2BP: Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and Mount Shasta

February 25, 2016

A made an unexpected road trip last week.  I got a phone call from my dad about ten days ago.  Mom was in the hospital for heart surgery.  It was Wednesday night.  Surgery would be on Friday.

That's not the kind of phone call you want to get.

Marsh Wren -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Black-tailed Jackrabbit

I decided to drive up Thursday and stay until Mom got settled back at home for recovery.  The foster dog situation was a little crazy at my home (my wife runs a dog rescue organization) so she asked me to take Pongo along.  No problem there, He's a good travelling companion and I could use the company.  Plus, I wasn't planning on doing much adventuring but it gave me a reason to at least get out and do short versions of the dog-friendly variety since he'd be spending a good chunk of his time in a crate.

Black-tailed Jackrabbit -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Stopping at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge has become pretty standard for us when driving up Interstate 5 in the colder months.  Pongo and I both enjoy the auto loop.  He hangs out the window and watches the birds and rabbits while I slowly drive and stop for pictures.  There are a couple of places where we can stop and stretch our legs and there are a few short trails for strolling.

Snow Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Pacific Pond Turtle & Cinnamon Teal -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Red-shouldered Hawk -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is one of the best places I know for getting good hawk photos.  They often sit in the trees alongside the auto route and aren't spooked by cars.  It's almost too easy to get nice shots.

Red-tailed Hawk -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

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

Greater White-fronted Goose

Another regular stop is near Weed, CA.  There's a rest stop there.  Near the rest stop are some train tracks, and from that spot near the train tracks is one of the best views of Mount Shasta that I know of.  I'm no expert, mind you.  I stop for photos there now on every drive up I-5.  The mountain has so many moods that I'm never bored with shooting from that same location.

Mount Shasta, CA

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 2015: Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

November 22, 2015

For me, Thanksgiving means making the annual trek up to Oregon for a get together with with my extended family.  It's a large gathering.  This year there were sixty-five people or so.  That's maybe slightly above average, but only by a few people.  I think the largest we ever had was ninety folks.  It's not held in a house, it's in a church gymnasium.

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Northern Pintail

This year was a little different than usual.  Since Sam moved out a few years ago I've been taking the entire week off and making the drive up a cold-weather road trip.  I spend four or five days by myself camping and seeing the sites.  This year Pongo joined me.  It was the dog's longest trip to date.  Six days.  We had quite a nice adventure together.

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Our first stop on the drive up was at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.  It's one of our day trip destinations so we are both familiar with it.  There are a couple of trails we can walk on and the auto tour can be spectacular in the winter.  The weather was perfect, cool but not cold with enough clouds in the sky to make wide shots interesting.

Ring-billed Duck -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Snow Goose

This particular refuge can be a decent place for spotting mammals.  We've seen deer and raccoons and a lone coyote.  I'm always hoping to see an otter but have never seen one.  Truthfully, I'm not sure there even are otters at his location.  I've heard mountain lions are occasionally spotted at these Central Valley complexes.  Rarely, actually.  That would be awesome.  I don't know how Pongo would react.  He tried to jump out the window and chase the last raccoons we saw there.  Silly dog.  We didn't see any mammals on this trip.  Lotsa ducks and geese, though.

Snow Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Snow Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Red-tailed Hawk

Pongo's ears perk up whenever he hears a flock of geese.  He enjoys watching the big birds.  The auto tours in general are a lot of fun for him, I guess.  He likes to hang out the passenger window as we drive slowly around the gravel roads.  That door has a lot of light scratches on it now from Pongo's sightseeing.  That's OK, we never sell our cars anyway, we just drive them until they die.

Hawks and harriers are common sights at the refuge.  The hawks like to sit in the trees that ring the auto tour which is cool because it creates nice photo opportunities.  Harriers are tougher to photograph.  They land on the ground far from the road when they aren't flying around.  I've seen dozens of harriers here but I've never been able to get a decent photo of one at this location.

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Pongo

After the refuge we headed up to Lava Beds National Monument where we'd camp for the night.  It was cold!  The campgrounds were almost empty, so that was nice.  Normally Pongo and I sleep in the car.  It was a little extra crowded in there with Pongo's crate and pillow, so we slept in the tent instead.  It was Pongo's first night in a tent.  He did pretty well.  It took him a little while to get used to the sounds of the tent in the breeze but he settled in OK.

Mount Shasta, CA

Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Soundtrack:

• Bruce Springsteen -- Darkness on the Edge of Town / Born to Run
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience -- Electric Ladyland

Sacramento to Salem

A Peaceful Passing

December 26-28, 2014

No one ever accused Uncle George of doing things the easy way.  By all accounts I heard, though, he slipped away quietly the weekend before Christmas.  So, it was with a somewhat heavy heart that I made another drive up to Oregon, my fifth trip up to Salem in roughly fourteen months, my third to attend a funeral.

Northern Harrier -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

By the end, Uncle George was a shell of the man he'd been earlier in life.  Alzheimer's disease beat him down, but as a younger man he was larger than life.  He had a big voice with a completely unique tone and phrasing.  I have never heard anyone that talked like Uncle George.  He also seemed to live without fear.  He charged after what he wanted and he encouraged others to do the same.  Often, what he wanted to do was help others.  He was as generous a man as I have even known.  Yeah, I looked up to him quite a bit, and I certainly wasn't the only one in my family who did so.

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

I stopped at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge on the way up.  I took the auto tour, as usual.  There wasn't a whole lot happening there.  I saw more northern harriers in one place than I've ever seen before.  At times there were four harriers in close proximity hunting in the tall grass or buzzing the ducks.  I also saw some ring-billed ducks, which I've never seen there before.  I didn't see a single hawk or eagle there, though.

Mount Shasta, CA

There's not a whole lot else to share.  It was a pretty quiet trip.  I didn't take a many pictures.  Well, not many good pictures, anyway.  It was dark and overcast the entire time I was in Oregon except for patches of sun on my drive home, but I was in no mood to stop for pictures at that point in the trip.

Mount Shasta, CA

Willamette River, Salem, OR

Oregon State Capitol, Salem, OR

Union Street Railroad Bridge, Salem, OR

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

November 8, 2014

Soundtrack:

• Spoon -- They Want My Soul
• Cibo Matto -- Hotel Valentine

Pongo and I drove up to Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday to spend the afternoon hanging out with the wildlife.  It was a warm, sunny day with enough clouds in the sky to keep the photos interesting.  It ended with a spectacular sunset as the ducks and geese took off in search of food in nearby fields.

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Mallard

Birds are the big attraction at all of the Central Valley wildlife refuges.  They flock to the refuges by the tens of thousands for the winter.  The largest massing of birds that I've seen has been at the Sacramento refuge, which is actually nowhere near the city of Sacramento.  Ducks and geese make up the majority of the population, although there are also plenty of hawks and smaller birds as well.

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

Birds aren't the only animals to call the Sacramento refuge home.  Turtles can often be seen.  We've seen deer and coyote as well, but nothing gets Pongo more worked up than a raccoon sighting.  Raccoons are common in our neighborhood, and they used to be common sight in our yard and even our attic.  We haven't seen a raccoon anywhere near our house since Pongo came along.  At least this time Pongo didn't try to jump out the window when we saw the family of raccoons.  He was plenty agitated, but apparently four raccoons are enough of a threat to keep him inside the car.

Raccoon -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Personally, I'm torn about the critters.  They can be awfully cute and they are tremendously intelligent, but I don't like them living in our attic.  There are also claw marks on some of the doors inside our house.  They figured out a way in one time when we were on vacation.  So, while I miss seeing them in our yard, I'm grateful that Pongo has cleared them out of the house.  I wish the raccoons living in the refuge well, I have no mixed feelings there.

Red-tailed Hawk -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Snow Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Ring-necked Pheasant -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

The sunset was spectacular on Saturday night.  I don't ever go out of my way for sunset picture--and I'm rarely awake at sunrise--but this particular night would not be denied.  It topped off a very pleasant afternoon of wildlife viewing with one of my favorite partners in crime.

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA