Happy Cavity Nesting Families – Western Bluebird

Bird of Good Cheer and a Hopeful Spring

Throughout history, and within many cultures, bluebirds symbolize happiness, protection, and hope. People may have first taken notice of the birds because of their unusual coloring, or for their behavior; swooping through meadows and open spaces, cheerful song, or large family units raising young each spring.

When the bluebirds start building nests this spring (2021), it will signal a time when COVID quarantines and isolation may begin lifting. For those with creative inclinations, this cheer inspiring avian may, once again, be used to celebrate hope and authentic community freedom in song, writing, painting, filling in blocks of color on a coloring sheet, or building and distributing nest boxes.

Photo Credit: Julio Mulero

Secondary Housing Shortage

Bluebirds lack beak and skull adaptations to bore their own nesting cavities; therefore, they rely on second-hand holes of a certain circumference.

Like many animals highlighted on Following Deer Creek, human-caused environmental alterations – tree management practices and invasive species – have reduced their numbers.

Providing Bluebird nesting boxes (see Bluebird Nest Box Construction below) and replacing exotic plants with California native plants are two ways that individuals can contribute toward repairing California’s diverse natural ecosystems.

“Bluebird conservation is a shining example of a totally grassroots effort that has been tremendously successful. It illustrates the power of individuals and groups to make a difference.” – Elizabeth Zimmerman Smith 2020, Woodstock, CT at Sialas.org

Habitat

Nevada County Western Bluebirds are year-round residents.

During spring and summer, bluebirds mostly feed on insects. Their hunting grounds are open grasslands where they perch on branches or fence posts to watch for bugs. When they spot prey, they’ll swoop in for the catch. In addition to insect hunting spaces, bluebirds also need reliable sources of fresh water.

Photo Credit: Becky Matsubara

In the winter, they feed on berries.

Characteristics

Females and juveniles have muted feather colors compared to mature males. Both males and females have straight beaks and rusty-colored chest feathers. Mature males have bright blue heads, wings, and tails.

 

Female left, male right | Photo Credit: Becky Matsubara

Social Behavior

 

Life Span

3-5 years

Life cycle

Reproduction & Family Chick Raising

Spring begins with nest building. Bluebirds choose existing cavities in which to nest.

Feb/March/April – males and females pair bond.

Females lay one egg a day for a clutch between 4 – 6 days.

After a fourteen-day incubation, with the male bringing her food and standing guard, all eggs hatch on the same day.

After hatching, both parents feed chicks for approximately two weeks.

Photo Credit: Shirley Binn

Once the young have fledged and begin traveling from the nest box to hearby branches, the female leaves to begin building a second nest while the male finishes caring for the first brood.

Bluebirds remain in family groups. First brood siblings may help raise the second brood. Inexperienced parents with failed nests may participate in helping raise their parents’ subsequent hatchlings.

Diet

Spring / Summer

  • grasshoppers
  • caterpillars
  • beetles
  • ants
  • butterflies

Fall / Winter

  • small fruit & berries
  • mistletoe
  • juniper berries
  • elderberry

 

Predators

domestic & wild cats

raccoons

opossum

hawks

Nesting Box Chick Predators

  • bees
  • ants
  • earwigs
  • wasps

Undernourished chicks are also susceptible to parasitic infections.

Cavity Competitors

House Sparrows and Starlings are aggressive cavity-nesting competitors that were imported into New York between 1853 and 1890. The first to deal with inchworms and the second to introduce Shakespeare’s play birds into Central Park.

Other Birds that Compete for Cavity Nest Sites

  • Nuthatch
  • Chickadee
  • Swallow
  • House Wren

 

Detrimental Human Effects on Bluebird Populations

  • Introduction of competitive invasive species – House Sparrow & Starling
  • Tree & Forest Management practices
  • Herbicide & pesticide use
  • Wood fence post replacement with angle iron posts
  • Development of open spaces

The Bluebird Man – One Idaho Man’s Retiremet Conservation Legacy

Bluebird Restoration Project – Near Victoria, British Columbia

Bluebird Nesting Box Construction

click image to purchase
or view more Life on the Creek Art

 

click image to download FREE coloring sheet

If you liked this post, you may also like Woodpeckers – Drumming Horder

Resources:

Audubon – How to Build a Bluebird Nest Box
Audubon – Western Bluebird
BBC – The birds of Shakspeare cause US trouble
Bear Yuba Land Trust – Bird Banding with Allison Nelson
California Bluebird Recovery Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology – Educators Guide to Next Boxes
Cornell Lab of Ornithology – Nest Watch – national nest monitoring program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology – Western Bluebird
Ebird – Western Bluebird Identification & Call recording
Ebird – Western Bluebird Range Map
The Hatching Cat – 1853: The English House Sparrows Who Took Up House and Hotel in Manhattan
iNaturalist – About Western Bluebird
iNaturalist – Nevada County Western Bluebird Observations
North American Bluebird Society
North American Bluebird Society – Getting Started with Bluebirds PDF
San Diego Tribune – Bluebirds of Happiness keep local resident enchanted
Sailas.org – Bluebird Nest Box Style Pros & Cons
Wild Birds Unlimited (Grass Valley, CA)
Wikipedia – Bluebird of Happiness
Wikipedia – Western Bluebird

More Bluebird Videos:

Male Song

Eastern Bluebird – Brain Study – Male/Female Song Area

Making of Bluebirdman

Bluebirds in Popular Culture:

From Red Dead Redemption 2 to the Wizard of Oz, Sesame Street’s Big Bird, Niel Young, and Native American folklore the bluebird makes consistent appearances in American popular culture. It has also shown up in  as well as in ancient Chinese, Japanese, Native American and European folklore, the bluebird has symbolized hope, happiness, protection and change.
The symbol of a bluebird as the harbinger of happiness is found in many cultures and may date back thousands of years.

 

Crayfish – Aquatic Groundskeepers

Young crayfish on Deer Creek, August 2019

Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans related to shrimp, lobster, and crabs. They’re all decapods—having ten legs.

Fossil records show crayfish have been in North America for millions of years.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the native range for the Signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) is the Columbia River’s lower estuary. The range goes northwest and through tributaries that reach into British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.

Historical records say crayfish were first introduced to the Truckee River and Lake Tahoe sometime between 1895 and 1909. They were placed there for fish food, bait, and human consumption. Crayfish are currently planted in ponds and on fish farms to control aquatic weeds.

Habitat:

Crayfish live in a variety of freshwater environments from backwater pools to large rivers, streams. and subalpine lakes. Favorite places include hiding among rocks and in stands of partially submerged plants.  They are temperature and pH-sensitive.

Diet:

Anything and everything…

  • rotting leaves and twigs
  • animals and insects (younger crayfish are most attracted to these)
  • dead fish
  • live plants and algae (older crayfish are most attracted to these)
  • other crayfish (large crayfish are most likely to cannibalize other crayfish)

Behavior:

Crayfish breathe through gills. They can survive on land as long as gills remain moist. In water, gills also collect small food particles.

Most activity and feeding occurs at night.

Crayfish have two sets of antennae, one set for touch and the other for smell.

Defense:

Body armor—or the exoskeleton—is a crayfish’s main defense, though pincers are also used for battle.

The exoskeleton is made up of calcium carbonate (limestone), taken from the water. It builds up in layers. When the animal grows, it sheds its exoskeleton. At this time, it is at its most vulnerable until the new exoskeleton hardens.

Molting occurs most often as young grow to adulthood. Once crayfish are fully grown molting only happens a few times per year.

Crayfish have the ability to regrow claws if they are lost. Claws are also used for eating and mating.

Breeding:

Photo Credit: David Perez

Depending on food availability and water temperature, breeding can begin between three to six months of age. Mating usually occurs in the spring and summer months.

Mothers can hold sperm until conditions for egg-laying are right, usually in fall.

Females lay somewhere between 200 – 400 eggs. These are attached to her swimmerets under her tail. Young remain with their mother through several molts. As they grow, they separate somewhat, staying attached by thread-like tethers. Once fully separated, the mother secretes a pheromone that keeps the young close for protection.

Lifespan:

Average is about 3 years. In captivity, some have lived up to twenty years.

Predators:

Photo credit: Andrea Westmorland

Anything living in or near the water.

  • fish
  • birds
  • turtles
  • otters
  • raccoons
  • bullfrogs
  • coyote
  • humans

Crayfish Consumption in the West:

Washington, Oregon, and the Sacramento Delta are the main crayfish food consuming areas on the west coast. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, over ten-thousand pounds of Signal Crayfish were taken out of the Sacramento Delta in 2018.

Dangers to Crayfish:

  • pollution
  • fertilizers
  • pesticides
  • oil or fuel
  • dams
  • changing land use activities that alter water flows
  • silt loads

Crayfish Species Where They Don’t Belong (Shipping Crayfish to Classrooms):

Carriers of a Plague Organism:

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “crayfish plague, caused by the fungus-like organism Aphanomyces astaci Schikora, is listed in the top 100 of the “World’s Worst” invaders by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.”

Like the Asian Ladybug, Signal crayfish can live in a balanced host-parasitic relationship. If they are brought into places where that balance hasn’t been established, ecosystem havoc can result.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife Recommends Eating Some Invasive Species

 

To catch crayfish you’ll need;

 

 

Invasive Eats (California Specific)| Eat the Invaders | Invasivore

click on image to purchase or view more Life on the Creek art

 

If you enjoyed this post, check out Invasive Species Choke Natives & California’s Floristic Provence.

Resources:

California Department of Fish and Wildlife – California Invasive Species Action Week

click on image to open the newsletter

National Park Service – The impact of introduced crayfish on a unique population of salamander in Crater Lake, Oregon 

USGS – Pacifastacus leniusculus (Signal Crayfish) fact sheet


Wikipedia  – Pacifastacus fortis. California’s only native crayfish.

Ghost Pine – Produces Nuts in Harsh Growing Conditions

Pinus Sabiniana is native to California and Oregon and has a variety of names.

Habitat

Its habitat forms a ring around California’s ‘bathtub’ (central valley). It grows in poor soils, is adapted to hot, dry summers and usually keeps company with Blue and Live Oaks.

Common Names & Naming History

Common names include;

  • Ghost Pine
  • Gray Pine
  • California Foothill Pine
  • Bull Pine
  • Nut Pine
  • Grayleaf Pine
  • Sabines Pine and
  • Sabine Nut Pine

In published writings before the 1800’s, the tree was known as Digger Pine. According to Erwin Gudde author of California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. “…the name seems to have been used in a geographical sense mainly in Wintu territory.  With these tribes, roots are, for the great portion of the year, their main subsistence.” (Schoolcraft, Archives of aboriginal knowledge, 1860). The diggers also valued as food the green cones and the seeds of the Pinus sabiniana, whence the common designation Digger Pine.”

Like monuments and other articles of history, once the full story is understood, it often sheds light on derogatory designations and attitudes. Such is the case with the name Digger. For valid reasons, the Pinus Sabiniana has many other common names to choose from.

Cones, Nuts & Resin

Current tree distribution may be a result of human cultivation. Native populations are known to have tended to plants used for food, clearing brush and redistributing seeds.

Gray pine nuts are also important food sources for the California gray squirrel, acorn woodpeckers, rodents, and a variety of birds. The Scrub and Steller’s jay eat the seeds and move them, assisting with tree migration and reproduction.

Highly Flammable Tree

Gray pine is a prolific resin producer. The bark, cones, wood and needle sheaths contain pitch. This makes the tree vulnerable to fire damage.

Adaptations that aid in fire survival are; thick bark on mature trees and low branch self-pruning. Additionally, Gray pine seeds regenerate following fire.

 

“…this tree looks more like a palm than a pine,” writes John Muir in My First Summer in the Sierra. “Sabine pine (Pinus Sabiniana), which here forms small groves or is scattered among the blue oaks. The trunk divides at a height of fifteen or twenty feet into two or more stems, out-leaning or nearly upright, with many straggling branches and long gray needles, casting but little shade.”

 

 

 

Western Dwarf Mistletoe – Arceuthobium occidentale

Dwarf mistletoe observations in Gray Pine trees off Newtown Rd.

Though mistletoes are parasitic and pose a serious threat for forest product trees, it is a valuable part of Life on the Creek. Insects, birds and small mammals consume parts of the mistletoe. In some tree species, the parasite causes the formation of witches brooms, dense outgrowths surrounded by foliage. This provides a safe haven for bird nests and other small creatures.

click on image to purchase or view entire Life on the Creek design collection

click on image to purchase or view entire Life on the Creek design collection.

If you like this post, you may also like California Oak Trees or Invasive Species Choke Natives.

Resources:

Gray Pine

Calscape – Foothill Pine Gray Pine Pinus Sabiniana
Gymnosperm Database – Pinus Sabiniana
Jepson Herbarium – Pinus sabiniana
Trees of Stanford – Pinus sabiniana
USDA & Forest Service – Fire Effects Information Species: Pinus Sabiniana
Wikipedia – Pinus sabiniana 

Western Dwarf Mistletoe

Colorado Extension – Mistletoes in Colorado Conifers
Invasive Species Compendium
Record Searchlight – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Mistletoe
USDA Forest Service – Gray Pine Dwarf Mistletoe [PDF]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mF4obZaD2VM

Illustration & Artwork

MistleTroll by Megan Greene Design

MistleTroll – MeganGreeneDesign.com

Art for a Cause – Deer Creek Bridges & Native Plants

Art Creation for Events

Events where I plan to show art provides motivation to create new pieces.

click image to see more Life on the Creek art

‘Deer Creek Bridges’ was created for the 2018 Nevada County Fair photography competition.

click on image to see more Life on the Creek art

The ‘Pine Street Historic Bridge’ piece was made for display and sale during the 2018 Fall Colors Open Studio Tour.

Video Productions doing Double Duty

This video was created for the blog post, Native Plants for Healing the Land After Fire.   It was produced a few weeks before the Redbud Chapter of the California Native Plant Society conducted their annual Native Plant Sale. It helped tell the story  about the importance of native plants in the Deer Creek Watershed and promote the event.

Responsible Art Production

Since most of my work is digital, time and hydroelectric generated power (as well as computing hardware) are the main production resources involved in making these creations.

Historical Research Inspires New Design Concepts

As I do background research for posts, I also generate an art piece. At the time of this writing, 62 designs are in the Life on the Creek collection.

While I started with graphic designs involving text, Latin names, and waves, several recent posts inspired a new layout direction.

$5 from every online sale helps support the Following Deer Creek website/film project. (Production cost of selected item + $5  LoC savings + tax & shipping = total price.)

Pony Express help wanted advertisement.

‘Pony Express Riders’ is a blending of a public domain map and a help wanted advertisement.  This came about after discovering that Joaquin Miller, Poet of the Sierras (and a mining camp cook who developed scurvy for the post Scurvy in California’s Food Capital) was also a Pony Express rider.

The extinct and disrupted Life on the Creek designs are from the posts Grizzly Entertainment and California Bear Extinction, and Dammed Disrupted Salmon.

*In the newer designs, you may notice an absence in the ” wording at the bottom of the Following Deer Creek logo. These pieces were created after I moved the website from a free site to a paid site in an attempt to reduce unwanted advertising clutter.

Made-to-Order Art Reduces Environmental Impacts

FineArtAmerica.com hosts my artwork online and produces made-to-order prints and household items.

At my Open Studios Tour booth (#30) October 13th and 14th, I will have a number of these pieces on display.

Display Pieces Donated after Show

Prominently featured will be Space Invaders – Invasive Species pieces that will be donated to Sierra Streams Institute (SSI).

SSI will be using them as incentive gifts for community Scotch Broom pulls that they will be organizing in the fall.

Art for a cause…while attempting to lessen resource use…is very satisfying!

 

click on image to see more Life on the Creek art

 

Invasive Species Choke Natives & California’s Floristic Province

California Floristic Province

The California Floristic Province is considered a world biodiversity hotspot. It contains a large number of ecosystems that include alpine forest, mixed evergreen forest, riparian forest, sagebrush steppe, coastal sage scrub, redwood forests and more.

Currently, only 25% of the original vegetation remains unharmed.

Highly populated and a producer of agriculture products for 50% of the country, California is also considered ‘one of the four most ecologically degraded expanses in the US.’

Additional Threats to Biodiversity

  • air pollution
  • mining & oil extraction
  • livestock grazing & wildfires
  • invasive species

Fragmentation [human building] has the capacity to generate persistent, deleterious, and often unpredicted outcomes, including surprising surges in abundance of some species and the pattern that long temporal scales are required to discern many strong system responses. National Center for Biotechnology Information

Characteristics of Invasive Species

  • successful invasion elsewhere
  • ability to live near humans
  • food source variety
  • survives in a wide range of environments
  • alters growth to suit changing conditions
  • grows and reproduces quickly
  • fast spreading
  • difficult to eradicate

Invasive species and biodiversity preservation is a topic much larger than one blog post can cover! Below is a brief list of plants commonly found in Nevada County.

The ‘Resources’ section at the bottom of the page contains links for extensive exploration.

Blackberry / Rubus Fruticosus

Blackberry

Origin

Spain

Behavior

Creates an impenetrable thicket (bramble).
Grows in areas where soil has been disturbed such as land grading, agriculture tillage, timber logging, housing construction, wildland firebreaks, animal grazing, and road building.
Provides shelter for rats and food for deer.
Damages livestock.

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources – Management and Control of Blackberries

Hydrilla / Hydrilla Verticillata – Water Thyme

Hydrilla

 

Origin

Sri Lanka / Korea. Imported as an aquarium plant in the 1950s

Behavior

Aggressively invades new aquatic environments.
Displaces native vegetation.
Forms large dense mats.
Impedes water flow.
Cloggs pumps.
Reduces water clarity.
Alters the ecosystem.
Blocks sunlight.
Decreases oxygen water levels, killing fish.
Reduces recreational water use.
Fragments easily carried to new waterways.
Impedes waterfowl feeding.
Impedes fish spawning.
Devalues waterfront property values.
Impedes water treatment and power generation.

UC Davis – Hydrillia – Weed Control in Natural Areas in the Western United States [PDF]

Yellow Starthistle / Centaurea Solstitialis

Yellow Starthistle

Origin

Chilean-harvested alfalfa imported during the California Gold Rush.

Behavior

Grows in areas where soil has been disturbed such as land grading, agriculture tillage, timber logging, housing construction, wildland firebreaks, animal grazing, and road building.
One plant can produce nearly 75,000 seeds.
Alters water cycles.
Poisons livestock.
Overtakes native plants.

California Invasive Plant Council – Yellow Starthistle Management Guide [PDF]

California Invasive Plant Council – Yellow Starthistle Management Guide [PDF]

Scotch Broom / Cytisus Scoparius

Scotch Broom

Origin

Imported from Europe in the mid-1800s as a land stabilizer and garden accent.

Behavior

Aggressively displaces native plant populations.
Highly flammable.
Fire hazard.
Seeds can remain active for over 80 years.
A mature shrub can produce up to 15,000 seeds.
Seeds can be transported over long distances by animals, water, vehicles, and people.
Grows in a variety of soil conditions.
As a legume, it changes soil chemistry.
After removal, native plants won’t repopulate.

Fire Safe Council of Nevada County  – Management and Control of Scotch Broom

Mussels & Moths

Not pervasive, yet, in California, these animals have caused large-scale agriculture, water and forest management, and recreational problems in other states.

Carefully inspecting possessions after traveling from infested areas, and cooperation with Agriculture Inspection Station agents are ways to help prevent a species invasion.

Quagga / Dreissena Rostriformis Bugensis & Zebra Mussels / Dreissena Polymorpha

Origin

Caspian and the Black Sea and Dnieper River, Ukraine. Brought into the Great Lakes in the 1990s through ship ballast water.

Behavior

Disrupts ecological water balance.
Reduces recreational value, shells overrun sandy beaches.
Impedes water flow.
Encrusts pipes and other structures.
One muscle can produce 5,000,000 eggs during its 5-year lifespan.
Estimated Five billion community costs since first discovery.

Oregon Sea Grant – Zebra and Quagga Mussel Prevention and Control [PDF pg. 7]

European Gypsy Moth / Lymantria Dispar

Origin

Europe and Asia. Escaped from breeding experiments in Massachusetts in the 1960s.

Behavior

Voraciously eats tree leaves and shrubs.
A single moth can consume a square foot of leaves per day.
Leaves caterpillars eat – cedar, pine, fir, spruce, aspen, oaks, birch, alder, manzanita, and western hemlock.

US Forest Service – Gypsy Moth Prevention & Control

There is an urgent need for conservation and restoration measures to improve landscape connectivity, which will reduce extinction rates and help maintain ecosystem services. National Center for Biotechnology Information

If you liked this post, you may also like Native Plants for Healing the Land

click on image to see more invasive species Life on the Creek art

 

Resources:

Alameda County Department of Agriculture – Pest Detection (photos)
American Bullfrog – California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Blackberry
 – NCRCD
Blackberry, Wild – the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
California Department of Fish and Wildlife – California Invaders
California Department of Fish and Wildlife – Why can’t I have a hedgehog, sugar glider, ferret, or other restricted, non-native species as a pet in California?
California Department of Food and Agriculture – Gypsy Moth
California Invasive Plant Council
California Invasive Plants A-Z
CBS Video – Invasive Species Spreading Across America
Common Pokeweed – California Invasive Plant Council
Fire Safe Council of Nevada County – Scotch Broom Challenge
French Broom – California Invasive Plant Council
Hydrilla – NCRCD
Invasive Species Council of California
List of California Native Plants – Wikipedia
National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine – Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth’s ecosystems (2015)
Nevada County Resource Conservation District
Portuguese Broom –  California Invasive Plant Council
Quagga & Zebra Muscle Infestation & Prevention Program – NCRCD
Scotch Broom – California Invasive Plant Council
Spanish Broom – California Invasive Plant Council
UC Berkeley – Jepson Herbaria – Bruce Baldwin
UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources – Harmful Shrubs get a Foothold in California Forests
US Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation – Quagga and Zebra Muscles
Weed Threats – My Nevada County
Invasive Species – Wikipedia
Yellow Star Thistle – California Invasive Plant Council

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