BAND-TAILED PIGEON - NEVADA COUNTY

The Band-tail pigeon is on the migratory move and for a brief period they can be seen in Nevada County. The photo above (see inside the red circle) was taken in Alta Sierra Ca. ( 9/29/2014).

The Band-tailed Pigeon ranges from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, and southern Arizona south in higher elevations through Mexico and Central America to northern Argentina. In autumn it migrates out of its permanent resident range into northern California, New Mexico, and parts of Utah and Colorado. It is found at altitudes from 3,000 to 12,000 ft, generally in oak, pine-oak, and coniferous forests. It feeds on seeds, notably acorns.

It is the biggest pigeon in North America, measuring 13 to 16 in long and weighing 7.9–18.2 oz). The plumage is gray, somewhat darker above. The head and underparts have a faint pink cast, especially in the adult male; the belly is nearly white. The distal half of the tail is also pale. The bill and feet are yellow, good identification marks at sufficiently close range. Adults have green iridescence on the back of the neck, adjacent to a thin white collar on the nape. Juvenile birds have white feather edges above, giving a scaly appearance.

STANISLAUS RIVER TROUT - CALAVERAS COUNTY

2,000 feet below Highway 4 there laid a few hungry trout who call The Stan home. The adventure as one that I may never do again as the hike to the waters edge took 45 minutes while the walk out took almost three hours. It was hot and very dry.

 This is one of the many rainbows that took to the fly that day.

The rugged shore line made for very torturous walking when trying to get into position to cast.

BEAR RIVER VS ESCALON

Bear River's two QB offense played well in the first half led by David O'Brien's feet and Jason Voter in the air. The Bruins defense dominated the line of scrimmage in their 14-7 win over Escalon coming out of their bye week.

Bear River scored at the 9:18 mark on their opening drive when Jason voter to John Voter from the 27 yard line. Ben Olena's kick was no good for a 6-0 Bruin lead.

On the Bruins second possession the Bruins QB Obrien was sent to bench due to a left arm injury after leading the offense to a first and goal at the two. A series of penalties gave BR a 3rd and goal from the 37 yard line. Bruin QB Voter threw an errant pass which was picked off at the 2:17 mark in second. But again the defense made the needed stop.

Bear River 6 and Escalon 0 at the end of first quarter. 

Bear River safety Dave Mastrella intercepted an Escalon pass at the 11:24 mark in the second quarter which led to another John Voter touchdown from the two yard line.  Moving the score to 12-0 Bruins with 6:53 to play in the half. The Bruins went for a two point conversion where O'Brien threw a strike from the 23 yard line to O'Lena after multiple Bear River penalties moved the try back from the three yard line. 

Escalon looked as if they were poised to score their first touchdown of the contest when BR defensive lineman Jimmy Vaughn made two key stops inside the Bruin 10 yard line with less than 2 minutes to play in the half. Each team had one additional opportunity to score before intermission but as the midway horn sounded it was the Bruins that held a 14-0 lead. 

The Bruins offense sputtered in the third quarter as BR's wildcat QB O'brien remained on the sidelines. 

Escalon got on the board off a Jason Voter pick 6 with nine minutes to play in the game. The interception was Voter's third of the game. 

The Fourth quarter was not any better for the host team as their offensive whoas of not being able to run the ball continued.  Escalon on the other had took the ball from their own 30 yard line and marched down the field to the BR 20 but a series of penalties moved them back to the 50. Followed by a QB sack by Vaughn pushed Escalon back another 6 which took the wind out of the visitors sails. 

The Bruins took over on downs with 1:41 to but did not pick up a first down. Escalon got the ball with 19 seconds on their own 20. They got off a couple of plays but the clock ran out. 

The Bruins travel to Eureka next Friday where they will take on the Loggers. 

LAKE ALPINE CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 2014

The fishing was slow but the scenery as you can see was worth the effort.

FACEBOOK ADVERTISING - CHANGE SETTINGS

If you have ever "Liked" or have friends who have "Liked" a page then you are being targeted by Facebook's advertising. If you get irritated by those advertisements, there is something you can do about it. Written below is a further explanation of how Facebook uses your personal data to target your advertisements. But first here is how you put a spot to the company which has a market cap of over 200 million. 

In your profile, click the upside-down triangle in the upper-right corner and then the "Settings" button.

Click on the "Ads" tab. The two options here are easy to switch and very powerful. For each one, click the "Edit" button and then "No one" instead of "Friends."

That's not hard, but before I sign off let me just give you a quick explanation of what "Ads and Friends" is really about. Facebook claims that it "doesn't sell your information to advertisers," but what it does do is put you in a group that the advertiser can browse.

If you and a friend a hobby, then Facebook will take note of that. If you mention a product or company advertising on Facebook, it will probably put it next to an advertisement that your friend will see. It's basically a testimonial, but not one you might want to make.

Happy scrolling!

CALIFORNIA DROUGHT IMPACTS TROUT

Over Labor Day weekend I spent 9 hours fishing on two of California's watersheds. Neither of which looked healthy. Both were wrought with algae and very little signs of fish. While there were frogs and small fish I did not see anything above 3 inches.

Fish not only need water to thrive but the water also needs to be relatively cool. The Water temp was 75 degrees just above Lake Clementine while the air temp was 101. 

The other fishery which I fished was a bit better though I did catch two small trout. The real issue here is not one which man can fix nor will adding additional dams. The real issue at had is the lack of rain and snow in the mountains. Recently there was some discussion about Lake Tahoe only producing 65 cubic feet Per second (CFS). The Little Truckee is not flowing nor is Prosser creek. There was a group men and women from the Truckee Chapter of Trout Unlimited who worked hand in hand with the California Fish and Game catching trout with nets and then relocating them to the main river. 

As one can see when analyzing the images above that the past three years the lack of water has been accelerated. The lack of rain fall is hard on wildlife but with out a healthy river our food chain begins to break down. There are no clear answers other than conservation.