Large Mammals!

Black Bear  6/12/18 - Ursus americanus

I haven't seen any bears in our neighborhood since last Fall. However, a BIG bear crossed the highway in front of me about two weeks ago, on my way to the Lakes Basin. There are lots of cherry trees in my neighborhood, and right now the cherries are starting to ripen. Bears love cherries! They'll even eat them when they're green! Three years ago, a big Black Bear climbed the cherry tree right next to our house to eat the cherries! He broke lots of branches in the process.  Earlier that week, the same bear tried to break into our garden shed where we had stashed a bag of garbage!  Luckily we were able to scare him off.

Bears are super strong, smart, and resourceful. It's important to keep garbage out of vehicles, and in a secure storage area. If a bear becomes too accustomed to human food, it can become a real problem for residents. It may also lead to the bear's demise, as problem bears are occasionally euthanized by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Black Bear  9/14/17 - Ursus americanus

Black Bears are omnivores, but mainly eat insects, grubs, fruit, berries, roots, twigs, buds, honey, and tree cambium. They will occasionally eat carrion when it is available. They range in size from 203-587 pounds, as adults! Adults can run up to 30 mph, and are powerful swimmers and climbers! I was amazed at how quickly this bear climbed down the cherry tree and ran off, once it saw me! It was gone and out of sight in mere seconds! Wow!

Black Bear mating season is from June through early July. The cubs are born approximately 6 months later, sometime in January to early February. The litters range from 1-5 cubs, but 2-3 cubs is the usual size. The cubs weigh 7 ounces when they are born, and will nurse their mother while she is still hibernating! When the cubs emerge in spring they weigh 4.5 -11 lbs! They are totally weaned at 6-8 months, but stay with their mother through the next winter, until they are around 17 months old. Female Black Bears do not tolerate adult males except during their brief mating season. They raise their young on their own.

Columbian Black-tailed Deer (females) - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

Predator & Prey

Last Friday my neighbor told me that a Mountain Lion had left a dead deer on the road that we usually hike on!  When we got there, several hours later, the Mountain Lion had dragged the deer off the road and down into some bushes.  We saw the drag mark on the road.  It was really hard to see the carcass, but we eventually spotted it.  Later in the week I saw these two young does that were definitely on alert!

The main food of our local Mountain Lions is Mule Deer.  They will also eat mice, rabbits, hares, raccoons, and domestic animals.  They are most active from dusk to dawn,  and can travel long distances looking for prey, up to 15 miles in one night!  They have a poor sense of smell, but have excellent vision and hearing.  They rely on surprise to catch their prey, and can leap 40 to 45 feet in one jump!  They usually kill one deer every 9-12 days. They will eat up to 20 lbs. at one time.  They will cover the remaining carcass with leaves, dirt, and/or pine needles, and feed from it over a period of several days.

Mountain Lions weigh from 140-180 lbs., and are 7'-8' in length.

The foot print of a Mountain Lion is 101 mm, about the size of a baseball. They keep their claws retracted, and are not usually visible in their tracks.

A male Mule Deer weighs 99-231 lbs.  A female weighs 96-165 lbs.  Their shoulder height is approximately 3.5'.  Their length is approximately 5'.  That Mountain Lion must be super strong to drag that deer carcass around!!!

Mountain Lion deer-dragging tracks - deer carcass

The next morning the carcass was gone, and there was a new drag mark crossing the road.  It looked like the Mountain Lion had dragged it back across the road and up a bank.  We didn't go looking for the carcass this time!  We could smell it!

Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura

There were also about 5 Turkey Vultures hanging around, hoping to get a chance to feed on the carcass! They were HUGE! Turkey Vultures have a wingspan of 59", and a body length of 25"! They eat carrion, which they detect with their keen sense of smell. Their immune system is exceptional, as they never contract botulism, anthrax, cholera or salmonella from the carrion! Their heads are featherless, which keeps the carrion from sticking to them! They usually eat alone, but will occasionally feed on a large carcass with a small group of vultures. Each vulture waits its turn to eat in these groups, as only one vulture eats at a time! They are fairly easy to distinguish in flight, by the lack of wing flapping that occurs! They can soar for hours moving from one updraft to another. Although they are usually solitary, they may roost together in small or large groups in the non-breeding season. Turkey Vultures do not kill any prey, they just eat critters that have been dead for awhile!

American Robin nestlings - Turdus migratorius

Baby Birds!

Lots of birds are feeding their nestlings, some nestlings have fledged, and the ducklings are getting bigger by the day!  This week I discovered a nest with three baby birds in it on one of my walks!  I didn't know what species they were, but iNaturalist.org identified them as young American Robins.  I had no idea they were so striped on their chests!  A few days after I saw them, they were gone!  They must have fledged!  I also saw a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers feeding nestlings in a telephone pole nest!  And, I saw another Common Merganser with 8 little ducklings!  So that makes two mergansers with 8 ducklings each so far!  

I also found a Steller's Jay nest on the ground, and a young nestling on the road about two feet away!  It had been really windy, and that's probably why the nest fell out of the tree.  The nestling had lots of pin feathers, as well as a feathered back and head.  It was alive and good sized but not able to fly.  The parent jays went crazy when I picked the nestling up, but I couldn't leave it in the road.  So I took the nest, wedged it snugly into the crotch of a nearby apple tree and put the nestling in it.  I then stayed away from the nest, hoping the parents would feed it.  After several hours, I snuck back and watched the nest from a distance.  Luckily the parents were feeding it!  Yahoo!!!  For three days the parents fed the nestling in the nest!!  Unfortunately, when we checked the nest yesterday the nestling was gone.  Rats!  We're not sure what happened.  Perhaps it hopped out of the nest and flew away, but its feathers weren't fully developed.  More likely it hopped out of the nest and something caught it on the ground.  The parents aren't around anymore, so that pretty much indicates that the nestling is gone.  It made me sad. There are so many factors that can adversely affect nestlings, such as extreme weather, lack of natural food (eg. too cold for insects to be active), parasitic mites, disease, and predators. Lots of critters prey on bird eggs and baby birds, such as tree-climbing snakes, Pine Martens, Raccoons, squirrels, and other birds. Oh well, it's tough out there in the wild. Hopefully the parents will try again with a new nest and a second brood. 

Nest watching is fascinating but you need to be careful not to disturb the nesting birds. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology recommends the following protocol.

"- Do not check in the early morning. Most birds lay their eggs in the early morning so plan on visiting nests in the late morning or afternoon. Also, most adults will temporarily leave the nest when you are near, and eggs and young nestlings can become cold quickly if left alone in the early morning.

- Avoid nests during the first few days of incubation.-

- Do not approach nests when young are close to fledgling. When the young are disturbed during this stage, they may leave the nest prematurely. Young that fledge prematurely usually do not stay in the nest despite attempts to return them, and their survival rates away from or outside the nest are low.

- When young birds are fully feathered and very alert, only observe the nest from a distance.

- Avoid nests during bad weather. If it is cold, damp, or rainy, postpone checking nests until another day. Checking nests during this time can be very stressful for birds.

-Do not check nests at or after dusk, when females may be returning to the nest for the night."

Hairy Woodpecker (male) - Dryobates villosus

Both of the Hairy Woodpecker parents brood, feed and care for the nestlings (usually 4 in number).  Up until they are 12 days old, the nestlings are brooded by the female during the day and the male at night.  After 12 days, they are feathered enough to stay warm among their siblings.  Initially the nestlings are fed regurgitated food, but as they mature they are fed whole insects. After 28-30 days the nestlings will fledge and leave the nest.  However, they remain dependent upon their parents for food for an additional 2+ weeks. 

The adult woodpeckers I've been watching from a distance, have been bringing whole insects to the nestlings, so they are probably at least 2 weeks old.  Hopefully I'll see some young woodpeckers peaking out of the nest hole soon!

Common Merganser female & 8 ducklings - Mergus merganser

On Monday morning I was thrilled to see this new Common Merganser mom and her 8 tiny  ducklings in the river!  The other merganser I've seen on the river has 8 ducklings as well, but they are much older and bigger!  Yahoo!

Common Merganser female & 8 ducklings - Mergus merganser

These ducklings are precocial when born, and can swim, dive, and feed.  They will stay with their mom for 60-75 days.  If something happens to the mother, the ducklings are perfectly capable of caring for themselves!

House Wren in the Rain

More Damp Earth Art!

We got a 5 minute downpour of rain on Wednesday night and it has cooled off a lot!!! Whew! That hot, dry, windy weather makes me worried. Anytime I think of it, I focus on rain, rain, 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 rain inspired 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!

These rainbow-colored streamers are either caterpillar silken-threads or spider-silk threads!  I just caught them in the sunlight at the right time!  Amazing!

What's happening in the Lakes Basin? 

What other critters eat cherries?

Are there any fish or fish-eating mammals in the river?

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

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