Clark's Nutcrackers!

Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana

In the past month, I have seen Clark's Nutcrackers in three different areas; near a pond off the 09 road in the Lakes Basin, off the trail to Frasier Falls, and in Carman Valley! 

Nutcrackers are one of my favorite birds, but I don't often see them. They are in the Corvid family of birds, including our local Ravens, Crows, Yellow-billed Magpies, and Stellar Jays. There are 113 species of corvids world wide. They are found on all the continents of the world, except for Antarctica, and all the countries, except New Zealand!

Corvids are the smartest birds in the world! Many studies have shown that they are capable of modifying their inherited behavior patterns, and can solve challenges/problems that arise!!  In the past, it was believed that because birds have a small cerebral cortex in their brains, that they were not very smart. It has been since discovered that they have an additional organ in their forebrain, the hyperstriatum (which mammals lack), which is their organ of intelligence! 

Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana

My friend Mary and I saw this nutcracker on our way to Babbitt Peak, several years ago! The following information is from the Cornell website at https://birdsoftheworld.org/.

"They use their dagger-like bills to rip into pine cones and pull out large seeds. They will cache 1,000's of pine seeds, usually Whitebark, Pinyon, and Jeffrey Pine, to live on during the winter. They have a sublingual pouch at the base of their tongue, that can hold up to 150 seeds, which is used to transport seeds to caches! It is estimated that one nutcracker alone can store 22,000 to 33,000 seeds in 7,500 different locations!!! They only store a handful of seeds in each location, and have an unerring ability to find these cached seeds in the winter, underneath the snow! "

WOW!!! Additionally, seeds they don’t retrieve play a crucial role in growing new pine forests.

Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana

I saw this pair of nutcrackers in the forest near Upper Helgramite Lake, two summers ago!

Clark's Nutcrackers live year-round around at 7,500'-9,500' in elevation in the Sierra Nevada. They are altitudinal migrants. They spend spring and summer in the higher elevations and move to the lower elevations in the fall.

Clark's Nutcracker (fledgling) - Nucifraga columbiana

To our complete surprise, several years ago we saw two adult Clarke's Nutcrackers that were accompanied by a downy fledgling! WOW!!! Apparently young birds will stay with their parents for several months after they leave the nest! The following information about them is from the Cornell website at https://birdsoftheworld.org/

"Nest Structure and Composition"

"Nest consists of a platform of twigs woven together and secured to small branches on a supporting limb(s), and an inner nest cup lined with fine material, resulting in good insulation. Twigs are typically 1.0–5 mm in diameter and 20–30 cm long. One nest consisted of 247 Douglas-fir twigs and another of 193 Douglas-fir twigs, weighing 256 and 144 g, respectively. The outer nest bowl is built of rotten wood pulp, and inner lining of dried grass and fine strips of inner bark from Douglas-fir, with layer of mineral soil on floor under lining. Nests are also constructed of juniper and incense cedar twigs and bark; the lining may include moss or animal hair.

Nest are sometimes placed in outer branches on fork, on the leeward side of a tree, which is suggested to shelter the nest from prevailing winds. Some nest trees are located on south-facing slopes or in canyon bottoms, which is suggested to be for warmth. Thick nest walls likely insulate against severe cold and wind, and conserve body heat.

The Clark's Nutcracker feeds its nestlings pine seeds from its many winter stores (caches). Because it feeds the young on stored seeds, the nutcracker can breed as early as January or February, despite the harsh winter weather in its mountain home."

A pond off the 09 Road

A pond off the 09 Road

 I hiked to the beautiful pond pictured above with my friends Marilyn and Terry about a month ago. To our delight a Clark's Nutcracker started calling in a tree right above us!

It flew across the pond and hung out in a very distant pine tree for a minute or two, so we got a great sighting of it!

View east from the trail to Frasier Falls

Frasier Falls

My husband and hiked to Frasier Falls a week ago on a beautiful stormy cloud day!  I saw this cool, dead, lichen-covered spire and hiked up to check it out. Just as I rounded the corner to take a photo, a Clark's Nutcracker flew off from the top of it!  WOW!  Too quick to get a photo, but great to see! (The inset photo above, was taken years ago on the way up to Mt. Lola!)

Mount Beckworth and a Carman Valley wetland

Carman Valley

This week, my friend Mary and I went over to Carman Valley to explore. The clouds were absolutely gorgeous and the breezes were fabulous. The wetland was quite a bit drier than when we had gone there almost two months ago, but we still loved it! Such beauty!

Clark's Nutcracker - Sulphur Butterflies on Asters - Mallards

Nucifraga columbiana - Colias sp. on unknown sp. - Anas platyrhynchos

Mary identified the call of a Clark's Nutcracker on the way to the wetland, and sure enough they were there! Unfortunately they were quite a distance away and hard to photograph, but we were thrilled to see them!  There were just a few scattered flowers in bloom, including Asters. We lucked out and caught a photo of two Sulphur butterflies on them! There was a fairly large group of distant ducks, which took off as soon as we saw them. Mary identified them as mostly Mallards, with her binoculars. 

Beaver Lodge - Castor canadensis

We also went to the Beaver Pond in another part of Carman Valley. We didn't see any beavers, but it was lovely to be there!

Clark's Nutcracker - Cattails - Wood Duck

Nucifraga columbiana - Typha latifolia - Aix Sponsa

There were tons of cattails ready to go to seed as well as a few Wood Ducks, and surprisingly, three Clark's Nutcrackers! Look how long its beak is!!!

Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana 

To our delight, the Nutcrackers landed on a partially submerged tree in the Beaver Pond, and proceeded to drink from the pond!  They were a lot closer to us, and I was able to watch and photograph them for several minutes. WOW!!

So who knows when or were we might see them again, but it has been a thrill seeing them in our area! I'm headed back to the Lakes Basin again this week, so my fingers are crossed!

Are there any signs of Fall happening?

What's happening on the North Yuba River?

Check back in two weeks, on October 4th, for the my next natural history blog.

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

It RAINED!!!

 

Rain bejeweled leaves

We got 1.81" of rain in twelve hours last Wednesday!!! It started raining around 5:00pm and quit around 5:00am. On several instances it POURED! In the morning everything was bejeweled with rain and glistening!  Nature's camphor was in the air and it was deliciously humid!  We haven't had any rain in quite some time and it's been unusually HOT, so this downpour was a real blessing. Additionally, the previously imminent danger of forest fires has been washed away! Yay!!  

The North Yuba River in the Rain

I could watch the rain fall on the river for hours! It is so beautiful! The concentric rings of water that fluidly overlap each other, the blurred greens of the underwater river rocks, and the ever changing movement of the raindrops is a performance in itself!

Rain in the forest

Years ago I wrote a small simple song to hopefully encourage rain to fall!  We sing it in the spring and fall when rains are so needed. Here it is, without any music, but make up your own melody!

Rain, rain, come on down,

Come and quench this thirsty ground,

Come and let wet smells abound,

Fill the air with a joyful sound!

           

(repeat in a round)

Sierra Buttes in the mists

Deer Lake to Salmon Lake Hike

The day the rains came, my friend Patti and I decided to hike up to Deer Lake and then down to Salmon Lake, in the Lakes Basin. The Deer Lake trail has incredible views of the Sierra Buttes along the way. That day the clouds were beautifully dark and  misty on the Buttes! We didn't get rained on but it was lovely to be out in the stormy conditions!

Beetle-engraved tree trunk

The overcast of clouds provided soft even light on the landscape. We came across a group of bark-less dead trees that had beautiful patterns engraved in them, from wood-boring beetles and their larvae. I think these dead "silver" trees are so elegant!

Deer Lake

We were the only ones on the trail and at the lakes that day!  It was quite cold and windy so we didn't go swimming, but enjoyed our lunch on the lake shore, then headed down the trail to Salmon Lake.

Dry Bunch-Grasses

The trail down to Salmon Lake is quite steep, but there were lots of beautiful, blond, dry grasses to see on the way!

Fall Color 

The fall colors were just starting. The dry grasses and silvered dead trees were lovely together, along with thin patches of dry Alpine Knotweed.

Mountain Ash - Sorbus californica

This year is an incredible year for wild berries!  We saw tons of  Elderberries, Silk-Tassel berries, and  American Dogwood berries along the trail.

Mountain Ash have bright red berries that are edible, however they are quite bitter to eat raw. It is recommended to freeze or cook them before eating. They contain cyanide, which reduces naturally as the berries get frozen. The berries also contain parasorbic acid, which can cause stomach upset. Cooking changes it to palatable sorbic acid.

Lots of critters eat Mountain Ash. Robins, Jays, Cedar Waxwings, finches, woodpeckers, and Chickadees all feed on Mountain Ash berries. Mammals also feed on the berries, or twigs, bark and foliage, such as squirrels, rodents, rabbits, bear and deer.

Blue Elderberry - Silk Tassel

Sambucus mexicana - Garrya fremontii

Most of the berries aren't edible for humans. Even elderberries aren't recommended! However, lots of wild birds and mammals have no trouble eating them!

The following information is from

The Law's Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada.

"Although Blue Elderberry fruits can be eaten raw, all other parts (even small stems) can produce a bitter alkaloid and also a glycoside that, under certain conditions, can produce poisonous hydrocyanic acid. I do not recommend eating this or other elderberries."

On the other hand, lots of birds and mammals feast on the berries. The following information about them is from https://nativeplantspnw.com.

"Blue Elderberry is an extremely valuable shrub for wildlife. It provides valuable cover and nesting sites for birds and small mammals. Its fruit provides food for many species of birds including: jays, woodpeckers, pigeons, grosbeaks, robins, thrushes, bluebirds, towhees, tanagers, and many others. Squirrels and other small mammals also eat the fruit. Flowers are mostly pollinated by insects but hummingbirds will visit the flowers for nectar. Elk and deer browse the foliage."

Silk Tassel is browsed by Mule Deer in winter and spring. Songbirds, mountain quail, gray fox, and rodents consume the berries. I got a video of a Mule Deer browsing on shrubs this Spring!!!

Video of Mule Deer browsing on shrubs

Mountain Dogwood - Cornus sericea

These whitish berries are unpalatable to humans, but are consumed by a variety of birds and mammals. The following information about them is from the website https://plants.usda.gov/Wildlife.

"The fleshy fruits of dogwoods are very valuable to wildlife. The fruit ripens in late summer, and besides being available through the fall, some of the berries may persist on the plants into the winter months. Wildlife browse the twigs, foliage, and fruits. Birds known to eat the fruit include: grosbeaks, orioles, robins, sapsuckers, tree swallows, tanagers, vireos, warblers, cedar waxwings, grouse, and woodpeckers. Mammals that eat the fruit and foliage include black bear, beaver, mountain beaver, cottontail rabbits, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and rats. Deer, browse the twigs and foliage."

Salmon Lake

Salmon Lake was gorgeous with the overhanging clouds and changing sunlight!

Salmon Lake and the Buttes

We ended our hike here at Salmon Lake! What a gorgeous day it had been!

Hope to be back again soon!

The North Yuba River has definitely cooled off with the recent change in the weather. However, although swimming may not be an option in the near future, it's still a lovely place to hang out for a day! You never know what you might see, and the cooler weather has made the algae on the rocks less prevalent. Which has made it easier to wade without slipping!

  

California Fuchsia - Epilobium canum

 One of my absolutely favorite flowers is the California Fuchsia. Right now they are blooming in profusion. I found this batch on a rocky peninsula that was bordered by the river. They are definitely fire-engine red and attract lots of pollinators!

possible Bobcat skull

I found this old very dry skull a bit inland from the river. I asked for an ID on iNaturalist, and I'll let you know what they think! Very cool find!

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodia

A huge Great Blue Heron flew past and then landed nearby. One or two of these herons live here year-round.

What fall changes are happening locally and in the Lakes Basin?

Are any migratory birds passing through?

Check back for the answers to these questions and more, in two weeks on Sunday, September 20th.

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com.