Steller's Jay Adult - Cyanocitta stelleri
Down in our garden the sunflowers are starting to go to seed, and the local wildlife is feasting on them! The Steller's Jays live here all year, and are quite acrobatic when eating sunflower seeds! They are also quite clever in their seed getting antics! They are a lot heavier than goldfinches, and can't perch on the smaller, thinner-stemmed sunflowers. I watched the one above repeatedly leap up about 4.5 feet to get the seeds of one particular sunflower head! Wow!
Lesser Goldfinch (Male) - Carduelis psaltria
A few Lesser Goldfinches have recently arrived in our garden, and are foraging on the sunflower seed heads that the Chickarees haven't been able to harvest! I love their tiny little calls to each other.
Lesser Goldfinch (Juvenile & Adult Male) - Carduelis psaltria
There has been a juvenile goldfinch that flutters and flutters its wings ever hopeful that its parents will feed it, even though it is full-sized and fully capable of feeding itself! Lesser Goldfinches usually have 2 broods a year, sometimes even three! This juvenile is probably from a second brood. These beautiful little birds have their babies later in the year than most songbirds. They time the hatching, and subsequent fledging of their nestlings to match this time of year, when seeds are newly available.
Lesser Goldfinch (Juvenile & Adult Male) - Carduelis psaltria
When the temps get cooler, these little birds will migrate down to the foothills and valleys of California for the winter. It is so fun to watch these little birds (4.5" in length), the smallest of all goldfinches, feast in our garden!
Douglas Squirrel/Chickaree - Tamiasciurus douglasii
Our local Chickarees have been climbing the sunflowers, cutting off the entire seed heads, and then eating or running off with them! What they don't eat right away, they store for winter. They're cutting LOTS of them off!
Douglas Squirrel/Chickaree carrying baby squirrel
Tamiasciurus douglasii
Just yesterday evening we were sitting down in our garden enjoying the view, when I saw a Chickaree carrying something other than a sunflower head in its mouth! I zoomed in with my camera and was totally shocked to find out that it was carrying a baby Chickaree!!! WOW! You can see it's hind feet and tail in the above photo! It ran lickety-split along the phone line down the road and disappeared.
Douglas Squirrel/Chickaree carrying baby squirrels
Tamiasciurus douglasii
Just a few minutes later it returned and went and got ANOTHER BABY CHICKAREE and ran down the road carrying it! WOW again!!! Once again it returned in a few minutes, got ANOTHER BABY CHICKAREE and carried it down the road via the phone line! Triple WOW!!!
We have never seen this happen before and were wondering why it was moving its babies. My neighbor reminded us that PG&E had JUST cut down a huge dead Douglas Fir tree right near our garden, two days ago. He thought that maybe the Chickaree had a nest in that tree and that's why the babies were being moved!! That made sense to us. I know where their new nest is and I'll carefully observe them and let you know how they get on! So cool to see this unusual behavior! I hope the babies make it!
Western Fence Lizard - Sceloporus occidentalis
Western Fence Lizards are the most commonly seen lizard in our garden. The following information about them is from from californiaherps.com.
"Males have blue markings on the sides of the belly edged in black, and two blue patches on the throat. Females have faint or absent blue markings on the belly. Males establish and defend a territory containing elevated perches where they can observe mates and potential rival males. Males defend their territory and try to attract females with head-bobbing and a push-up display that exposes the blue throat and ventral colors. Territories are ultimately defended by physical combat with other males. Courtship and copulation typically occurs from March to June. Egg laying occurs 2 - 4 weeks after copulation. Females dig small pits in loose damp soil where they lay 1 - 3 clutches of 3 - 17 eggs usually from May to July. Eggs hatch in about 60 days, usually from July to September."
Western Fence Lizard - Sceloporus occidentalis
I've been seeing lots of these little lizards in our garden. Most of them are only 2.5" long! I'm hesitant to try and catch them, because I don't want to stress them out! They are so camouflaged in the dry grasses and weeds! These little ones won't be full-sized till next Spring.
Western Fence Lizard (male) - Sceloporus occidentalis
Soon, cool temperatures will cause these lizards to bury themselves under the decaying leaves on the forest floor, where they will spend the winter in a state of torpor.
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Sierra Alligator Lizard - Elgaria coerulea palmeri
I saw this Sierra Alligator Lizard in my garden this week. It kept perfectly still once it saw me, and was so camouflaged it was difficult to see! The following information about this lizard is from californiaherps.com.
"Sierra Alligator Lizards have large scales, a long alligator-like snout, light-colored eyes, and a longitudinal fold on the lower sides of the body. They can be fairly large in size. Active during daylight, they are frequently seen moving on the ground, and occasionally up in bushes. Alligator lizards do not typically bask in the sun out in the open or on top of a rock like many other lizard species. There's not much difference in appearance between the male and female Alligator Lizards. Eggs are usually laid between May and June, and hatch during late summer and early fall. Females lay two clutches of eggs per year, often in decaying wood or plant matter to keep them warm. Females will guard the eggs until they hatch. They eat small arthropods, slugs, lizards, small mammals, and occasionally young birds and eggs."
This beautiful Coral-bellied Ringneck Snake surprised us in our garden! It was quite long, about two feet in length! I haven't seen any of these snakes in quite a while, so it was a delight to find one. It was quite a beauty! The following information about them is from californiaherps.com.
"Prefers moist habitats, including wet meadows, rocky hillsides, gardens, farmland, grassland, chaparral, mixed coniferous forests, woodlands. Secretive - usually found under the cover of rocks, wood, bark, boards and other surface debris, but occasionally seen moving on the surface on cloudy days, at dusk, or at night. Eats small salamanders, tadpoles, small frogs, small snakes, lizards, worms, slugs, and insects. The mild venom may help to incapacitate prey. Females are oviparous, laying eggs in the summer, sometimes in a communal nest."
Mylitta Crescent - Common Checkered Skipper - Gray Hairstreak
Phycoides mylitta- Pyrgus communis -Strymon melinus
There are still LOTS of butterflies in our garden. Lately it seems that there are a lot of little ones that are less than an inch wide (pictured above)!
Cabbage White - Monarch - Fritillary
Pieris rapae - Danus plexippus - Speyeria sp.
There are also lots of regular-sized butterflies, including several Monarchs!
Stonefly Adult (species unknown) - Common Green Darner Dragonfly
order Plecoptera - Anax junius
I came across this adult Stonefly sunning in our garden! What a surprise!
Stonefly nymphs (not pictured) will live underwater for 1 to 4 years, depending on the species. They prefer running rivers and streams, not lakes and ponds. They feed on algae, detritus, and plant materials under water. When their nymphal stages end, the nymphs will crawl out of the water onto rocks, their exoskeletons will dry out and crack open, the adult (pictured above) will pull itself out of the exoskeleton, pump up its wings, dry out, and fly away! As adults they feed on nectar, as well as algae and lichens. The adults usually live for about a month, just long enough to mate and lay eggs!
Right now quite a few dragonflies are away from the river and flying over our neighborhood catching insects. Perhaps the insect population on the river has diminished. I just love their gigantic eyes!
What's happening in the Lakes Basin?
What birds will migrate through our neighborhood?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated!
Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com.
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