Robbing the Nest!

Bullock's Oriole (female) - Icterus bullockii

This week I was SO THRILLED to find this female Bullock's Oriole recycling nest material from two old nests!!!  For a few days this week, she visited two nests that were about 20' apart, and pulled and pulled to get the nesting material out of them!!!  It was AMAZING to watch her!  The male and female Orioles work together to weave a hanging pouch out of plant fibers, and whatever else they fancy!  The females, however, do most of the work.  It may take them a week or more to construct the nest! Once the nest is completed, the female will lay 3-7 eggs in the pouch, and incubate them for 11 days.  The altricial nestlings fledge in approximately 14 days!

I photographed the two oriole nests above, in late winter.  Below are the same two nests this week, after the Bullock Oriole had taken what she needed!  The nest on the right had a bunch of fishing line it it! 

 Beautiful Bullock's Orioles!

These Bullock's Orioles showed up in our neighborhood in the last 10 days!  The color of their plumage is so brilliantly beautiful!  An adult male has black and bright golden-orange coloring. Adult females have bright golden-yellow and light-brown coloring.  They really stand out in the forest!  They overwinter in Mexico and Central America.  In the Spring, they fly north to nest in riparian areas with tall deciduous trees.  They forage in trees and bushes for caterpillars, ants, bugs and nectar.  The local Black Locus trees are in full bloom right now, and full of nectar.  Every morning I see the Bullock's Orioles flying from one tree to another, with both the males and females chattering and singing away!  Below are the photos I took this week of our vibrantly colored new residents!  

Top:  Adult Male                      Young Female                        Adult Male

Bottom:  3 photos of the same Oriole, an "almost" adult male

The immature male on the bottom hasn't changed into the full golden-orange plumage of a mature adult, but has the white wing bars, and black crown of an adult.  The young female oriole in the top middle doesn't have her mature plumage either, but has a sharp, finely-pointed beak, just like the adults. 

Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and Grizzly Peak 

If you read about Black Locust trees, you will find that they are thought of as an invasive species.  They are native to the Southeastern United States, but have spread throughout North America.  I've noticed that Black Locusts are the favorite tree of many of our local birds!  It is one of the tallest deciduous trees in my neighborhood, and birds love to perch in them.  I also saw the Evening Grosbeaks eating the seeds out of the dried Locust pods, when they first arrived this Spring!  3 out of the 3 old Oriole nests I've found, have been in Locust Trees.  Also, the nectar from the blossoms is eaten by many insects, as well as birds.  I think that even though it is an invasive species, through my observation it appears to be beneficial to the birds!  I'm glad that they grow here!

I finally found an occupied nest!

American Robin - Turdus migratorius     Adult on nest (left) - Young Robin (right)

I've been watching this nest for the past two weeks, but haven't seen any birds in it.  I thought it must be an old nest!  Yesterday, I pointed out this nest to my neighbor and she said, "There's a bird on it right now!"   WOW was I surprised!  Finally I've seen a nesting bird, thanks to my neighbor!  Yahoo!  Robins can have up to 3 broods a year.  However, only 40% of the nests successfully produce nestlings, and only 25% of those nestlings survive to November!  There are Robins that have lived for 14 years, but most live for 6 years.  I'll keep watch, and post how this brood turns out!

I photographed the young Robin, on the right, earlier this month!  Apparently successful broods do happen!

Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) with nesting material  -  Steller's Jay eggs

I saw this Steller's Jay gathering nesting material just yesterday!  The female Jays lay 2-6 eggs in a largish twig and mud nest, once a year.  They incubate the eggs for 16-18 days. The nestlings fledge in approximately 16 days.  I couldn't find information about the nestlings' state when they hatch.  So I don't know if they're born altricial or precocial.  I'll keep looking for an answer!

My neighbor gave me this Steller's Jay nest last year, when the bird parents never returned.  The eggs were a surprising turquoise blue, like a Robin's egg, but they also had brown spots, unlike a Robin's egg!  

The dreaded Brown-headed Cowbirds have arrived!

This week a flock of about 20 Brown-headed Cowbirds arrived in our neighborhood.  This is NOT a good thing!  Cowbirds do not make their own nests!  They are nest parasites of other birds!  The females will lay their eggs in another bird's nest!  Each female Cowbird produces over 3 dozen eggs in a season!!  The Cowbird nestlings usually hatch earlier than the host bird's nestlings.  They are also usually larger than the host bird's nestlings!  Since they are born sooner, they push the unhatched host bird's eggs out of the nest!!!  If the other nestlings hatch at the same time as the Cowbird, they will even push nestlings out of the nest!  Also, the larger size of the Cowbird nestling improves its odds for getting fed more by the host bird.

Some birds can detect that a Cowbird egg is not their egg, and will destroy it, toss it from the nest, or build a whole new nest on top of it!  Unfortunately, most birds don't realize that a Cowbird egg is in their nest, and raise the Cowbird nestling as their  own.  Originally a bison-following bird of the Great Plains, the Brown-headed Cowbird spread eastward in the 1800's as forests were cleared. The Brown-headed Cowbird's habit of nest parasitism can threaten species with small populations.  I'm glad only about 5 females are in our area!

Who's scat is that?

I'll talk more about mammal scat next week.  

Can you guess what canine mammal left this scat?

Lizards and snakes don't talk.  They don't even have vocal chords!  They communicate by using body language!!  What do you think this lizard is saying?

What eats snakes and lizards?

Where are the Black Bears?

What other scat is easily recognizable?

What's happening in and along the river?

Check back next week for answers to these questions 

and MORE!!!

It's Heating Up!

Some of our daytime highs this week were in the 80's!  All of a sudden lizards, snakes and insects appeared!  More birds also arrived, some of them coming all the way from Central America!  Flowers, trees, and bushes burst into bloom, and pollination was happening everywhere!  It was an amazing week!

Spiny Lizard - Sceloperus sp.

This Spiny Lizard was in our garden, where we watched her eat a fly!!  They will also eat spiders, scorpions, centipedes, beetles, wasps, ants, and sometimes buds and leaves!  There are over 80 species of Spiny Lizards in the world, and I'm not sure what species this one is.  I think this is a female, because male Spiny Lizards have a bright blue patch on each side of their belly, and their throat.  After she mates with a male, she will lay 3-15 eggs in sandy soil.  She doesn't incubate the eggs!  Air and soil temperatures are sufficient for the eggs to develop on their own.  They will hatch in approximately 2 months, into 1" long baby lizards!!!  

 Spiny Lizard and Western Aquatic Garter Snake - Thamnophis couchi 

I found this snake lying on the road, warming up in the sun. All critters, except for mammals and birds, are ectotherms.  They rely on external  sources, such as sunlight and heated surfaces, to regulate their internal body temperature.  Garter snakes are the most aquatic of all our local snakes.  This Western Aquatic Garter Snake is an excellent swimmer, and can stay underwater for several minutes.  They eat fish, frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, earthworms, insects, slugs, small rodents, eggs and nestlings of birds!  They do not poison or constrict their prey.  They catch their prey with their teeth, and then swallow them whole!  The females are ovoviviparous, and carry their eggs internally.  The young snakes, up to 30 in a clutch, are born in late summer.  They are 5" in length when born, and can reach up to 50" in length as adults.

Carpenter Bees - Xylocopa sp. and a Bumblebee - Bombus sp.

The Pollinators!  

The onions in our garden are now blooming and attracting a variety of pollinators!  Carpenter Bees have been there for days, drinking the nectar from the flowers!

Adult male and female Carpenter Bees hibernate in separate tunnels, in winter.  In the Spring, they mate and then clean out an old tunnel, or create a new one, for their larvae.  The female lays 6 to 8 eggs.  Each egg is placed in a separate chamber, along with some "bee bread" (a ball of nectar and pollen).  The chamber is then sealed off with wood particles.  When the egg hatches, the larva eats the bee bread, pupates, and emerges out of its chamber as an adult.  This complete metamorphosis takes several months!  Meanwhile, the adult males and females can be seen feeding on nectar throughout the Summer.  They do not eat wood.  Male Carpenter Bees don't sting, as they have no stinger.  Females do have a stinger, but rarely sting!

White-lined Sphinx Moth Caterpillar and Adult - Hyles lineata

Bleeding Heart Flowers - Dicentra formosa

The Bleeding Hearts are in full bloom in our garden!  I've seen the White-lined Sphinx Moth busily gathering nectar in the late afternoon and evening.  I saw the caterpillars of these moths in the desert!  They were huge, measuring almost 5" in length!  They were voraciously eating the blooming wildflowers!  After 2 weeks of eating, the caterpillars burrow into the ground to pupate.  After 2-3 more weeks, they emerge as adults.  In Spring the adults will mate, and the females will lay eggs!  They are also called the "Hummingbird Moth", because of their size, and the way that they hover and rapidly flap their wings!  

 White-lined Sphinx Moth - Hyles lineata & Calliope Hummingbird - Selasphorus calliope

While I was photographing the White-lined Sphinx Moths a hummingbird showed up and started feeding on the Bleeding Heart flowers!  I was so excited to realize that it was a Calliope Hummingbird that I had never seen before!  These hummingbirds are the smallest bird in the United States, measuring 3.25" in length, and a 4.25" wingspan!!  They are also uncommon, and nest between 4,000' and 11,000' in the Sierras!  So I luckily saw him while he was passing through our area!  They feed mainly on nectar and tiny insects.  The female make a tiny well-insulated nest, that holds two, tiny, .5"eggs.  The incubate their eggs for 15-16 days.  The altricial nestlings fledge about 18-21 days after they are born.  I would LOVE to see one them!  In the winter they migrate to the lower elevations and coastlines, sometimes as far south as Mexico!

Western Tanager (male) - Piranga ludoviciana

These beautiful Western Tanagers showed up this week!  The colors of these male birds are so amazing!  The females are a pale grayish lemon yellow, but I haven't photographed one yet.  They winter in southern Mexico and Central America!  They stop by my neighborhood for a few weeks, and by late May they move up-slope into the coniferous forest to nest.  I always feel like Summer has begun, when these lovely birds show up! 

Red-breasted Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus ruber 

I've seen a few of these beautiful red-headed sapsuckers in my neighborhood this week!  The coloring is very similar between the male and female birds. Both are brightly colored.  They aren't as noisy as their relatives the Northern Flickers, but they do peck tons of shallow holes, in horizontal rows, in living trees!  They feed on the sap that oozes out of these holes, as well as the insects that are attracted to the sap.  They nest in the mixed conifer zone, so hopefully that means my neighborhood!

Like other members of their woodpecker family, they excavate a new nest in a dead tree, or in a live tree with dead heartwood.  The female lays 4-7 eggs, and incubates them for 14-16 days.  The altricial nestlings fledge in a few weeks!  Maybe I'll get lucky and see some this month!

Empty Nests Again!

I have been searching and searching for active bird nests, but with no luck!  I've found about 20 nests, all unoccupied, so far!  I did see the female Brewer's Blackbird below, with a twig in her beak.  So maybe I've been looking too early!  I will keep looking, with my fingers crossed!!!

Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalus

Chickaree or Douglas Tree Squirrel - Tamiasciurus douglasii

If you guessed that last week's scat was Black Bear scat, you guessed right!  I haven't seen any bears at all, even though I photographed that scat 3 weeks ago!  I haven't seen any baby mammals either, probably because they're out and about at nighttime.  However, I did see this young-looking Chickaree in my backyard!

Neither have I seen any Brown-headed Cowbirds!  

Is that a good thing?  Do lizards and snakes make sounds?  How do these reptiles communicate?  What other kinds of animal scat can be easily identified?  What other birds are out there singing?  Check back next week for the answers to these questions!

Birds & Blossoms!

Feeder Watch!

Black-headed Grosbeaks (male & female) - Pheucticus melanocephalus

About 40 Black-headed Grosbeaks arrived at our feeders this week!  You can hear them all day singing and chattering away, while they feast on the sunflower seeds!  Unique to this species, the males and the females BOTH sing!  The male is the more colorful of the two, with his black and rust feathers.  They've been busy finding mates, making nests, and incubating their eggs.  The females build their nests about 12'-15' high in leafy bushes or trees, in riparian  environments. They usually lay 2-5 eggs, which hatch in 12-14 days.  The altricial nestlings fledge in 10-14 days.  The babies that show up around our feeders look just like the adults, only they beg to be fed!  They should show up in a week or two.  I haven't found any active nests yet, but am determined to find at least one this week, before the nestlings fledge! 

The last of the Migrants!

American White Pelican - Pelicanus erythrorhynchos

I photographed this lone Pelican on the North Yuba River this week!  A few days later a small group of them flew over our neighborhood, headed east to their breeding grounds!  (Refer to my post from Tuesday, March 28, for more information on these pelicans!)

Wildflowers in the Woods!

The wildflowers have been starting to show up in the Douglas Fir forest surrounding my home!  I have found that when trying to identify wildflowers, common names can vary from book to book!  So I try to learn the scientific name of the wildflower, which remains the same from book to book.  Also, learning what "family" a plant is in, may help you narrow down your choices, when trying to identify similar wildflowers.  

Also, if you would like to find out if a plant is edible, or if it has medicinal uses, I would recommend that you research thoroughly on the internet before you use, or consume any plant. One very good resource is naturalmedicinalherbs.net.

Scarlet Fritillary - Fritillaria recurva

Liliaceae - Lily family

This beautiful, bulb forming perennial is native to California.

Hartweg's Wild Ginger - Asarum hartwegii
Aristolochiaceae - Birthwort family

This rhizome forming perennial is native to California.  The brownish flower can be found beneath the leaves on the ground, amid the stems.  Although "Ginger" is its name, it is not related to the commercial Ginger that is found in grocery stores, and should NOT be consumed.

 Grand Hound's Tongue - Cynoglossum grande
Boraginaceae - Forget-me-not family

This pretty, seed producing biennial is native to California. The name Hound's Tongue has two possible origins.  One originates from "the belief that it (Hound's Tongue) could ward off dog attacks if a leaf was worn in the shoe."  The other originates from "the broad shape of the leaves."  Which one do you believe?

Indian Rhubarb - Darmera peltata
Saxifragaceae - Saxifrage family

This large, showy, rhizome forming perennial is native to California.  The flowers bloom several weeks before the large leaves appear.

Going to Seed!

Willow - Salix sp.   &   Dandelion - Agoseris sp.

This week the willows and dandelions are going to seed!  The seeds are dispersed by the wind.  Each willow produces thousands of fluff encased seeds!  You can see these in the air everywhere this week!  Each dandelion produces hundreds of seeds, each with its own tiny "parachute"! 

Who's Scat is That?

Check back next week for the answer to this question, as well as the promised information on mammal babies, and Brown-headed Cowbirds!

Secretive Nesters!

Since my last post, I have had several comments about my statement that Steller's Jay are "secretive nesters"!  Many people have had Steller's Jays nest on their front porch, or in very visible sites next to their home.  I've experienced this not so secretive behavior myself!  

  Baby birds and bird eggs are readily eaten by a lot of different predators.  In wild areas, the ability to be a  "secretive nester" would definitely be an advantage!

Perhaps, living in plain view around human habitation offers some kind of "protection" from wild predators.  Living near humans may keep wary predators at bay! 

This is just a guess on my part!  

What do you think about the Steller's Jays nesting habits?

     Oriole nest                     unidentified nest
     Steller's Jay nest             Hairy Woodpecker nest

The sun finally came out for a while this week, so I spent a day cruising around my neighborhood looking for birds and bird nests.  Apparently, Steller's Jays aren't the only secretive nesters, because all I could find were old, empty, abandoned nests!  Hopefully next week I'll be more successful!

Evening Grosbeak - male (left) and female (right)
Coccothraustes vespertinus

I was so excited yesterday morning when almost FORTY Evening Grosbeaks returned to our neighborhood!  They were chattering loudly and flitting from one tree top to another in a seemingly joyous reunion!!  They are one of my all time favorite birds, with their beautiful coloration and enormous beaks!  Most of them will move to a higher elevation to nest, but hopefully a dozen or so pairs will stay and nest in our neighborhood!

The females will do all of the nest building, way up high in the tops of trees.  They usually lay 2-5 eggs, in a saucer shaped nest made of twigs and rootlets, lined with grasses and pine needles.  The female incubates the eggs for 12-14 days.  The altricial young fledge in 13-14 days.  Both parents feed the nestlings insects, caterpillars, and spiders!  If conditions are right, the female may lay a second brood!

As adults, Evening Grosbeaks mainly eat seeds and insects, as well as fruit and berries in season.  I just learned that they don't eat cherries for the pulp, but rather for the seed inside the pit, which they easily crack with their large beaks!

In winter these birds migrate to Mexico, where they live in the higher elevations of the mountains.  Unfortunately, due to logging, pesticides, and climate change, these beautiful birds are declining in population.  You can report their presence in your neighborhood, by joining Project FeederWatch.org.   Your input on this website, will greatly help ornithologists and the birds they study! Check it out!

House Wren -  Troglodytes aedon & White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys

New Arrivals!

This tiny male House Wren  (above left) showed up at my neighbor's house this week and started building a nest, and calling for a mate right away!  I've seen him every morning loudly announcing his availability to the neighborhood!  

Despite their diminutive size (approximately 4.5" in length), House Wrens are very competitive for nest sites, and can even take over the nests of much larger birds!  The males build their small cup shaped nest out of grasses and feathers.  The nest is housed in a natural or man-made cavity, which can range from an old tin can to a tree hole!

The females lay from 3-10 eggs, and have 1-2 broods per season.  The female incubates the eggs for 9-16 days.  The altricial baby wrens (Can you imagine how tiny they are?!!) fledge in approximately 15-17 days. Both parents feed the nestlings a variety of insects.
 Nest parasites, such as mites, can attack baby birds, so House Wrens include spider eggs in their nesting material.  When the spiders hatch, they eat the harmful mites!  As adults, House Wrens eat spiders, caterpillars, earwigs, flies, leaf hoppers, and snail shells (probably for the calcium!)  

A flock of White-crowned Sparrows also arrived in our neighborhood this week!  Unfortunately, I only got a photo of one of them (above right).  They stopped by on the way to their breeding grounds in Alaska. They will probably pass through again this Fall, on the way back to their wintering ground in So. California.  Their annual round trip flight is 5,600 miles!

Morels genus Morchella

While I was cruising around our neighborhood, I happened across these Morels!  They are a type of sac fungi that aren't that common!  Sac fungi get their names from the fact that they produce their spores, called ascospores, in special pods or sac-like structures called asci. Technically this group of fungi is known as the Ascomycetes or Ascomycota.  I don't know which species of morel these are, but aren't they cool looking?!!

Chickaree or Douglas Tree Squirrel - Tamiasciurus  douglasii  & Western Grey Squirrel - Sciurus griseus

Next week I'll talk about the nesting behavior of some
of the local mammals! 
How many babies do they have?
Where do they raise their babies?
Also, I'll continue to record the new birds that arrive, hopefully report on new active bird nests, and talk about Brown-headed Cowbirds!

I will also post the latest most interesting blooming plant in my "Now Blooming!" section.

Please add your comments, by clicking on "no comments" at the bottom of this page!  Thanks!

Something New from Something Old!

Last December I posted the photo, on the left, of a Robin's nest, and said that I would check back on it in the Spring.  Well here's a photo I took of the same nest yesterday.  I'm not sure if it just fell apart during this past heavy winter, or if the Robins have reused 

the nesting material for a new nest.  

I should have been more observant!

  

Since I got back from the desert, I've been out scouting for birds and bird nests.  Here's what I've found so far!

Old Bullock's Oriole Nests from last year

I spotted these two old Oriole Nests adjacent to each other in two different locust trees.  Right now there aren't any leaves or flowers on the locust trees, so these nests were easy to spot.  I haven't seen a Baltimore Oriole yet, but I got this picture of a female last Spring.  Females gather plant fibers, horse hair, and even fishing line and weave them into intricate hanging pouches for their eggs!  One nest, I found last year, also had thin strips of blue plastic tarp and rug fibers woven together!  I don't know if they will re-use or recycle these old nests.  I'll be sure to keep checking on them!

Bullock's Oriole (female) - Icterus bullockii

Northern Flicker (male) drumming on stove cap
Colaptes auratus

There have been a few Northern Flickers here all winter, but lots more have arrived in the past few weeks.  The males have been loudly calling and drumming, declaring their territory, on the metal cap of my neighbor's stove pipe!  They create quite a racket!  Flickers excavate nests in the trunks of dead or live trees. It takes both the male and female working together for 1 to 2 weeks, to make a new nest.  The entrance hole is approximately 3" wide.  The nesting cavity can be 13" - 16" deep!  Sometimes flickers will re-use an old nest, rather than make a new one.  European Starlings sometimes drive Flickers from their nest!  Starlings are not native to the United States.  They were introduced from Europe in the late 1800's, and have spread throughout North America.  In some areas, they have caused a decline in the native Northern Flicker populations!  I haven't found any nests yet, but hopefully I will!

Northern Flicker (female) & European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris
(The lack of red on the head indicates that this is a female Flicker.
Male and female Starlings, however, are undifferentiated in appearance.)

Hairy Woodpecker (male) & Hairy Woodpecker (female)

(note the lack of red feathers on the back of the female's head)

Leuconotopicus villosus

I took these photos 3 years ago, when a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers nested on our property!  The following year, they didn't return to their nest, but I still see them in our neighborhood.  Like the Northern Flickers, both the male and female Hairy Woodpeckers work together to excavate their nesting site.  It usually takes them 1 to 2 weeks to complete their nest, in a dead tree trunk or a large dead branch. Unfortunately, European Starlings have been known to take over Hairy Woodpecker nests.  A friend of mine found a dead tree on the ground, with an empty Hairy Woodpecker nest inside!  He cut it in half, to see how far down the nest cavity went!  Amazing isn't it!!!!

Old Hairy Woodpecker nest, cut in half lengthwise, displaying nest cavity

Steller's Jay (female) - Cyanocitta stelleri

(Females are usually the ones that incubate the eggs.)

Like most members of the Corvid family, Steller's Jays mate for life!  Both 

male and female build a new nest every year of twigs, dried grasses, and weeds, 

cemented together with mud.  They are very secretive about their nests, and stay quiet while they are near it!  I found this nest surprisingly visible in an alder tree near our creek, a few years ago.  I haven't found any occupied nests yet, but I am on the look out!

What other birds are going to show up soon?  

Are there other birds, besides European Starlings, that are a threat to native birds?

How long does it take for bird eggs to hatch?  

How long does it take for baby birds to fledge?

Is it usually the female bird that incubates the eggs? 

Check back next week for the answers 

to these questions and more!

Newts & (Desert!) Lizards

Sierra Newt - Taricha sierrae

Did you find any newts?  They should be out there in streams and ponds, probably with their eggs!  After overwintering under forest duff or logs, adult newts head for their birthplace to mate and lay their eggs.  The breeding time can last from September to May!  The females lay lots of jelly-like eggs, usually in Spring, which hatch out as larvae with gills.  You can see these larvae developing in their eggs in the top photo above. After several weeks these aquatic larvae transform into "efts", or immature juveniles, and leave their birthplace to live on land!  On land, they eat earthworms, snails, slugs(!), sowbugs, and a variety of insects.  The Sierra Newt in the bottom photo, is responding to danger by showing its bright orange belly and throat. It is warning potential predators that it is poisonous, with its aposematic coloring.  Not many animals prey on newts, except for garter snakes, which are known to develop a tolerance to the newt's neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin!  Handling newts does NOT expose you to this toxin, but eating one could kill you!

Black-Collard Lizard - Crotaphytus bicinctores

I was thrilled to come across this beautiful Black-Collared Lizard on my vacation in the Arizona desert!  They are largish lizards, and can measure up to 14" in total length!  They prefer to live in rocky, rather than sandy, areas of the desert.  Their favorite food is other lizards, but will also eat snakes, rodents, insects, and some plants.  They are the only North American lizard that uses bipedal locomotion.  When threatened they raise up onto their hind legs and race off at an astonishing rate of 15 mph!!!!  Unlike other lizards, their tails do not easily come off.  If they loose their tail, to a predator, it doesn't grow back!  
The orange stripes on his body, indicates that this is a male.  
Check out his "eyelashes" in the photo below!  
Also, see if you can find his "ear"!

Zebra-Tailed Lizard - Callisaurus draconoides

A few years ago I spotted this incredible Zebra-Tailed Lizard, in the same area of Arizona!  He's a bit smaller than the Black-Collared Lizard, measuring up to 9" in total length, but check out his feet!!!!  Those long and thin toes help him stay cooler, by having minimal contact with the hot desert surface.  He can even raise his toes off the ground, while standing, to further reduce the amount of surface contact.  They prefer to live in sandy open areas with plenty of shrubs that provide shade and protection.  They can run super fast, at about 22' per second, or 18 mph!!!  They are active during the day, and bury themselves in loose sand overnight. They mainly feed on insects and some plants.  Despite their camouflage and speed, they are the prey of snakes, birds, foxes and other lizards!  Like the Black-Collared Lizard the females are oviparous, and lay eggs in the Spring which hatch in July.

Due to the continued rainy weather in my neighborhood, I haven't seen any lizards locally!  Next week I'll catch up on what new birds have arrived, as well as what's blooming!  Maybe I'll even find
some new bird nests!

On Vacation!

I'm going to the southwest desert for a week of vacation tomorrow, so no new posts this week.  I'll have a lot to catch up on when I get back!  In the meantime, go looking for some Newts!  Now is the time!

Sierra Newt - Taricha torosa