The past month of January was unusually sunny, with no rain or snow. To take advantage of the snow-free roads and warm days, my husband and I decided to hike down in the foothills, at the Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area. It is approx-imately 7,000 acres of rolling hills covered with blue and live oak, gray pine, and thick brush. There are four units and the approximate acreages are: Daugherty Hill (3,200 acres), Donovan Hill (1,800 acres), Quail Valley (1,300 acres), and Darby Road (700 acres). It is managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
All of the units in the Daugherty Hill Complex were private ranches at one time. Through an arrangement with the Calif. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, the land has become a nature preserve, but the cows are still allowed to graze. The following excerpt from ANR Publication 8517 at the University of Calif. Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (located at http://anrcatalog.usan.edu) discusses the reasons why they have allowed the stock to remain.
"Because livestock grazing (primarily by cattle) can effectively reduce the biomass, height and thatch accumulation produced by non-native plants, it has become and essential tool for managing California's grasslands. Grazing has been shown to benefit California's annual grasslands in many ways - by reducing the risk of a catastrophic wildfire, maintaining and enhancing habitat for many native grassland plants and animals, and maintaining the open character of our iconic grasslands and oak savannas. Grazing can be managed to targets specific habitats, pest plants, fire hazards, and encroaching shrubs."
California Oak Gall - Andricus quercuscalifornicus
We saw these California Oak Galls on LOTS of the oak trees. The galls and the wasps that form them, cause no harm to the trees. In fact they provide food for birds, as evidenced by the one in the above left photo, that had been excavated by a woodpecker.
Golden-crowned Sparrow - Oak Titmouse
Baeolophus inornatus - Zonotrichia atricapilla
We saw a good variety of songbirds while we were there! I've written about all of them in past blogs. Just use the "search this blog" bar on the top right of my home page for more information about any species featured in this blog.
Western Bluebirds (male) - Acorn Woodpecker (female)
Sialia mexicana - Melanerpes formicivorus
Western Bluebirds and Acorn Woodpeckers are a familiar sight in the foothills. year-round.
White-crowned Sparrow - Hermit Thrush
Zonotrichia leucophrys - Catharus guttatus
I lucked out and saw a Hermit Thrush in the bushes on the edge of the road! The following information about them is from the Cornell website, birdsoftheworld.org.
"With spotted breast and reddish tail, the Hermit Thrush lives up to its name. Although celebrated for its ethereal song, it is mostly a quiet and unobtrusive bird that spends much of its time in the lower branches of the undergrowth or on the forest floor, often seen flicking its wings while perched and quickly raising and slowly lowering its tail.
[They eat] insects, other small invertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles; fruits consumed from variety of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants.
They spend their winters in the western and/or southern parts of the U.S., as well as in Mexico. They breed mainly up in the lower half of Canada! I found this fascinating information about their migratory strategies on birdsoftheworld.org!
"Based on 35 yrs of data, Cochran and Wikeleski (2005) describe the decision-making process of Hermit Thrush and other Catharus migrating though the midwestern U.S. using the following 6 “rules of thumb:”
"1. Stop over and forage until fat levels are above a score of 1 (body mass ≥ 32 g); in stopover habitat, establish small (~100 m radius) foraging area.
2. Migrate at night when maximum daily air temperature is ≥21° C and wind at takeoff is <10 km/h, regardless of wind direction.
3. Calibrate magnetic compass every clear afternoon or at dusk against sunset direction or overhead polarized sky light.
4. Keep constant magnetic heading during entire migration; but if there is a lightning storm then fly toward it, even if it means reversing direction.
5. Stop flying when body mass is back to level of previous morning or when the sun rises; land in a wooded stopover habitat with water.
6. Once specific latitude is reached, switch from northward migration to east or west exploratory flights to find breeding habitat."
Black Oak in Winter
The fillagree of leafless, lichen-covered branches of the Black Oaks create a hazy or mist-like quality in the tree crowns. This is especially evident when the tree is backlit, as in the above photo. Such beauty!
Since the weather was so mild, my friends Rod and Rochelle, and I, decided to go down to Gray Lodge once again! Yay!!! I always get so excited when I'm going to Gray Lodge! I just love it there. It is quite a wetlands, with lots of tule lined "lakes", ponds, and canals. One of the main aquatic plants that can be seen floating in the wetlands is the non-native "Water Fern"(Azolla filiculoides), a species of aquatic fern native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Americas. It created quite a color-contrast with the reflection of the blue sky on the water!
Western Pond Turtle - Actinemys marmorata
On our walk through the wetlands, we were thrilled to see a native Western Pond Turtle basking in the sun!!! I have only seen one of these before. The non-native/invasive Red-Slider Turtles are the ones I usually see. The following information about Western Pond Turtles is from the inaturalist.org website.
"The western pond turtle occurs in both permanent and intermittent waters, including marshes, streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. It favors habitats with large numbers of emergent logs or boulders, where individuals aggregate to bask. They also bask on top of aquatic vegetation.
In addition to its aquatic habitat, terrestrial habitat is also extremely important for the western pond turtle. Since many intermittent ponds can dry up during summer and fall months along the west coast, especially during times of drought, the western pond turtle can spend upwards of 200 days out of water. Many turtles overwinter outside of the water, during which time they often create their nests for the year. Overwintering sites can sometimes be 500 meters from a main body of water.
The western pond turtle is omnivorous and most of its animal diet includes insects, crayfish, and other aquatic invertebrates. Fish, tadpoles, and frogs are eaten occasionally, and carrion is eaten when available. Plant foods include filamentous algae, lily pads, tule and cattail roots. Juveniles are primarily carnivorous, and eat insects and carrion. At about age three they begin to eat plant matter.
Raccoons, otters, ospreys, and coyotes are the biggest natural threats to this turtle, its eggs, and hatchlings. Weasels and large fish are also known predators. Non-native predators include bullfrogs, crayfish, and opossums.
In the past the turtle was exploited as food by both indigenous peoples and American settlers. After the goldrush in California a large "fishery" emerged processing turtles from the San Francisco Bay Estuary into canned soup for markets East.
Finally, this species is still threatened by humankind. Due to habitat destruction and modification, this species is currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and by Nature Serve. It also faces significant competition from introduced invasive species, especially the red-eared slider. With the removal of ponds, modification of sandy banks needed for egg laying, draining of wetlands, this species is now vulnerable. Efforts at reintroducing this turtle to its native range have met with limited success."
Green Heron (adult) - Butorides virescens
I was only going to feature the birds that were new to this visit, but right away we had an incredible sighting of a gorgeous Green Heron that I had to share with you! They are such handsome birds!
Black-crowned Night-Heron (adult) - Nycticorax nycticorax
We also saw a far away beautiful Black-crowned Night-Heron perched in the tules! I haven't seen one of these for a while!
The Cornell website birdsoftheworld.org states,
"Black-crowned Night-Herons are opportunists feeders that eat many kinds of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine animals. Their diet includes leeches, earthworms, insects, crayfish, clams, mussels, fish, amphibians, lizards, snakes, turtles, rodents, birds, and eggs. They also eat carrion, plant materials, and garbage from landfills. Rather than stabbing their prey, they grasp it in their bills. Black-crowned Night-Herons normally feed between evening and early morning, avoiding competition with other heron species that use the same habitat during the day. They may feed during the day in the breeding season, when they need extra energy for nesting."
Snowy Egrets (adults) - Egretta thula
We spotted this beautiful Snowy Egret hunting in one of the canals! It's yellow lores and black legs with yellow feet, identify it as an adult in its breeding colors.
Snowy Egrets feed on worms, aquatic and terrestrial insects, crabs, shrimp, prawns, crayfish, snails, fish, frogs, toads, snakes and lizards! They have more foraging methods than any other egret species, including foot-stirring, walking slowly, hovering, striking, and disturb-and-chase. They can live in fresh or salt water wetlands, and probably live year-round in California's Central Valley.
In the 1880's the Snowy Egrets population was in serious decline. Birdsoftheworld.org states,
"This species was among the most sought-after of all herons and egrets for its delicate, recurved back plumes, used to adorn women's hats. In 1886, plumes were valued at an astounding $32 per ounce, twice the contemporary price of gold . Plundering for plumes began about 1880, peaked in 1903, and continued until 1910, when outraged citizens forced the passage of laws that reduced the slaughter. Hunting continued longer in Central and South America because of continued European demand. The species mounted a remarkable comeback following cessation of the feather trade, even extending its range beyond that of historical record."
Cinnamon Teal (male-female) - Spatula cyanoptera
The male Cinnamon Teal is just gorgeously colored. The female isn't, which is a good strategy if you want to be undetected while on a nest. These Teals are known to stay year-round in California's Central Valley, or they could also migrate to breeding grounds in the western half of the U.S. We were lucky to see them this time, as I didn't see any on my previous visit.
White-faced Ibis (adult) - Plegadis chihi
To our delight, last week there were hundreds of White-faced Ibis feeding in the fields! Firstly, we saw the one above all by itself! Rochelle said that he was "pointing the way" to the other ones!!
White-faced Ibis (adult) - Plegadis chihi
White-faced Ibis have incredibly long, curved bills with which they probe the wetlands for insects, crustaceans, earthworms, and fly larvae.I n the right light you can see the maroons, browns, and greens of their iridescent feathers. Sych beauty!
Sierra Buttes (west side) - 1/19/2025
On January 19, I hiked up to Blue Point on the west side of the Sierra Buttes with my friends Nancy and BJ! It was an incredibly warm and sunny day, and the trail/road was totally snow free! Pretty unusual for January! I didn't take many photos, but eleven years ago on the same day (!!!) I hiked the same hike with my friends Diane and Linda! We stayed out until the sunset that day and I got some great photos. So here they are for you to enjoy! If you haven't hiked this trail/road, it's great for spectacular, varying views of the Sierra Buttes!
Sierra Buttes Dusk - 1/19/2014
Sierra Buttes Sunset Colors - 1/19/2014
View west from the road/trail - 1/19/2014
What will the weather bring?
What's happening in my neighborhood?
Check back in two weeks for the answers to these questions and more!
After 8 years of posting my blog, I've decided that I'm only going to post my blog every TWO weeks from now on. Check back in two weeks, on February, 15th for my next natural history blog.
Also, check out my latest post on my newly re-opened Damp Earth Blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com
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