Colusa & Sacramento National Wildlife Refuges

January 30, 2016

It's winter in California.  In the mountains that means snow.  Most people don't think of snow and winter sport when they think of California, but the Sierras are the tallest mountain range in the lower forty-eight with world class ski resorts in some area.  The Winter Olympics were hosted here in 1968.  We don't get much snow in the Central Valley.  There, winter is all about the birds.  Well, at least it is for me.

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Mallard -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA

A lot of birds winter in California.  Growing up in Oregon, I was used to seeing the ducks and geese flying overhead in spring and fall.  I never really wondered where they were headed, but now I know.  Most were heading to California's Central Valley.  Some birds actually winter in Oregon, but I wasn't aware of that either.  It's only been within the last few years that I've developed an decent understanding of bids' migratory habits.

Green-winged Teal -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Gadwall

My first stop on Saturday was at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge.  It was my first time there.  It's a nice refuge to visit, next time I'll bring Pongo along.  He went with my wife and our other dog Charlie to the dog park instead of joining me on this trip.  I think he'll like it.  It has a three mile auto tour and a nice walking trail alongside one of the big ponds.

Snow Goose -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Greater White-fronted Goose -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Northern Shoveler -- Colusa National Wildife Refuge, CA

I guess I should have mentioned earlier, if you're not interested in pictures of birds that are commonly seen in these Central Valley refuges you won't find much of interest in this post.

Northern Pintail -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Northern Pintail

This entry should give you a pretty good idea of why I don't consider myself to be a birder.  There are no rarities here.  Most of these birds can be found by the hundreds--if not thousands--at any of the valley's refuges.  I suspect most birders wouldn't even bother with pictures of northern shovelers or pintails.  It only takes the effort of driving to a refuge to guarantee seeing one of these birds.  I don't really get off on seeing rarities.  I'm not even after bird shots, necessarily.  A coyote or otter sighting is much more exciting to me than any bird I've ever seen.  I'm not judging one way or another, I just see a difference between what I'm up to and what I see on a lot of bird blogs.  I follow a lot of bird blogs, it's a great way to learn about birds.

Pacific Pond Turtle -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Great Horned Owl -- Colusa National Wildife Refuge, CA

At the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, I saw a couple of things I've never seen before.  First, I saw a redhead.  That's a lifer bird, for me.

Redhead -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Second, I saw a patrol car at the entrance of the refuge.  It was there when I arrived and still there when I left.  I'm sure it was present in response to the knuckleheads who have occupied the Malheur refuge.  I don't care for politics, but the wildlife refuges and National Park System are undoubtedly the one thing this country has gotten right.  I have no respect for what these gun-wielding idiots have done up there in Oregon and it angers me to see law enforcement officers posted guard in front of a wildlife sanctuary (and hunting ground).  These few salvaged spots belong to all of us: person, beast and fowl.  Ninety-five percent of the Central Valley has been taken up by farming, ranching and urban development, it's imperative that we save that remaining five percent for posterity.

OK, I'm done.  Hopefully it'll be another three years or more before I get up on a soapbox again.

Cinnamon Teal -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Thanksgiving 2014: Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge

Heading Home

November 29, 2014

Soundtrack:

• Pearl Jam -- Lightning Bolt
• Sonic Youth -- Goo

This should be a relatively short post since the drive home from Salem to Alameda relatively uneventful.  I bombed down I-5 stopping only long enough to get gas.  Once I was on my way that is.  Before hitting the road, I had breakfast with the family at Annette's then I made a stop at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge for a few pictures.

Red-breasted Sapsucker -- Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

I saw a red-breasted sapsucker at the refuge.  That was cool, first time I've seen one of those.

Canada Goose -- Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

I saw a bunch of canada geese.  Neat.  I kind of like this picture of them flying overhead, the clouds look kind of cool.

Mallard -- Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Mallards.  I shot this as a spot of sunlight broke through the clouds.  Not the most exciting of pictures, I'll admit, but I kind of like the colors.  There was a bald eagle in a tree to the right of this scene but the light was terrible and the eagle was facing away from me and I had to hike a quarter of a mile or so to get to this spot, so I'm posting this picture whether anyone likes it or not.

Spotted Towhee -- Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Yeah, that big stick right in front of the spotted towhee pretty much ruins the picture.  I was shooting through a hole in the branches, unfortunately that was the best I could do.  Otherwise, I think I'd have been fairly happy with this photo.

Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

That's pretty much it for my Thanksgiving trip.  I'm ready to hit the road again, hopefully I'll have a nice little trip to Death Valley or Joshua Tree coming up in early Spring.

Alameda / Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline

More Odds and Ends

April is a great month for wildflowers.  California's wildflower shows can be extraordinary.  Each year is the luck of the draw on any given year.  The last few years haven't been that great, this year included.  Still, even the bad years have their spots and moments.

Yellow-rumped Warbler -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

Brush Rabbit -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

There are usually a lot of rabbits at the shoreline, both brush rabbits and jackrabbits.  The jackrabbits are a bit nutty.  The brush rabbits are always skittish.  The jackrabbits are less so.  They're brave until suddenly they're not, then they run like bananas for a couple of seconds, then they're rave again.  Goofballs.

Turkey Vulture -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

Black-crowned Night Heron -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

Mallard -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

Double-crested Cormorant -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

I saw a couple of pelicans in April.  The first of the year.  Loves me some pelicans.

Brown Pelican -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

Brown Pelican -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

Back to San Luis

February 14, 2014

I've made four visits to San Luis Wildlife Refuge since September.  I've followed how the place changes over the winter.  From the looks of it, winter is winding down, at least based on the populations of some of the birds I saw.  Well, what I didn't see, really.

Double-crested Cormorant -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

The pintails are gone.  So are the snow geese.  Pintails are early migrators.  They're usually in the first wave of birds to arrive in California in the fall and the first to leave.  I don't know what the geese's deal is.  They may have just moved farther up the valley.  San Luis flooded their fields later in the year than the reserves North of Sacramento.  I assume that's how it works in general, the birds show up here later because it's farther South and they empty out sooner.

Sheep -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

The herd of sheep surprised me.  They were contained inside a temporary fence on the auto tour route.  I'm not sure if they're there to keep the grass down or what.  Goats are used for grass maintenance in the bay area.  There's a guy who drives his herd around and sets them up wherever people need the grass eaten down.  You never know where you'll bump into those goats.

Red-tailed Hawk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

I saw a lot of hawks and other birds of prey on this tour.  No eagles, though.  No owls, either.  Bummer.  The hawks and harriers and kites and kestrels were cool, though.  I suppose the hawks are easy to see in part because the trees are so bare.

There was a particularly interesting interaction between a red-tailed hawk and a northern harrier.  I initially encountered the hawk seen in these pictures as he was sitting in a tree.  He (or she) let me take a lot of pictures from what turned out to be a pretty close location.  When the hawk flew off I thought it was because he'd tired of my presence, but after looking at the pictures I was surprised to see a build up of mosquitoes around the hawk.  I suspect the bird moved off to the nearby pond shore because of the insects.

Red-tailed Hawk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA (did I just miss a great shot or what?)

Enter the northern harrier.

Northern Harrier -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA 

For whatever reason, the harrier didn't like where the hawk had decided to land.  So, the harrier buzzed the hawk a couple of times.  The hawk didn't seem to be too bothered. The harrier landed on a bush a couple of hundred yards away and it looked like that was the end of the tiff.  The hawk went about its business getting a drink of water and the harrier sulked over in the corner.

Northern Harrier -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA 

The hawk hadn't forgotten and he (or she) hadn't forgiven.  After taking a long, reflective drink of water, the hawk lit out after the harrier and the two disappeared in in the distance.  For all I know they're still duking it out.

Red-tailed Hawk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

White-tailed Kite -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Thanksgiving 2013: Birds, Birds, Birds . . . and a Nutria

Birds, Birds, Birds . . . and a Nutria

November 30, 2013

Soundtrack:

• Wire Train -- Between Two Words

Saturday was the day for the long drive home.  Not before taking in some of the local wildlife, though.

Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Great Blue Heron

I've driven by Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge countless times.  It's on the way to the coast and the casino from my parents house.  There are few trips I make to Oregon where I don't end up going to one of those two places.  I'd never stopped at the refuge before this visit.  I had no idea there was so much wildlife so close to my childhood home.

Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

I visited Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge a couple of times in November.  There are some interesting similarities and differences.  Sacramento has a lot more ducks.  The selection was exactly the same, though.  In both places I saw mallards, northern pintails and northern shovelers.  Both places have a lot of coots.  I didn't notice any grebes at Baskett Slough, there are plenty in Sacramento.

Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

The goose populations were very different.  In Sacramento, there are snow geese, ross' geese and white-fronted geese.  It was all canada geese and cackling geese at Baskett Slough.  I read that the Willamette Valley is the exclusive wintering home for certain types of canada geese.  The goose populations were a lot closer in size between the two refuges than the duck populations.  

Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Red-tailed Hawk

Both refuges attract a large number of northern harriers and hawks.  I guess they hang around to eat the ducks and coots?  I saw a harrier buzz over the ducks and geese a couple of times and the waterfowl scattered when they saw the harrier.  The northern harriers I saw in Sacramento all seemed to be interested in the critters in the fields, mice and snakes I assumed.  I saw a  couple of american kestrels at Baskett Slough.

Northern Harrier Buzzing the Geese -- Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

After visiting Baskett Slough, I went back to Salem to have breakfast with the family before heading South for the winter.  Before I left the Salem area, though, I stopped at Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge.  It was a different experience.  There were still a lot of canada/cackling geese (they sure are hard for me to tell apart unless they're right next to each other), but there was a wider variety of other waterfowl and there were bald eagles.

Canada Geese (or Are They Cackling Geese?) -- Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Nutria

 Like Baskett Slough, Ankeny didn't have a lot of ducks.  It had a wide variety, though.  It had mallards, pintails and shovelers, but it also had canvasbacks, buffleheads, hooded mergansers and scaups.  I saw a couple of tundra swans at Baskett Slough, but at Ankeny I saw at least a dozen.  I also saw a nutria.  It's basically a giant South American water rat.

Why do I find this picture to be so funny?  Tundra Swan -- Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Canvasback

I always think of swans as being graceful, elegant birds.  These swans?  Not so much.  These swans spent a lot of time with their asses in the air feeding on something beneath the water.  Awkward.  They were always surround by small fleets of ducks.  I suspect the ducks were hoping to grow up to be big and beautiful like the swans some day.  Isn't there a story about that?

Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

I saw a juvenile bald eagle in a tree as I was leaving the refuge.  He posed for a while, and then he was joined by another bald eagle.  They flew off together, wrestling in the air as they flew.  It reminded me of our dogs.  So silly.

Bald Eagle -- Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

After that I headed home.  I took the back way through Oregon, cutting over to Highway 97 at Eugene.  It was an uneventful drive.  Pretty, though.  As always, it was good to get back into California.  For the first time, I think I had an appreciation for the beauty of California's Central Valley.  It's so different from the forested land I'd been driving through for the last week.

Mount Shasta, Highway 97, CA