Local Woodpeckers!

Downy Woodpecker (female) - Dryobates pubescens

There are several types of woodpeckers that live year-round in our neighborhood, including the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, and the Northern Flicker. All woodpeckers have long tongues and several adaptations to absorb the shock of hammering on tree trunks. 

Woodpecker tongues are so long, up to a third of their total body length, that they are coiled up and around the back of their skulls!  Their tongue is actually a muscle-wrapped bone, the hyoid bone. The center of the hyoid is in the nostrils, in the bird's upper beak. It splits into a V between the eyes, and its two arms wrap completely around the woodpecker's skull, passing over the top of it and around the back before meeting up again at the base of the lower beak.

To protect their brains from getting too much damage from hammering, woodpeckers have elongated brain cases, layers of spongy bone inside their skull bone, and a minimal amount of cerebrospinal fluid surrounding their brain. They also have super strong necks that divert and absorb shock.  When it pecks, the muscles in the woodpecker's neck absorb the shock of the pecking from the head and transmit it into the shoulders, upper torso, into the tail, and then back into the tree, in a circular dispersion of energy!

Researchers have found that all of these adaptations absorb up to 99.7% of the shock of the woodpeckers hammering!

Here's a video I took of a Hairy Woodpecker hammering away, right outside my studio window!

Hairy Woodpecker (male) - Dryobates villosus

Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers have very similar feather patterns that can make them difficult to distinguish in the field.  The males have red feathers on the back of their heads, which the females lack.  The Hairy Woodpecker (9.25") is larger overall than the Downy Woodpecker (6.75"). To me, the obvious difference is the size of their bill.  The Downy's bill is not near as long as the Hairy's bill.   

Northern Flicker (male) - Colaptes auratus

The Northern Flicker feeds mainly on insects on the ground, such as carpenter ants and beetles in the spring and summer, and switches to fruits and seeds in the fall.  Right now they are probably feeding on poison oak berries and a variety of native seeds. The male Northern Flicker can be distinguished by its bright red malar, which the female doesn't have. 

Isn't it amazing how the pattern of the feathers near the base of the tail look like little, black, orchid flowers!!!

Northern Flicker (female) - Colaptes auratus

Northern Flickers will hammer holes in trees when making a nest, but not to get wood-boring grubs to eat. They will however, hammer into the ground when searching for insects. 

Red-breasted Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus ruber

Foothill Woodpeckers

There are different woodpeckers at different elevations in California. Some stay year-round in one area, while others are short-distance migrants that move up and down in elevation with the seasons.

The Red-breasted Sapsucker pictured above spends the winter in the foothills, coast, and central valley of California. They move up to our neighborhood as well as the Lakes Basin in the spring, to breed and raise their young. 

Here are photos of all the woodpeckers I've seen in my local excursions.  I have written about them all in previous blogs.  Just type in their name in the "search this blog" bar on the top right of this page (not visible on a phone - only visible on a computer screen) to learn more about each woodpecker.  

Nuttall's Woodpecker (female) - Dryobates nuttallii

Acorn Woodpecker (female) - Melanerpes formicivorus

Lewis's Woodpecker (male) - Melanerpes lewis

Pileated Woodpecker (male) - Dryocopus pileatus

Lakes Basin Woodpeckers

Here are some woodpeckers that I've mainly seen in the Lakes Basin.

Some live there all year and some don't!

White-headed Woodpecker (male) - Dryobates albolarvatus

Black-backed Woodpecker (female) - Picoides arcticus

Williamson's Sapsucker (female) - Sphyrapicus thyroideus

Chickaree - Western Gray Squirrel

Tamiasciurus douglasii - Sciurus griseus

Local Mammal Update

New this week I've seen several deer, three does and one buck, and a young fox in our neighborhood!  The Western Gray Squirrels and Chickarees are as busy as ever looking for seeds to eat!

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

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

Grey Fox (adult - juvenile) - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

The Sierra Buttes -  1/26/23

Local Weather

It's been sunny and cold this week with no precipitation.  A short, snowy, storm is supposed to arrive tonight and last through tomorrow (Sat-Sun).  My husband and I took advantage of the dry road (it had been REALLY icy) and drove up to see the Sierra Buttes last Thursday. We ended up hiking on the groomed, snowy Gold Lake Road for a couple of miles.  No one else was there! it was sunny and warm in the sun, and it wasn't icy at all!  We measured 2.5'-3' of snow alongside the groomed road.  The Sierra Buttes were gorgeous as always!  We hope to get back up there next week!

What's happening in the foothills and the Central Valley?

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.

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

Hibernation, Diapause, and Dormancy

Black Bear tracks - Ursus americanus

This week there were Black Bear tracks in the snow!  Most people think that bears aren't active at all in the winter.  They believe that hibernating bears go to sleep in the fall and don't wake up until spring.  That's probably true in areas where winter is harsh, temperatures are below freezing, and the snow is deep.  Where we live, winter isn't that long or severe, and bears can be active during periods of "warm" weather, and then go back to sleep if snow and cold temperatures return.  

Hibernation

Hibernation is a complicated process in mammals. The level of hibernation varies between species.  Yellow-bellied Marmots do truly hibernate, whereas Black Bears don't.  I found the following summary of Black Bear hibernation at www.denali.org/denalis-natural-history/black-bear-hibernation/.

"Hibernation is the mechanism that black bears use to conserve energy and reduce their internal fires of metabolism. For a long time people thought that the bears slept through the winter in cozy dens and emerged in the spring fully charged.

However, far from being a long, uninterrupted sleep, hibernation consists of periods of sleep punctuated by periods of arousal. Sleep time is long during the dead of winter but is shorter at the beginning and end of the season. To prepare for this long season black bears feed ravenously from midsummer through the end of autumn, gleaning up to 20 thousand calories in a day. Bears are omnivores and will eat meat too, including ground squirrels, carrion and whatever they can find. By the end of autumn, a black bear will have added about 4 or 5 inches of body fat and more than doubled the insulation provided by its pelt.

As the bear enters hibernation, its metabolic processes such as body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate are reduced. But bears do not lower the body temperature as much as once thought. Their hibernation temperature is around 88 degrees and waking temperature is 100 degrees F. This relatively high sleeping temperature allows black bears to become fully alert if aroused, perhaps to enable the bear to protect itself from predators and other dangers without unnecessarily taxing their energy reserves. Over the course of a hibernating season it is thought that black bears use approximately 4,000 calories a day, which results in a weight loss of about 20 percent of it body weight by spring."

Ladybird Beetles - Hippodamia convergens

 

Diapause

The cold temperatures have put a stop to insect movement for now. They cannot regulate their body temperature, like birds and mammals. Once temperatures drop into the 30's, insects become immobile. To keep from freezing, most adult insects reduce the amount of water in their body fluids by 30%, and replace it with glycerol, sorbitol, or other types of anti-freeze. As temperatures begin to drop they enter a state of diapause, similar to hibernation in mammals, in which they become inactive and their metabolic and respiratory rates slow down. 

Another way insects deal with winter, is that the adults will die off and leave their eggs or larvae to overwinter in water, underground, or under cover of leaves, bark or protected crevices.

Ladybird Beetles - Hippodamia convergens 

  

In the fall, Ladybird Beetles converge in large numbers in our neighborhood.  They don't converge because of "safety in numbers", but rather to mate before winter sets in.  They are very visible, but aren't eaten by birds as apparently they are unpalatable to the birds!

Ladybird Beetles - Hippodamia convergens 

If you find a group of Ladybird Beetles on the trunk of a tree, look in the leaf litter at the base of the tree and you'll probably find lots more of them!

Mossicles!

Dormancy

Once again icicles are hanging from some of the mosses in our neighborhood! The reason why the moss itself doesn't freeze, is that during winter moss, like insects, has a natural anti-freeze (glycerol, sucrose etc.) in its cells! This lowers the temperature at which water freezes, so the plant cells aren't frozen and damaged. 

Lots of plants use this anti-freeze technique to survive the winter, including most evergreen shrubs and trees, some ferns, succulents, and liverworts! Additionally, many plants go dormant in the winter, and enter into a state of temporary metabolic inactivity or minimal activity.

Fir Cap - 1/19/23

Local Weather

This week the heavy rains stopped and we had one last storm that left two inches of snow on the ground in our neighborhood. The total precipitation for the week was 4.06".   The forecast for the coming week is sunny with cold nights.  I'm grateful for a break in all that rainy weather!

Higher up there is a lot more snow!  The latest news I've heard is that there is 8' of snow at Yuba Pass, and about 4' of snow up in the Lakes Basin!  I'll have to get up there this week and check it out!

Hairy  Woodpecker - Dryobates villosus

Are there any woodpeckers around?

What's happening in the foothills?

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.

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

Local Raptors

Sharp-shinned Hawk (juvenile) - Accipiter striatus

Early this week, this Sharp-shinned Hawk was perched in the Alder Tree that borders our garden.  Many different birds use this tree as a perch, as it has a commanding view of the area. I see raptors perched there occasionally. This lovely, jay-sized hawk was still a little wet from the recent rains, and fortunately didn't fly off instantly. I've identified it as a juvenile, as it still has golden eyes.  Adults have red eyes. It is always astonishing to make eye contact with a wild animal! They ALWAYS see me before I see them!

The following quote about Sharp-shinned Hawks is from Birds of the Sierra Nevada by Edward C. Beedy and Edward R. Pandolfino.

"Whether scanning from a hidden perch or dashing through forests, Sharp-shinned Hawks are constantly on the alert for small songbirds, their primary prey.  Finch-sized birds are captured in midair or plucked from the ground or from foliage with the aid of the hawk's long central toes and talons. These adept hunters attack from low, chasing flights or by sneaking in from behind concealing obstructions.  Chases are short and quickly aborted if the surprise attack fails. If successful, the hawk returns to a favorite perch to pluck the prey fastidiously before it is eaten."

Sharp-shinned Hawk (juvenile) - Accipiter striatus

I wrote about how wild birds deal with heavy rain in my Oct. 30, 2021 blog.  I've reposted that information here, as it is so relevant right now!  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."

Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus

I saw the Red-shouldered Hawk twice this week!!  It was perched on a dead tree over looking the river, and it was perched in the same Alder Tree that the Sharp-shinned Hawk had been in!  Just lovely to see!

Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus

I took this photo of a Red-shouldered Hawk several years ago in the pouring rain.  Luckily we've had breaks in the recent wet weather, in which I hope our local birds dried out.  Also, it looks like today (January 14) might be the last heavy-rain day this week.  They are also forecasting that this weeks long period of precipitation is coming to an end by Thursday (January 19). Fingers crossed!

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

There aren't a lot of raptors in our area.  In fact I have mainly been seeing one Sharp-shinned Hawk, one Red-shouldered Hawk, and one Red-tailed Hawk.  Each one has a specific diet in the winter, such as birds, birds and mammals, or just mammals.  I imagine that it's not easy for these raptors to find enough to eat!  The heavy rain has made it even more difficult to catch prey, as explained in the following quote 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."

Red-tailed Hawk in the Rain - Buteo jamaicensis

I took this photo several years ago, on the open-slope in our neighborhood on a VERY rainy winter day. The next day, the storm had passed and I was happy to see the Red-tail back on its perch in the sun!   

Questionable Stropharia - Stropharia ambigua

Forest Fungi!

The heavy rains have made lots of mushrooms pop up in the woods!

I really love seeing them, but I'm not a mycologist.  There are so many kinds that it's a bit overwhelming to learn them all.  They can also be quite difficult to identify. The Questionable Stropharia pictured above are the most obvious, numerous, and common mushrooms in our neighborhood.

Recently I learned something super interesting about mushrooms!  I was wondering how fast mushrooms grow, because they seem to show up overnight. One day you don't see any.  The next day there's tons of them.  So I did a little research and I found out that if conditions are perfect (not too hot, too cold, too wet, or too dry) most mushrooms CAN double there size in 24 hours!!!  How do they do that?

Well, plants and animals grow through the process of "cell division", which is relatively slow and takes lots of energy. The underground mushroom body (the mycelium) does grow by cell division.  However, the fruiting body, or mushroom, grows by "cell enlargement", not "cell division".  The mushroom enlarges its cells by filling them with water!  This can happen very quickly, and make it appear that a mushroom is growing super fast!  The tiny "button" stage of a mushroom has almost exactly the same number of cells that the fully-grown mushroom has!  This is also why mushrooms appear when it rains!  Without the rain they couldn't "grow"!

Turkey Tail (?) & Witch's Butter

Trametes versicolor (?) - Tremella mesenterica

This group of fungi were growing on the trunk of tree.  

They looked like a beautiful ruffle-knit scarf!

unknown - unknown - unknown common name

unknown sp. - unknown sp. - Spathularia neesii

The tiny parasol mushrooms are also quite common, but I only found three of the orange, wrinkled-cap mushrooms.  I couldn't identify either of them.  I found two small patches of the tiny, pinkish, club-shaped ones, and iNaturalist.org identified them for me as Spathularia neesii, but I can't find a common name for them!

Rain on the River!

Damp Earth 

It rained a total of 11.82" from Saturday the 7th to Sunday the 15th, and more is in the forecast for Sunday through Wednesday! This brings us to a water year total of 48.07"!  It looks like the rainy weather will change at the end of next week, and give the flood victims a break!  We've been lucky and haven't been flooded, but that's because our rivers and creeks are carrying the water downhill to the Central Valley.

I'm going to put my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com to sleep for awhile.

It looks like we don't need anymore rain just now!

Are there any Woodpeckers around?

How are the moss, lichens, liverworts, and ferns doing this winter?

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.

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

North Yuba River Happenings!

River Otter Tracks - Lontra canadensis

One morning this week, I drove down Hwy 49 to see what all the recent rain had changed.  After several stops with views of the fast flowing North Yuba River, I decided to hike on a trail that paralleled the river.  It had been a few days since the heavy rains, and the river had slowed down and cleared to a beautiful translucent, glass green.  As I hiked along the trail, to my delight I spotted two River Otters swimming and hunting in the shallow water along the distant shoreline!!!  They were moving quickly downriver, so I ran down the trail with hopes of getting some photos as they swam past.  I waited for about 15 seconds and they indeed showed up, but there were THREE of them! WOW!!!  Luckily I got a few photos as they sped past!  Two of them definitely stuck together, with the third one was following at a short distance behind the pair.

  

Northern River Otter - Lontra canadensis

The information I've found about Northern River Otters on the internet varies quite a bit from site to site.  Here's a summary of what I've learned, but please don't take it as 100% accurate!

• Typically, but not always, if you see a group of Northern River Otters it is the female and her offspring, or a group of adult males.  However, a group of otters could also be a family unit, including the male!

  • Offspring are usually born in March or April.  Breeding may have taken place as long as 9 or 11 months before then.  Females can delay the implantation of embryos, so that their birth occurs in the Spring!  Once the embryo is implanted, the gestation period is 60 days.

• The den where the pups were born was probably underground in an old riverside Beaver or Muskrat den, or in a hollow tree near water.  The den may or may not have had several tunnels, with one tunnel having an underwater entrance. (Apparently otter dens vary considerably!)

• Usually the female raises 1-6 pups on her own, without the help of the male.  After two months, the pups begin to learn how to hunt and swim.  In four months they are weaned and can feed themselves.  At this point, the male may return to the family group, which will stay together for another 6-8 months, or until another litter is born.

Northern River Otters - Lontra canadensis

• A Northern River Otter's tail is highly muscular and comprises up to 40 percent of the otter's total body length (3-5 feet). With the tail's strong, undulating movement, a river otter propels itself through the water at 6-8 miles per hour and can easily dive to up 60 feet. 

Northern River Otters - Lontra canadensis

• Male Northern River Otters are usually not territorial with each other, and are often quite social. They can also be quite solitary.  Both male and female youths and adults, are quite playful and are frequently seen chasing each other, sliding down riverbanks, or burrowing through snow. 

I don't know if the two otters pictured above are male or female, but they stayed quite close to each other as they traveled downriver, sometimes climbing over rocks and then plunging back into the river as they went.  I never have seen otters "at play".  Maybe next time...

River Otter Tracks - Lontra canadensis

Later the same day, I went on a different walk with my husband seven miles upriver from where I saw the otters.  To my surprise I found fresh River Otter Tracks in the newly "washed" sand, left after the  recent high water.  I would almost bet that it was one of the Otters I had seen.  We don't have a large population of Otters.  Three Otters would probably be a healthy population for a 30-40 mile stretch of the river. The last time I saw an Otter on our river was almost a year ago on Feb. 5, 2022!

Common Goldeneye - Bucephala clangula

I frequently see groups of 4 or 6 Common Goldeneyes on the river these days.  A week before the recent rains, I spotted one busily thrashing something in the river water.  When I enlarged these photos, I could see that it was eating a crawdad!  Crawdads usually hang out under rocks in the river.  I never saw a Goldeneye eating one before!  Pretty interesting!

Common Merganser - Mergus merganser

I was really surprised to see these three female Common Mergansers on the river.  Usually they migrate to lower elevations for the winter. Since it's been raining more than snowing, I guess they can tolerate the temperatures!  It will be interesting if they stay all winter!

North Yuba River - March 2018

Lots of Water!

The total rainfall amount for last week's series of storms was 12.43"!!  At one point the river rose to over 13' with a flow rate of over 10,000 CFS (cubic feet per second).  It was a real "Mocha Express" with all the sediment filled river water racing down the canyon. The last high water we had was in March of 2018!  I don't have the data, but the high water was even higher back then.  

 Rock Creek in 2023 and 2018.

The local creeks were also just flying along, causing the boulders to clunk loudly against each other.  The above photos show the difference in the high water flow in Rock Creek, a local neighborhood creek, in 2023 and 2018.

Waterfall near Indian Valley

The heavy rain caused many small waterfalls to appear along Highway 49.  One of the biggest is the one pictured above.  It is relatively new, having been formed by the heavy rain in March of 2018!  So lovely!

As I drove down the highway, I  counted 19 new waterfalls in 7 miles!  Each one was uniquely beautiful!  It has been several years since they have been flowing!

Hazelnut buds in the Rain

Damp Earth Art

It rained a total of 2.88" on Wednesday and Thursday this past week, and a lot more is in the forecast for Sunday through Monday!  This brings us to a water year total of 32.62"!  Additional rain is also is predicted to continue into the end of 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?

Are there any Raptors or Woodpeckers around?

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.

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