Prairie Falcon - Falco mexicanus
Two weeks ago, on February 2nd, my husband and I, and our friends Mary and Nancy, went over to Sierra Valley to hopefully see some raptors. We totally lucked out! We saw two different Prairie Falcons, one Rough-legged Hawk, lots of Red-tailed Hawks, several Northern Harriers, and two Bald Eagles! It was quite a bird-watching day!!!
I had never seen a Prairie Falcon before! Wow!!! They are 16" in length, with a wingspan of 40", just about the same size as a Peregrine Falcon. Apparently they are year-round residents in Sierra Valley! We saw this one fairly close to Sierraville. The following information about Prairie Falcons is from the Cornell website http://allaboutbirds.org/.
"Prairie Falcons in summer eat mostly small mammals, particularly ground squirrels. They also eat pikas, birds, and insects. In winter, ground squirrels are not available, and the Prairie Falcon depends mainly on Horned Lark and Western Meadowlark. Prairie Falcons breeding in California and Utah also eat many shorebirds, Mourning Doves, and other bird species. Nesting pairs cache excess prey in clumps of vegetation and rocky areas within their territory, and males and females cache food in separate sites. Such caches provide a buffer against times when finding prey is difficult."
Prairie Falcon - Falco mexicanus
"This inhabitant of dry environments of western North America, where cliffs or bluffs punctuate open plains and shrub-steppe deserts, is an efficient and specialized predator of medium-sized desert mammals and birds, ranging widely in search of patchily distributed prey. Several species of ground squirrels are the mainstay of this species' diet; they provide fat-rich calories that pairs need for raising their broods of 4–5 young during the 3- to 4-month nesting season. When ground squirrels move underground to escape summer heat and dryness, most falcons leave their nesting areas in search of other prey. A hardy species, the Prairie Falcon has always made its living in lands that are susceptible to periodic droughts."
Prairie Falcon - Falco mexicanus
We saw this Prairie Falcon over near the Steel Bridge!
"Prairie Falcons breed in open country throughout the West wherever they can find bluffs and cliffs to nest on, including in alpine habitat to about 11,000 feet. Breeding habitats include grasslands, shrub steppe desert, areas of mixed shrubs and grasslands, or alpine tundra that supports abundant ground squirrel or pika populations. Breeding birds sometimes forage in agricultural fields. The majority of Prairie Falcons spend the winter in the Great Plains and Great Basin, in habitat that supports the Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks that make up much of their wintertime diet. This includes grasslands, sage scrub, dry-farmed wheat fields, irrigated cropland, and cattle feedlots, where the falcons also prey on European Starlings."
How lucky we were to see these gorgeous falcons!
Rough-legged Hawk - Buteo lagopus
We saw this Rough-legged Hawk right near the Steel Bridge! It had been several years since I'd seen one, and my friend Mary had never seen one before! How exciting! These beautiful hawks breed in the taiga and tundra across Canada and Alaska, up to the high arctic. They feed on small mammals, including lemmings, voles, mice, shrews, rabbits and ground squirrels. In the winter they migrate down into the U.S. and inhabit pastures, marshy areas, and wet meadows.
Rough-legged Hawk - Buteo lagopus
They are not commonly seen in our area, except for Sierra Valley. Some years there are a lot in the valley in winter, other years there are few to none. We were so lucky to see one of these incredible, long-distance migrants!
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis
We saw more Red-tailed Hawks than any other species that day. They are one of the mostly commonly seen raptors in North America, and are found from coast to coast in the U.S. and as far south as Venezuela! Red-tails are medium sized hawks, measuring 19" in length, with a wingspan of 49", and a weight of 2.4 lb. They like to perch in trees, or posts on the edges of clearings or meadows, and watch for prey. Ground squirrels, gophers, rabbits, mice, snakes, lizards, kestrels, and meadowlarks are their main prey. They live in Sierra Valley year-round.
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis
Here's a good shot of it's red tail! Red-tailed Hawks are classified as "buteos" which are medium to large, stout bodied hawks, with broad wings and fan shaped tails. There are several subspecies of Red-tailed Hawks in the U.S. that have unique color morphs, including one that has a gray tail!
Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus
We saw two Bald Eagles that day, and both of them were sitting on low fence posts! It was cold and windy, so maybe that's why they weren't soaring around or perching on telephone posts. They are year-round residents of Sierra Valley .
Northern Harrier - Circus hudsonius
These beautiful raptors are not classified as "hawks" they are "harriers". They were too hard to photograph as they were so distant, and flew so quickly. The composite above is from a few years ago.
California Mule Deer - Odocoileus hemionus californicus
To our delight we also came across a small band of California Mule Deer. There were five females and one buck! They were camouflaged beautifully against the dry grasses and sagebrush of the Valley!
California Mule Deer (buck) - Odocoileus hemionus californicus
The buck looked like it had a few wounds on it's side and back thigh! No idea what might have caused the wounds, Mountain Lion, Wolf, barbed wire?
California Mule Deer (does) - Odocoileus hemionus californicus
In late winter, Mule Deer usually band together in loose herds to be safer and warmer! The more eyes there are watching for predators, the better the protection!
Sierra Valley looking East from Harriet Lane
The Valley was drier than I've ever seen it before. There was also a definite lack of waterfowl. However, it was still amazingly beautiful! I'm glad that there's a winter storm due to arrive this week, that will bring snow to the mountains and rain to the lower elevations. We need it!
South Yuba River Beauty
A Short Hike at South Yuba River State Park
The day after our trip to Sierra Valley, my husband and I, and our friends Rod and Rochelle, went for a hike down in the South Yuba River State Park. It was gloriously green with lush grasses and a few early bloomers! The river itself was crystal clear and a rich glass-green color. Such beauty!
Common Fiddleneck - Zig-zag Larkspur
Amsinckia menziesii - Delphinium patens
a tiny, slightly-opened Pipevine flower - maturing Pipevine flowers
Aristolochia californica
California Manroot - Nemophila
Marah fabaceus - Nemophila pedunculata
South Yuba River Beauty
We had a lovely walk and picnic above the beautiful river! Just wonderful! There's not doubt that we'll be back soon!
A big winter storm is supposed to arrive tonight! It will start out rainy and then turn snowy over the next three days, with the potential of two feet of snowfall in our area! A lot more snow is expected at the higher elevations. Thank goodness, as there's only a foot of snow up at Yuba Pass right now, at 6,709' in elevation! My neighborhood will probably look like the photo above in a few days!
Fingers crossed it all goes well! I'll let you know how it goes!
Check back in two weeks, on February 28th for my next blog!
Your questions and comments are always welcome. Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thank you!
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