, pronghorn antelope, prairie antelope, or simply antelope.  They are the  only species in their antilocapra genus. Many (but not all) pronghorn herds are migratory, traveling long distances to warmer climates in the fall, and back to greener locations in the spring.

Pronghorn ( 2 males, 1 female) - Antiolocapra americana

These beautiful Pronghorns are the swiftest animals in North America, and have been recorded running as fast as 59 mph!  They can outrun any predator!  Their limbs  are cursorial (built for speed) but not for jumping.  Fences have had a detrimental effect on their population, as they cannot jump over them.  They need to live in areas that are wide open and basically treeless, like Sierra Valley.  They feed on a wide variety of plants, especially sagebrush in the winter. 

Pronghorn (female, male) - Antiolocapra americana

Their horns are keratinized sheaths which cover extensions of the frontal bone.  The sheaths are shed annually.  Both male and female have these horns. The horns of the males grow up to 11.8–19.7 inches, female horns are smaller at 2.9-3.9 inches. Males have lyre-shaped horns that curve inwards whereas females usually have straight horns. The female's horns are generally smaller than their ears, or absent, and aren't pronged. Additionally males have short black manes on their neck, as well as a neck patch and a black stripe that runs across their forehead from horn to horn.  Females lack these black facial patches, but have a small mass of black hair around their nose.  Breeding doesn't occur until mid-September to October when males acquire small harems of females.  One to two offspring are born the following spring.  They are usually weaned in three weeks, but will remain with their mother for a year and a half.  What a thrill it was to watch these amazing, wild, native mammals!

Scarlet Fritillary bejeweled with dewdrops!  

Fritillaria recurva

Earth Day is this Thursday, April 22.  I hope this year brings better environmental awareness and action than in the recent past.  We can't do enough to protect our precious earth!  Get out in nature as often as you can, and make it part of your life.  The beauty and peace is endless!

"For me it is simply instinct, and perhaps this is all that a person can try to put into each of her days: attention to the radiance, a rise to the full chase of beauty."    Ellen Meloy - The Anthropology of Turquoise

Cherry Blossoms and Storm Clouds

Weather Update

This week we had several days of beautiful dark gray storm clouds and a little rain, .16".  It was gorgeous outside with all the fruit trees in bloom in sun and shadow, against the stormy skies!  A chance of rain is forecasted for this coming Wednesday and Thursday.  I hope it pours!  We are indeed in another drought year, so my fingers are crossed.  

Judy kayaking in Sierra Valley!

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

What 's blooming locally?

What birds have recently arrived?

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

Unfortunately you can no longer sign up to get my blog emailed to you.

Something changed at Blogspot.com. Oh well... However, my blog looks better if you just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com, rather than get the emailed version. I suggest that you just bookmark my blog and visit it every Sunday afternoon!

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