Spring Sightings!

American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus

Dipper Watch!

I've gone down to watch the Dippers build their nest six times this week!  I missed one day because it was snowing!  It's been fascinating to watch their day-to-day progress!  Every morning I'm surprised to see how much they've added to the nest since the previous morning! They must make hundreds of trips to collect moss for their nest!  I limit my viewing time to a minute or so, because I don't want to disturb them. 

Dipper Nest - Day One

The first time I saw them at their nest site, there was just a scattering of moss on the ledge.  Later that day, the outline of the nest was covered in moss!  Both of the Dippers collected moss for the nest.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states: "Pair formation happens in the winter for American Dippers. Both the male and female sing quite loudly in order to be heard by their mate or potential mate, over the sound of the rushing water! Although Dippers do not mate for life, they often mate with the same female several years in a row! Some males will mate with more than one female. A mated pair will defend their long linear "territory" on a river or stream, and keep intruders/competitors away from their nesting area. Both male and female build the nest, and care for the fledglings. Pairs will live together year-round if food and habitat are available."

Dipper Nest - Day Two

I didn't see the Dippers on Day Two, but they had obviously been busy recently, as the moss was dripping wet!

Cornell states: "Although spray (from river) not essential to nest-site selection, bird wets material in creek before putting it in nest; stands inside nest to construct sloping sides and roof, and weaves material into place. Nest construction commonly occurs during freezing temperatures."

Dipper Nest - Day Three

 On Day Three the walls of the nest were starting to take shape! I loved how the Dippers worked together.  One brought in the moss while the other arranged it and then "hammered" it into place!  It was almost like watching little woodpeckers, the way they pecked at the moss inside the dome to wedge it together! 

Cornell states: "Female forced “fresh wet material into interstices of already constructed and partially dry wall, from inside, as a shoemaker uses his awl...[She worked] from the bottom up...the walls raised on all sides by forcing the building material into the wall from below...(F)ibers on the outside...lie loose, plush-like, to lead the water from the dome roof as from a hay-cock. As this work on the walls dries, the insertion of other plugs...knits the whole densely...by working from below, the lips or edges of the walls from all sides are closed up...while working on the lower side the bird lay flat on the floor, spread her wings for a purchase and seemed to push with all her strength to insure a well-caulked seam.” - by Henderson, J. (1908). The American Dipper in Colorado. 

Dipper Nest - Day Four

By Day Four the side walls were well established!  It looked like maybe they had also started working on an "inner cup", but it was hard to tell. They spent most of their time inside the nest, adding moss and wedging it in!

Cornell states: "The outer shell of moss is made with small amounts of interwoven grass (both stems and roots) and leaves, (10" wide x 8" tall). There is also an inner chamber that is globular with woven cup or pad, to hold their eggs, composed of grass and leaves, sometimes bark (2" to 3" wide)."

Dipper Nest - Day Five

 I didn't drive to the nest site as it was snowing heavily. So no Dipper watching happened!  We ended up getting about 3" of wet snow that day, while Sierra City got 18" of wet snow, and the Lakes Basin got even more!

Dipper Nest - Day Six

On Day Six, I was startled at how much they had built up the nest in the last two days!  Wow!  They were still "hammering away " on the inside of the walls, one at a time.  Both of the Dippers were still flying off and returning with moss.

Cornell states: "A Dipper nest is well-insulated; seems adapted to control inside temperature (warm or cool, as necessary) and to keep the inside dry. Thick outside mossy shell (3–5 cm thick) absorbs moisture; inside coarse grasses resist wetting."

 

Dipper Nest - Day Seven  

On Day Seven it looked like they had completed the nest!  I'm not sure if they're still going to work more on it or not.  I'll just have to keep watching!  So if it is done, it took just 7 days for the two of them to build this fabulous, double-walled, insulated, amazing, domed nest!  WOW!!!

Here's a video of the Dippers at work!  Enjoy!

 

Tufted Poppy - Lacepod - Popcorn Flower

Eschscholzia caespitosa - Thysanocarpus curvipes - Plagiobothrys nothofulvus

Springtime at South Yuba River State Park

The day before the snowstorm came in, I drove down to South Yuba River State Park to see how the wildflower bloom was progressing.  It was almost in full bloom, with wildflowers covering the open slopes along the South Yuba River!  Just enchanting!  The river was an incredible translucent turquoise-green, and was high and fast from the recent rainfall! 

  

South Yuba River - 3/27/23

I hiked in the park for several hours and took tons of photos!  The day was mostly sunny, with a few puffy clouds in the blue sky.  It felt great to be in a green, lush, blooming, springtime landscape!  Here are some of the flowers I saw.  Enjoy!

Bird's Eye Gilia - Zigzag Larkspur - Blue Dicks

Gilia tricolor - Delphinium patens - Dichelostemma capitatum

Tufted Poppy - Lacepod 

Eschscholzia caespitosa - Thysanocarpus curvipes

Lacepod - Popcorn Flower - Caterpillar Phacelia

Thysanocarpus curvipes - Plagiobothrys nothofulvus - Phacelia cicutaria

Common Fiddleneck - Amsinckia menziesii

Purple Sanicle - Red Maids - Pacific Sanicle

Sanicle crassicaulis - Calandrinia  menziesii - Sanicle bipinnatifida

Sky Lupine - Popcorn Flower - Tufted Poppy

Lupine nanus - Plagiobothrys nothofulvus - Eschscholzia caespitosa

Blue Oak and spring grasses - Quercus douglasii

In another part of the park, I hiked up a hill covered in new green grasses and a forest of Blue Oak and Gray Pine.  The Blue Oaks were just starting to leaf out!  It was a glorious day in the foothills.  I'll be back again soon!

Blue Oak Woodland - Quercus douglasii

Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area

Two days before the snowstorm came in, my husband and I drove down to Daugherty Hill for a hike in the foothills.  This preserve is a little higher than South Yuba State Park, and is barely starting to bloom.  However, it is lush and green and the trees are covered in tiny new leaves!  It was gorgeous!

Golden-crowned Sparrow - Lark Sparrow

Zonotrichia atricapilla - Chondestes grammacus

We saw a small flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows feeding in the willows. They are probably on their way north to their breeding ground in Alaska!

We also saw one Lark Sparrow feeding on the trail!  The Lark Sparrows will probaby nest here. They build their nests on bare ground, or slightly above ground in a shrub, in habitats like Table Mountain. Right now is their breeding season, and males are known to give a female a twig during copulation, which she then flies off with and places in her nest! 3-6 eggs are laid per clutch, and hatch within 12 days! Both male and female adults feed the nestlings, which can fly within 9 days! I love the markings and colors of the adults! Beautiful!

Acorn Woodpeckers - American Robin

Melanerpes formicivorus - Turdus migratorius

Acorn Woodpeckers live here year-round. The American Robin might stay here all year as well!  Both of them were making lots of calls and chasing potential mates through the Blue Oak Woodlands!

Black-tailed Jackrabbit - Lepus californicus

We saw two Black-tailed Jackrabbits while we were hiking, but they were too fast for photos. Sure would like to really watch one of these sometime!

Britannica.com states: "Jackrabbits rarely walk, but hop 5'-10' at a time. When panicked they can hop up to 20' at a time, and can travel at 30-35 mph! They are preyed on by coyotes, bobcats, foxes, hawks, owls and snakes. They are mostly active from dusk to dawn. The female black-tailed jackrabbit can have as many as four litters a year. The young are born in a fur-filled depression, or form. Most litters have 3-4 young. The mother will separate the young and put them in individual forms, to help reduce the chance of predation. They will nurse for only the first 3-4 days of their life. During the remainder of their lives, they eat green plants in the spring and summer, and woody, dry vegetation in the winter."

Blue Oaks and springtime shadows - Quercus douglasii

It was another beautiful day down in the foothills!  We'll be back in a week or so to see what's blossomed!

What new birds are going to arrive?

Have the willows blossomed?

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!

Signs of Spring!

 American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus

All Winter long I've been hearing the songs of American Dippers on our river. Sometimes the songs have a tinkling, bell-like quality! They were John Muir's favorite bird, and are the only aquatic songbird in North America!

They live here year-round, diving underwater to eat aquatic insects and larvae as well as tiny fish. They have powerful legs, long toes (NOT webbed) and streamlined bodies that makes walking on underwater rocks, in swift currents, possible. They also swim underwater using their wings like flippers and their tail like a rudder. With a heavy coat of oil on their outer feathers coupled with a dense coat of downy feathers underneath, Dippers can tolerate the frigid winter river. They have twice as many feathers as any songbird their size, even their eyelids are feathered! As they dive under the water, special scales slide to cover their nostrils and nictitating membranes cover their eyes! The membranes are hinged at the inner side of the eyes and sweep horizontally across the corneas. The scales keep water out of the Dipper's nose, and the membranes make it possible for it to see underwater.

 American Dipper with nest building material - Cinclus mexicanus

While I was hiking along the river this week, I came across a pair of American Dippers just starting to build their nest!  Now that's a sure sign of Spring! Both the male and the female were gathering clumps of moss and grasses, and arranging them on the shelf of a highway pillar in the river!

Dipper nest beginning

I've come across completed Dipper nests before, but have never seen the beginning of one!  I watched them fly in and out with more and more plants for a few minutes, and then continued on my hike.

Dipper nest 40 minutes later

 When I came back, about 40 minutes later, I was amazed at how much they had already built up their nest!  It looks like they were making the exterior outline of the nest first!  It's that curved semi-circle, with a pile of "building materials" to the right!  I am astonished that they can work together on the same plan and build a nest together. What a wonder to watch!

American Dippers building a nest - Cinclus mexicanus

Both the male and the female build the nest, but the female does most of the construction. Their completed nest will be large (12" wide - 8" diameter), igloo-shaped, and consist of an inner nest made from woven grasses, leaves, and bark, and an outer shell of moss. It will also have a semi-roofed entrance! 

 I couldn't find the exact length of time it takes for them to build a nest, but I would imagine it would be at least several days. I will go back every day this week and watch how they construct their nest, and how long it takes!

This nest was built on the ledge of a bridge pillar, out in the river, about 20' above the river. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states:

"Natural sites commonly include cliff ledges and cliffs, behind waterfalls, under boulder piles, midstream boulders. Occasionally among roots, in hollow tree stumps, and under overhanging dirt banks. Readily uses human-made structures: under bridges, dam spillways and sluiceways, culverts, and buildings. Uses nest boxes placed on midstream stake or under bridge, if inaccessible to predators. Basic requirements for nest sites: close to water (usually fast water, usually with high noise level), inaccessible to predators, protected from floods, and a horizontal ledge or crevice for support. Locations close to fast water or deep water augment inaccessibility."

Brewer's Blackbird (male) - Euphagus cyanocephalus

Another sign of Spring is the return of the Brewer's Blackbirds to our neighborhood. A few males showed up just this week! They spend their winters in California's San Joaquin Valley, and other lower-elevation sites. They will stay here through the Summer, mate, and help raise their young.

Brewer's Blackbird (male) - Euphagus cyanocephalus

Males are quite possessive and protective of their mates. I've often seen them puff up their chest and feathers, but I'm not sure for what purpose. Perhaps it is done to warn off interlopers!

Brewer's Blackbird (males) - Euphagus cyanocephalus

I did see two male Brewer's Blackbirds aggressively confront each other one time!  It only lasted a minute or so!  Mainly they raised their beaks while pressing their chests against each other!  Their pupils were also really constricted! Perhaps they were competing for the same female!  

Anna's Hummingbird (female) - Calypte anna

Down where the Manzanitas are in bloom, I spotted this little Anna's Hummingbird this week.  It's the first one this year!  There are lots and lots of blossoms to feed on right now, and many buds yet to open. These beautiful hummers spend the winter in the lower elevations of California and Arizona.  They return to our neighborhood and even higher elevations in the Spring, to breed and raise their young. 

California Tortoiseshell Butterfly (topside & underside) - Nymphalis californica

Surprisingly I've seen California Tortoiseshell Butterflies flitting around our neighborhood this week!  These butterflies overwinter as adults, and are ready to mate and lay their eggs as soon as the temperatures warm up!

Greater Bee Fly - Euphagus cyanocephalus

The Greater Bee Fly overwinters as a pupa.  Once it hatches in the Spring, it is out looking for nectar to eat.  Flying from flower to flower, they are important pollinators in the native plant world!  I found this one in the patch of blooming Manzanitas down the highway!

Frog Embryos

I found another sign of Spring in the roadside ditch last week, frog embryos!  I only found a small number of them, but more should be become apparent as the temperatures warm up.  These tiny beings will gradually change into adult frogs in a month or more!

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Local Mammals

Feeding the birds this winter has been a lot of fun!  I love seeing new species show up, and often it's not a bird species!  Several mammals seem to find bird seed very edible!  This beautiful Gray Fox shows up in our backyard almost every evening and patiently eats leftover birdseed!  What a beauty!

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

 The snow is melting away pretty quickly, and exposing the bare, damp, ground.  I was amazed how camouflaged this fox was while it was eating the seed.  Background matching, in which a species conceals itself by resembling its surroundings, is the most common form of camouflage. Countershading is often used as part of the background matching tactic. Being darker on top and lighter underneath (countershading), the solid body shape is broken up and more difficult to see.

Chickaree or Douglas Squirrel - Tamiasciurus douglasii

Another seed lover is the Chickaree.  These squirrels remain active all winter.  They will store some food for the winter, but will also seek it out.  I don't know if you remember, but last Fall one of these Chickarees was busy cutting off the seed-filled, dried, Sunflower heads in our garden and carrying them away!

Western Gray Squirrel - Sciurus griseus

This Gray Squirrel also loves the bird seed, especially the sunflower seeds.  We see it almost every day now in our backyard.  It too remains active all winter, and stores some food to survive the snowy season.

Striped Skunk - Mephitis mephitis

Striped Skunks are primarily nocturnal, so I was surprised to see this one on a snowy day! These skunks don't hibernate, rather they eat mice, shrews, and dormant insects, and yes, birdseed in the winter. If it's really terrible weather, they will plug their underground burrows, lower their body temperature, and drop into a semi-hibernated state for a while.

We had another rainy week with a precipitation total of 2.15", bringing our Water Year total to 74.72"!  More rain and snow is predicted for this coming week.  Hopefully we'll get some sunshine this weekend before the next weather system moves in!  We spotted this gorgeous rainbow yesterday, on the way home in the rain!

What's happening down in the foothills?

What new birds are going to arrive?

Have the willows blossomed?

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!

Spring Rain!

Willow in the rain - Salix sp.

This week we had rain instead of snow, with 7.15" of precipitation! This brings our water-year total to 73.54"! Last year our water-year total on Sept. 30, 2022, was 56.51", so we are doing great drought wise! Some more good news is that our power was restored last Friday at 6:30 PM! Yes!

Despite the persistent, wintery weather there are signs of Spring in our neighborhood. Several of the native shrubs are starting to bloom, most notably the willows and alders! The male pussy willows are just starting to emerge from their winter coverings. In a week or so, they will exert their stamens, with pollen covered anthers. Each male pussy willow has approximately 270 flowers with two stamens each. The female catkins will simultaneously emerge, just in time to catch wind-blown pollen. Each female willow catkin has 142 flowers with 1 pistil each. They are greener and less feathery in appearance than the male catkins. Willows are dioecious, and have male and female catkins on separate bushes.

White Alder with inset photo of male catkin - Alnus rhombifolia 

The local White Alders also have blooming catkins right now. In contrast to willows, alders are monoecious, having both sexes on one plant. The beautiful tassel-like hanging catkins are the male catkins that produce pollen. The female part of the alder is a cone, not a catkin. Most people are familiar with the little, dry, brown cones on alder trees. Every year, tiny new female cones grow just above the male catkins (pictured above the right column).

Green-leaf Manzanita - White-leaf Manzanita - Silk Tassel

Arctostaphylos patula - Arctostaphlos viscida - Garrya fremontii

There's a picnic area on the North Yuba River, called Convict Flat, that's down near Indian Valley. I like to go there at this time of year to see the blooming White-leaf Manzanitas! These Manzanitas are 4'-12' tall and bloom in late Winter/early Spring!

This year I recently discovered a blooming patch of Green-leaf Manzanita near Conflict Flat, but up on the highway! I hadn't realized that these Manzanitas also bloom early if they're in a sunny area!  This species of Manzanita is shrub-like and not nearly as tall as the White-leaf Manzanita.

 

Silk-Tassel is dioecious, like willows, having male and female flowers on separate plants. The tassels are the male flowers, the berries are the fruits of the female flowers. Right now the male tassels are still in bud, but getting longer every day!

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

Some of the mornings this past week were filled with down to the ground mists! It was so unusual for our area, and reminded me of being on the coast! I spotted this drenched Red-tailed Hawk on one of those misty, rainy mornings.  The rain persisted that day, so I didn't have much hope for the hawk to dry out.  However, a day later the sun did come out and gave all the wildlife a much needed break!

Common Raven - Corvus corax

There is a pair of Ravens that have lived in our neighborhood for years. Recently they have been perching together on the dominant dead tree along the river. I even saw them allopreening each other! "Allo" means "other: as in differing from normal or usual". This behavior, although common among primates, is very uncommon among birds! Most birds do NOT preen each other! Apparently these ravens preen each other in the hard to reach areas around the head. They are removing parasites, such as feather mites and other pests.  

Common Raven - Corvus corax

Bit by bit new birds are arriving in our neighborhood!  The Western Bluebirds arrived a few weeks ago and are still here.  A few Violet-green Swallows arrived two days ago, at the highway cutbank where they nest annually. I also saw one Western Meadowlark this week that was probably on its way to Sierra Valley.

Common Raven - Corvus corax

After days of rain, the sun came out and stayed out for three days in a row!  We were thrilled to see the sun, and I think the wildlife probably was too!

Sierra Buttes - 3/15/23

Sierra Buttes

While the days were sunny we decided to go exploring locally!  First we drove up to see what the Sierra Buttes looked like after all the recent storms. As you can see they were absolutely beautiful, covered in snow and capped in mist! The highest point of the Buttes is 8,519 ft in elevation.   

Sierra Buttes - 3/15/23

Later in the day, on our way home, the mists had cleared and I got this shot of the Buttes.  We were viewing them from around 5,600' in elevation, where there was approximately 3'-4' of snow on the ground.

View to the east from Sierra Valley - 3/15/23

Sierra Valley

The roads were in great shape so we decided to drive over Yuba Pass and down into Sierra Valley!  At Yuba Pass (elevation 6,710') there was a solid 8+ feet of snow on the ground.  The Pass doesn't have a view as it is in the forest. There is a large parking lot at the Pass, adjacent to Highway 49, which was filled with snow mobilers which I didn't photograph!

 

View to the north from Sierra Valley - 3/15/23

Sierra Valley was as beautiful as ever rimmed with snow-covered ridges! There was about 6"-8" of snow on the ground, and the dirt roads were unplowed and closed! The elevation of Sierra Valley is 4,850'.

View to the east from Sierra Valley - 3/15/23

We didn't see any birds or other wildlife while we were there.  Probably because there was minimal open ground, due to the snow cover.  It was lovely to be back in the valley.  We hadn't been there since the end of September!  We'll revisit it again in April when the snow is gone and the migratory birds have arrived.

Sandhill Cranes in the foothills - 3/14/23

Down in the Foothills

The day after we went to Sierra Valley we went down to the foothills.  To our delight we came across a group of about 50+ Sandhill Cranes feeding in a grassy field in the area of the South Yuba River State Park!!!  It had recently been quite rainy and windy, so these Cranes wisely decided to temporarily delay their migration northeast!  How lucky we were to see them!

South Yuba River - 3/16/23

South Yuba River State Park

The South Yuba River State Park is really starting to bloom!  The flowers I saw three weeks ago were still blooming, only more profusely!  There were also many new species of wildflowers in bloom!  I'll go back again in another week or so and report fully on the wildflowers.  The beautiful South Yuba River was rushing down the river canyon, and was filled with sediments from the recent rains.

Pipevine - Aristolochia californica

What was really cool is that the Pipevines were still blooming and there were more flowers on the vines than I've ever seen before.  The one vine pictured above had 30+ blossoms on it!

View along the Buttermilk Bar Trail 

California Poppies and Lupines were just starting to flourish in certain areas! This lovely park is located at 574' in elevation!  How lucky we are to have  the blooming foothills and the snowy Sierra in our "backyard"!

What are these creatures?

What new birds are going to arrive?

What else is blooming?

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!