North Yuba Naturalist: Neighborhood Sightings

Bullock's Oriole (male) - Icterus bullockii

I saw two male Bullock's Orioles in our neighborhood this week! They are SO handsome and colorful!!! They've migrated here from their overwintering grounds in Southern Mexico! They come here every summer to breed and nest. One particular female has made a nest in the same tree for the past five years! The females have not arrived yet but should any day now. I LOVE seeing them return every year!

Evening Grosbeak (female - male) - Coccothraustes vespertinus

The female Evening Grosbeaks arrived last week, the males arrived about a week before them. Some will breed and raise their young here, others will fly up to slightly higher elevations to nest. The majority of these birds live year-round across Oregon, Washington, and Canada! We never see any here in the winter, so they must migrate down to the California's Central Valley to overwinter.

Nashville Warbler (female?) - Yellow-rumped Warbler (female)

Leiothlypis ruficapilla - Setophaga coronata

As I was walking along the North Yuba River this week, I was thrilled to see several warblers foraging in the alders on the river's edge. They appeared to be migrating up river! Most of them were Yellow-rumped Warblers, returning from the overwintering grounds in central California or Mexico. Locally, they will nest up in the Lakes Basin, or in Sierra Valley. Such lovely lovely birds!

I also saw one Nashville Warbler that possibly overwintered on the California coast, or Mexico! It too seemed to be migrating upstream. These lovely warblers will nest a little higher in elevation, in black oak to subalpine forests!

American White Pelican - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

The American White Pelicans flew over this week, on their way to Pyramid Lake in Nevada, to mate and raise their young. They are returning from the overwintering grounds in lower and/or coastal California, or the western coast of Mexico. I just love seeing them on their annual journey!

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

The female Black-headed Grosbeaks showed up about two weeks ago from their overwintering grounds in Mexico. The males arrived a week or two before them. They will breed and raise their young here. Black-headed Grosbeaks aren't related to the Evening Grosbeaks at all! They are in the Cardinalidae Family, along with Cardinals and Buntings! Evening Grosbeaks are in the finch family, Fringillidae!

Yellow-headed Blackbird (male) - California Scrub Jay (adult)

Xeanthocephalus xeanthocephalus - Aphelocoma californica

We're still getting some unusual sightings at the bird feeder, including a Yellow-headed Blackbird and a Scrub Jay! I have never seen a Yellow-headed Blackbird in our neighborhood before! I've only seen them in Sierra Valley. This one showed up in the pouring rain, stuck around for a few days, then left! The Scrub Jay has been here for a few months! Typically Scrub Jays live down in the foothills all year! The crazy weather we've been having has made the birds change their normal routines! During one pouring rain storm last week, I counted 33 Black-headed Grosbeaks feeding in our backyard! Since it is sunny and hot now, and there are tons of insects around, I have stopped feeding the birds.

Western Tanager (male) - Piranga ludoviciana

A beautiful male Western Tanager arrived from Central America this week! It was in it's amazing mating colors! I haven't seen any females yet, but they should arrive soon. A few pairs will breed and raise their young here, others will go up to the Lakes Basin to nest.

Mountain Dogwood (native) - Cornus nuttallii

Our neighborhood is a mix of native and non-native trees. Right now they're all blooming! The non-natives are mainly domestic fruit trees. This year they are blooming while the weather is warm and will hopefully produce lots of fruit! Last year it snowed and stayed cold while they were in bloom, so no insects could pollinate them and we had an overall crop failure! A lot of the native trees were also in bloom during the cold weather last year, and experienced a huge crop failure as well. I'm so glad that this year it's looking good for the availability of fruits, berries, and seeds this coming Fall. Here's a gallery of blooming trees for you!

Wild domestic cherry (non-native) - Prunus sp.

These lovely Cherry trees fill our neighborhood with lacey clouds of blossoms in the Spring! They produce small cherries that are mainly pit, but the local birds love them. Every early Summer, when the cherries are ripe, a "Cherry Festival" occurs in our neighborhood! For 3 or 4 days a whole variety of birds eat these cherries until they are all gone! Tanagers, Grosbeaks, Robins, Orioles, Steller's Jays, Towhees, Pigeons, Cedar Waxwings, and Doves join in the feast! It's a sight to see, and fascinates me for hours! Hopefully it will happen again this year!

Calif. Black Oak male tassels/female acorn buds - Big leaf Maple flowers

(natives)

Quercus kelloggii - Acer macrophyllum

Usually most deciduous tree flowers are overlooked. They appear before the leaves and from a distance are mistakenly identified as leaves. Recently the California Black Oaks put on an incredible show of blossoms! They are monoecious having the male and female parts on the same tree. The male parts are long catkins of pollen laden flowers and the female parts are single, tight buds that become the acorns.

The Big Leaf Maples are also monoecious, having both male an female flowers on the same raceme. The female flowers will make the big, winged seeds.

Domestic apple (non-native) - Malus pumila

There are lots of small apple orchards in our neighborhood, that are in full bloom right now! There is a wide variety of types that birds, bears, deer, raccoons, skunks, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, and even foxes will eat in the fall!

Creek Dogwood - Black Cottonwood

(natives)

Cornus sericea - Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa

Creek Dogwoods are monoecious, the female flowers produce dark purple berries in the Fall. This plant is actually not a tree, it's a shrub.

Black Cottonwood Trees are dioecious, having yellow, male and female catkins on separate trees. We have about 5 of these in our neighborhood, all growing on the edge of the river. One in particular is a favorite perch for local raptors and herons.

Pacific Madrone (native) - Arbutus menziesii

The Pacific Madrone is monoecious: male flowers take the form of long, pendulous, white, catkins, while female flowers are on a separate stem, a little above the males. The female flowers are like miniature cones, initially green, then turning red. The mature cones often remain on the tree until the following year, these are what eventually form the red berries.

Plums - Bosc Pears

(non-natives)

Prunus sp. - Pyrus communis "Bosc"

There are several domestic plums in our neighborhood that bear small, yellowish fruits that are delicious to eat in the Fall. We also have several pear trees that ripen in the Fall. Often a bear eats the pears the day before we decide to pick them!

Scarlett Fritillary - Fritillaria recurva

Local Wildflowers!

The wildflowers are really popping in our area, in both the shady and sunny areas. I no longer have to travel to the foothills to see wildflowers! They're right here in my "backyard"! Enjoy the beauty!