Neighborhood News!

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

On one of my morning wanders this week, I ran into my friends Jack and Linda on the road.  They had JUST photographed a Black Bear in our neighborhood!  So, naturally I hot-footed it to the location where they had seen it, and luckily it was still there!  Yahoo!  I didn't want to disturb the bear, so I kept my distance, and zoomed in with my camera.  It was foraging in a small grassy area, mainly eating clover!  It didn't appear to be much interested in me, and only looked at me from time to time while it foraged! It was a medium-sized, very healthy looking bear! After just a few minutes I left the bear to himself. I very rarely see Black Bears during the day.  What a thrill it was to watch this one foraging on plants!

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

Black Bears average 3'-3'5'' in height, 4'6"-6'2" in length, and 203 lbs. - 587 lbs. in weight. Despite their large size, they are not usually predators.  They mainly eat insects, grubs, fruit, berries, twigs, bugs, leaves, nuts, roots, the cambium layer of trees, honey, and fish.  Occasionally the will eat small to medium-sized mammals and carrion. They are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), but can be seen at any time of the day. Their range is typically 8-10 square miles, and occasionally up to 15 square miles.  Males and females are solitary except briefly during mating. However, offspring will stay with their mother for up to 17 months. I wonder if the three cubs I saw last September, are still with their mother.  Maybe this bear is one of those cubs!

Purple Nightshade - Solanum xanti

Wildflowers are blooming all over my neighborhood right now!  Such beauty!

Here are some of the ones that bloomed recently!  Enjoy!

 

Feathery False Lily of the Valley - Larkspur (species?) - Arrow leaved Balsamroot

Maianthemum racemosa - Delphinium sp. - Balsamorhiza sagittata

I've known the "Feathery False Lily of the Valley" as False Solomon's Seal 

for years!  This is the new name, as listed on calflora.org.

Valley Sky Lupine - Narrow leaved owl's clover/Valley Tassels

 Lupinus nanus - Castilleja attenuata

Pacific Bleedinghearts - Hartweg's Wild Ginger - Drops of Gold

Dicentra formosa - Asarum hartwegii - Prosartes hookeri

I've know the "Drops of Gold" as Fairybells for years! 

Again, another new name as listed on calflora.org!

Hartweg's Wild Ginger - Prosartes hookeri

I came across this large group of Wild Ginger flowers and couldn't resist taking a photo!  They are such unusual, hairy flowers!

Pacific Sanicle - Blue Dicks - Sicklepod Rock Cress

Sanicula crassicaulis - Dipterostemon capitatus - Boechera sparsiflora

Douglas' Sandwort - Minuartia douglasii

Thousands of these Sandworts formed a lacy, ground-mist on a limestone outcrop!

Western Azalea - Rhododendron occidentale

My husband's absolute favorite flower is Western Azalea. They aren't wildflowers, they're shrubs. We usually have to drive quite a bit higher or lower to see them. They're always in a streamside, damp, wet environment.  To my absolute delight, I found a large bank of them in full bloom right along the river in my neighborhood this week!  The fragrance of the hundreds of flowers was heavenly!  Some were mostly all white, some had pink on the back of their petals and a pink strip inside the flower, while others had a yellow stripe inside the flower.  It turns out that the Western Azalea is "variable in coloration"!  The length of both the pistil and stamens is amazing!  We had never noticed this bank of azaleas before! Considering the size and number of bushes, they've been here a long time!  What a treasure to find!

Poison Oak - Toxicodendron diversilobum

Poison oak is fully leafed-out and in full bloom right now, so beware.  The urishiol in the plants can cause a very irritating ITCHY, oozy, rash.  I never got a reaction as a kid, but now as an adult I really react.  So be careful and don't touch it, even though it's pretty!

Anna's Hummingbird (female) on Applegate's Paintbrush

Calypte Anna on Castilleja applegatei

Migratory Birds

Lots of birds have recently arrived in our neighborhood.  Some, like the Anna's Hummingbird pictured above are short-distance migrants.  Others are long distance migrants.  Some will nest in our neighborhood, while others are just passing through. I don't have time this week to write about each one.  I'll right more as the nesting season progresses.  In the meantime, here's photos of the ones that arrived in the past two weeks.  Enjoy!

Black-headed Grosbeak (female-male) - Pheucticus melanocephalus

Violet-green Swallow (females) - Tachycineta talassina

Nashville Warbler (female) - Leiothlypis ruficapilla

Bullock's Oriole (male - female) - Icterus bullockii

North Yuba River - 5/9/22

Damp Earth Art

It got COLD this week, and we got about an inch of snow on the ground and some rain! The official total is about .25" of precipitation, but our personal rain gauge measured 9/10 of and inch! 

WARM weather is coming this week, and possibly the following week. Hopefully another wet storm will come through soon. Please join me in my continuing hope for precipitation! Perhaps our collective efforts may help it happen. 

I'm going to keep posting rain inspired writings, art, etc. on my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com. Any submissions would be greatly appreciated.

Wishing for peace in Ukraine and

an immediate end to this senseless war!

Snow Plant Emerging - 5/05/22

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

What's blooming in Carmen Valley?

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

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