Sierra Valley Birds!

Tree Swallows - Tachycineta bicolor

Every Spring I eagerly anticipate going over to Sierra Valley. Once the snow is off the road, and the temperatures warm up, I try to go over there as often as I can. It is one of my absolute favorite wildlife areas! This month I've gone over there four times already, and I'm going again next week! Every time I've gone, there have been newly arrived bird species in the wetlands, and the populations have increased. Over 230 bird species migrate to Sierra Valley to breed and raise their young. I think I've only seen about 50 species so far. Whether or not I see a new species, it is always a fascinating adventure!

Mt. Beckwourth from wetlands

I have written extensively about Sierra Valley and its wildlife in many of my past blogs. If you'd like to learn all about the different birds and mammals that inhabit the valley,  just type in "Sierra Valley" in the "search this blog" bar on the top right of this page.

In this current blog there are lots of photos to look at, but I'm only going to write about the sightings that are new to me! Enjoy!

Cliff Swallows - Tachycineta bicolor

Yellow-headed Blackbird (male) - Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Yellow-headed Blackbird (females) -  Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Horned Lark (male) - Eremophila alpestris

Horned Lark (male) - Eremophila alpestris

Black-necked Stilts (adults) - Himantopus mexicanus

Shorebirds

Black-necked Stilts (adult) - Himantopus mexicanus

I've never seen a Black-necked Stilt sitting down!  This one might have been on a nest! I'll have to go back and see if it's still there next week!

American Avocet (adults) - Recurvirostra americana

Willets (young (?) & adult) - Tringa semipalpatus

Virginia Rail (juvenile) - Rallus limicola

Virginia Rails are uncommon and secretive and more commonly heard than seen. We saw an adult this week, but I wasn't able to get a photo.  It had a bright orange bill and eyes!  The photo above is of a juvenile, and was taken in August of 2020.  It is the only other Virginia Rail I 've ever seen!  Although usually solitary, they are monogamous during the breeding season and both male and female care for the young. The following information about Virginia Rails is from the Cornell website https://birdsoftheworld.org/.

"The Virginia Rail is a secretive freshwater marsh bird that is more often heard than seen. A brief glimpse of a reddish bill and legs, banded black-and-white flanks, and a short, upturned tail is often all that is afforded observers. A habitat generalist, this species probes mudflats and shallow water with its long, slightly decurved bill searching for invertebrates, small fish, and the occasional seed. Vagrancy and generalist habits allow it to exploit a highly ephemeral niche. A laterally compressed body, flexible vertebrae, and modified feather tips in anterior regions of the head (to prevent feather wear) are adaptations for passing through dense marsh vegetation. Virginia Rails are agile on their feet and most often escape danger by running, but they may also dive and swim, using their wings to propel themselves underwater. Rails live in shallow fresh water wetlands with emergent vegetation, such as cattails, and feed on seeds and aquatic invertebrates. They are usually solitary. They prefer to run rather than fly, and migrate at night!"

Long-billed Dowitcher - Limnodromus scolopaceus

For the first time ever I saw a small flock of Long-billed Dowitchers foraging in the muddy wetlands last week!!! Apparently they are late migrants, compared to other shorebirds, and are on their way to the northwest coast of Alaska to breed! 

Long-billed Dowitcher - Limnodromus scolopaceus

Long-bille Dowitchers are a type of Sandpiper and forage in the mud for insects such as midge fly and larvae, aquatic or moist soil worms, and small burrowing crustacea. How cool to see this group of 15 of them! I hope their approximate 2,549 mile journey north to their breeding grounds goes well!

White-faced Ibis - Plegadis chihi

Wading Birds

So neat to see these large Ibis with their "white face", which is seen only in the breeding season!

Sandhill Crane - Antigone canadensis

I was lucky enough to come across a lone female Sandhill Crane on a nest in the middle of a pond, away from the wetlands.  I have watched her for less than a month or so, but have never seen her mate. Perhaps something happened to him. I wish her the best for the incubating, hatching, and care of her young.

Sandhill Crane - Antigone canadensis

To my complete surprise I saw a Sandhill Crane carrying an apparently dead small mammal in its bill!  I've never seen this before!

Sandhill Crane - Antigone canadensis

It carried the dead mammal around for a minute or so, put it down and pecked it a bunch, then picked it up and swallowed it whole!  WOW!!! I have since read that Sandhill Cranes commonly eat small mammals, along with frogs, lizards, insects, nestling birds, fruits, berries, and roots!

Black-crowned Night Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax

I have seen Black-crowned Night Herons before in Sierra Valley, but I never saw one acting like a duck and swimming around in a pond. To our complete surprise we watched one swim around in one section of a pond.  We thought that maybe it was injured, but it flew off!  WOW!!! I have since found the following information on the Cornell website https://birdsoftheworld.org/

"Swimming And Diving"

"When feeding, the night-heron dives (alights on water) feet-first, or plunges (dives headfirst from the air); can also swim or float on the surface of the water, resting or swimming actively."  WOW!!!

Ruddy Duck (male) - Oxyura jamaicensis

Waterfowl

Ruddy Duck (male) performing a mating display called "Bubbling"!

I was watching this Ruddy Duck a short distance away and watched it repeatedly and rapidly beat its chest with its bill for a few seconds, while simultaneously raising its tail vertically!!!  It looked around expectantly after every display, but I didn't see a female in the area!  It was RIVETING to watch! I had never seen this before!  

Ruddy Duck (male) - Oxyura jamaicensis

According to the Cornell website, this type of display is called "bubbling", as the feathers that are compressed by the bill-beating release their air into the water in front of the duck, creating a little berm of bubble-filled water!  How fascinating!  I would have named the display "bill bashing" not "bubbling"!

American Coot (female) - Fulica americana

 A few weeks ago I saw this American Coot incubating its eggs in a nest. It made me smile, because baby coots, or cootlings, are one of my favorite baby birds!

American Coot (cootling and female) - Fulica americana

Sure enough, just this week there were lots of tiny cootlings in the wetlands! YAY! They are so cute with their little bald heads, red bills, and orange & yellow ruff of downy feathers!!!  New this year I saw them doing the "Feed Me" maneuver with their tiny little wings!  WOW!!! The following information is from the Cornell website https://birdsoftheworld.org/.

"These brilliant head colorations and facial down ornamentation apparently attract and stimulate parent birds to feed begging young, which display these parts conspicuously in same manner as colorful gapes are displayed by altricial young of other species. Experimental manipulations have confirmed importance of head coloration of young coots in attracting and securing parental feeding."

American Coot (cootlings) - Fulica americana

"All colored body plumes lost from ventral surface and many from back by 4 days of age; all plumes lost from body, and bill becomes bright red-orange by 15 d. At 25 d, 2 white lateral patches appear at water line of breast and, 2 d later, white has extended to throat and head, resulting in a striking contrast with darker appearance of younger birds; bill has become paler orange. Breast, throat, neck, cheek, and flanks all feathered by 4th week, and oil gland has developed and become tufted."

Cinnamon Teal (male) - Spatula cyanoptera

Redhead (male) - Aythya americana

Pied-billed Grebe (adult) - Podilymbus podiceps

Northern Shoveler (male) - Spatula clypeata

Northern Pintail (male) - Anas acuta

View north from the Steel Bridge  - 5/2/324

I can't wait till I'm back over in Sierra Valley again!  You should go there if you can!  It's so beautiful!

 

Sierra Buttes - 5/23/24

The Gold Lake Road is now OPEN!  We drove up to see what the conditions were like this past Thursday, and there is still a foot or more of packed snow at most trailheads and campgrounds! So we're going to try hiking up there after the first of June! Can't wait!

What's happening in my neighborhood?

What's happening over in Sierra Valley?

After 8 years of posting my blog, I've decided that I'm only going to post my blog twice monthly from now on. My next post will be on the weekend of June 8th. See you then!

Your questions and comments are always appreciated.  Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

Neighborhood News!

We had crazy weather last weekend!  It hailed, snowed, thundered, and poured rain! In three days we received 2.62" of precipitation, including half an inch of snow!  Up in the Lakes Basin they got two feet of new snow! It was great to get the extra moisture, and our water year total is now 50.43"! Yay! In contrast to that cold weather, a very warm dry spell is predicted for next week or more, with temperatures up in the 80's!

Light snow on the Ridgetop

Brewer's Blackbirds (female - male) - Euphagus cyanocephalus

New Arrivals - Migratory Songbirds

Every year Migratory Songbirds arrive in our neighborhood.  Some stay and raise their young here, while others just pass through. Last Spring, there was a definite lack of our usual summer songbirds, due to the lingering snow and cold temperatures. This year, to my delight, it's looking like our usual summer residents and visitors are back to their normal pattern.  Some of them are short-distance migrants, while others are long-distance migrants.  The following information from https://birdsoftheworld.org explains the differences.

“Types Of Migration

 The term migration describes periodic, large-scale movements of populations of animals. One way to look at migration is to consider the distances traveled.

 Permanent residents do not migrate. They are able to find adequate supplies of food year-round.

 Short-distance migrants make relatively small movements, as from higher to lower elevations on a mountainside.

 Medium-distance migrants cover distances that span a few hundred miles.

 Long-distance migrants typically move from breeding ranges in the United States and Canada to wintering grounds in Central and South America. Despite the arduous journeys involved, long-distance migration is a feature of some 350 species of North American birds."

Brewer's Blackbirds are definitely short to medium distance migrants, and probably drop down to the foothills or the central valley for the winter.  In the Spring they migrate up to our neighborhood to nest and raise their young!

Bullock's Oriole (adult male - 1st year male) - Icterus bullockii

Bullock's Orioles are LONG distance migrants.  They migrate down to central Mexico and northwestern Costa Rica for the winter, a distance of over 4,000 miles!  In the Spring, they migrate back up to the western half of the U.S. to breed and raise their young. 

This year, the first male Bullock's Oriole arrived in our neighborhood on April 21st!  Since then I have also seen a 1st year male, maybe two, in a particular area of our neighborhood. I have not as yet seen a female, but that doesn't mean that there isn't one in the area. I'm thrilled that they are back, as last year, not one nested in our neighborhood!

Bullock's Oriole (1st year males) - Icterus bullockii

1st year males look a lot like the females, except for the dark black stripe that extends down from their beak onto their chest. Adults mainly feed on insects, but also eat fruit and plant nectar.

Black-headed Grosbeak (female) - Pheucticus melanocephalus

I saw the first male Black-headed Grosbeak on April 12 this year!  Just this week, the females have arrived!  They will pair off soon, and start nesting. They migrate to our neighborhood from southern Mexico, a distance of approximately 2,700 miles!

House Wren (adult) - California Scrub-Jay (adult) 

Troglodytes aedon - Aphelocoma californica

Every Spring two House Wrens establish their territories down the road from our home.  They are short distance migrants and probably spend the winter in the foothills of California. They will breed and raise their young in our neighborhood!  I've only seen their tiny fledglings once!  So cute! Hope I see them again this year!

A Scrub Jay just arrived this week!  What a surprise!  They are year-round residents of the foothills, and rarely come up to our elevation.  Every once in a while, one of them shows up and hangs out for a bit. I thing they're just gorgeous and are a real treat to see in our neighborhood!

Olive-sided Flycatcher (adult) - American Dipper (adult) 

Contopus cooperi - Cinclus mexicanus

In the field guides, the Olive-sided Flycatcher's repeated call is "What peeves you?".  When you hear it in the field, the accent is definitely on "peeves".  We think a better phrase would be "We love you", with the accent on "love"!  This little gray and white bird is another LONG distance migrant. The majority of these birds breed across northern Canada and southeastern Alaska. In the fall they will migrate south to southern California, or Mexico, or Central America, or maybe even as far south as Bolivia, a distance of approximately 5,300 miles!!

I wanted to update you on the status of the American Dipper nest that I wrote about on April 12th. The nest is still intact and the parents are flying back and forth feeding the nestlings! Yay! I'll post more photos soon! So glad that they're being successful this time around!

Leaf Beetle - Red Admiral Butterfly

Chrysomelidae Family - Vanessa atalanta

New Insect Sightings!

I saw numerous Leaf Beetles this week!  They are tiny, about half an inch in length including the antennae, and are in the Chrysomelidae Family. Their brilliant, metallic, blue-green color was amazing!!! This iridescence occurs naturally in some beetles, some butterflies, and some birds. The color is not from pigment, but rather from structure. Interestingly, the color works as camouflage, not as warning to a predator or as an advertisement for a mate!

I was also delighted to see a Red Admiral Butterfly!  Although these butterflies are apparently common across the U.S., I've never seen one before!  They overwinter as adults, and in the spring lay their eggs on plants in the Nettle family.  As adults they eat the sap of trees, the juices from fermenting fruit, and the liquid in bird droppings! Visiting flowers for nectar is their last food choice!  What an unusual butterfly!

Echo Azure Butterflies - Nelson's Hairstreak Butterfly

Celastrina echo - Mitoura gryneus nelsoni

This week, I also came across a group of Echo Azure Butterflies "puddling". This is a common behavior that many butterflies engage in, mostly males. Puddling sites can occur in a variety of places: mud, dung, fermenting fruit, carrion, urine. Butterflies are attracted to these sites because they can sip up the salt (sodium) and minerals found there.  When these tiny butterflies open their wings, they reveal their beautiful sky-blue color.  They also feed on the flower nectar of buckbrush, buckeye, toyon, blackberries, and others.

I also identified, for the first time, some tiny, dusty-orange butterflies that were feeding on the onion flowers in our garden. They are called Nelson's Hairstreaks!  Their eggs are laid on the needles of Incense Cedar trees, which the caterpillars eat once they hatch.  Adults feed on the nectar of flowering Buckbrush, Pussy Paws, and composites.

Indian Warriors - Pedicularis densiflora

What's Blooming?

Wildflowers are showing up everywhere, and the trees and shrubs are in bloom as well! It's gorgeous out there!  With warm weather coming up it won't be long until we're in full bloom!  How exciting!

The Indian Warriors featured above grow near Joubert's Diggins, one of the ponds I regularly write about.  They don't grow in our area.  They are related to Indian Paintbrush and are in the Broom-rape Family.  Here's what the California Native Plant Society says about them in their book Wildflowers of Placer and Nevada Counties.

"Indian Warrior is parasitic on the roots of shrubs, mostly on members of the Heath Family such as Manzanita and Madrone. This allows it to live in shady environments because it is not solely dependent upon sunlight for photosynthesis to survive. The colonies under a favored host tend to expand over the years."

Indian Rhubarb - Darmera peltata

Right now the river is running high and no Indian Rhubarb is showing yet.  However in the creeks they are in full bloom!  The huge leaves are full of life themselves, often harboring a wide variety of insects!

Braun's Giant Horsetail  (vegetative form and spore bearing form) 

Equisetum telmateia ssp. braunii

This week I went to see if the Braun's Giant Horsetails were in bloom, and they were!!!  What fun! I've only found them in one spot, along a small creek off of Highway 49! Horsetails have been around a long time, and are considered "living fossils"! During the Devonian period, approximately 3,500 years ago, they were as thick as forests and as big as trees!

Horsetails are actually classified as ferns! Like ferns, mushrooms, and mosses, horsetails reproduce via spores not seeds and do not have flowers. They can also reproduce directly from underground rhizomes. This particular species is dimorphic, with infertile vegetative stems that are green and photosynthetic, and fertile stems that are brown and not photosynthetic, but do produce strobili (a structure resembling the cone of a conifer) covered with sporangiophores that produce spores.

Horsetails are also called "Scouring Rush", because pioneers used them to scrub pots and pans. Their hollow, jointed, ridged stems have silica in their cells which makes them tough!

Forktooth Ookow - Naked Broomrape

Dichelostemma congestum - Aphyllum purpureum

The Forktooth Ookow is in the Brodiaea Family. What's amazing about these plants is that they have long, 3'-4' lily-like leaves! The leaves are what caught my attention last year, way before the plants bloomed.

Luckily the Naked Broomrape flowers were in bloom on the Canyon Creek Trail  this week. They grow in a wet, rocky, mossy seep alongside saxifrage, of which they are root parasites. They are quite small, only about 2" tall. Their hairs glistened incredibly if you look at them with a hand lens! Their unusual name is derived from; "broom" = European plants called brooms, "rape" = rapum or cluster of tuber like roots, and "naked" = leafless. They are in the same Broomrape Family as the Indian Warriors! This is the only area I've ever seen them!

Spotted Coralroot Orchid - Corallorhiza maculata

My husband and I walk almost daily on a dirt road in our neighborhood. I'm always looking for changes in the plants along the road. Two Thursdays ago, before the rain, I came across this unusual looking pinkish stem with tight, deep-red buds!  It didn't have any green leaves so I thought it might be some kind of Broom-rape or Orchid.  Over the course of 7 days, the buds gradually opened to reveal tiny spotted orchids!  It was a Spotted Coralroot Orchid!  I have seen these flowers often in the woods, but have never seen it in bud!

Here's what the California Native Plant Society says about them in their book Wildflowers of Placer and Nevada Counties. 

"Coralroots are mycoheterotrophic, dependent on mycorrhizal fungi (Russula) for nutrients, and are apparently restricted to dry acidic soils covered by decomposing litter."

Sierra Buttes 4/30/24

The Lakes Basin still has a good amount of snow, and the Gold Lake Road isn't open yet.  The county hopes to have the road open by next week.  I can't wait to get back up there and on the trails again!

What's happening in Sierra Valley?

What insects are out and about?

Where are the bear and the deer?

.After 8 years of posting my blog, I've decided that I'm only going to post my blog twice monthly from now on.  My next post will be on the weekend of May 25th. See you then!

Your questions and comments are always appreciated. Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com.  Thanks!