A Blue Oak Woodland

Blue Oak Leaves - Quercus douglasii  

Last week we went for a hike in a foothill nature preserve around 1,000' in elevation, the Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area, managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The terrain was rolling, grass-covered hills with gullies and creeks, vegetated by Blue Oaks, Live Oaks, Gray Pines, Coyote Brush, and many other shrubs. It is designated as a "Blue Oak Foothill Pine Woodlands" ecosystem. It was so different from our neighborhood, that it was fascinating to explore!

Blue Oak and Gray Pines (in the distance) 

Quercus douglasii - Pinus sabiniana

Blue Oaks are found only in California.  They are named for the bluish-green cast of their deciduous leaves, which are currently a lovely, rich, brownish-yellow.  They are the most drought tolerant oak, of California's deciduous oaks, and have deep extensive root systems.  They usually grow between 3,000'-4,000' or lower, on dry hilly terrain where a water table is unavailable. They can live to be 400 years old!

 

Blue Oak with close-up of leaves

Quercus douglasii 

 They are usually 20'-60' tall, with a diameter of 1'-3', and a broad, rounded crown of branches.  The leaves are simple or slightly lobed.  They live where the winters are mild and wet, and the summers are hot and dry.  The trees are monoecious (both sexes on the same tree) and are wind pollinated.  The acorns are eaten by a wide variety of wildlife, including squirrels, birds, bears, and deer. 

White-breasted Nuthatch - Bushtit

Baeolophus inornatus - Psaltriparus minimus 

Birds of the Blue Oak Woodland

There were lots of birds in the Blue Oak woodland, that were all calling and singing! It was lovely to hear them! Other than the Western Bluebirds and Spotted Towhees, I never see these bird species in our neighborhood. We kept hearing a loud repeated call and finally figured out it was the White-breasted Nuthatches! Like the Red-breasted Nuthatches in our area, these little birds climb up and down the trunks and branches of trees, gleaning insects from the surface and crevices.

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We also saw a flock of tiny birds land in a Gray Pine.  They were quite difficult to photograph because they flitted around so rapidly, and were so tiny, only 4.5" long.  Bushtits live year-round in California. Most of the year they live in flocks of 10-40 birds. In the end of February to early March, they pair off to breed and build their nest. It will take both the male and the female a month or more to build their amazing, 6"-12", sock-like nest of spider webs and plant material! I've seen these nests in museums, but never in the wild. It would be fabulous to find one! They female lays 4-10 eggs in the nest, and may have two broods in a season. Interestingly, adult male offspring help the mated pair raise their young! Also, incredibly the whole family sleep together in the sock-like nest!

Western Bluebird (male) in Mistletoe - Sialia mexicana

We saw LOTS of Western Bluebirds while we were there. In the summer Western Bluebirds are primarily insectivores. In winter they eat fruits and berries, such as juniper, poison oak, wild grapes, and elderberry. They also particularly love to eat mistletoe berries, and will sometimes sleep overnight in a clump of mistletoe to defend their find!  They like to live on the edge of open areas, such as meadows or burned areas. They are short-distance migrants, and generally move down slope in winter. 

Western Bluebird (male - female) - Sialia mexicana

 Later in the day, we saw a pair of Western Bluebirds out in an open meadow. The males are mostly an incredible, luminous, royal-blue in color. The females are mostly gray with a blue rump, tail, and some wing feathers. 

 California Scrub Jay (adult) - House Finch (male)

Aphelocoma californica - Haemorhous mexicanus

California Scrub Jays usually live in brushy areas and oak woodlands, from the coast to the foothills of California. They are highly dependent on oaks and acorns. Acorns are their main food during fall and winter. One Jay will bury up to 5,000 acorns in small holes in the ground during the fall! These acorns will all eventually be dug up and consumed in the following seasons! Like other members of the corvid family, Scrub Jays are quite intelligent and have excellent memories. Some studies have shown that they not only remember the past (e.g. where they buried the acorns) but also think forward to the future (e.g. They will move their buried acorns if they think another bird saw them being buried, in anticipation of them possibly being stolen!) They will also eat insects, other nuts & seeds, ticks off of deer, as well as bird eggs and nestlings when available!

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House Finches are seed, berry, and fruit eaters. They travel in small to large flocks. The red color in the feathers of the male House Finch comes from the food it eats. This one must have found a lot of red berries!

House Finches raise up to 6 broods in a season, with 2-7 eggs per brood!!! 3 broods are the average number. Both the male and female choose the nest site. Only the female builds the nest and incubates the eggs. The male will feed the female while she is on or off the nest, during the incubation period. Both parents feed the nestlings. The male alone feeds the fledglings until they can fend for themselves, while the female builds a new nest and lays a new clutch of eggs! The young birds will reach sexual maturity within a year. 

Spotted Towhee (male) - Acorn Woodpecker (male)

Pipilo maculatus - Melanerpes formicivorus

Spotted Towhees are seed and small insect eaters. They search for food on the ground, using their characteristic hop forward followed by a back-thrust with both legs.  In spring and summer they mainly eat insects, as well as some plants. In fall and winter their diet consist of mainly seeds, especially sunflower-family plants and thistles.

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We also saw several Acorn Woodpeckers that day. They are one of the dominant species in the foothill oak woodlands. Acorns are the main food they depend upon in winter. They store acorns by drilling holes in dead tree trunks and putting an acorn in each hole! These acorn filled trunks are called "granaries". Granaries have been known to contain up to 50,000 acorns!

Each granary is only used by one "family" of Acorn Woodpeckers. It may take generations of use to create a large granary. The families consist of males, females, and offspring, ranging from 2 to 16 members. Usually there are about 5 members in a family. The adults practice "polygynandry", and breed with multiple females/males. All the females lay all their eggs on the same day, in the same nest cavity! The whole family helps incubate the eggs and raise the chicks!! At night, all of the family members roost in the same cavity!!

 The Trail

We walked through dense, shrubby forests, as well as open brush-free woodlands.  There were free-range cows wandering through the preserve, but they kept to themselves.  The trail was an old dirt road, that was easy walking.  We walked for several hours enjoying the scenery and birds!  We even saw a Bald Eagle fly by, but too far away for a photo!  After lunch we headed back home, with plans to return many more times this winter, as well as in the Spring, when the wildflowers should be gorgeous!  How fun to discover this new area to explore!

Joubert's Diggins 12/22/22

Local Pond Update

This week I also visited two of the three ponds I visit in the winter.   At Joubert's Diggins there were several Canada Geese and a pair of Hooded Mergansers. Just as we were driving home from the pond, a Mountain Lion crossed the road in front of us!  WOW!  Too quick to photograph, but lovely to see!

Canada Geese - Branta canadensis

Hooded Mergansers (female - male) - Lophodytes cucullatus 

Charles Marsh Pond

At the Charles Marsh Pond, there weren't any waterfowl.  However, there were Golden-crowned Sparrows and Oak Titmice in the shoreline shrubs!  Another pond watcher told us that an Otter had been seen there in the past two weeks!  Now that would be something to see!  Maybe next week...

Golden-crowned Sparrow (male) - Oak Titmouse(adult) 

North Yuba River 12-26-22

Damp Earth Art

It's been raining since Monday night and it's still raining.  Our total precipitation from this storm is currently 9.31"!  This brings us to a water year total of 27.68"! The river flow peaked at 8,020 CFS (cubic feet per second) early Saturday morning, and rose to a height of 12.91ft!  This storm is predicted to continue into next week as well!  Yahoo!

I'm going to keep posting rain inspired writings, art, etc. on my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com.  Any submissions would be greatly appreciated. Please join me in my continuing hope for precipitation!  Perhaps our collective efforts may help it happen.

Have any mushrooms popped up in my neighborhood?

What's happening on the North Yuba River?

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

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