North Yuba River - 11/29/23
The weather has gotten a lot colder, down to 27° at night and in the low 50's during the day, and it's been quite blustery this week. Just a few trees and shrubs still have some fall color, but most of the leaves have dropped off. We got .10" of rain on Thursday night, and more is predicted for this weekend. Up in the Lakes Basin there are patches of new snow in the woods, and icy snow on part of the Gold Lake Road! Winter is definitely here!
Howard Meadow - 11/25/23
My husband and I drove out to Howard Meadow last Saturday and it was freezing! The wind was blasting, the puddles in the road were totally frozen, and there was a slippery inch of icy snow on the road! It was still lovely to be there and see the "winterized" meadow! We also, tried to drive up the Gold Lake Road to the trailheads, but long sections were covered in an inch or so of packed icy snow, so we turned around and headed back home. That might be our last visit to the Lakes Basin for a while!
Rainbow Trout - Onchorhynchus mykiss irideus
Since the cold weather kept us at home, I walked a lot in my neighborhood this week. Three days in a row I saw several large Rainbow Trout in the river below our bridge! They looked like they were 15"-18" in length! Wow! I haven't noticed any big fish in the river all summer. Maybe they're showing up now that the Common Mergansers (major fish eaters) are almost all gone! It takes about 1 year for a trout to reach a length of about 6 or 7 inches. At about 2-3 years of age they will have grown to around 18 to 20 inches in length and have become mature adults, ready to reproduce.
Rainbow Trout - Onchorhynchus mykiss irideus
The most common fish in the North Yuba River are Coastal Rainbow Trout, which are native to California, but have been planted locally. There are also non-native German Brown Trout, that swim up to spawn from Bullard's Bar Reservoir. Occasionally you might also find a non-native Brook Trout that has flowed out from a higher elevation lake, during the high water of Spring.
Rainbow Trout - Onchorhynchus mykiss irideus
Right now the river is a chilly 42 degrees! Being coldblooded, trout become less active when the the water temperature drops below 40 degrees. Their metabolism and respiratory rates slow down. Adult trout usually stay in deep pools during fall and winter. To keep from being eaten, young trout stay away from adult trout! They tend to spend the winter in shallower pools near the shore, where overhanging branches provide cover.
Common Merganser - Mergus merganser
Local Birds!
There weren't many Common Mergansers on the river this year. Due to the high water last Spring, there weren't many females that successfully raised their young. I did see two different females that had 7 and 8 ducklings. Unfortunately most of the young ducks didn't survive. I've only seen two juveniles on the river with their mother, for the past two months. Lately I've only seen one lone adult (possibly a juvenile) on the River, that will probably leave for lower elevations soon. Common Mergansers do not stay here for the winter, they migrate down to the rivers, ponds, and lakes in California's Central Valley.
American Dippers live here year-round. They hunt for aquatic insects and their larvae, small fish, and snails, in fast moving rivers and streams. A dense layer of downy feathers keeps them warm in the cold water. They also waterproof their outer feathers with oil. Using their tails as rudders, they swim with their wings! They do not have webbed feet, but have long, sharp toes for gripping slippery rocks! At night Dippers sleep in trees with dense foliage, with their bills tucked under their wings.
Canada Geese - Branta canadensis
The Canada Geese in our neighborhood didn't have any goslings this year! Not even one! They nest way earlier than the Common Mergansers and the river water was too fast, cold, and high last Spring. The adults, that may have been born here, stuck around all summer feeding on aquatic plants! Lately, they've formed largish groups of 9-12 adults, on the river. If the winter weather this year isn't too snowy, some of them may stay for the winter, or they may all head down to California's Central Valley.
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis
Just yesterday I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a dead tree along the river corridor! I haven't seen one in our neighborhood for quite a while! They usually hunt in meadows and fields for small mammals, snakes, lizards, and other birds. They use the perch-and-wait method of hunting. Once prey is sighted they will drop from their perch, flap-and-glide downward, thrust their legs forward when about 3m from prey, and grab prey with their feet.
Red-tailed Hawks are classified as "buteos" which are medium to large, stout bodied hawks, with broad wings and fan shaped tails. Many species have a variety of color phases. Red-tailed Hawks are large birds with a wingspan of 49", a length of 19", and a weight of 2.4lbs. They are one of the most common buteos seen in North America.
Peregrin Falcon - Falco peregrinus
One late afternoon this week I spotted a Peregrin Falcon perched in a dead tree that borders the river canyon in our neighborhood! WOW!!! I haven't seen one of these amazing falcons in a few years! The prominent dark "mustache", below its eye, is a distinguishing feature! It was quite a distance away, and the light was fading, so I didn't get a great photo, but it was thrilling to watch it! I stayed for about 15 minutes until it took off! What a gift! Such beauty!
Peregrin Falcons have speed and extraordinary vision on their side. They are the fastest animal on earth! Their top diving speed can reach 238 mph! WOW!!! For this speed they need to start their dive at at least 3,280' off the ground, and the dive must be vertical! Most of their dives, or stoops, start at 705' to 1049' off the ground. If their dives aren't vertical, their diving speed is typically 66-86 mph. As they dive they spiral down to their prey, rather than turn their head!
Peregrin Falcons are formidable predators! The following quote from the Cornell website birdsna.org explains their hunting methods in detail. "They have several methods of attack, including stooping (diving), ringing up, direct pursuit, contour-hugging, shepherding, running or hopping, and flapping on the ground. Most often stooping falcon pulls out of dive some meters behind escaping prey and shoots forward at great speed to grab or strike prey, or repeatedly stoops to force it down into water or onto open ground where it can be grabbed. Sometimes stoops directly down on prey, striking it in head, wing, or back, killing it or breaking a wing. They usually grab prey with their feet and bite into the neck. Sometimes prey is killed by strike of impact, but usually they are only stunned. Captures mainly by grabbing prey with feet (binding) but rarely kills small prey by forcing talons into body as accipiters do. Instead, falcon bites into neck, disarticulating cervical vertebrae and severing nerve cord; even with prey killed in stoop, falcon bites into neck before feeding begins."
Mountain Chickadee - Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Poecile gambeli - Regulus calendula
Over the past two weeks small flocks of little birds have arrived in our neighborhood! Some of them have come down from the colder, higher elevations and will spend the winter here. Others are passing through on their way further south, or down to the foothills. This happens every fall, and I rejoice every time they arrive!
I've been seeing small flocks of Mountain Chickadees in our neighborhood lately! They live up in the higher elevations most of the year. During winter they sometimes migrate down to our neighborhood, but not every year. I don't think they've been here for several years. They do not migrate outside of the U.S. They eat scale insects and conifer seeds in the winter. I love to see and hear these lovely little birds!
Ruby-crowned Kinglets are named for the bright scarlet "crown patch" the male exhibits when excited or antagonized. Most of the time the crown isn't visible. These tiny birds mainly inhabit the snow-free foothills during winter. In Spring they move up to the Lodgepole/Hemlock forests to breed, around 9000' in elevation. They have been coming to our neighborhood every winter for years! Their fluffy, thick plumage keeps them warm at night. For food, they glean small insects off of twigs and branches.
Dark-eyed Junco (male) - Junco hyemalis
The Dark-eyed Juncos have just come down from the Lakes Basin, where they breed in the Spring. They will spend the winter here in our neighborhood. There are six subspecies of Dark-eyed Juncos in North America. The ones we have locally are the "Oregon" subspecies. Males have black hoods. Females have gray hoods. They are common and widespread across the U.S. in winter. Seeds are their preferred food.
Coral Mushroom - unknown genus/species
Local Mushrooms!
Mushrooms have been popping up everywhere since we got some rain. As usual I haven't learned to identify many of them yet, just too busy, but here are photos of the most recent "uprisals"!
unknown fungi
Questionable Stropharia - Stropharia ambigua
unknown fungi
Hawk Wing - Sarcodon imbricatum
My friend Diane found these mushrooms near her home In Pike and took these photos! I've never seen this kind before! They are quite beautifully marked! They are also a large "toothed" fungi! What a find!
To reproduce, mushrooms produce spores. Basidia are the microscopic, club-shaped, spore-bearing structures in mushrooms. There are three main structures in mushrooms that contain the basidia; gills, pores and teeth! Most people are familiar with the gill structure pictured below left. Pores are found on Bolete fungi and others, and are the small holes (actually tubes) on the smooth underside of the mushroom cap, pictured below center. Teeth are found on Lion's Mane fungi as well as others, and look like tiny hanging icicles, pictured below right. Thousands and thousands of basidia are arranged along the outside edges of the gills, along the insides of the tubes that end in pores, and on the outside of the teeth!
Mushroom gills, pores, and teeth
What's happening with the local ferns, mosses, and lichens?
What's happening in the foothills?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more.
Your comments and questions are greatly appreciated,
please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com.
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