Local Mammals!

Black Bear  - Ursus americanus

There are lots of cherry trees in our neighborhood that are full of ripe cherries right now.  Yesterday evening I saw a small cherry tree swaying violently behind our back porch.  Thinking that it must be an animal causing the movement, I quickly ran out there to see what was up!  It was a BIG Black Bear, probably weighing over 300 lbs.!  It didn't pay any attention to me, and quickly climbed a large cherry tree right next to our back porch!  It stayed up in that cherry tree for the next and hour and a half feasting on cherries!!!  WOW!!!  At one point it was fifty feet up the tree, munching away! 

Black Bear climbing a Cherry Tree!  - Ursus americanus

It seemed SO STRONG as it effortlessly climbed the tree!  Its sense of balance was amazing, as leaned out to grab branches full of cherries!  Black Bears are omnivores, but mainly eat insects, grubs, fruit, berries, roots, twigs, buds, honey, and tree cambium.  Occasionally they will eat small to medium-sized mammals and carrion.  They range in size from3'-3'5'' in height, 4'6"-6'2" in length, and 203lbs.-587lbs. in weight.  Adults can run up to 30 mph, and are powerful swimmers and climbers!  

Here's a video that's a few minutes long of the Black Bear foraging in the cherry tree.  Didn't want to shorten it, as I find it fascinating to watch!

Despite their large size, Black Bears are not usually predators. They are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), but can be seen at any time of the day. Their range is typically 8-10 square miles, and occasionally up to 15 square miles. Males and females are solitary except briefly during mating. However, offspring will stay with their mother for up to 17 months. This one is probably a male, as it didn't have any cubs.

What a privilege it was to watch this strong, beautiful Black Bear maneuver through and up the cherry tree, eating cherries the whole time!

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Doe and Fawns

Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

Earlier this week, I was out wandering one morning when I came across a doe and two fawns! WOW!!! They looked at me for a few seconds and then they took off! How lucky to see them!  Does have one fawn in their first birthing year, then twins or triplets in following years. The spotted fawns will lose their spots 90-120 days after they're born. Only the does care for the fawns. Female fawns usually stay with their mothers for two years; young bucks leave after a year.

Here’s more information on fawns, that I found fascinating, from northernwoodlands.com.

"Young fawns’ scent glands are not well-developed. When a fawn is born, the doe licks it clean, removing odors that might alert predators. A few hours after birth, when the fawn can stand and walk, she moves it from the birth spot to a new hiding place. A fawn spends most of its first weeks of life bedded down alone. The doe stays away from her newborn except to nurse it periodically, and to lead it to new bed sites. That way her scent does not attract predators to the area where the fawn is hiding. If she has twins, which is common, the doe will typically hide them in separate places and make the rounds to nurse them. While the fawn nurses excitedly, its tail flicking, the doe licks its fur and genital areas to stimulate urination and defecation. She may also consume the fawn’s droppings to destroy evidence of its presence. Although secrecy is a fawn’s main defense, it has another: mom. If a fawn is in distress, it bleats, and the doe, which stays nearby, usually comes running, ready to defend it with her sharp hooves."

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Doe and Fawns

Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

"Fawns grow rapidly on their mother’s rich milk. By two to three weeks of age, they begin to nibble green vegetation. After a month, they will browse on tree seedlings. At this age, they begin to choose their own bedding sites and twins are reunited. By summer, young deer can outrun most danger, and trail their mother closely. Fawns usually are weaned at two to three months. In early autumn, a fawn’s spotted coat is replaced by the gray-brown winter coat of an adult deer. Female fawns usually stay with their mothers for two years; young bucks leave after a year. A buck fawn can be identified when only a few days old by the two round spots on its head where the antlers will grow."

If you are lucky enough to find a fawn in the forest, please leave it alone, the mother will take care of it! It is always best to leave wild things wild!

Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Young Buck

Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

I also came across a young buck this week! I haven't seen any deer in months!  Male Deer usually travel in groups of males, or individually. This one was all by itself.  Males usually stick with males, and females with females except for brief periods of breeding.

There are two kinds of Mule Deer in my neighborhood, the Columbian Black-tailed Deer and the California Mule Deer. The California Mule Deer have larger ears (20”-22” compared to 8”) than the Columbian Black-tailed Deer. Another way to determine which species you are seeing is to look at their tail. Columbian Black-tailed Deer have a more-or-less solid black tail. The California Mule Deer's tail is only black on the tip, sometimes with a thin strip of black running down the tail.

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

 

This Gray Fox shows up occasionally near our garden.  I've come to recognize it!  Each one of the foxes in our neighborhood has a distinct face.  It's always a pleasure to see them!

Gray Foxes mate for life, and breed sometime between January and early March. Kits are born two months after mating. Dens are made in underground burrows, in hollow logs or trees, under large rocks or ledges, or up in a tree canopy in a hollow trunk or branch. (Gray Foxes are the only North American fox that can climb trees! They descend down a tree trunk like a bear does, with its hind feet first.) Both parents take care of the kits. After 10 months, the kits are sexually mature and disperse from the family unit. Gray Foxes are omnivores and eat plants, insects, eggs, small mammals, and birds.

Stream Orchid - Leopard Lily - Washington Lily

Epipactis gigantea - Lilium pardalinum - Lilium washingtonianum

Local Blooms!

It's heating up in our neighborhood and some of the more showy and fragrant flowers are making an appearance! Washington Lilies smell like Easter Lilies and grow to 5' tall!  Stream Orchids grow locally in large groups, numbering in the thousands!  Both the orchids and the Leopard Lilies are strikingly fancy but not fragrant.  The Milkweed, Pennyroyal and Mock Orange are all deliciously fragrant and showy! 

Showy Milkweed - Mountain Pennyroyal - Mock Orange

Asclepius speciosa  - Monardella odoratissimq - Philadelphus lewisii

Mount Elwell & Long Lake - 6/29/23

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

What's happening on the river?

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

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

Feeding Nestlings

Hairy Woodpecker (male) - Dryobates villosus

If you've seen a bird flying around with an insect in its beak lately, chances are it's on the way to a nest to feed its offspring.  In the spring and summer, 96% of terrestrial birds feed their nestlings invertebrates, not berries or seeds.  Nestlings are the babies still in the nest, that have not yet fledged. The list of edible invertebrates is quite lengthy and includes caterpillars, beetles, beetle larvae, ants, butterflies, moths, termites, wasps, bees, grasshoppers, crickets, earthworms and spiders. 

Hairy Woodpeckers feed on wood boring beetles and their larvae, ants, bees, wasps, butterfly caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, spiders and millipedes.  They regurgitate digested foods to feed their young nestlings.  As nestlings mature, they are fed whole invertebrates. There are usually 4-7 nestlings in a nest.  The nestlings are fed approximately 7 times an hour, from sunrise to sunset,  for 28-30 days!  That's a total of 3,000 feedings before the nestlings leave their nest!

Red-breasted Sapsucker (male) - Sphyrapicus ruber

Red-breasted Sapsuckers are another common woodpecker in our neighborhood. The one pictured above has a mouthful of ants!  Sapsuckers feed their nestlings ants, caterpillars, spiders, and mayflies every 2 minutes from dawn to dusk!  There can be 4-7 nestlings in a nest!.  The nestlings fledge in 23-28 days.  So that's at least 10,500 invertebrates that get delivered to the nestlings by the parent birds!!!  Wow!!!

Scudderia Katydid nymph - Modoc Carpenter Ants - Mason Wasps

 Microcentrum rhombifolium - Camponotus modoc - Euodynerus foraminatus

 

Horned Lark (male) - Eremophila alpestris

Lately I've seen several birds with lots of caterpillars in their beaks!  Horned Larks feed their nestlings caterpillars, beetle larvae, grasshoppers, sowbugs and earthworms!  On average a Horned Lark feeds its young every 5-6 minutes!  That's 20+ trips in an hour, times 14 hours in a day (more or less) equals a total of 280 trips in one day!  There are 2-5 nestlings in a nest.  The nestlings usually fledge (leave the nest) in 10 days.  So 10 days times 280 equals 2,800 insects/invertebrates to feed one group of nestlings! 

Brewer's Sparrow (male) - Spizella breweri

Caterpillars can be the main food for many nestlings.  90% of the local caterpillars need native plants to survive.  In fact most caterpillars are "host specific", in that they feed on one species of native plant in their larval stage. Look up the butterflies and moths in John Muir Laws' book The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, to find the host plants for their larvae (caterpillars). 

Caterpillars - unknown species

As Kate Marianchild states in her book Secrets of the Oak Woodlands, "Caterpillars are Mother Nature’s equivalent of mother’s milk and Gerber’s baby food, the ideal and irreplaceable food needed for most baby songbirds to survive. They’re soft and squishy and full of fat and protein and carbohydrates."

Olive-sided Flycatcher with wasp - Contopus cooperi

The Olive-sided Flycatcher feeds its nestlings mainly flying insects, such as dragonflies, flies, bees, wasps, flying ants, moths, and grasshoppers.  On average, there are three nestlings in a nest.  Cornell didn't have any information on how frequently the adults feed the nestlings!  The nestlings fledge in 15–19 days.  I'm sure the parents make thousands of trips feeding their young.

Steller's Jay with insect - Cyanocitta stelleri 

Steller's Jays probably feed their nestlings wasps and wild bees, beetles, caterpillars and moths, spiders, and grasshoppers.  Surprisingly Cornell didn't have any data on the type of food or the frequency of feedings!  They usually have 4-5 nestlings, which fledge in 16 days.  I would imagine they make thousands of trips feeding their nestlings until they fledge.

Small Milkweed Bug - Yellow-faced Bumblebee - Small Minnow Mayfly

Lygaeus kalmii - Bombus vosnesenskii - Callibaetis spp.

Western Tiger Swallowtail - Pale Swallowtail

Papilio rutulus rutulus - Papilio eurymedon

Garden Butterflies!

There has been an influx of butterflies in our garden lately!  Luckily these weren't eaten while they were caterpillars, but they can still be eaten as adults.  In the meantime they are pollinating flowers, drinking nectar, mating, and laying eggs!  A butterfly usually lays between 100 to 300 eggs, which hatch into caterpillars within 3 to 8 days.  The following information from sciencing.com explains this process.

"Egg Formation:  Butterflies are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs. They breed as many animals do—eggs from the female insect are fertilized by sperm from the male. The female butterfly stores the male’s sperm in a bursa, or sac, until she is ready to lay eggs. Depending on the species, females lay eggs one at a time, in clusters, or in batches of hundreds. Butterflies lay an average of between 100 to 300 eggs, although some species may only lay a few dozen, others can lay as many as a thousand or more.

Silver-Spotted Skipper - Pipevine Swallowtail

Epargyreus clarus - Battus philenor hirsuta

Physical Characteristics:  Butterfly eggs vary in size—from about 1 to 3 mm in diameter. The eggs can be smooth or textured, their shapes can be oval or round, and their colors can be yellow, white, green or other shades, depending on the species. The zebra longwing butterfly (Heliconious charitonia), for instance, produces eggs that look like tiny cobs of corn while the eastern black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes asterius) produces smooth, pale-green, globe-shaped eggs.

Clodius parnassian - Parnassius clodius sol

Early Egg Stage:  Butterfly eggs are normally attached to a plant--usually the leaf--with a special fluid. This glue holds the eggs to the leaf in such a way that they cannot be separated without destroying the eggs. Small funnel-shaped openings called "micropiles" can be found on top of each egg. This is where water and air enter while the egg is developing. Each egg is surrounded by a chorion, a hard outer shell that protects the larva. Some shells have raised ribs.

California Sister - Lorquin's Admiral

Adelpha californica - Limenitis lorquini

Egg Development:  Inside each egg, a yolk can be found that serves as nourishment for the developing larva. A butterfly egg hatches after three to eight days depending on temperature and season of the year. A change in the egg’s color before hatching is normally visible. After hatching, some caterpillars eat their own eggshells as their first meal but most of them eat parts of the plant that the eggs were laid on.

Survival:  A female butterfly lays a great number of eggs. They also take special care of where they lay their eggs. The eggs need to be kept warm and must have the appropriate moisture or they will either rot or dry out. Normally, the eggs are attached to the underside of a leaf so they are kept safe from predators. A big portion of these eggs will not hatch to become butterflies as they are vulnerable to many predators such as birds, spiders, other insects and small mammals. Of the few hundred butterfly eggs laid, very few will reach adulthood."

Veronica Lake - 6/21/23

My friend Nancy and I decided to hike the Round Lake Trail last Thursday, but only got as far as Veronica Lake due to the snow.  There was still about a foot and a half of packed snow on 70% of the ground.  The trail was obscured in many areas, and there were several fallen trees on the trail.  It was lovely, but the going was slow.  Looks like it will definitely be another week or two before the trails are truly open!

Whose scat is that?

Where are the deer and the bears?

What's happening on the river?

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

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

Bird Nests!

Yellow-rumped Warbler (female) with nesting material - Setophaga coronata

Just this week I noticed several new bird nests, as well as birds gathering nesting material! The materials used by birds in nest construction varies tremendously from species to species. Mud, grasses, leaves, twigs, branches, feathers, rootlets, animal hair, plant fibers, tules, cattails, and manmade objects are some of the main materials that are used in bird nests. Nest sites also vary greatly, and can be on the ground, in a tree trunk or on a branch, in shrubs or vines, floating on water, or in a manmade structure. The shape and structure of the nest also varies between species, from cup shape, to a platform, a hanging pouch, or just a bare scrape on the ground, to name a few!

I luckily got this photo of a female Yellow-rumped Warbler with nesting material in its beak up at Yuba Pass last week! How beautiful!!!  To learn about the nest and nesting habits of a certain bird species , I use allaboutbirds.org for a reference, as well as birdsoftheworld.org. for more in depth information.  Both websites are from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Here is what they said about Yellow-rumped Warbler nests!

"NEST PLACEMENT:  Yellow-rumped Warblers put their nests on the horizontal branch of a conifer, anywhere from 4 to about 50 feet high. Tree species include hemlock, spruce, white cedar, pine, Douglas-fir, and larch or tamarack. They may build their nests far out on a main branch or tuck it close to the trunk in a secure fork of two or more branches. Occasionally nest are built in a deciduous tree such as a maple, oak, or birch.

NEST DESCRIPTION:  Females build the nest, sometimes using material the male carries to her. The nest is a cup of twigs, pine needles, grasses, and rootlets. She may also use moose, horse, and deer hair, moss, and lichens. She lines this cup with fine hair and feathers, sometimes woven into the nest in such a way that they curl up and over the eggs. The nest takes about 10 days to build. It's 3-4 inches across and about 2 inches tall when finished."

Hairy Woodpecker (female) at nest site - Dryobates villosus

On one of my morning wanders this week I spotted this Hairy Woodpecker nest in a dead alder tree! How exciting! I watched it for a few minutes, and the female came back several times with insects in its beak and poked its head into the nest hole. No baby birds are poking their heads out yet, but I'll check back in a few days.

Hairy Woodpecker Nest

My friend Gerry Tecklin found this Hairy Woodpecker nest in a dead tree that had fallen on the forest floor.  He cut it in half length-wise to expose the size of the nest cavity.  It looks like the cavity was approximatedly 15" deep!  Wow!  That must have taken quite a while to excavate!  Here's what Cornell says about Hairy Woodpecker nests.

"NEST PLACEMENT: Hairy Woodpeckers typically excavate their nests in the dead stub of a living tree, especially trees with heartrot, or in a dead tree. The cavity is often in a branch or stub that isn’t perfectly vertical, with the entrance hole on the underside. This location may help keep flying squirrels and sapsuckers from trying to take over the hole. Hairy Woodpeckers begin excavating their nests less than 2 weeks before egg-laying begins.

NEST DESCRIPTION: The entrance to the nest is about 2 inches tall and 1.5 inches wide, leading to a cavity 8-12 inches deep. The inside widens at the bottom to make room for the eggs and the incubating bird. It’s typically bare except for a bed of wood chips at the bottom for the eggs and chicks to rest on."

American Dipper at nest site - Cinclus mexicanus

 

On April 24th of this year, I came across this Dipper nest being built.  In seven days it was completed. For some unknown reason, the Dippers then built a second nest right next to it, which was completed by May 21.!  I've been watching these nests since then on an irregular basis, and didn't see any sign of baby birds until this week, on June 10!  How unusual!  There is indeed a bunch of bird poop just outside the nest entrance, which indicates the presence of baby birds, even though I haven't seen them.  I'll keep checking on it and let you know what happens!  Below is what Cornell says about American Dipper nests.

"NEST PLACEMENT:  American Dippers nest in inaccessible, nearly vertical surfaces, often over rushing water. They typically place nests on large boulders, cliff ledges, on fallen logs, under an overhanging dirt bank, or underneath a bridge or culvert. They may use nest boxes when provided. They have even been known to place their nests behind waterfalls, so the birds must fly straight through falling water to access them. The female chooses the nest site.

NEST DESCRIPTION:  The American Dipper’s nest is a two-part domed or ball-like structure with an entrance that always faces the water. The outer shell is primarily made of streamside mosses, though it may also contain leaves and bark from streamside trees. The inner portion of the nest is a pad of dry grasses and leaves. Both sexes build the nest and care for the young."

Tree Swallows - Tachycineta bicolor

Just two weeks ago I noticed this Tree Swallow in a nest hole on a telephone pole.  Most of the swallows in our area are Cliff Swallows and Northern Rough-winged Swallows that build cup-shaped, mud nests on the undersides of bridges or highway overpasses near water.  I don't see many Tree Swallow's in my neighborhood.  Their nests are usually in an old woodpecker nest, and they don't use any mud!  Here's what Cornell says about Tree Swallow nests.

"NEST PLACEMENT:  Tree Swallows nest in natural cavities of standing dead trees, old woodpecker cavities, or nest boxes. On occasion they nest in hollow stumps, building eaves, Wood Duck nest boxes, holes in the ground, old Cliff Swallow burrows, or other unconventional sites.

NEST DESCRIPTION: The female does most of the nest building, taking between a few days and two weeks to finish the job. She collects material on the ground near the water’s edge, usually within 100 feet of the nest site. The nest is often made entirely of grass, but may include pine needles, mosses, rootlets, aquatic plants, animal hair, and artificial materials like cellophane or cigarette filters. Within the cavity, the female presses her body against the nest material to shape it into a cup, about 2–3 inches across and 1–2 inches deep, and lines it with many feathers of other bird species. In some populations the male gathers most of the feathers, and in others the male and females split the duty evenly."

Black Phoebe - Sayornis nigricans

The Black Phoebe builds a nest out of mud like the swallows.  Unlike the swallows, they don't live in colonies on the underside of bridges etc.  The ones in our neighborhood usually build their nest under the eaves of houses.  Here's what Cornell says about Black Phoebe nests.

"NEST PLACEMENT: The male shows possible nest sites to the female by hovering in front of them for 5-10 seconds each. The female makes the final decision about where to nest. Black Phoebes originally nested in places like sheltered rock faces, streamside boulders, and tree hollows but have adjusted well to human-made structures such as building eaves, irrigation culverts, and abandoned wells. They often reuse the same site (or even the same nest) year after year.

NEST DESCRIPTION: The nest is a mud shell lined with plant fibers, plastered to a vertical wall within an inch or two of a protective ceiling. The nest measures 3–8 inches from top to bottom and 3–7 inches across, with an inner cup that’s about an inch deep and 2.5 inches across. Nests are usually 3-10 feet up, over the water or ground. Even those built over the ground are always located near sources of water and mud. The female does all of the nest construction (or refurbishment), finishing in 1–3 weeks."

Bullock's Oriole (female) gathering fishing line for a nest - Bullock's Oriole Nest

 Icterus bullockii

 A Bullock's Oriole nest often contains manmade items such as fishing line, carpet fibers, twine etc.  They don't reuse their hanging nests, but they do re-use the materials to make a new nest!  There are several old Oriole nests in our neighborhood, that have lasted out in the elements for years and years!  Here's what Cornell says about Bullock Oriole nests. 

"NEST PLACEMENT:  The female selects the nest site, typically 10 to 25 feet above the ground in an isolated tree or at the edge of a woodland, commonly near water. The nest is usually suspended from the ends of flexible branches to discourage predators. It is not necessarily situated within the male's advertising territory. Several other active nests may be close by.

NEST DESCRIPTION: The female usually weaves the nest, but the male may assist, with one partner working on the inside and other outside, bringing nest material. The project can take up to 15 days to complete. The nest is gourd-shaped and neatly woven from fibers such as hair, twine, grasses, or wool. It's lined with soft materials such as feathers or the "cotton" from cottonwoods or willows. Nest depth varies, averaging a bit less than 4 inches and ranging up to 15 inches. On average, Bullock's Oriole nests are deeper and wider than those of the Baltimore Oriole, though the opening diameter is smaller."

Bushtits and their nest  - Psaltriparus minimus

 photo by Marion Hill at Audubon.org

Without a doubt, one of my biggest wishes is to come across a Bushtit nest some day. I have only seen them in museums, never in the field. They are architectural wonders! I have seen a few Bushtits in the Spring in our area, but they must not stay here to breed. Here's what Cornell says about Bushtit nests.

"NEST PLACEMENT: The male and female try out several nest sites by hanging spiderweb from mistletoe or other vegetation. Nest sites tend to be on branches or trunks of trees at any height from about 3 up to 100 feet.

NEST DESCRIPTION: Both male and female help build the remarkable hanging nest, a process that may go on for a month or more. The nest hangs up to a foot below its anchor point and has a hole in the side near the top that leads down into the nest bowl. The adults make a stretchy sac using spider webs and plant material, sometimes stretching the nest downward by sitting in it while it’s still under construction. They add insulating material such as feathers, fur, and downy plant matter and camouflage the outside with bits taken from nearby plants, including the tree the nest is built in. While the nest is active all the adults associated with it (the breeding pair plus helpers) sleep in it. The pair typically reuses the nest for its second brood of the season."

Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius

Spotted Sandpipers live along the shoreline of the North Yuba River, in our neighborhood.  They are also live along the ponds and lakes of the Lakes Basin.  Last year I came across one of their nests on the ground at a high elevation wet meadow.  It was just a gathering of dried grasses and leaves, pretty much flat on the ground, with only one egg in it.  The egg was just as "spotted" as its parents!  Here's what Cornell says about Spotted Sandpiper nests.

NEST PLACEMENT:  Either the male or the female may choose a nest location. Nests are always located near the edge of a body of water, usually within about 100 yards of the shore. The nest is typically placed under the shade of a broad-leafed plant. If predators are numerous, the nest is more likely to be under thicker vegetation such as raspberries or nettles. They are not averse to gravel pits, farm ponds, or even wetlands created by mining operations. They will often nest near or within Common Tern colonies when this species is present.

NEST DESCRIPTION:  Nest building is an important part of courtship. A pair may begin several nests during the process, but those are rarely finished. The actual nest, built after the pair has formed and courtship is over, is a 2–3 inch depression scraped out in the soil and lined with dead grass and woody material. Often it is begun by the female and finished by the male.

Sandhill Crane on nest - Antigone Canadensis

Last year, over in Sierra Valley, a Sandhill Crane built a flat nest of dried tules right in plain sight!  It was in a wetland, and surrounded by water.  Two eggs were laid and apparently hatched but I never saw the young cranes. Here's what Cornell says about Sandhill Crane nests.

"NEST PLACEMENT:  Sandhill Cranes usually nest in small, isolated wetlands—such as marshes, bogs, and swales—or within about 300 yards of the edges of larger ones. They prefer areas with vegetation growing in standing water, but some nest on dry ground. It’s not known whether males or females choose the nest site. If one member of a pair dies, the surviving member may reuse its previous nesting area with a new mate.

NEST DESCRIPTION:  Sandhill Cranes build their nests from the dominant vegetation—such as cattails, sedges, burr reeds, bulrushes, or grasses—using dried plant materials early in the season and adding green materials later on. To a foundation of larger materials they add a cup-shaped hollow lined with smaller stems or twigs. Both mates may gather material, tossing it over their shoulders to form a mound. The female is usually the one to stand on the mound and arrange the material. Nests may be 30-40 inches across and 4-6 inches high; those built over water are larger than those built on dry land."

Harvest Brodiaea - Brodiaea elegans

Right now, along Highway 49 in our area there are thousands of Brodiaea Family flowers in bloom!!!  At one time they were all in the Brodiaea genus , but have since been divided into three genus, Dichelostemma, Triteleia, and Brodiaea.  They all grow from underground corms (a rounded underground storage organ, consisting of a swollen stem base covered with scale leaves). This is proving to be quite a wildflower year, from all the precipitation we got last winter.  I've never seen this many Brodiaeas in bloom before!  Such beauty!!!

Wally Basket/Ithuriel's Spear - White Brodiaea/White Wild Hyacinth

 Brodiaea elegans - Triteleia hyacinthina

The Wally Baskets and White Brodiaea weren't a numerous as some of the other Brodiaeas but just as beautiful!

Roundtooth Ookow/Wild Hyacinth - Dichelostemma multiflorum

By far, the Roundtooth Ookow was the most prolific bloomer.  There are thousands of them along the highway!

Forktooth Ookow - Dichelostemma congestum

The Forktooth Ookow looks a lot like the Round-toothed Ookow, but it has leaves that are 3'-4' long!!!

Blue Dicks - Dichelostemma capitatum

Blue Dicks are the first ones to bloom, and are pretty much gone now.

Stormy Weather!

We had rainy, showery, dark-cloud days this week with some lightning, hail, and thunder!  The total rainfall for our neighborhood was .56".  This brings us to a water year of 83.53"!  The forecast is for warm, sunny weather, with no rain in the near future. That will help melt the snow up in the Lakes Basin and make the river rise!

What's happening on the river?

What kind of insects are out and about?

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

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

Back in the Lakes Basin!

This past Tuesday, June 6th, Sierra County opened the Gold Lake Road!  Yahoo!  It had been closed since last December!!!  My friend Nancy and I decided to go up and check out what the trail conditions were like at the Lakes Basin Campground.  When we got there the road into the campground hadn't been plowed, and still had a little more than a foot of snow on it.  So we hiked through the campground to the Grassy Lake trailhead. 

We were hoping to get up to Long Lake. In the forest the trail was about half bare ground and half snow covered. When we got up to the sunny steep slopes below Long Lake, there were LARGE areas of packed slippery snow and the trail was obscured. The day had started out with clear blue skies, but by 11:30 am the clouds started moving in and the sky darkened quite a bit!

We got about half a mile from Long Lake, but we didn't make it.  A huge bank of super dark storm clouds came in, along with thunder and lightning, so we opted to try again another day and headed back down the trail. 

Long Lake - June 8, 2017

Six years ago, on June 8, 2017, we hiked all the way up to Long Lake and this is what it looked like!  It probably looks even snowier right now!

Long Lake - June 8, 2017

On that day we were also able to hike on a mostly snow free slope that overlooked Long Lake.  We eventually had to turn around, due to a super steep slippery snow field that was too dangerous to cross!  Again, Long Lake probably looks a lot like this right now!  We'll try to get there in another week or so! 

Snow Plant - Sarcodes sanguinea

On the way up to Long Lake we were delighted to find some wildflowers in bloom along the trail!  The Snow Plant pictured above was a welcome, familiar sight!  It is one of the first flowers to bloom as the snow melts. We also saw several others that were just starting to emerge.  Snow plants grow in the thick humus of montane coniferous forests from 4000' to 8000', often under pines, blooming from May to July. It supplements its nutrient intake by parasitizing the roots of pine trees by means of a shared mycorrhizal fungus.

Wikipedia states; "Snow Plant is a parasitic plant that derives sustenance and nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi that attach to tree roots. Lacking chlorophyll, it is unable to photosynthesize. Ectomicorrhizal symbioses involve a mutualism between a plant root and a fungus; the plant provides fixed carbon to the fungus and in return, the fungus provides mineral nutrients, water and protection from pathogens to the plant. The snow plant takes advantage of this mutualism by tapping into the network and stealing sugars from the photosynthetic partner by way of the fungus. This is known as mycoheterotrophy. The snow plant is host-specific and can only form relationships with the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Rhizopogon ellenae (false truffle)."

Spreading Phlox - Fawn Lily - Mahala Mat 

Plox diffusa - Erythronium purpurascens - Ceanothus prostratus

In the sunny areas Spreading Phlox and Mahala Mat were blooming.  These beautiful plants create lovely lavendar-purple carpets on the forest floor.  The phlox has a heavenly fragrance, and the Mahala Mat is unbelievable when you look at it with a hand lens!  In the damper, shadier areas we saw many Fawn Lily buds just emerging, and a few stalks in full bloom!

Sierra Buttes - 6/7/23

By the time we got back down to our car and started driving home, the dark clouds had spread out and turned white!  Such beauty!  It was a wonderful first day back in the Lakes Basin, our home away from home!

View north from the Steel Bridge - 5/31/23

Sierra Valley Again!

About three weeks ago my husband and I re-visited Sierra Valley. I also went there with my friends Rod and Rochelle just a week ago!  I can't seem to stay away!  It was absolutely gorgeous both times.  The water is dropping, and the cows are in the fields now, but the waterfowl aren't as numerous as in the past.  There were however, lots of wildflowers!  Here's photos of some of the birds and blossoms we saw!

Redhead (female-male) - Aythya americana

American Coot - Fulica americana

I didn't know that an American Coot's feet were so BIG!!!

Ruddy Duck (male) - Oxyura jamaicensis

This brightly colored male was displaying for a female that was out of sight in the tules!

Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica

Sandhill Crane - Antigone canadensis

Savannah Sparrow - Passeculus sandwichensis

White-faced Ibis - Plegadis chihi

Yellow-headed Blackbird on Yellow Pond-lilies 

 Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus - Nuphar lutea ssp. polysepala

This year there are more Western Blue Flag Iris blooming than ever before!  We saw several huge patches of them out in the fields.

 Western Blue Flag Iris - Sandhill Crane

Iris missouriensis - Antigone canadensis

In one of them a Sandhill Crane was foraging! Wow!!!

Western Blue Flag Iris - Iris missouriensis 

Mt. Beckwourth and wild onions - Allium sp.

There were also lots and lots of wild onions in patches throughout the wetlands!

Wild Onions (unknown) - Allium sp.

Beckwith's Clover - Trifolium beckwithii

Big, fat, pink clovers were also growing in abundance!

Beckwith's Clover - Trifolium beckwithii

Larkspur (unknown) - Delphinium sp.

View north near the Steel Bridge

I was mesmerized by the cumulonimbus clouds and blue sky, and their amazing reflections in the wetlands.  Such incredible beauty!  I know I'll be back soon!

What's happening on the river?

What kind of insects are out and about?

Are the birds building nests or nesting now?

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

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