Katie's Sightings

Sierra Valley

Sandhill Crane — Antigone canadensis

The weather was sunny and warm and the roads were bare this week, so we decided to drive over to Sierra Valley to see how Spring was progressing. The valley was snow-free but the surrounding mountains were still snow covered. The average annual rainfall is less than 20" in the valley, most falling as snow. At 117,292.42 acres, Sierra Valley is the largest intermountain (between the mountains) valley in the Sierra Nevada!

It became obvious right away that we were a bit too early for wildflowers and waterfowl. The grasses were still all brown, with just a tiny bit of green showing on the ground. It was warm, and the heatwaves were distorting the distant views. There were however, more Sandhill Cranes than we've ever seen before! We saw about 24 cranes over the course of the day and we usually only see about 6!

Sandhill Cranes — Antigone canadensis

The majority of the cranes we saw were in groups of 5-7 adults, along one particular waterway. These birds are huge, with a length of 46" (almost 4' tall), a wingspan of 77" (almost 6.4' wide) and a weight of 10.6 lbs!!! I'm guessing that most of these Sandhills will fly north into Idaho and Oregon to breed, rather than nest in Sierra Valley. It will be interesting to see what happens!

Sierra Valley from the Steel Bridge 3/17/24

There wasn't as much water at the Steel Bridge as last year, but this past winter was a lot milder than the previous winter. I love the big-sky expansive view from the Steel Bridge, where the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Feather River flow. The valley floor is a grassland/sagebrush ecosystem, and the site of extensive freshwater wetlands. These wetlands provide migratory and breeding habitat for more than 17 rare or threatened species of birds. It is also a critical migratory stop for 230 species including Greater Sandhill Cranes, Black Tern, White-faced Ibis and raptors.

American Coot — Fulica americana

At the Steel Bridge the main waterfowl present were American Coots. There weren't any swallows, shorebirds, wrens, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, ducks, or raptors present! We'll be coming back in April and hopefully the birds will be back by then!

Coots are not ducks, they are in the Rallidae Family and are classified as Rails! They probably spend their winter in lower elevations in California. They will breed and raise their young in Sierra Valley. They make floating nests out of tules and other dry vegetation, that are anchored to standing aquatic vegetation.

Your questions and comments are appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!