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

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline

Neighborhood Critters

January 24, 2016

I feel like I've been neglecting the neighborhood wildlife lately.  It's winter, I should be out collecting those local bird pictures.  I haven't been doing that.

I've been a little under the weather over the last week.  I figured if I wasn't up for a decent day trip I could at least get out and at least make up for a little lost local time.

So, let me introduce you to my neighbors.

Western Gull -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, Alameda, CA

Bufflehead

I live a block from the Oakland/Alameda Estuary.  As you can imagine, we see a lot of seagulls.  I don't take a lot of pictures of seagulls, though.  They're too damned hard to identify.  I keep my out for easy ones.  Ring-billed gulls.  California gulls.  Western Gulls.  Adult gulls, no juveniles.  I've got no chance with juveniles.

Bufflehead -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Brush Rabbit

Rabbits and ground squirrels are common on the shoreline.  Brush rabbits can be found just about anywhere while black-tailed jackrabbits stick to a particular fenced-in are of the MLK Shoreline.  At night they seem to spread out across the entire fenced-in area, otherwise they tend to stick to the back corner.

Black-tailed Jackrabbit -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

What keeps the rabbit population in check?  Poachers, for one.  I've heard stories of shotgun shells being found in the rabbit corner and the population being decimated only to rebound in a few months.  I'm not sure if there's anything to those stories.  Northern harriers are commonly seen in the area, as is the occasional cooper's hawk.  I expect the main cap on the potential rabbit population growth is this particular red-tailed hawk shown in the picture below.  It's rare to visit the area near Arrowhead Marsh in the morning and not see this individual bird, and he/she has been there for at least three years.  I've even seen the bird eating a rabbit in a tree.

Red-tailed Hawk -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Greater White-fronted Goose

Canada geese are always around in winter.  Sometimes a few greater white-fronted geese will stop by as well.  Last year one had an injured foot and stayed for the entire winter.

Canada Goose -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Common Goldeneye

Shorebirds are plentiful on the shoreline.  Like gulls, I tend to avoid shooting shorebirds because they can be difficult to identify.  Some aren't difficult and some are even kind of exciting.  The shoreline is one of the few places one can find a ridgway's rail.  I didn't see any ridgway's rails on Sunday, but I saw a few sora's and even a couple of virginia rails.

Sora -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

My favorite inhabitants of the shoreline are the burrowing owls.  It takes a little luck to see one.  They're only around in winter and I've only seen them early in the morning.  They look like large potatoes with big yellow eyes.  They tend to hide behind the burrow mounds so I often can only see their heads.

Burrowing Owl -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

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