Before the Storm!

Western Bluebird (male) - Sialia mexicana

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (the weather) is predicting a big snow storm over the next couple of days. Today and all day yesterday it's been raining heavily, with a total of 1.48" of precipitation in the last 24 hours. So, I decided to post my blog today, as the snowy weather may play havoc with our power lines.  

Just this week there have been many signs of an early Spring starting up in our neighborhood!  Plants are blooming, insects are flying, and new birds are arriving! It is delightful! To my joy a small flock of Western Bluebirds were feeding on the open slopes along the highway!  The males are so brilliant in their sky blue and rust colored feathers!

Western Bluebird (female) - Sialia mexicana

  Western Bluebirds usually stay with one partner for their entire life, but are considered "socially monogamous", as they will also mate with non-partners. They begin pairing up as early as mid-February in California. They are tree cavity nesters, in either natural or woodpecker cavities. Females may lay up to three clutches of eggs in one season!  Both the male and female help raise the offspring, along with help from sons or brothers born the previous year!  Interestingly, the family sticks together all summer and winter. They live in California year round, but do not nest in my neighborhood, preferring the lower elevation oak woodlands for their nesting territory.

The ones I saw were definitely catching bugs, but they may have come up to our area to feast on any remaining Mistletoe berries!  Such beauty!

Rock Toothwort - Cardamine pachystigma

Believe it or not, the Rock Toothwort is blooming in my neighborhood!  It's the first wildflower to bloom this year!  There aren't tons of them, but enough to catch my eye!  They are in the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) and are related to Wallflowers, Mustards, Jewel Flowers, and Wild Radish.

Hoary Comma - Polygonia gracilis

To my surprise there were several butterflies flitting around our neighborhood this week!  It turns out that they have overwintered as adults and are out looking for mates, as well as nectar to eat. They will lay their eggs mainly on currant and gooseberry plants, on which the caterpillars will feed when they hatch in July!

Townsend's Solitaire - Myadestes townsendi

A single Townsend's Solitaire was perched in the most prominent dead tree in our neighborhood this week!  They are uncommonly seen on the western side of the Sierra where we live!  They mainly live and breed on the eastern side.  However, I have seen them in the Lakes Basin in the summer. The gray feathers, and the white eye-ring make them easy to identify. 

weathered Turkey Tails - Trametes versicolor

Turkey Tail fungi like to grow on the fallen trunks of trees.  They are fairly common in our area.  I had never looked at the underside of one before, and was surprised to learn that they are "pore" mushrooms!  Instead of gills, they have tubes that are lined with spores!  How cool!

Red-winged Blackbird (male)  - Agelaius phoeniceus

 

Every winter a few Red-winged Blackbirds show up in our neighborhood. Just this week, there was one male perched down by my neighbor's pond!  It won't nest here, but perhaps it will fly over to Sierra Valley to nest, once the weather warms up.

Common Goldeneyes - Bucephala clangula

At LAST the Common Goldeneyes have shown up on our river!  I've been waiting and waiting for them to arrive!  Field guides state that these ducks typically overwinter on the coast of California. However, for the last 8 years, I've seen them residing on the North Yuba River during the winter.  This winter they didn't show up!  Now they are here, but are probably just on their way to breed in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska. They prefer the forests as they are tree cavity nesters, like Buffleheads, Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and Common Mergansers! I'm thrilled to see them back in our area!

Common Goldeneyes - Bucephala clangula

Although it looks like this male has a harem of four females, Common Goldeneyes are monogamous, and have only one mate per season.

Mountain Alder  (female cones - male flowers) - Alnus incana ssp. tenufolia

The local Mountain Alders are now in bloom! Alders are monoecious, having both sexes on one plant. The beautiful tassel-like hanging catkins are the male catkins that produce pollen. The female part of the alder is a cone, not a catkin. Most people are familiar with the little, dry, brown cones on alder trees. Every year, tiny new female cones grow just above the male catkins.

Common Mergansers - Mergus merganser

A pair of Common Mergansers is now on the river!  Several more should arrive soon. They will breed and raise their young here on the North Yuba River.  It is always a joy to watch their ducklings all summer long!

Willow flowers (female - male) - Salix sp.

The male pussy willows are just starting to emerge from their winter coverings. In a week or so, they will exert their stamens, with pollen covered anthers. Each male pussy willow has approximately 270 flowers with two stamens each. The female catkins will simultaneously emerge, just in time to catch wind-blown pollen. Each female willow catkin has 142 flowers with 1 pistil each. The female catkins are greener and less feathery in appearance than the male catkins. Willows are dioecious, and have male and female catkins on separate bushes.

Canada Geese - Branta canadensis

Four Canada Geese have been in our neighborhood all winter.  They are the earliest nesters on the river, with their goslings usually showing up in March.  Last year the river was too high and fast in the Spring, and there weren't any goslings.  This year I hope they are successful in breeding and raising their young.

Sierra Buttes - 2/27/24

Just last Tuesday, the weather was sunny and warm so my friends Nancy and BJ and I hiked up the Sand Shed Road to Sand Pond.  There was over two feet of snow on the ground.  The snow on the road was packed down by snowmobiles, so we were able to walk on top of it without punching in!  

Sierra Buttes - 2/27/24

We didn't see anyone else on or off a snowmobile the whole time we were there!  It was a gorgeous, glorious, clear-air, blue-sky day!  Sand Pond was still frozen, and the Buttes looked snowier than a few weeks ago!

What will the weather bring?  More rain or two feet of snow?

How much snow will fall at Yuba Pass?

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.  Thanks!