Signs of Spring

  Our total rainfall to date is 101", approximately 40" above our normal yearly total!  The rainy season isn't over yet!  However, temperatures were a lot colder this week, and we got about an inch of new snow.  Despite the colder temperatures, signs of the approaching Spring are happening! 

American Robin - Turdus migratorius

This robin is all puffed up in his natural down jacket!  The trapped air between his feathers keeps him warm on snowy days!  Robins are one of the first birds to return to our neighborhood, from their winter habitat.  There were big flocks, of 20 to 40 birds, busily feeding on worms and grubs on the ground.  Apparently some flocks number in the hundreds, and even in the thousands!  I've never seen that many here, as there isn't enough food to sustain that many birds.

    Robber Fly - Laphria sacrator spp.                         Bumblebee - Bombus sp.                        

I revisited that blooming Manzanita and got these pictures of the insects that were feeding on the blossoms.  It turns out that there were Bumblebees there, along with a new kind of fly that I'd never noticed before, a Robber Fly!  

Robber Flies are true flies, and only have ONE pair of wings.  Most other insects, including bees, have two pairs of wings.  They are called "robbers" because of their notoriously aggressive predatory habits.  They will wait and ambush all kinds of insects, including Bumblebees!  Notice the difference in the position of the eyes on the head, as compared to the eyes of the Bumblebee.  Robber Flies are one of the first insects, besides Bumblebees, to show up in the Spring.  Probably all those yellow and black hairs keep them warm in these cool temperatures!  

The Bumblebees that you see out at this time of year are the females.  They are out foraging for nectar and pollen to start their colonies!  The colonies are made in tussocky grasses, small abandoned rodent burrows, or at the base of shrubs.  Once the queen picks a site, she forms a wax "honey pot" and fills it with regurgitated nectar (honey).  She then collects pollen, forms it into a ball, lays her eggs on it, and then covers the whole ball with wax!  She then "broods" her eggs, like a bird, for 4 days, until the eggs hatch into larvae!  Once hatched, the larvae feed on the pollen ball for 4-5 weeks, form a cocoon, pupate, and turn into adults!  A Bumblebee colony usually numbers about 50 in population.  At the end of the season, the queen lays unfertilized eggs, that turn into males, and lays a few special fertilized eggs that turn into new queens.  The males hang out for a few days in the colony, and then leave never to return.  These are the Bumblebees that you see spending the night in flowers!  The new queens leave the colony, mate with one or more male Bumblebees, then hibernate over the winter!

Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus - and gall with grub
Wild Rose Bush with rose hips and galls

One morning I was thrilled to see this Hairy Woodpecker pecking away at the galls on this rosebush!  I'd never seen that before!!  Usually I've seen Hairy Woodpeckers foraging on the trunks of trees for insects!  After he (Male Hairy Woodpeckers have red feathers on their heads and females don't) flew away, I inspected the galls and found this open one with a grub inside! 

Galls come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Galls are formed by insect/mite feeding or egg-laying activity. Either mechanical damage or salivary secretions (introduced by insects and/or mites) initiate increased production of normal plant growth hormones. These plant hormones cause localized plant growth that can result in increases in cell size and/or cell number. The outcome is an abnormal plant structure called a gall.  Inside the gall, larvae feed on the gall, pupate and emerge out as adults, over a period of several months!  These larvae are what the Hairy Woodpecker was eating! 

Pocket Gopher - Thomomys bottae - surface tunnel and dirt mounds

Now, finally, the answers to the underground burrow questions!  

There are several local animals that live almost exclusively underground, such as Pocket Gophers and Moles.  They are usually not severely affected by heavy rains 
for several reasons.

 They usually dig their living quarters deeper than 1 meter underground, where the rain doesn't usually penetrate.  They usually make the entrance to their den on a slope, where rain doesn't pool up.  They usually plug the entrances when it's very rainy to keep the water out.  In some cases they even dig a separate sump, for excess water to sit in and drain!!  

I heard some frogs croaking this week before it got cold!  
It made me wonder where are all the reptiles and amphibians?  How do they survive the winter?
Check back next week for the answers!

Early Bloomers!

Although mainly rainy, we did have some sunny days this past week, which caused a few local plants to blossom profusely!  Pollen was in the air and there were a few insects buzzing around!

Willow - Salix sp.

After many months of having colorful but bare branches, the local willows have burst into bloom!  Willows are dioecious, and have separate male and female plants!  Right now both male and female plants are in their "Pussy Willow" stage.  Their soft silvery hairs help keep the developing reproductive parts of the plant warm!  Unlike most "non-attractive" (not bright in color) flowers, willows are insect pollinated.  The female flowers will produce a large amount of strongly scented nectar, and the male flowers will produce a ton of pollen! We'll just have to wait and see what insects they attract!

Pussy Willows - Salix sp.

Alder - Aldus sp. 
the male catkins

Alders are monoecious, and have both male and female parts on the same tree.  The yellow catkins above, are the male flowers of the alder.  The dark brown cones below, are the female flowers of the alder!  Unlike the willows, alders are wind pollinated, and do not depend upon insects for their pollination!

Alders live in a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria Frankia alni.  This bacterium lives underground, in the root nodules of the Alder.  The bacterium absorbs nitrogen from the air and makes it available to the Alder!  In turn, the Alder provides sugars to the bacterium, which it produces through photosynthesis!  Thus this symbiotic relationship improves the fertility of the soil!

the female cones 

Tree Manzanita - Arctostaphylos sp.

I was also surprised to find some Manzanitas in bloom!  Manzanitas are common, local, woody, evergreen plants, ranging from 7"-20' in height!  They have "perfect" flowers, meaning each flower has a male and female part.  They are insect pollinated, and use nectar as an attractant.  Although I did see some large, black bodied bees feeding on the nectar, I failed to get a photograph.  Hopefully I will next time! 

Manzanita - Arctostaphylos sp.

Earthworm - Phylum Annelida

Earthworms have been showing up in the puddles from the rain!  I haven't seen lots of them, just a few here and there.  I always thought that earthworms drown in the rain, but recently found that to be a myth!  Earthworms need to be moist, because they breathe through their skin!  They come above ground when it rains, because they can travel farther distances, when it's wet, without drying out!  Earthworms don't have feet, but they have groups of tiny bristles on each body segment. These bristles
move in and out to grip the surface, as a worm stretches and contracts its
muscles to push forward or backward!

Next week I'll get to the other questions I posted last week!  We're in for another batch of rainy weather, so the questions still apply! Thanks!

Here's the questions:

I wonder how all the underground 

mammals fared during this past rainy week.  

Did their burrows get flooded?  

How far down do they dig their burrows?

The North Yuba River Critters

Due to heavy rain and warmer temperatures, the 
North Yuba River was bookin' this week!  
In seven days we got  13" of rain, plus LOTS of snowmelt, 
which made for a very swollen river!  At one point, the river was moving at a rate of 16.76 cubic ft. of water per second!!! 

               Rock Creek on Thursday & Rock Creek on Saturday 

How were all the river critters affected 
by this sudden change?

Today, I walked down to an area on the river, that typically gets flooded 
when the river is high.  It's been 2 days since the river crested so the water has receded somewhat.  Just as I hoped, there were Dobsonfly Nymphs 
(or Helgrammites) in some of the newly created landlocked ponds!    

Dobsonfly Nymph - subfamily Corydalinae

I found this one in a silted pond, and watched him climb out of the water!  
They need lots of oxygen, and my guess is that he was looking for the river!  
He has only 6 legs, all the other appendages are gills, through which oxygen is 
absorbed from the river water!  Normally these nymphs live on the rocks in the 
super oxygenated white water of a river.  They live underwater for up to 2 years, 
feeding on other aquatic insects, before they molt and fly away as an adult.   

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias  & Helgrammite & Weasel -Mustela erminea

I found these large bird tracks in the bottom of the same silty pond!  
They might be Great Blue Heron tracks!  Perhaps the heron was feeding on 
landlocked fish and aquatic insects!  In times of high water, fish will try to 
stay on the bottom of the river, behind rocks.  Sometimes this works, 
but sometimes they get swept away by the force of the water.  
Some of them may have ended up in this pond!

The unusual tracks, on the right, I found in a moist depression that had 
been a pond.  I think the long thin ones, with lots of tiny foot prints, might 
be helgrammite tracks!  Perhaps they were heading for the river after their 
pond diminished!  There are also some bigger footprints in the mud.  
They might be weasel tracks!  Maybe the weasel ate the nymphs!

River Otter - Lustra canadensis

The absolutely most exciting tracks I found were these River Otter tracks!!!  
I've never seen one in person, so these tracks were super cool to find!  
They traversed along the edge of a pond and then onto a field of boulders, where I lost the track.  When the river is a raging torrent, River Otters have trouble catching fish in the swift, murky water, so they come on shore.  

Their main food is fish, but will also eat crayfish, molting ducks, frogs, newts, aquatic insects, and garter snakes.  They are not proficient predators on land, but they occasionally eat voles, hares, and beaver kits. They do not normally chase after fish, but use surprise attack to catch them!  

Underwater they can, hold their breath for 4 minutes, dive down to 60+ feet, swim at 6-8 mph, and travel up to 440 yds. in distance!  They usually travel from 
1.5 to 3 miles in a normal day,but have been known to travel as much as 26 miles!
They can handle the cold river water, because they have a layer of 
insulating fat and a thick undercoat of dense fur.

Usually male River Otters lead the life of a bachelor, except when they are 
looking for a mate.  The females raise the kits on their own, usually in an underground burrow, that has an underwater entrance.  Males will den in a 
hollow log, under a rock or driftwood pile, or in abandoned animal burrows.

River Otters can be 33-52 in. long, and weigh up to 6 lbs.

I wonder how all the underground 
mammals fared during this past rainy week.  
Did their burrows get flooded?  
How far down do they dig their burrows?
Do earthworms drown in the rain?
Check back next week for the answers.

Dead Skunk in the middle of the Road!

This week the rainy weather warmed up my neighborhood, melted all the snow, 

and made the river rise!

A few local animals came out of their 

winter dens and had a look around!

Striped Skunk - Mephitis mephitis

Unfortunately a Striped Skunk was hit by a car on our road, 
and died this week.  Apparently, their biggest enemy is moving cars.
Many skunks die every year on our roads and highways.
Please "Brake for Wildlife" when you're driving! 

Male Striped Skunks have just started to "surface" in my neighborhood.  They have been sleeping in an underground den during the past few months of winter. In February and March, they are out searching at night for a female to mate.

Skunk dens can be in an abandoned ground squirrel or fox burrow, or under a woodpile, rock pile, cement slab, front porch, or in a hollow tree.  
Skunks use their dens year-round.  Skunks will often share a den with 
other skunks.  They don't hibernate, but go into a state of torpor, in which 
their body temperature drops and they fall into a deep sleep.  
To stay warm during winter weather they plug the entrance to their den 
with dry leaves and grass.  

The highly potent musk of skunks, keeps most predators away!  
When approached by a predator, they raise their tail, then they 
stamp their front feet vigorously and hiss and growl.  
If those actions don't deter the predator, they will quickly present their 
hind end and spray musk. They can spray up to 12 feet away, with accuracy!  
Most predators don't come back a second time, once they've been sprayed!
 
Skunks have poor eyesight, but like many nocturnal animals they have highly developed senses of hearing, touch, and smell.  They are omnivores, and eat mice, gophers, voles, rats, birds & eggs, beetles, beetle larvae, caterpillars, fruit, nuts, carrion, bird seed, some garden produce, and even pet food!


Striped Skunks measure 22"-32" + a 10"-13" tail.
They weigh 8+ lbs.

I was so happy to see a Chickaree out and about!
He was busy looking for food in this warmer weather!

At this time of year he is also looking for females to mate, like the skunk!

Nocturnal animals can see a LOT better than 

we can at night because:

1)  Their retinas are packed with Rods and have few Cones. 

Human eyes have way more Cones than Rods.

Rods can sense very dim light, but no color.  This gives them better 

perception of edges, movement, and silhouettes in dim light.

Cones account for color vision, but only in bright focused light. 

Some animals do see some colors, but most, even in daylight, 

only see shades of black & white.

2) Unlike humans, most nocturnal animals also have a mirror like layer, 

the tapetum, behind their retina. This reflects light back through 

the retina, and enhances their night vision.

3) Nocturnal animals have wider pupils, than humans, that lets in more light!

The river is racing along!  

What do fish do to keep from being swept downstream? 

What do fish eat in the winter?  

Do River Otters move to streams for the winter?

Check back next week for the answers!

More Tracks!

 It can be really difficult to photograph wildlife!!!

The only critters I saw this week were a couple of foxes in my car headlights!

However, because we got some new snow, I did get some new track photos!

Once again, I didn't see any of the animals that left these tracks.

Can you guess why I didn't see them?

Deer Mouse also called White Footed Mouse
Peromyscus maniculatus

I only saw one set of mice tracks, except in this one area, where it looked like
either lots of mice used this path, or just a few mice used it a lot!
I would really like to know what story that track was telling!
 
Like Mountain Lions, mice are mainly nocturnal.  They stay in their dens most
of the day and come out to forage when it's really dark at night.
Sometimes mice make their dens underground, sometimes in old woodpecker 
holes, sometimes in knot holes in trees, sometimes in man made structures.
They usually live alone or with their mate, but sometimes in winter,
up to 10 mice may huddle together in a nest to keep warm!

They store some food for winter, mainly seeds, but will also actively look
for more seeds, berries, and plants above and below the snow! 

Deer Mice are 3-4" long including their bi colored tail.
They weigh .3 to .85 of an ounce.

Raccoon
Procyon lotor

I saw raccoon tracks all over the place this week!  I even followed some of their tracks for half a mile and more!  They don't store any food for winter, but forage frequently for berries, seeds, insects, and fish.  They mainly forage at night, but are occasionally seen during the day.  You won't see them catching fish in the river, as they prefer to catch them in ponds, lakes, or streams. 

In winter, Raccoons don't hibernate, but fall into a deep sleep for several days
 at a time, in their dens.  They make their dens in hollow logs, rock crevices, 
or underground burrows.  Several raccoons may share a den, 
but they are usually members of the same family. 

Raccoons can be 18-24" long, with a tail an additional 9-12".
They can weigh 15 to 40 lbs.

Red Fox or Gray Fox
Vulpes vulpes fulva or Urocyon cinereoargentus

I'm not sure which kind of fox left the tracks in the above photo, but it's one of them!
Foxes do this interesting thing called "direct registering" when they walk in the snow.  Their hind feet land exactly upon the recently made front tracks.  This "registering" conserves energy when their walking in the snow!  Red Foxes also grow dense fur between their toes in winter, for easier travel on snow! 

Foxes are usually nocturnal, but can also be seen during the daytime.  
They are omnivorous and eat mice, birds, squirrels, rabbits, berries, insects, seeds, and acorns.  The Gray Fox is unique, in that it is the only fox that can climb trees to hunt or rest!  It climbs by "hugging" a tree with its front legs, while climbing with its hind legs!
The Gray Fox lives in hollow trees or logs, rock ledges and sometimes old culverts.
The Red Fox usually lives in a rocky den.  

Unlike it's name, the Gray Fox has red, black and white markings that vary a lot.
The easiest way to identify them is their black tipped tail.
Although mostly red, the Red Fox can also have white, black, and gray markings that vary a lot.  The easiest way to identify them is their white tipped tail!

( note: The Gray Fox is native to this area, whereas the Red Fox is not.  There is a native Sierra Nevada Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes necator, that lives at high elevations in the mountains.  It is extremely rare, and is one of the most endangered mammals in North America.  The main factor that caused the demise of this fox was over trapping.)

Red and Gray Foxes are similar in size and weight.
Their body is usually 24-26" long, with a tail an additional tail 11-16".
They weigh 7 to 15 lbs.

How can these animals see at night?
How is their vision different than ours?
Can these mammals see color?
Check back next week for the answers!

 

Tracks in the Snow

I've been seeing lots of tracks in the snow this week, 

but I haven't seen lots of animals!  

Where are all the animals?  

Animals can be so elusive in the woods!  

I'm always surprised by all the animal tracks that appear after a snowfall!  

Like all of a sudden a bunch of animals just moved into the neighborhood!

I obviously haven't been spending enough time out in the woods, watching and waiting for animals to appear! 

So for a start I'm focusing on three of the most common animals in the area!  

If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get some photos of the actual animals, 

but right now I only have photos of their tracks!

Columbian Black-tailed Deer
Odocoileus hemionus columbianus


I've seen many Columbian Black-tailed Deer, in daytime and nighttime, in all the years I've lived here.  Apparently, in the winter they conserve energy by limiting their movement, thus becoming less visible!

To withstand the cold and wet of winter, Black-tailed Deer grow thick shaggy coats, 
which help retain body heat.  They gain extra body fat in the Fall, which is used in the winter.  Some of them will migrate to lower snow-free elevations for the winter.

  

However, some will stay all winter and survive on the newer tips of trees and shrubs, as well as fungi, acorns, and berries.  Like cows, they are ruminants, and have four separate stomachs, that make it possible to digest this tough plant material!

 The first stomach is called a "rumen", and it is where the plants, a deer has swallowed, are initially fermented.  This fermented plant material is then regurgitated, re-chewed, and re-swallowed into the second stomach!  This partially digested material is then processed through the third and fourth stomachs, before it is passed to the small intestine and digested some more!

Black-tailed Deer weigh from 100 to 400 lbs!  They are approximately 5 feet tall.  
Their tracks are 63-82 mm long.  

Mountain Lion or Cougar
Puma concolor

I have only seen one Mountain Lion, in all the years I've lived here!  
That's because they're active at night, and I'm not! 

The main food of our local Mountain Lions is Mule Deer.  
They will also eat mice, rabbits, hares, raccoons, and domestic animals.  
They are most active from dusk to dawn, 
and can travel long distances looking for prey, up to 15 miles in one night!  
They have a poor sense of smell, but have excellent vision and hearing. 
They rely on surprise to catch their prey, and can leap 40 to 45 feet in one jump!  
They usually kill one deer every 9-12 days.  They will eat up to 20 lbs at one time.  
They will cover the remaining carcass with leaves, dirt, and/or pine needles, 
and feed from it over a period of several days.

Mountain Lions weigh from 140-180 lbs., and are 7'-8' in length.  
The foot print of a Mountain Lion is 101 mm, about the size of a baseball.  They keep their claws retracted, and are not usually visible in their tracks.

Douglas Squirrel or Chickaree
Tamiasciurus douglasii

Douglas Squirrels are common visitors to our bird feeder in the summer.  
They spend more time in their nests in the winter, to conserve energy, 
and therefore they are harder to see right now.

Douglas Squirrels store cones, seeds, acorns, and berries in hollow logs, 

or abandoned burrows, for their winter meals.  

Their nests are in old woodpecker holes or hollow logs if available.  

A cup or ball shaped nest is sometimes made of twigs, leaves, and moss, 

about 15-20 feet off the ground, on the branch of a tree. 

Their hind legs are double jointed, which makes them agile tree climbers!

  Douglas Squirrels weigh about 5-11 oz., and are about 13" long.  
One hind footprint is about 50-55 mm wide.

What other animals are out there in the winter woods?  

Check back next week to find out!

What a Week of Weather!

We had quite a batch of winter weather in the past week or so!  
The power was out! The phone was out!  The water was out!  
The roads were closed and the mail couldn't get through!
We got snow, then tons of rain, and then more snow!

In the past 7 days we got 18.63" of precipitation!!!!  
This brings our total precipitation, since 10/1/16, to 48.61".  
Which is just about twice the amount we had received by this time last year!  Right now we are at 199% of our normal precipitation, and we still have 8.5 months to go!
So it looks like the drought is on its way out!

There's a great website on the internet that you can get all this weather information, www.cnrfc.noaa.gov.  Check it out!