Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus
This past week has been an AMAZING week for seeing wildlife! Most surprising were all the mammals we encountered in our neighborhood, Carman Valley, Sierra Valley, and Joubert's Diggins!
One morning this week, I came across this Gray Fox down by our garden! I haven't seen a fox for quite some time! Unlike its name, the Gray Fox has red, black and white markings that vary a lot. 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! They descend down a tree trunk like a bear does, with its hind feet first.
Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Foxes are usually solitary except during mating season, which begins in January and lasts until the end of February. Foxes do not mate for life, but they are usually monogamous. Approximately two months after mating occurs, 1-7 kits are born. The average number of kits is 4. The kits are weaned 2-6 weeks after birth. The female fox is the one that finds the den. Dens are made in underground burrows, in hollow logs or trees, under large rocks or ledges, or up in a tree canopy in a hollow trunk or branch. Both parents take care of the kits. The male fox is the main hunter and provider of food, once the kits are born. Gray Foxes are omnivores and eat plants, insects, eggs, small mammals, and birds. The male fox also teaches the kits how to hunt! After 10 months, the kits will be sexually mature and leave the family unit.
Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
One morning three bucks crossed the road as I was returning home, all of them had smallish antlers. The following information about deer antlers is from the website https://sciencing.com/do-deer-antlers-grow-6642858.html.
"Deer antlers are growths of bone that deer and similar animals produce for mating season. Only male deer produce antlers, and few deer keep their antlers for long periods. Contrary to popular belief, the size of the antlers and the number of points do not indicate the age of the deer. The size of the antlers are decided by the health of the deer and its access to nutrients.
Even the largest antlers grow from small nubs to full size in three to four months, making them one of the fastest-growing types of tissue. They begin as small bony growths at the top of the head, and are covered with a layer of skin and hair known as velvet. This velvet keeps the antlers protected while they are fragile.
When antlers have reached a larger size and slow down or stop growing, the blood vessels that keep the velvet growing shut down around the base of the antlers. This causes the velvet skin to die and eventually peel away, sometimes leaving trailing and hanging bits for a few weeks. Male deer typically rub their antlers against trees and other objects to remove the peeling velvet."
Columbian Black-tailed Deer - Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
Just this morning I spotted two bucks crossing the North Yuba River!
Four legs and hooves must work quite well against the current, as the river is quite full and fast. It's also super cold! It was amazing to watch them QUICKLY cross the river!
Black Bear - Ursus americanus
Last week we went back to Carman Valley to see if the Grackles were still there, and to enjoy its beauty again. The Grackles were there, but they took off before I could get a good look or a photo! Rats! However, I walked down the length of the wetlands and spotted a Black Bear foraging in a meadow a bit distant from the wetlands! It was a BIG bear, and was moving fast through the meadow, foraging as it went! WOW!!!
Black Bear - Ursus americanus
Black Bears are omnivores, primarily eat flowering plants and grasses in the Spring, and the fruit of forest trees and shrubs in the Summer and Fall. Only a small part of their diet consists of animal matter, mainly colonial insects (bees, beetles etc.), and carrion if available. What a treat it was to watch this wild bear!
Pronghorn (males) (photo distorted by heat waves) - Antilocapra americana
In Sierra Valley we came across two male Pronghorns that were "practice" sparring with each other!!! They were locking horns, but not in a menacing way. When they finished sparring, they lay down next to each other! Their horns were definitely different in size. Perhaps they were an older male and its offspring? I'll never know, but it was fabulous to watch them!
Pronghorn (males) - Antilocapra americana
Males defend a small harem of females in their territories from March through October. If threatened by another male, the occupying male will use a snort-wheeze vocalization, head thrashing, teeth grinding, and chasing a competing male. If the intruding male doesn't leave, a fight my occur, in which the males thrust their horns at each other in an attempt to cause injury. They may also end up in a horn-on-horn or head pushing battles, in which they attempt to knock the other off balance. Fights only last about two minutes, but often cause serious injury.
Male interactions can include some or all of the following: 1) staring, 2) vocalization by the territory holder (a decrescendo snort-wheeze), 3) approaching an intruder, which can be accompanied by head thrashing, sneezes, and teeth grinding, 4) interacting with an intruder, and 5) chasing, which can be for only a few meters or up to 5 km. Male use of the snort-wheeze vocalization is often accompanied by erection of the mane, rump patches, and the cheek patches. If an intruder does not run away, then the two males walk in parallel to each other in a slow, deliberate manner with their heads held low. If a fight occurs, the males thrust their horns at each other in an attempt to do injury. Males end up in horn-horn or head-head pushing battles in which they try to knock the other off balance. Fights average only about 2 minutes long, but often result in serious injury.
Male interactions can include some or all of the following: 1) staring, 2) vocalization by the territory holder (a decrescendo snort-wheeze), 3) approaching an intruder, which can be accompanied by head thrashing, sneezes, and teeth grinding, 4) interacting with an intruder, and 5) chasing, which can be for only a few meters or up to 5 km. Male use of the snort-wheeze vocalization is often accompanied by erection of the mane, rump patches, and the cheek patches. If an intruder does not run away, then the two males walk in parallel to each other in a slow, deliberate manner with their heads held low. If a fight occurs, the males thrust their horns at each other in an attempt to do injury. Males end up in horn-horn or head-head pushing battles in which they try to knock the other off balance. Fights average only about 2 minutes long, but often result in serious injury
Pronghorn (female) - Antilocapra americana
About three days later, we went back to Sierra Valley to explore some more. We came across this female Pronghorn right along the roadside, barbed-wire, fence! I'd never seen one this close before!!! The tiny horns indicated that it was a female, and apparently she was shedding her winter coat!
Pronghorn (female) - Antilocapra americana
The female's horns are generally smaller than their ears, or absent, and aren't pronged. Additionally males have short black manes on their neck, as well as a neck patch and a black stripe that runs across their forehead from horn to horn. Females lack these black facial patches, but have a small mass of black hair around their nose. How fabulous to watch this female so closely!
River Otter - Lontra canadensis
I frequently stop by Joubert's Diggins to check on the pond life. Lately, there hasn't been much activity in the two ponds visible from the road, so I decided to walk down to a third pond that's not near the road. To my surprise and delight, there was a River Otter in the pond! WOW!!! The pond was totally covered in pond weeds, but every few seconds the Otter would briefly surface! River Otters usually eat slow moving fish, as well as turtles, crayfish, mussels, aquatic beetles, and waterfowl. I watched the Otter for a few minutes, until it got too far away to photograph! I have since read that otters will travel 10-18 miles on land in search for food! These ponds are not close to the North Yuba River. I think it's at least a good mile or more steeply UPHILL from the river to these ponds. This is the second time I've seen a River Otter at Joubert''s Diggins! I wonder if it's the same one I saw a few years ago. How did it find these ponds? They must have a great sense of smell! It was such a thrill to watch this one repeatedly surface and dive!
Raindrops on Showy Phlox
Damp Earth Art
We only got a sprinkling of rain last week, but rain is in the forecast for this weekend! I hope it POURS! Hopefully more storms will keep coming. Please join me in my continuing hope for precipitation! Perhaps our collective efforts may help it happen.
I'm going to keep posting rain inspired writings, art, etc. on my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com. Any submissions would be greatly appreciated.
Wishing for peace in Ukraine and
an immediate end to this senseless war!
Whose feather is this?
Where did all the songbirds in our neighborhood overwinter?
What's happening in Carmen Valley and Sierra Valley?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
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Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!
