North Yuba Naturalist: Recent River Bird Sightings

Osprey (adult) - Pandion haliaetus

At last some of our avian river residents have shown up! The river was so high this past Spring that none of the Canada Geese had goslings, which usually appear in late April through May. By early July the Common Mergansers didn't have any ducklings, which usually show up in mid June, and the local Osprey, Bald Eagle, and Great Blue Heron hadn't shown up! However, just this week, except for the Bald Eagle, they're all back on the river! It's probably because over the past three weeks it has really warmed up and no rain has fallen. The river has slowed down a lot, dropped in height, and warmed up considerably. Now birds can swim and dive for fish in the river without being swept away! I am so thrilled to have them back in our neighborhood!

Ospreys are unique among raptors in their hunting method of diving feet-first into water to capture fish. They are usually successful in 1 out of every 4 dives. No other raptors use this method of hunting. They also have small barbs on the pads of their feet to help grab slippery fish. After they have caught a fish and are back in the air, they maneuver the fish to face forward, using the fish’s streamlining to reduce aerodynamic drag. They then carry the captured fish to an elevated and prominent perch to be eaten. 99% of their diet is fish. They are large birds with a wingspan of 63", a length of 23", and a weight of 3.5lbs!!!

Great Blue Heron (adult) - Ardea herodius

Great Blue Herons are large birds, with a body length of 26" and a wingspan of 36"! Their long legs add another 2' of height! They feed on fish, frogs, crayfish, aquatic insects, small mammals, other birds, amphibians and reptiles! They can hunt during the day and at night! They are the only herons found above the foothills! They are usually solitary, except during breeding season when they form nesting colonies!

Common Mergansers (adult - ducklings) - Mergus merganser

My friend Alicia and I spent half a day on the North Yuba River last week. To our delight two different Merganser females swam past with their ducklings while we were there! One had seven ducklings, and one had eight ducklings! Once they saw us they really sped up the pace, and zoomed by! How lucky we were to see them! WOW!!!

Common Mergansers (adult- ducklings) - Mergus merganser

Male mergansers do not participate in the incubation of the eggs or the raising of the ducklings. Although the male and female form a pair bond that may last from December until Spring, the male departs soon after the eggs are laid. The female alone raises the ducklings.

Common Mergansers (adult- ducklings) - Mergus merganser

The female will guide and protect her offspring for approximately 30-50 days, and then leaves them on their own. At that point they are more than capable of taking care of themselves. Soon after, when they are around 60-75 days old, they are able to fly and migrate to lower elevations for the winter.

Spotted Sandpipers (adult- fledgling) - Actitis macularius

On another day, at another part of the river, I came across a fledgling Spotted Sandpiper and probably it's dad! What a wonderful sighting!

Spotted Sandpipers are quite unusual in their breeding and nesting habits. The females usually arrive before the males, in the Spring. The females practice polyandry and will mate with up to 3 different males, if they are available. However, some females are monogamous, and will mate with only one male. Competition between females can be quite aggressive, if the male population is low. The nests are begun by the females and finished by the males. The nests are built on the ground, in the shade of shrubs, and about 100 yards from the shore. Each mated male will have it's own nest. The males brood 3-5 eggs for 19-22 days, and protect the baby birds when they hatch. The females may help with the care of the baby birds, if they only have one mate. The young birds are born precocial, and can walk and feed themselves within hours!!! Their main food is flying and aquatic insects. They are able to fly within 18 days!

Wood Ducks (male-female) - Aix sponsa

More than a month ago, I spotted this pair of Wood Ducks on the river! I haven't seen them since, but I wanted to share this photo with you! They aren't common on the North Yuba River. Usually I see them in local ponds.

Wood ducks nest in the foothills of the western Sierra, usually below 3,000' - 4,000' in elevation. They are tree-cavity nesters, but do not use abandoned woodpecker cavities. They use natural cavities that have formed in a mature tree, often where a branch has broken off due to heart rot. The Wood Duck is the only North American duck that regularly produces two broods in one 5-6 month breeding season! The female lays 10-13 eggs in her feather-lined nest, anytime between March and June. The incubation period is 30 days. The ducklings are born precocial, and leave the nest usually within 24 hours after hatching. They jump to the ground and their mother leads them to water, where they immediately start feeding! After approximately 30 days, the female abandons the young ducklings, to start another brood!

Howard Meadow 7-19-23

Howard Meadow Update!

We've been out to Howard Meadow twice in the past two weeks and it's changed so much since we first visited it in the beginning of June! Initially it was filled with blooming, golden-yellow, Water Plantain Buttercups. On July 19th, the Butttercups had gone to seed and the Corn Lilies were starting to bloom! On July 28th, way more Corn Lilies were blooming, and they were surrounded by thousands of blooming Arrowleaf Groundsel! Such unbelievable beauty! We'll be back again soon, to see what wildflowers bloom next!

Howard Meadow 7-28-23

Mountain Ash - Sorbus californica

Wildflower Portraits

The drier areas surrounding Howard Meadow are also having an incredible bloom this year! We've never seen so many billions of wildflowers before! I'll post more photos and write more about them next week, but here are a few dramatic portraits I got of a few of them! What fun!