Neighborhood Natural History

The North Yuba River flows right through our neighborhood, and is my haven during these hot summer days! Right now it is low, slow, and perfect for swimming! It is also a paradise for a naturalist! Insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals thrive in, above, and alongside this river.  I never know what I might come across when I spend time there.

Midges - Chironomidae Family

Right now there is an incredible insect hatch going on in the river! Thousands of Non-biting Midge adults are hovering just above the surface of the water!  

 Non-biting Midges are often mistaken for mosquitoes due to their similar size and body shape. They lay their eggs in shallow waters. The eggs sink to the bottom. In a few days the larvae hatch out of the eggs and burrow into mud, or construct a small tube in which they live, feed and develop. The aquatic larvae feed on detritus in the water and are a great source of food for fish and aquatic insects. After 2-7 weeks, the larvae turn into pupae. The pupae then swim to the surface and the adults emerge from their pupal exuviae (cast off skin). Adults do not feed and spend their short, 3-5 day lives mating!

Twelve-spotted Skimmer - Black Saddlebag Skimmer

Libellula pulchella - Tramea sp.

The biggest predator of midges are dragonflies!  There are lots and lots of adults above the river these days.  They catch bugs with their legs while in flight, and then eat their catch in the air.  Big dragonflies will eat their weight in insects in a day!  Midges and mosquitoes are their main prey.

Black Phoebe (adult) - Brewer's Blackbird (female) - Western Wood-Pewee (adult) 

Sayornis nigricans - Euphagus cyanocephalus - Contopus sordidulus

Black Phoebes, Brewer's Blackbirds, and Western Wood Pewees also forage above and along the river. They perch and hawk insects out of the air above the river all the time. They are not known to eat midges, but there are plenty of other insects that they feed on, such as dragonfly, mayfly, and stonefly adults. They will also search among the dry river rocks for invertebrates to eat.

I rarely talk about these birds, but they are just as much a part of the river ecosystem as Mergansers, Sandpipers, Kingfishers, and Ospreys! They raise their young in nests built along the river. The Black Phoebes live here year-round, surviving on fruits and berries in the winter. The Brewer's Blackbirds migrate down to the foothills and California's Central Valley in winter. The Western Wood Pewee migrates down to Bolivia in the winter!

Spotted Sandpiper (juvenile/adult) - Actitis macularis

There are still some Spotted Sandpipers along the river shore foraging for invertebrates.  The adults are starting to lose their spots, and the juveniles won't have spots until they mature.  These lovely birds fly all the way down to Chile or Southern Brazil to spend the winter!!!

Common Merganser - Mergus merganser

There are still several Common Merganser families on the river. They have regrouped somewhat, but they're still on the section of the river near us. The juveniles will be able to fly within a month, and they will all depart in the fall for their winter habitat in the southern parts of California or Arizona.

Osprey - Red-tailed Hawk

Pandion haliaetus - Buteo jamaicensis

There is one old Cottonwood Tree on the river edge that Great Blue Herons and Ospreys like to perch in. One morning this week there was a Red-tailed Hawk perched there!  Unlike Herons or Ospreys that mainly eat fish, Red-tailed Hawks prey on birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. They aren't here in large numbers so it was lucky to see one of these beautiful raptors!  The black on the end of its wings is a shadow not a pigment.

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

Down in the Garden!

Our garden is another haven for us and the local wildlife. Right now the blackberries in our neighborhood are all ripening up and attracting lots of critters!  Across the street from our garden this morning a young buck was feasting on them!  We've also seen several bear scats that are FULL of blackberry seeds!  Most of all the other fruit crops in our neighborhood failed this year due to a late hard frost in March.

Himalayan Blackberries - American Robin (adult)

Rubus armeniacus - Turdus migratorius 

Lots of birds are also feasting on the blackberries that border our garden, such as Robins, Towhees, and Grosbeaks! Although we don't actually water the blackberries, they get water from the garden.  This makes them big and juicy, where a lot of the wild roadside blackberries are already dried up.

Northern Pacific Rattlesnake - Crotalus oreganus oreganus

To my surprise a Rattlesnake cruised by while I was watering the garden one evening this week!!!  I didn't have my camera nearby when it showed up, so the above photo is a picture of a dead Rattlesnake that I found a few years ago. In the 36 years we've lived here we've only seen rattlesnakes in the immediate area about 5 times.  Nevertheless, I will be a little more watchful in the garden until the weather cools off!

Honeybees - unknown native bee

Apis mellifera - unknown sp.

Right now our sunflowers are in full bloom and there are LOTS of different pollinators on them. We had a hive of honeybees for the past five years, but this year they swarmed! They have apparently found somewhere else to live locally, as there are lots of honeybees on our garden flowers!

Monarch - Anna's Hummingbird

Danaus plexippus - Calypte anna

Our Bee Balm is also in full bloom and along with the bees, Anna's Hummingbirds are feeding on their nectar!  To our delight a couple of Monarch Butterflies showed up in our garden this week!  Hopefully they will have a successful journey to their winter habitat along the California coast near Santa Cruz and San Diego.

Western Tiger Swallowtail - Papilio rutulus rutulus

There are also many other butterflies in our garden right now, feasting on the nectar of the recently blossomed zinnias, phlox and bee balm.

  

Lesser Goldfinch (male) - Carduelis psaltria

Newly arrived this week, the American Goldfinches have shown up and are eating the recently formed sunflower seeds!  I LOVE these colorful little birds, and welcome them back every year!

Damp Earth Art

More HOT weather has come in this week, with no rain in sight.  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.

What's changing in the Lakes Basin?

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

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