San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

August 3, 2014

Pongo and I took a drive out to San Luis National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday.  It's a nice place for a drive.  I wasn't going to be very mobile anyway, a hike was definitely out of the question.  Even in August, when the waterfowl are all up North and the marshes are dry, there is still plenty to see on the reserve, it just doesn't come as easily as it does in winter.

American Kestrel -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

American Kestrel

There are plenty of birds on the refuge in August.  A safe guess would be that I saw around two hundred individuals of at least thirteen species.  California Quail.  Great Blue Heron.  Great Egret.  Snowy Egret.  Red-tailed Hawk.  Mourning Dove.  Belted Kingfisher.  American Kestrel.  Black Phoebe.  Western Kingbird.  Western Scrub-Jay.  Barn Swallow.  Western Meadowlark.  There were also blackbirds (tri-colored or redwing, I couldn't tell which) and Crows.  There's nothing too surprising in that list.  The kingfisher, perhaps.  Kingfishers aren't exactly rare in California, but I also feel like it's a treat to see one.  They do seem to be camera shy, I have yet to get a decent photo of one.

Belted Kingfisher -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Sheep

The birds weren't plentiful enough to grab Pongo's attention and they were also having little trouble staying far enough away from us to dash any hopes of getting good pictures.  We weren't really there for the birds, anyway.  I knew we'd see some elk, that's pretty much a given at San Luis.  They're contained in a very large enclosure, much bigger than a zoo pen but fenced in nonetheless.  We weren't here for the elk, either.  They'd be the consolation prize if we didn't see our true goal: coyotes.

Sheep -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

We drove the entire waterfowl route without seeing any coyotes.  That was a disappointment.  I've seen a couple of coyotes at San Luis, always on or near the waterfowl road.  Toward the end of the road we ran into a herd of sheep.  They were hunkered down in the bushes trying to stay out of the heat.  There sky was overcast, but it was still quite warm.  I stopped the car and we watched them sitting around for quite a while.  Pongo loves big animals like this.  He recently discovered cows on a trip to Point Reyes and I think the bovines have replaced deer as his favorite animal.  He thought the sheep were pretty cool.

Coyote -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

We saw our first coyote near the start of the elk tour, right before it splits with the waterfowl road.  He/she was a little guy/gal who ran off before I could get all but one not completely crappy shot.  I think it was still a puppy.

Coyote mama & pup -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

We drove almost the entire elk road before seeing any elk.  Then all at once we bumped into them.  Not only were the elk there, a mother coyote and her puppy were hanging out as well.

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Coyote -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

The mother coyote stopped on a small mound while the pup ran into the grass behind her.  The elk were close by and not too crazy about having the coyote hanging around.  The dog posed no real threat, I'm sure, but I think the elk would have preferred her to move on.  she didn't.  She plopped right down for a nice rest in the sun on the mound.  We never saw the puppy come back from the grass.

Coyote -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA