Neighborhood News & More!

Yellow-bellied Racer and a Sierra Alligator Lizard in Battle!

photo by Carl Butz

It's Reptile Weather!  The daytime temperatures have been in the 70's lately, and reptiles have become very active and visible. Reptiles are cold-blooded, meaning they do not have the ability to regulate their body temperature internally and instead depend on external sources to warm or cool their bodies. They adjust their body temperature by moving to warmer or cooler areas in their environment, basking in the sun or hiding in the shade. Temperatures in the 90's are too hot for reptiles. Temps below 60 degrees are too cold for reptiles.

A friend of mine, Carl Butz, came across a Yellow-bellied Racer and a Sierra Alligator Lizard locked in battle (above photo) on his property!  His presence made them let go of each other, and go on their separate ways! How cool and unusual to see a sight like that! What a photo! WOW!!!

Sierra Alligator Lizard - Elgaria coerulea palmeri

I saw this Sierra Alligator Lizard in my neighborhood this week. It was missing its tail!  Lizards can dislocate their tails if a predator threatens them. The piece of tail will wriggle around like it is still alive for several minutes after it is dislocated! This will distract the predator and allow the lizard to escape. It will take up to 60 days for the lizard to regrow a tail. The new tail is never identical to the original, as it is almost always shorter and has a different pattern of tiny scales. Glad this lizard eluded a predator! 

The following information about Alligator Lizards 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."

Northern Pacific Rattlesnake - Crotalus oreganus oreganus

My friend Keith came by and told me that there was a Rattlesnake in the middle of the road, if I wanted to take a photo.  So OF COURSE I walked down the road with him to see the rattler!  It was right in the sunny middle of the road, about middle sized, and definitely alive!  After I took a few photos we nudged it off the road with a very long stick. It was amazing to see how fast it moved, and how camouflaged it was among the pine needles!

Most Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes are active from dusk to dawn, looking for prey.  They eat birds, lizards, snakes, frogs, insects, and small mammals, including mice, rats, rabbits, hares, and ground squirrels.

All snakes move by using scoots, which are the large scales that are found on its underside. Each scoot, attached to a rib, slides along the ground independently of the other scales. These scoots enable the snake to propel itself forward, but it cannot move backwards very efficiently because of the way the scoots overlap each other.

The rattle had 5 segments. Rattlesnakes create a new segment on their rattle every time they shed their skin. Snakes shed their skin more than once a year when young, and less than once a year when old, so the number of segments in a rattle does not indicate their age. Additionally, segments can get broken off during a snake's lifetime.

Rattlesnake bites are seriously dangerous, although rarely fatal in humans.

Watch your step! Be careful!

Northwestern Fence Lizard (dark phase) - Common Garter Snake 

Sceloperus occidentalis occidentalis - Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi

The following information about Northwester Fence Lizards is from californiaherps.com.

"These lizards are diurnal. Active when temperatures are warm, becomes inactive during periods of extreme heat or cold, when they shelter in crevices and burrows, or under rocks, boards, tree bark, etc. Found in a wide variety of open, sunny habitats, including woodlands, grasslands, scrub, chaparral, forests, along waterways, suburban dwellings, where there are suitable basking and perching sites, including fences, walls, woodpiles, piles of rocks and rocky outcrops, dead and downed trees, wood rat nests, road berms, and open trail edges. Common and easily encountered in the right habitat. This is probably the species of lizard most often seen in the state due to its abundance in and near populated areas and its conspicuous behavior.

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. Young and adult lizards eat insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, butterflies, wasps, and ants."

Unfortunately, I found this dead Common Garter Snake (photo above right) on the highway, where it probably went to warm up.  Some critter will probably eat it, as it is a good source of protein. I have seen several live ones in our garden recently.

Garter Snakes often overwinter in groups of 20 or more, and mate as soon as they emerge in the spring. The young are born in August. Garter Snakes are ovoviviparous, and carry their eggs (20-50!!!) internally! The young emerge from their mother after hatching, and spend their first year preying mainly on earthworms! Adult Garter Snakes feed on frogs, toads, fish, salamanders, slugs, leeches, lizards, other snakes, and birds. Snakes don't have eyelids or ears, and communicate through movements!

Blue Dicks - Dichtelostemma capitatum

Wildflowers are popping up everywhere lately! Here are some of the ones I've seen down in our neighborhood. Enjoy!

 Paper Onion - Mountain Piperia Orchid - Milkwort Jewelflower

 Allium amplectens - Piperia transversa - Streptanthus polygaloides

The Mountain Piperia Orchid pictured above center, doesn't grow in wet meadows or bogs. Instead, it grows in shady areas of the dry forest floor. The stem is only about as thick as an uncooked spaghetti noodle! The flowers have a clove-like fragrance, which attracts moths. Last year there were lots of these tiny orchids in the forest. This year they're fairly scarce.

 Western Azalea - Mock Orange - Washington Lily 

Rhododendron occidentale - Philadelphus lewisii - Lilium washingtonianum

These three plants have super fragrant blossoms that are just heavenly. There is one large band of the Western Azaleas growing along the river in our neighborhood. It bloomed profusely for the past month, with hundreds and hundreds of flowers! The Mock Orange is currently in bloom, and it makes our whole neighborhood smell like a florist's store!  The 4'-6' tall Washinton Lilies are also in bloom in a few shady, dry areas of the forest.  I've only seen approximately 10 of them locally. Their lovely fragrance is very similar to Easter Lilies!

Brewer's Snapdragon - Showy Phlox - Interior Rose

 Antirrhinum vexillocalyculatum ssp. breweri - Phlox speciosa -

Rosa woodsii var. ultramontana

I've seen lots and lots of Spreading Phlox (Phlox diffusa) in the Lakes Basin, but this foothill variety is uncommon in our area. Unlike Spreading Phlox, Showy Phlox does not have a heavy scent. The plant is multi-branched, about 16" tall, and covered with clusters of pink and white blossoms. I've only found it growing in one spot along highway 49 on a rocky, north-facing slope. I think it is lovely!

There are lots of domestic "wild" roses growing in our area, but they are not native. The native Interior Rose pictured above is a much smaller shrub, but the fragrance of the roses is heavenly! If you find one of these little roses, make sure to inhale its fragrance!

Roundtooth Ookow - Slender Larkspur - Bridge's Triteleia

 Dichelostemma multiflorum - Delphinium gracilentum - Triteleia bridgesii

As vegetation dries out, several of the Brodiaea Family flowers bloom in profusion.  Right now Roundtooth Ookow and Bridge's Tritelia are putting on a show! They grow from starchy corms, underground storage organs consisting of a swollen stem base covered with scale leaves.

Bindweed/Smooth Western Morning Glory - Bur Reed - Jacob's Ladder

Calystegia purpurata - Sparganium emersum - Plemonium pulcherrimum

The flowers pictured above (left and center) were found in the Sierra Valley. The flower on the right was near Spring Valley in Last Chance Creek Canyon.  I had never seen any of them before! How fun! The Bindweed/Morning Glory isn't native, but the other two are.

Spotted Sandpiper (adults) and nest with eggs - Actitis macularia

There are several Spotted Sandpipers on the North Yuba River right now. They 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! Wow!

Spotted Sandpiper nest

I came across this Spotted Sandpiper nest just this week!  It was located on a boulder field along the North Yuba River.  I startled an adult Sandpiper off the nest. As it ran off, I noticed its tail feathers were all spread out. Perhaps it was shading or protecting the eggs with its feathers!  I'll go back in another week and see if the eggs have hatched!  How exciting!

Common Merganser (female) and four ducklings - Mergus merganser

I've been looking for Common Mergansers with ducklings on the river lately, and just this week I spotted a mom with four ducklings! Yay! It is always wonderful to see nature taking its natural course!

 

The average brood size of the Common Merganser is 9-12, but they have been known to have as many as 17 ducklings! I was amazed to see the group of 16 little ducklings! Within 1-2 days after the ducklings leave their nest, they are capable of swimming, diving, and feeding on their own! The mom will stay with them for approximately 2 months, warding off predators such as minks, otters, foxes, and herons! In the Fall, they will migrate to southern California or Arizona for the winter.

Western Tanager (male-female) - Piranga ludoviciana

In the past two weeks the Western Tanagers have arrived! These unbelievably colorful birds migrate all the way from Costa Rica, to breed and raise their young here! The Western Tanager is a great example of sexual dimorphism! The males are brilliantly colored to attract the females. The females are plainly colored, and blend in with their surroundings. This camouflaged coloring is advantageous for a female sitting on a nest!

Deer Lake - 6/6/24

...& More!

My friend Diane and I hiked up to Deer Lake, around 7,000' in elevation two weeks ago!  It was wonderful to be back in the Lakes Basin!  As you can see the lake was still about 3/4 frozen, and we had to hike on large patches of snow, and wade through rushing creeks to get to it!  It was a wonderful adventure in our home away from home!

Red-breasted Sapsucker - Clark's Nutcracker - Green-tailed Towhee

 Sphyrapicus ruber - Nucifraga columbiana - Pipilo chlorurus

These are just a few of the birds we saw!

The Sierra Buttes from the Deer Lake area - 6/6/24

Carman Valley - 6/3/24

I also went to Carman Valley with my husband, and our friends Rod and Rochelle, a little more than two weeks ago.  It was a glorious, dark, overcast day. The flowers weren't as prolific as some years but it was still beautiful and peaceful!

Pied-billed Grebe - Double-crested Cormorant

Podylimbus podiceps - Phalacrocorax auritus

Here are some of the birds we saw!

Sandhill Cranes - Antigone canadensis

Spring Creek Meadow - 5/27/24

About a month ago I was treated to a tour of Spring Creek Meadow, a recent purchase of the Feather River Land Trust, northeast of Sierra Valley.  It was a lovely wet meadow with a surrounding forest, and a creek running through it.

 

 Burnt forest - Mountain Bluebird - Sialia currucoides

The surrounding forest had been burned 4 years ago. It was a patchwork of burns, with some areas barely burned while others were totally blackened and burnt. 

What's happening with the local mammals?

Are the Drummond's Anemones blooming in the Lakes Basin?

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 July 6th. See you then!

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