Sunday, March 20, 2016

Lake Berryessa

Winter Transitions to Spring

March 19, 2016


I had no real plan on my drive yesterday other than to head in the general direction of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.  It's a brand new monument, less than a year old.  It's one of the weird ones not actually administrated by the National Park Service.  The upside of that is it will get the protection of a national monument and without NPS involvement the area probably won't change a whole lot.  The downside is the NPS is very good at balancing the needs of the tourists and the environments it manages.

Common Goldeneye -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, Oakland, CA
Common Goldeneye
I never got to the new national monument.  Too many distractions.  That's OK, that happens a lot.  My first distraction was two blocks from my house.  As I crossed our neighborhood drawbridge, I spotted some ducks near the mouth of Sausal Creek.  They were obviously goldeneyes, but even from the bridge I could see they weren't quite what I'm used to seeing.  These birds were either in their non-breeding plumage or molting in that direction.  That was a new one for me.

Scaup -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, Oakland, CA
Lupine
I wonder if these ducks were aware that a pair of peregrine falcons reside in the the bridge next to the little beach they'd chosen to inhabit.  I'm guessing not.  Then again, I suppose that's just part of life and death for these birds.  The Central Valley wildlife refuges provide winter homes for millions of ducks and geese.  They're also great places to go to see hawks and harriers.

After shooting the ducks I headed North.  Lake Berryessa is near the Southern end of the monument.  I knew that the exit I was looking for was a few miles past the Lake Berryessa exit, but I couldn't help myself.  I've never been to Lake Berryessa.  I knew heading to Lake Berryessa would mean I wouldn't make it to the new monument, but I've never been to Lake Berryessa either, so that's where I headed instead.

One of the great things about not a having a well-defined plan is not having to stick to that plan.

Pipevine Swallowtail -- Putah Creek, CA
Pipevine Swallowtail
Once I got into the Lake Berryessa area I didn't make a stop without seeing a pipevine swallowtail.  In some places I saw dozens.  I eventually stopped taking pictures of them because I figured I'd tire of looking at the damned things in post-processing.  How many hundreds of pictures of butterflies do you need to take in one day?

Truth be told, I only took about a hundred photos of the butterflies and I didn't tire of looking at the photos while doing the post-processing.  Butterflies are one of my favorite subjects.  They don't seem to spook as easily as birds but they also don't stay in any one place for very long, so they're a challenge to photograph but also not impossible.

I saw a monarch near home yesterday as I started this drive and realized I never made it to the monarch grove in Pacific Grove this year.  Argh.  Well, this little trip kind of made up for that.  I wasn't photographing monarch, but I had no idea how plentiful these swallowtails could be.
Pipevine Swallowtail -- Putah Creek, CA
Lake Berryessa, CA
I didn't actually stay long at the lake once I got there.  I took a few pictures then turned around and headed home through Napa.  I will definitely return, most likely with my kayak.  I was surprised at how hilly the area was.  I always think of the Napa area as being relatively flat.  The valley is, obviously, that's why it's called a valley (duh).  The hills in Napa are very pretty and a little more wild and rugged than I realized.  I want to spend some more time there.

Osprey -- Lake Berryessa, CA
Napa, CA

2 comments:

  1. Jello plans are the best and you sure took advantage of that. Plus fun to find new places to return to. Love the butterfly shots!

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