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Hello Again and Happy Easter! by Robert

4/16/2022

Just in time for Easter egg hunting and these birds might already have eggs, but they’d be way hard to find.

A Nuttalls Woodpecker nest is deep inside this tree limb, so it’ll be a while before we see their chicks.

The Northern Rough-wing Swallow’s nest in deep inside bank holes they’ve dug out with their tiny beaks, so it’ll be a some weeks before we see their little ones. Meanwhile, here's a video clip of some bankside activity by these swallows.

It looks like there are a plenty of eggs hatched along the river this Easter!

Happy Easter,
Robert

Nuttall's woodpecker doing what it does best

Rough-winged swallows taking a well earned rest

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Mystery Native Fish Species on the American River? by Dale

2/17/2022

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What native fish species with an incredible evolutionary history predating dinosaurs or trees that has broad cultural and nutritional values to Native Americans is poorly understood and apparently in decline? Most guess Salmon or perhaps Sturgeon but there is another answer. First, another clue even though it is negative and misleading. Sightings of this species in the American River last year were played up in the media as the return of a rare "vampire fish". Neither are true.

Local biologist Chris Conard took this photo of a Pacific Lamprey being eaten in 2020. iNaturalist record also available.

The Pacific Lamprey is a native fish species that had great ecological and cultural values before colonialization. Don't confuse it with the sea lamprey that was introduced into all the Great Lakes when canals were built and now has a major impact on the fish populations there. Despite its native status, amazing evolutionary history and cultural values, the Pacific Lamprey is not well known, is sensationalized by the media, and considered by many as a pest or at best useful as bait for other fish.

Local media show up when someone sees an adult lamprey in the American River which is much less common now. Some local fishers used to claim they harvested considerable numbers for bait in northern California by dip net and a tapping technique that may attract adult spawners as well as collecting newly emerged lamprey around their "nests". It's been a while since those claims were made.

For much more information, including insight and stories from tribal biologists working to conserve the species, check out "Mystery Native Fish Species on Making Tracks!"

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Leave Sleeping Sea Lions & Native Vegetation Alone by Dale

12/31/2021

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I received a call this morning that a large Sea lion was on the south bank of the river between SLP and the RR trestle. It wasn’t known if the animal was hurt, dead, or just sleeping. Sea lion sightings have become common in the fall and winter months in recent years. They've learned to follow returning salmon upstream and enjoy many meals while paddling around the Sacramento and American rivers. We have not documented a Sea lion on the shore before and this could be a cause for alarm. These huge mammals are carnivores and the apex predator in our area when present. Frequent off-leash dog activities lead to wildlife encounters which endanger all involved. In the case of a Sea lion that threat could be much greater. If a Sea lion was injured it might be unable to feed or return downstream to its ocean home.

County rangers were alerted using the County Sheriff dispatch (916-875-7275). A ranger quickly responded and we were able to locate the neighbor who reported the Sea lion sighting. Fortunately, the animal appeared healthy and was back in the river. Apparently an off leash dog encountered it while it was entering the river and was quickly chased away when the Sea lion charged back towards shore. Maybe it was protecting a favorite fishing or sunning spot? Several other people wandered by and were able to get good looks at an adult Sea lion calmly swimming just off shore. It looked healthy and well fed.

Video clip of sleeping Sea lion on shore, near SLP by Anna

California Sea lion wikipedia link

“Who woke me up?”

Sea lion “Dog paddling”?

The end…?

Double-crested cormorants keeping look-out

Sea lion activity seems increased this year and a recent sighting upstream at Paradise Beach several weeks ago indicates they may be continuing to expand their territory here. As with all wildlife, the best way to enjoy them is from a safe distance and avoid altering their activities. Off-leash dogs and off-pavement bicyclists regularly encounter wildlife in sensitive habitats along the American River Parkway unfortunately. Illegal vehicle activity is an ongoing problem causing impacts to sensitive riparian habitat and soils as was painfully visible today. A 311 report was filed for the off-road damage discovered today.

Bank failure due to off-trail activities causing native tree loss and erosion

Four wheel vehicle damage in native plant restoration area

Riparian habitat and bank erosion from 4 wheel vehicle damage

American River Flood Control District activity near 4 wheel vehicle damage site

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Team Otter Back For 37th Annual ARNHA Wildlife Count

12/28/2021

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Team Otter included aquatic and terrestrial coverage again this year!

A wildlife count along the American River has been going on for many years now. 37 in fact! For a fair number of those years, local wildlife lovers have represented the SLP area as "Team Otter" for this count. That includes these most recent and challenging years. Once again we were out for a great day of watching and counting wildlife. Our actual count is posted below. This citizen science effort collected data that is stored in eBird and helps look at trends in wildlife along the American River. This year it was hard to get enough people in the field at some locations but counts were still important. Team Otter will be back in 2022 so plan on joining us or one of the other teams in the area. Effie Yeaw and the American River Natural History Association sponsor these counts and will send out reminders to those interested.

Sutter's Landing Park, Sacramento US-CA 38.58791, -121.46104
Dec 5, 2021
8:00 AM
Traveling
1.50 miles
210 Minutes
All birds reported? Yes
Comments: Team Otter Sutter’s Landing Park Participants: Kathleen Ave, Dale Steele, Robert Sewell; in canoe: Tom Biglione, JoEllen Arnold. 3 subunits.
1 Western Grey Squirrel
2 Fox Squirrel
Numerous recent beaver sign: Chewed tree bark, stripped willow wands in the river.
Several otter slides.

Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 2.8.0 Build 2.8.12

40 Snow Goose -- In flight overhead
32 Canada Goose
1 American Wigeon -- One male, keeping company with a Canada goose
19 Mallard
1 Mallard (Domestic type) -- White, with yellow bill
12 Bufflehead
14 Common Goldeneye
4 Common Merganser
30 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
4 Mourning Dove
1 Anna's Hummingbird
7 Killdeer
35 California Gull
51 Double-crested Cormorant
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Turkey Vulture
1 White-tailed Kite
2 Red-shouldered Hawk
1 Red-tailed Hawk
3 Belted Kingfisher
4 Northern Flicker
1 American Kestrel
3 Black Phoebe
2 Say's Phoebe
7 California Scrub-Jay
6 Yellow-billed Magpie
20 American Crow
10 Bushtit
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
20 European Starling
1 Northern Mockingbird
5 Lesser Goldfinch
3 Fox Sparrow
21 White-crowned Sparrow
22 Golden-crowned Sparrow
1 Savannah Sparrow
2 Song Sparrow
2 California Towhee
16 Brewer's Blackbird
4 Yellow-rumped Warbler

Number of Taxa: 41

American wigeon in non-breeding plumage. Photo by JoEllen

Not participating in the count but someone has caused significant damage to this mature cottonwood, now likely to fall into the river before its time... Photo by JoEllen

This "mountain" of geese passed by too late to be counted this time but many others were seen

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International Bat Night Included Arden's Story, A Local Tale by Kathy

8/29/2021

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More than 60 bat experts from 40 countries were showcased on Facebook Live for International Bat Night hosted by Nils Bouillard, a Bat Conservationist from Europe, from 8-27-21 at 10 pm PDT to 8-28-21 at 2 pm. We are very proud and honored that our very own JoEllen Arnold of Sacramento, California, was one of the participants who gave a fascinating illustrated talk about a Hoary Bat named Arden.

JoEllen has had a passion for bats for many years. She loves to travel around the world to see and photograph some of the more than 1400 species of bats and to share what she learns. About 10 years ago, she started helping with the rescue and rehabilitation of our local native bats with NorCal Bats.

For the International Bat Night event, she told the story of "Arden", a Hoary Bat who came into care with NorCal Bats in February. Arden was found on a gravel driveway in a residential neighborhood off Arden Way. She looked fine but could not fly. Her right wrist was swollen, and over time, Arden’s wing membranes deteriorated horribly. It is thought that she was suffering from Wing Wasting Syndrome which is caused by a bacteria in the soil. After being treated with antibiotics, the deterioration was stopped, but Arden will probably never be able to fly well enough to be released. Toward the end of April however, it became clear that she was pregnant!

Arden gave birth to a male and a female pup in early May, right on schedule for a Hoary Bat. Sadly, the female pup did not survive her first night, but the male has grown up to be a beautiful Hoary Bat. He will be going to a flight cage for flight practice and it is hoped that he will be released shortly thereafter.

Thank you JoEllen for all you do in rescuing and caring for our local bat population! Go to NorCalBats.org to learn more about how you can help our local bats. Donations and volunteers are always needed!

If you would like to see the video about the Hoary Bats, it is the first 20 minutes of this segment from International Bat Night. Click on this link:
https://www.facebook.com/NilsBouillard/videos/168692255346876/

Note from webmaster: Many thanks to Kathy and JoEllen for collaborating on this important story. Many of you will remember the inspiring and very popular evening bat conservation programs JoEllen has hosted for FORB over the years. We can't wait until that becomes possible again. Meanwhile, you can listen to an interview, "Getting Batty With JoEllen" she did during this local radio show episode (starts at min 6:28).

International Bat Night - JoEllen Arnold, NorCal Bats

1995 Photo of JoEllen holding a Hoary Bat

Arden The Hoary Bat with a Swollen Right Wrist

Arden Giving Birth to the First Pup

Male Pup on the Right - Female on the Left

Arden Cleaning her Male Pup

4 Day Old Male Pup

10 Day Old Male Pup

Male Pup After Eating Meal Worms

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Tide Study (and tidy work) at SLP by Mark

8/13/2021

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Jax might be measuring tidal movement...

(Check out the updated video at the bottom showing ongoing cleanup work along the river 8/29/21)

After many years of visiting Sutter’s Landing, I could never figure out why the river was always at different levels. I always wished I could figure out when they were releasing water so I could better pickup trash. Then one day a couple months ago, while paddling with my friend Tom, I became aware that there was a tide. I was shocked how simple it was. I couldn’t believe I never realized it before. Then I found out that many of us didn't know about our river tides, so I wanted to share.

My study is located on the large pipe, just past the downstream fence at SLP. Past the rope swing.

This month’s high tide, which happens twice a day, varies between 1.9’ and 3.3’. Low tide varies from -0.1’ to 1’. The Sacramento tide chart is measured at the Sacramento River in Old Town. SLP’s tide is different.

According to the Sacramento tide chart, on Aug. 6 at 2:58pm there was a 0’ low tide. At 2:58pm I set my yardstick at 1”. By 4:20, the water had dropped 2 more inches. Hoping that was low tide, I readjusted my yardstick down to 0. The next day the chart said there was a 3.2’ high tide at 5:57am. . I was there at 6:40am and measured a 28” tide, the stick was dry above telling me we were at high tide. On Aug. 11, I took a picture that showed watermarks on the yardstick that showed several tide levels.

I don’t know how scientific this is but hopefully you find it interesting. I have been obsessed with the river recently and have learned so much about it’s ecology and politics from some masters of the river. Thank you.
.
This year I decided to take my vacation at Sutter’s Landing. It has been a fantastic trip. I have explored much of the lower river and spent half the days, with my dog (Jax), cleaning between miles 3 and 4 across from SLP. It is beautiful over there, much cleaner than I expected.

In the last 2 months, I have cleaned dozens of abandoned camps and thousands of pounds of trash from right next to or in the river. FOSL and county maintenance crews have been very supportive.

It has been wonderful meeting so many dedicated people in love with the Parkway.

Mark Baker

My new motto:
“Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but footprints”

webmaster note:
Mark has raised the bar greatly this year with frequent nautical outings to float trash back into containers. Who says a person can't make a difference!
A great place to check on the latest river flows and temperatures for the lower American River is the Water Forum website.

"How Mark Spent His Summer Vacation"

Link to video clip of Mark and Jax towing a load after cleaning up the island across from SLP

💥UPDATE: Chris Smith, another amazing volunteer, put this video together of the ongoing cleanup work: American River Cleanup at Sutter's Landing

Effective trash collection by boat!

On the hunt for more trash to remove. Photo by Chris

Fully loaded for removal. Photo by Chris.

Quite a haul & all in a days work

Mark and sidekick Jax have been busy again!

No small feat to collect and haul so much trash!

Mark and Chris and their packed raft trash masterpiece

Making a difference!

Mark and Chris showing what can be done. Kudos!

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Bushy Lake Burns Again...

6/13/2021

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Ground level view of the smoke plume over Bushy Lake June 6th 2021

Bushy Lake is a designated Nature Study Area in the lower American River Parkway. This site is adjacent to CalExpo and directly upstream from Sutter's Landing Park. In recent years an ongoing monitoring project has been underway lead by Dr. Michelle Stevens and her CSUS students. Dr. Stevens recently was awarded a state grant from the American River Conservancy to develop a long term restoration plan. Unfortunately, her established restoration site burned up in this latest fire along with well over 100 acres of important habitat for sensitive species including the Western Pond turtle, Swainson's hawk and more. This habitat is shared with wildlife frequently seen at Sutter's Landing Park and the Lower American River Parkway. Research and restoration will work will continue from the ashes.

There have been many fires already this year in the lower American River Parkway. This fire at Bushy Lake has been one of the worst so far. The latest fire burned for several days and has raised questions about fire management in the Parkway and best practices when responding in a Nature Study Area. A shared photo/video album is available with much more on the breadth and degree of impacts of the fire.

Looking south across Bushy Lake towards the American River from the CalExpo levee.

June 8, 2021 To: Whom It May Concern
From: SUBJECT: June 6 Wildfire at Bushy Lake

Dr. Michelle Stevens, Bushy Lake Eco-Cultural Restoration Principal Investigator

On Sunday June 6, a team of scientists and student research assistants left Bushy Lake at 1:00 pm after conducting turtle catch-and-release research and nest surveys. At approximately 2:00 pm, a wildfire started at a human encampment on the east side of Bushy Lake. The fire burned to the eastern shore of Bushy Lake, burning all vegetation in its path. There was no discernible effort by fire crews to stop the progress of the “slow moving” fire toward the Bushy Lake Restoration Project (see Figure 1 and 2).

Sacramento State faculty and students have been conducting experimental plantings of fire resilient and culturally important native vegetation for the past five years (see Figure3). Over 600 students and community volunteers have been involved in planting, weeding, conducting experiments, and watering plants at the site. The wildfire destroyed the entire restoration effort. Previous fires occurred in 2014 (entirely destroyed the site, and when we began restoration work through the Earth Stewardship Initiative). Another fire occurred in 2016 and was stopped outside our experimental area on the south side of Bushy Lake.

What was the impact of this fire? The northeast side was burned from the Cal Expo levee to the water, the east side burned through our restoration project to the water, and I don’t yet know how much of the south side burned (see Figure 4 and 5). Turtles are nesting right now, with the females moving from the water to the upland to lay their eggs (see Figure 6). Besides destroying approximately six acres of planted native vegetation, we have recorded nesting western pond turtles, over 160 species of birds, resident deer and coyote and other wildlife species, Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle habitat and elderberry savanna, and over 50 species of butterflies and other pollinators (see Figure 7 impact on wildlife).

We will have an internal team meeting of scientists engaged on the project to determine our next steps. We will incorporate the “disturbance” into our study in order to make recommendations to inform our conceptual restoration plan, specifically in regards to fire resiliency. We have a number of questions to incorporate into our study after we have time to determine what is left and in what condition.

1) As soon as it is safe and the fire is out, we will continue nesting and population surveys on western pond turtles and non-native turtles;
a. Observation: did beaver presence and “beave way” construction on the site increase fire resilience?
b. Observation: will turtles use the burned areas for nesting sites? Will we find burned turtle nests in the burned areas?
c. Observation; will turtles depend more heavily on unburned areas of the site?
2) We will monitor shifts in avian use of the site, determine bird use and nesting success, aquatic
biology and water quality post fire;
3) We will monitor survival and revegetation of native plant species to determine fire resiliency;
4) When the rains come, we will replant the reference on-site restoration project with donations
and assistance from the stakeholder community;

Finally, there have been three major fires in the Bushy Lake area since 2014. These fires are created by continued anthropogenic activity. Wildfires endanger human health and safety in a beloved recreational and education area on the lower American River Parkway. These fires undermine natural resource management, conservation, and restoration efforts, and pose a threat to Cal Expo and a major transmission corridor. What plans are in place to remediate these anthropogenic threats?
I did not observe any attempt by the fire department to protect the natural resources at Bushy Lake. Why was no line dug to protect the restoration project from what is described as a “slow moving wildfire from the east”? Are natural resources designated as a state nature preserve or restoration site a priority to be protected when wildfires erupt? Is it time to create priorities for natural resources along the lower American River parkway to protect natural resources from wildfire?
Hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funding, hundreds of hours of faculty, student and community elbow grease, and a great deal of love from many stakeholders on the lower American River have gone into the Bushy Lake Restoration Site. We plan to continue our study to the best of our ability, and make use of this wildfire “stressor” to continue our research.
However, as we continue our work, I want to know there is some kind of policy safeguard against these anthropogenic wildfires and their constant threat to Bushy Lake and other areas along the American River.

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Spring & Early Summer at Sutters Landing Park by Robert

5/31/2021

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Hello to all,

This spring we saw and welcomed the early return of two Swainson's Hawk (SWHA) couples to Sutters Landing Park and right away they started nest building, which is an ongoing process! As you can see below, one couple built in a Black Locus tree while it still had fragrant spring flowers on it. That’s the first nest I’ve ever see built in this species of tree and also this far down river!
The other couple choose to build in a tall riverside Cottonwood tree, as all other Swainson's Hawks have.

Black Locus tree nest

Cottonwood tree nest

Nest building contractor specialist!

A large patch of Native Wild Roses bloom each spring! They line the left side of the canoe trail down to where the sand begins.

We think this is a Sweat Bee.

This is the Yellow-face Bumble Bee, bumbus veses en kii. Wild Roses are it’s favorite!

Honey Bees are also attracted to the Wild Rose.

A lovely sunset on the river.

Cottonwood seeds fill the air.

SWHA in flight.

A Tree Swallow chick is dependent on insect food delivered by mom & dad.

This Sea Lion swam by on its way upriver. Large fish can still be seen when the river is low

A SWHA in a swift diving flight mode!

Colorful Barn Swallows gathering nesting materials

Notice the abundance of Horsetai l Plants.

This SWHA has a catch! It caught as the mower cut the dry grass on the mound.

This Common Merganser mom's chicks have already learned to help her hunt for small fish!

They look as if they are running on the water!

She has a large clutch of eight chicks!

Pacific Gopher Snakes mating on the river banks are native to the western coast of North America. They range in size from 5 to 7 feet long. Their eggs are laid from June to August and will hatch in 2 to 2.5 months and the clutch is from 12 to 14 eggs. They are nonvenomous.

Look closely and you’ll see this is a Nursing Coyote Mom on top of the mound where her young pups have been seen this summer.

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SLP and the Parkway Teeming With Nature and More Fires Unfortunately by Dale

5/17/2021

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iNaturalist is a citizen science tool available on smartphones, tablets and computers. It's managed by experts at the California Academy of Science. Easy to use, it can capture an observation you make and share it with others to help better understand the amazing species and habitats around us. You don't have to know what you have seen as online experts will help with identifications and the app provides much information about species characteristics and range. iNaturalist can be used for all species from insects, plants, fish, birds, reptiles, mammals, trees, and more. The app is free to download and membership with iNaturalist is also free. If you want to take a closer look at species that have been recorded at SLP using iNaturalist, check out this link. More recently there were several Osprey iNaturalist sightings in flight over SLP. What will you spot and share on your next outing?

Similar information is available for the rest of the Parkway as well as most other locations around the globe. There are also special projects and other community activities and forums where you can share and learn more about your favorite groups of species. There are a number of other great apps that can expand your enjoyment and experience with nature at SLP, other areas of the Parkway and wherever else you may go.

Screen shot of a recent busy day of observations.

Western rattlesnake crossing bike trail yesterday. Observation now in iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/79166127

Unfortunately, not all of those experiences may be positive but that is important to document too. See below.

Unfortunately not all observations in the Parkway are beneficial to nature or recreation (taken 5/16/21 about 5 PM)

Likely another human caused fire in lower Am River Parkway burning grassland and upland habitat.

Woodlake area of the Parkway is across the American River from SLP and site of many recent human caused fires like yesterday

Strong winds blew smoke and fire rapidly northward before fire crews could arrive.

On the way home after another great bike outing in the Parkway yesterday, I encountered a rapidly spreading fire in an area of Woodlake that has been burned many times in recent years. Most of these fires are human caused. The fire yesterday occurred in strong winds and spread rapidly before fire crews could arrive. It turned day into night and was impossible to see the ground as I made my way through the burning area before being cut off. Unfortunately many more areas of the lower Parkway have already been burned this year and that number and impact will greatly increase before the rains return. Several habitat damaging fires in the Discovery Park area are very visible from the bike trail now.

Recent fire at Discovery Park burned some of the best remaining mature riparian forest in the lower Am River Parkway

Cottonwood forest unlikely to regenerate after fire impacts

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New Swainson's Hawk Nests at SLP by Robert

4/25/2021

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Hello to All,

This April 13, 2021 was the first time nesting Swainson's hawk pairs have been seen and recorded at SLP since April 3, 2018. This raptor is a California Threatened species that has declined due to loss of nesting and foraging habitat.

Both nests are further downriver than we've ever seen. One nest is in a Black Locus tree, another first for me, and the other is in a Cottonwood tree, the type of tree all other Swainson's hawk pairs have used here in the past.

We are delighted to see Swainson's hawks return and wish them success!