12.3" of Rain!!!

Red-tailed Hawk in the Rain - Buteo jamaicensis

Rain started falling last Thursday and didn't stop until Tuesday! The total precipitation for the storm was 12.3"!!!  Most of the rain, 7.9", fell on Sunday!  IT POURED!  It was fabulous! We haven't had heavy rainfall like that for years and years!  It has washed away the threat of wildfires in our area!  What a miracle!!! 

The storm was part of an "Atmospheric River" that covered most of California, with the northern part receiving the most rain.  The following is NOAA's simple description of an atmospheric river.

"Atmospheric rivers are relatively narrow regions in the atmosphere that are responsible for most of the transport of water vapor from the tropics. Atmospheric rivers come in all shapes and sizes but those that contain the largest amounts of water vapor and strongest winds are responsible for extreme rainfall events and floods. This type of hydrologic event can affect the entire west coast of North America. These extreme events can disrupt travel, induce mudslides, and cause damage to life and property. Not all atmospheric rivers are disruptive. Many are weak and provide beneficial rain or high elevation snow that is crucial to the water supply."

Red-tailed Hawk - Red-shouldered Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis - Buteo lineatus

After the Storm

I saw the Red-tailed Hawk in the top of a pine tree during a heavy rainstorm in 2019.  This week, after the storm passed, I was lucky enough to see two different hawks spreading their wings to dry out in the sun. The Red-tailed Hawk pictured on the left was near the Open Slope that I often write about.  The Red-shouldered Hawk on the right was on my neighbor/fellow naturalist's property! It made me wonder how birds stay dry in wet weather.

The following information is from birdwatchingpro.com.

"If you’re an avid bird watcher, then you probably already know that if a light rain is falling, birds will still go about their business as usual. This is because they are designed to have at least some sort of water resistance. Unless it’s a heavy rain, water will generally just slide off the feathers, and their bodies will be kept warm thanks to the air pockets beneath their feathers.

But in the heavier rains, most land birds will seek shelter from the storm. Small bushes, shrubs, thickets, or even some trees will provide excellent shelter from heavy rain. In order to maintain their body warmth for as long as possible, the birds will stay still and conserve their energy.

If the rain does not cease, then the birds will eventually run out of energy. So, they will have to venture out and find food to fuel their energy. Birds that feed on insects may have a tough time finding grubs while it is raining, but they tend to be spoilt for choice after the rain.

Raptors may also suffer during prolonged periods of rain. Birds that feed on seeds and worms will be okay for food, especially since heavy rains tend to unearth worms. If a storm rages on for a prolonged period of time, then raptors and insect-eating birds will suffer greatly and face hypothermia and even death."

The following additional information is from gckcopywriter.com.

"Raptors like rain about as much as a cat likes a bath.

Hawks, eagles, owls, and other birds of prey have a tough time during drenching rains.

First, depending on their size, a raptor’s wings can take as much as an entire day to dry out. Before that, it’s too difficult to fly any normal distance to find food.

Second, even if they can fly normally, their prey – whether its smaller birds, rabbits, or squirrels – take shelter against storms in dense surroundings or burrows. They stay hidden.

If it rains too long, raptors can be faced with a serious lack of food and face a real crisis."

North Yuba River 10/23/21 

The River!

Before the storm came, the North Yuba River was very shallow and slow.  There was a good sized rock bar that was visible downstream, with willows growing on it.  During the height of the storm that rock bar was totally submerged!

 

North Yuba River 10/26/21 

Over the course of the storm, the  river rose from 1.4ft to 11.3ft in height. That's a difference of almost ten feet!!!  It has since dropped back down to 3 feet in height.  The cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) rate rose from 90cfs to 7,925cfs, at the height of the storm!  It has since dropped down to 420cfs!  It was amazing to see!  The last "high water" I remember was in 2017!

 

Wood Duck (male) - Aix sponsa

Before the Storm

The day before the storm arrived I was down at the bridge in the early evening and just happened to spot a male Wood Duck swimming by!  Wow!  I have only seen these ducks on ponds, so it was a complete surprise to see one on the North Yuba River! It quickly took off downstream when it saw me, so I only got a few blurred photos. (The photo above was taken on a pond in the foothills last spring.)

Wood Duck (male) - Aix sponsa

Adults feed mainly on acorns off the ground, but will also forage for invertebrates and aquatic plants. These duck nest in the foothills of the western Sierra, usually below 3,000' - 4,000' in elevation, where there are a lot of oaks and acorns. They are tree-cavity nesters. They use natural cavities that have formed in a mature tree, often where a branch has broken off due to heart rot, as well as abandoned Pileated Woodpecker cavities. The Wood Duck is the only North American duck that regularly produces two broods in one 5-6 month breeding season! The female lays 10-13 eggs in her feather-lined nest, anytime between March and June. The incubation period is 30 days. The ducklings are born precocial, and leave the nest usually within 24 hours after hatching. They jump to the ground and their mother leads them to water, where they immediately start feeding! After approximately 30 days, the female abandons the young ducklings, to start another brood!

Common Merganser (female - male) - Mergus merganser

Earlier that day we also spotted several Common Mergansers on the river!  We hadn't seen any for three weeks.  At this time of year the males are molting and getting their mating plumage back.  Their bright white breasts and bellies are a striking contrast to their dark heads.  We haven't seen them since the storm came through.  They must seek out ponds and slow moving side streams during periods of heavy rain and high water.

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

inset: American Black Bear scat

Wild Rose in the Rain

Damp Earth Art

 Thanks to all of you who contributed art, thoughts, and wishes to this "rain dance"!  It's been fun!  I'm going to keep posting rain inspired writings, art, etc. on my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com. Check it out and pray for rain!

What kind of Mushrooms are popping up?

Are the lichens active again?

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

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

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

Fall Color!

Aspen leaves in a partially frozen puddle

Last Sunday night, it started raining around 9:00 pm, and kept up all night!  It poured!  Our precipitation total, by 10:00 am on Monday morning, was almost .75" of an inch!  Heavy rain is predicted to start tonight and continue through Monday, with a possible precipitation total of 8-10"!!!  Yahoo!  My fingers are crossed. This could very well be the end of the fire season in our area!  In fact most of California is getting some of this heavy rain! Thank goodness!  Rain, rain, come on down...

 

 Aspen Meadow 10/18/21  - 10/10/18

On Tuesday we decided to drive up to the Lakes Basin to check out the aspens one last time before the rains came.  We went to our favorite aspen-rimmed meadow for our annual picnic and were surprised to see about two inches of snow on the ground!  It was so beautiful! 

Sierra Buttes 10-19-21

We went to several other areas where there are aspens, and saw the newly 

snow-dusted Sierra Buttes from different vantage points.  Such beauty!  What a relief to get this weather!  It's been a tough couple of years for all of us with Covid-19, wildfires, and horrendous smoke on top of all our normal day-to-day stresses.  Now this snow and rain will literally and figuratively make us breathe easier! I am so grateful!

Black Oaks on Highway 49

A Scenic Drive on Highway 49

It's about a 45-60 minute drive from our area up to the Lakes Basin, and a climb in elevation of about 2,500'-3,000'. For most of the drive, the beautiful North Yuba River is alongside the highway. It's always a lovely drive, but right now the Fall colors are spectacular despite the drought.  I think the main reason that the leaves didn't just dry up is that it rained a little in our area, every week for the past 5 weeks. Apparently it was just enough rain to keep the leaves from drying out!  Additionally the river kept the canyon cool and damp, and kept plants from drying out.  Anyway it's a gorgeous drive. Here are some photos of the beauty!  Enjoy!

Fremont Cottonwoods on the North Yuba River

Populus fremontii

Big-leaf Maple & Mountain Dogwood

Acer macrophyllum - Cornus nuttallii

 California Black Oaks - Quercus kelloggii

Indian Rhubarb - Darmera peltalta

 Western Gray Squirrel - Sciurus griseus

What are the Squirrels doing?

Right now the Western Gray Squirrels are eating and storing as much food as possible for the winter. At this time of year they mainly eat mushrooms, mistletoe berries, acorns, pine nuts and seeds. They search for food daily, but also have small caches of food to eat when snow blankets the ground. During winter they usually live in a hollow tree or limb, or abandoned woodpecker cavities.

Chickaree/Douglas Squirrel - California Ground Squirrel

Tamiasciurus douglasii - Sciurus griseus

Chickarees/Douglas Squirrels are also eating and storing as much food as possible for the winter. A Chickaree might build a ball-shaped nest out of twigs, lichen, shredded bark (and apparently polyester fiberfill) up in a tree for the winter. Or it might live in a woodpecker nest or hollow log for the winter.  They and the Western Gray Squirrel are called "scatter hoarders", because they stash food in many places, not just one spot. They are incredible tree climbers and acrobats, and can rotate their hind feet 180° backwards when climbing down a trunk. Pine Martens, Bobcats, foxes, owls, and Goshawks are their predators. Pine Martens hunt mainly on the ground for rodents at night, but will also pursue prey in trees. Goshawks are diurnal forest hunters, and Chickarees are their preferred prey! Bobcats are nocturnal and mainly hunt for prey on the ground, but can also easily climb trees. 

Unlike the Chickaree and the Western Gray Squirrel that stay active throughout winter, California Ground Squirrels hibernate in winter, so right now they are eating and bulking up as much as possible. Their diet consists of primarily seeds, including acorns, insects when available, berries, roots, and bulbs.  They will also cache some food in their underground burrow. These squirrels are highly adaptable, and live at elevations from 0 - 7,215'! They prefer to dig their underground burrows on the edges of open areas, such as meadows or fields.

 

seeds, barley, oats, and acorns (Quercus): valley oak, blue oak, coast oak). They also eat fruits, like gooseberries and pears, and quail (Callipepla) eggs. They include insects in their diets when they are available, and have been known to eat grasshoppers, crickets, beetles and caterpillars. They also eat roots, bulbs, and fungi, such as mushrooms.

 Joubert's Diggins

 Depot Hill Pond

Smoke has kept me from stopping and checking out one of the local ponds.  The other day was overcast and smoke free, so I stopped by for a visit.  To my delight the cattails had turned and the pond looked beautiful.  On the far distant edge I spotted a lone American Coot in the water!  The forecasted rain will bring the water level back up and then maybe more waterfowl will show up.

Cattails and reflection of the Sky

The cattails and the reflection of the brilliant blue sky and clouds were stunning!  I'll have to stop by again next week!

Manzanita leaves beaded with Rain!

Damp Earth Art

It may be the beginning of the rainy season!  We've been in a 5 day rainstorm and more is expected next week!  I'll post the total precipitation next week.  The river is up, and the earth is damp and fragrant! Perhaps our wishing for rain helped!  Thanks to all of you who contributed art, thoughts, and wishes to this effort!  It's been fun! 

Check out my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com where I post photographs, quotes, and artworks that feature rain.

What's happening with the Deer and Bear?

What's happening with the moss and lichen?

Are mushrooms popping up?

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

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

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

Going to Seed!

Bog Asphodel and native grass - Narthecium californicum

Up in the Lakes Basin, lots of plants have gone to seed.  Some have golden, parchment-like, translucent seed pods. Some seeds are covered in gossamer hairs which, when lit by the sun, resemble brilliant sparklers!  They all add color, movement, and sometimes even sound to the changing fall landscape! 

As the daylight hours shorten and temperatures drop, most plants become dormant. During dormancy, a plants' metabolism, photosynthesis, and respiration rate slow down, and growth stops. Some plants even produce a type of anti-freeze in their cells, to prevent damage from frost and freezing temperatures!

Some plants will create the buds for next year's bloom in the late summer and fall.  These buds will remain dormant throughout the winter, but are ready to burst open once enough cold days have occurred and the temperature and daylight hours have increased.

Another way to ensure species survival over winter, is through seeds. Since they cannot walk, seeds depend on wind, water, animals, and explosion to be dispersed. Aquatic plants depend on water movement to disperse their seeds. Animals can eat seeds, or fruits with seeds, and disperse them in their poop! Seeds can also hook onto an animal's fur or feathers and be transported. The dispersal by explosion happens when some dry seed pods burst open and propel their seeds!

Gray's Lovage seed heads - Ligusticum grayii

I love the gold and copper colors of these delicate, dried seed stalks! 

Fireweed seed heads - Chamerion angustifolium

Backlit beauty, like a Fourth-of-July sparkler!

Cow Parsnip seed heads - Heracleum maximum

These tall, golden, seed heads are rich in color and design!

Fireweed seed heads - Chamerion angustifolium

This one looks like a starry, exploding cloud!  Beautiful!!!

Corn Lily - Veratrum californicum

One of my favorite things to do at this time of year is to shake the dry Corn Lily seed heads and be showered by hundreds of seeds!  It is so fun!  My friend Nancy and I discovered this by accident last year when we were hiking through a bunch of Corn Lilies!  Try it next time you're out there!

Gray Fox - Cinereo argenteus

Chance Encounters!

On Tuesday, my husband and I went for a late afternoon walk in our neighborhood.  We were hoping to see the Long Horned Owl we'd seen several times last week, but didn't have any luck.  However, just about a quarter mile from our home a Mountain Lion crossed the road about 100 yards ahead of us!!!  WOW!  We only saw it as it took two steps to cross the road, with a glance at us between the steps, for a total of about three seconds!  Way too quick to get a photo.  When we got up to where it had crossed, I spotted a Gray Fox frozen in motion in the grasses!  My husband thought it was a rock, because it was so still.  Was it frozen because it was locking eyes with the Mountain Lion or had it just caught a whiff of its scent?  We'll never know, as it quickly scooted into the brush as we approached.  We didn't hear any yowling or barking so hopefully the fox didn't get eaten by the Mountain Lion!  Now THAT was fascinating!

Sharp-shinned Hawk - Accipiter striatus

Then, on the last part of our walk, there was a beautiful little Sharp-shinned Hawk perched in the Alder tree that borders our garden!  Wow!!!  These little hawks are about the size of a Mourning Dove, with a length of 11",  a wingspan of 23", and a weight of 5 oz.  It was probably checking out the Lesser Goldfinches that were in our garden.  Songbirds are its main prey.  

How amazing it was to see a Mountain Lion, a Gray Fox, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk on a one hour walk!!!  We are SO lucky!

Cedar Waxwing (adult) - Lesser Goldfinches (adults) - Northern Flicker (male)

Bombycilla cedrorum - Carduelis psaltria - Colaptes auratus

The next morning the alder tree was occupied by perching Lesser Goldfinches, two Cedar Waxwings, and a Norther Flicker!!!  The Sharp-shinned Hawk must have definitely left the area!

Wildlife Disaster Network 

Fundraising Results

In the month of September, I raised a total of $1,204 for the Wildlife Disaster Network thanks to the Sierra County Arts Council, visiting tourists, and the local residents of Camptonville and Downieville!!! Individual donations ranged in size from $9 to $200, and I am grateful for every penny! I sold over 100 blank notecards, and 40 art prints for the cause! Not included in this total is an unknown amount from several friends of mine, who donated directly online to the Wildlife Disaster Network. It was a cause that resonated with a lot of people! My thanks go out to all of you who made this fundraising event so successful!

Dogwood leaves in the Rain 

Damp Earth Art

Despite the strong drying winds, we lucked out fire-wise with no new fires!  Rain is in the forecast for Sunday night as well as showers Wednesday-Friday next week!  Rain, rain, come on down....  I am so grateful that there aren't any fires in our immediate area. My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes in this unprecedented fire season. My unending thanks go to the fire fighters who continue to battle these dangerous fires every day.

I so wish it would rain! We can't do anything about the drought, the wind, hot temperatures and fires. Worry makes it harder to bear. So anytime I think of it, I think 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. I've created a blog, dampearthart.blogspot.com where I post photographs, quotes, and artworks that feature rain.

What's are the squirrels doing?

What's happening with the Deer and Bear?

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

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

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

Oh WOW an OWL!!!

Great Horned Owl - Bubo virginianus

For this past week there has been a Great Horned Owl in our area!  WOW!!! I've never seen one here before!  We first saw it fly across the river and back one morning!  It flew too quickly to figure out what kind of owl it was.  Then two days later in the mid-afternoon it flew ahead of us and perched in a tree!   That's when I saw that it was a Great Horned Owl!  The wingspan seemed huge.  I have since read that it can be up to 44", almost four and half feet wide!  They are 22" in length, and weigh 3.1 lb.  These owls are mainly nocturnal and not commonly seen during the day!  I think it's out during the day right now because there are so many squirrels gathering food for the winter. We were so lucky to see it!  Sure hope it sticks around!

Great Horned Owls are the top avian, nocturnal predator in North America! They are "perch and pounce" hunters. Ninety percent of their diet consists of mammals, such as mice, voles, ground squirrels, rats, gophers, hares, raccoons, rabbits, porcupines, skunks, carrion, and sometimes house cats! They can carry up to three times their weight, or approximately 9 lbs! Ten percent of their diet consists of birds including owls, raptors, waterfowl (even herons!), starlings, pigeons and nestlings. They will also occasionally eat reptiles, amphibians, and insects. They are found year-round across Alaska, Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and Costa Rica.

Great Horned Owl - Bubo virginianus

Great Horned Owls are usually solitary except during breeding season, which is in winter. Egg laying occurs as early as January! They do not build their own nests, but rather occupy large, abandoned, raptor nests. Their "horns" are technically called "plumicorns" and are neither horns nor ears, just elongated feather tufts. Scientists haven't figured out the purpose of these tufts, but suggest that they may aid in camouflage, or in the identification of an owl by its mate. 

Osprey - Red-tailed Hawk

Pandion haliaetus - Buteo jamaicensis

I also saw the juvenile Osprey on the river this week, and an adult Red-tailed Hawk flying away with a dead squirrel in its claws!  WOW!!!  In comparison to the Great Horned Owl, the Osprey has a wingspan of 63", a length of 21", and weighs 2.2 lb.   The Red-tailed Hawk has a wingspan of 49", a length of 19", and weighs 2.4 lb.  So wonderful to see these beautiful raptors!  The following quote about raptors is from One Long River of Song by Brian Doyle, one of my absolutely favorite authors.  Enjoy!

part of "Raptorous"

by Brian Doyle

"I have been so hawk-addled and owl-absorbed and falcon-haunted and eagle-maniacal since I was a little kid that it was a huge shock to me to discover that there were people who did not think that seeing a sparrow hawk helicoptering over an empty lot and then dropping like an anvil and o my god coming up with wriggling lunch was the coolest thing ever. I mean, who could possibly not be awed by a tribe whose various members can see a rabbit clearly from a mile away (eagles), fly sideways through tree branches like feathered fighter jets (woodhawks), look like tiny brightly colored linebackers (kestrels, with their cool gray helmets), hunt absolutely silently on the wing (owls), fly faster than any other being on earth (falcons), and can spot a trout from fifty feet in the air, gauge piscine speed and direction, and nail the dive and light-refraction and wind-gust and trout-startle so perfectly that it snags three fish a day (our friend the osprey)?  Not to mention they look cool, they are seriously large, they have muscles on their muscles, they are stone-cold efficient hunters with built-in butchery tools, and all of them have this stern I could kick your ass but I'm busy look, which took me years to discover was not a general simmer of surliness but a result of the supraorbital ridge protecting their eyes.

And they are more adamant than other birds.  They arrest your attention.  You see a hawk and you stop what minor crime you are committing and pay close attention to a craft master who commands the horizon until he or she is done and drifts airily away, terrifying the underbrush.  You see an eagle, you gape; you hear the piercing whistle of an osprey along the river, you  stand motionless and listen with reverence; you see an owl launch at dusk, like a burly gray dream against the last light, you flinch a little, and are awed, and count yourself blessed."

Stormy view looking south above Mud Lake

A Fall Day in the Lakes Basin

On Thursday, my friend Diane and I hiked all day in the Lakes Basin.  It was a beautifully dramatic, dark-cloud, rainy day!  The Fall colors were gorgeous!  We were blissed out!  Enjoy this glimpse of the beauty!  Better yet, get out there yourself!

Bracken Fern - Bog Asphodel & Grasses - Quaking Aspen

Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens - Narthecium californicum - Populus tremuloides

Fall Pond Splendor!

Alpine Knotweed - Little Leaf Maple - Big Leaf Maple & Red Osier Dogwood  

Aconogonon phytolaccifolium - Acer glabrum - Acer macrophyllum & Cornus sericea

Bracken Fern - Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens

Long Lake view looking east

North Yuba River - 10/08/21

Damp Earth Art

On Thursday it rained most of the day, for a total of .19" in our neighborhood. Everything was damp and moist again! Yahoo! Up in the Lakes Basin it rained .75" to 1", depending on the location!!! We are SO grateful! Drying winds are in the forecast for next week. Hope no new fires happen. I am so grateful that there aren't any fires in our immediate area. My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes in this unprecedented fire season. My unending thanks go to the fire fighters who continue to battle these dangerous fires every day.

I so wish it would rain! We can't do anything about the drought, the wind, hot temperatures and fires. Worry makes it harder to bear. So anytime I think of it, I think 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. I've created a blog, dampearthart.blogspot.com where I post photographs, quotes, and artworks that feature rain.

What's happening with the Deer and Bear?

How is the fundraising for the Wildlife Disaster Network going?

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

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

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

A Gully Washer!

North Yuba River 

Last Monday night it started to rain around 9:30.  At first it was sprinkling lightly on the roof, then it increased to a steady rain, and then it POURED!  For a good hour it rained heavily!  We jumped for joy!  It was still raining when we went to bed!  Wow!!! The next morning I checked the rainfall total for our area, and it was .57", with as much as .75" on the surrounding ridges! This is the third rainstorm we've had in the past three weeks!  Sure hope it keeps up!  Rain, rain, come on down....

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

It was a beautiful, moist, mist-filled morning that greeted us on our walk!  Right away we saw this buck, and about 20 minutes later we spotted this doe and fawn!  There was also another fawn just a few yards away from this pair.  I thought it might be the doe and fawns I had seen on the river, but these were Columbian Black-tailed Deer!  There seem to be lots of deer in our area lately.  They're probably here because of the river and it's lush green vegetation, as well as the ripe apples in our neighborhood.

Lady's Thumb - Willow Herb (flowers and seeds)

 Persicaria muculosa - Epilobium sp.

What's Blooming?

Most of the plants that are blooming in my neighborhood are found along the edge of the river, except for the Rabbitbrush that usually grows in very hot and dry areas.

The dark green splotches on the leaves (above left), are the origin of the name "Lady's Thumb." Supposedly the splotches resemble a lady's thumbprint! Now THAT takes a stretch of the imagination! I would have named it "Beaded Pinks" or something like that. I am, however, glad that the plant name wasn't named "Lady's Thumb" after its flowers, because that would had to have been inspired by a rather sore, diseased, and distressed thumb!

The tiny Willow Herb makes a dense hedge of thin seed pods, that explode open when they're dry and disperse their seeds.

Rubber Rabbitbrush - Moth Mullein - Devil's Beggarticks/Sticktight

Ericameria nauseous - Verbascum blattaria - Bidens frondosa

The Willow Herb, Rabbitbrush, and Beggarticks are native to our area.  The Moth Mullein and Lady's Thumb are introduced from Eurasia.

River Otter scat composed of crayfish exoskeletons - Lontra canadensis

River News!

Since the smoke wasn't around this week, I was able to go to a few spots on the North Yuba River that I haven't visited in a long time. One area has lots of sculpted bedrock pools that the river flows through. This year, because the water is low, there was a small bar of exposed river rocks in the middle of the river.  I waded out to it and found the River Otter scat pictured above, although there weren't any Otters. The scat was composed of dry crayfish exoskeletons!  It was about 1.5" long and 1" wide.  When I broke it open (above left) all the colorful crayfish claws and legs were exposed! How cool!

Canyon Wren - Catherpes mexicanus

To my delight a Canyon Wren was foraging on the same section of the river!  I saw one here last year, and am thrilled to think it could be the same one!  Canyon Wrens are usually solitary, except during the breeding season, and are non-migratory!  They feed mainly on insects and spiders.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states, "Few terrestrial birds are as restricted to rocky cliffs or outcrops as this one. It inhabits the same territories year-round, commonly nesting in sheltered rock crevices, using its long, decurved bill and flattened head to probe for spiders and insects in rock crevices."  The Cornell lab also states that some Canyon Wrens may migrate below the snowline for winter.  I've never seen one here during the winter.  I'll have to come back this winter and check.

   

Our Scarecrows

Mystery Solved!

I finally saw a Chickaree pulling the stuffing out of our scarecrow's head this week!  I also found out where it's building its winter nest/home!  It's about 20' up a nearby locust tree!  These squirrels do not hibernate, they are active all winter. Right now they are busy caching food for the winter, usually nuts and seeds.

Chickaree/Douglas Tree Squirrel -  Tamiasciurus douglasii

A Chickaree might build a ball-shaped nest out of twigs, lichen, shredded bark, and apparently polyester fiberfill, up in a tree for the winter.  Or it might live in a woodpecker nest or hollow log for the winter.  I'm looking forward to watching the building of this nest!

Willows in the Rain

Damp Earth Art

Possible rain is in the forecast again for Wednesday through Saturday this week! Yahoo! Once again I hope it pours! The Dixie/Jarbo Gap and the Caldor fires have diminished even more. Fingers crossed that they continue to diminish. I am so grateful that there aren't any fires in our immediate area. My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes in this unprecedented fire season. My unending thanks go to the fire fighters who continue to battle these dangerous fires every day.

I so wish it would rain! We can't do anything about the drought, the wind, hot temperatures and fires. Worry makes it harder to bear. So anytime I think of it, I think 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. I've created a blog, dampearthart.blogspot.com where I post photographs, quotes, and artworks that feature rain.

Deer Lake - 9/30/21

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

How is the fundraising for the Wildlife Disaster Network going?

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

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

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