Author: Loren

A Fresno Walk

We didn’t do a long hike on our second day in Fresno and didn’t see nearly as many flowers as we did at the San Joaquin River Gorge Special Recreation Area, but we saw more birds.  In fact, we were greeted at the beginning of our walk by this White-crowned Sparrow who seemed too busy eating leaf buds to be disturbed by people out walking.

I also saw my first Tree Swallow of the year.

Shortly afterward, we saw a pair of Ravens, birds we might have confused with crows if there hadn’t been an experienced local birder who confirmed it was a Raven and not the more commonly seen Crow. 

A little later we sighted this Great Egret, another bird we seldom see in the Pacific Northwest.

Near the end of the walk we heard several ground squirrels chattering excitedly and 

we looked up to see a Red-tailed Hawk circling overhead.

It was great to get out for a long walk for two days in a row, particularly when we had just spent two days in the car getting there and were about to spend two more days getting to Phoenix. We celebrated the day by stopping for Smash Burgers, another “lifer” for me.

Hiking the  San Joaquin River Gorge Special Recreation Area with Jeff and Debbie

Leslie and I decided that while we were visiting Bill and Alice in Phoenix we should also visit Jeff and Debby for two or three days on our way there. Jeff and Deborah decided we should take our first hike of Spring/Summer at the  San Joaquin River Gorge Special Recreation Area.  (At least it was warm enough that it seemed like summer to those of us from the Pacific Northwest where the temperature has yet to reach 70 degrees so far this year.  

The view of the Gorge was quite spectacular, 

but the real highlight of the hike, for me, at least, was the flowers, which ranged from the delicate beauty of this Dodecatheon,

and these Cowslip

to this huge Silver Lupine, which dwarfs the Lupine we are used to seeing in the North Cascades.

That’s Leslie and Deborah on the left, showing just how big this plant was.

However, the Lupine seemed small in comparison to the Red Bud that lined both sides of the canyon.

This might not have been a very challenging hike if I were hiking it in the middle of summer, but I’ll have to admit that I was sweating on the way back up the trail and my knees were a little sore by the end of the hike.

Luckily, it was beautiful enough that I didn’t feel tired until we were almost back to the car.  

A Quick Return to the Sacramento NWR

We barely got back from an earlier trip to Santa Rosa before we headed out to Fresno and Phoenix.  It was too far to drive to Fresno in a single day, particularly since we had to wait until the mailman delivered some medications from the VA.  Fortunately, our late start was advantageous because we missed all the rush-hour traffic. Unfortunately, we didn’t reach Willows until nearly 10 P.M. 

Since Fresno wasn’t far from Willows, we had time to take a quick drive around the Sacramento NWR auto tour in the morning before heading out.  Instead of unpacking all our photo gear, Leslie and I shared a single camera, passing it back and forth whenever we saw something worth taking a picture of, so I’m not sure which of us took a particular photo. 

We heard plenty of Meadowlarks singing but didn’t get a single shot of one singing.  Instead, we got a shot of an angry-looking Meadowlark who was obviously tired of being photographed.

We didn’t see the large flocks of Snow Geese that we had seen a few weeks before, but there were small flocks throughout the refuge.

Killdeer are common on the refuge, but it’s a little unusual to see them wading.

We saw about the same number of Black-necked Stilt we saw on our previous visit. and they were obviously used to people taking shots of them, at least when you kept your distance and stayed in your vehicle.

I particularly liked the reflections in this shot. 

The highlight of the day had to be seeing this White-Faced Ibis near the end of the auto tour.  I never quite managed to get a shot of it in the kind of light that makes all those colors iridescent, but I was still pleased to sight one and get a few good shots.   

Seeing the first bird of the season isn’t quite as exciting as seeing one for the first time — a “lifer,” as it were — but it’s still a special moment.  

We still didn’t see the first American Avocet of the year on this visit. But we knew we would have one more chance on our return trip.

A Quiet Walk at Theler Wetlands

It’s been quite a while since we managed to get out to Theler Wetlands, so I wanted to see what was there before we left for another trip to California and Arizona.  If this visit was typical of the last few weeks, we haven’t missed too much.

You know it’s a slow day when I stop to get a shot of a male Mallard, even though I’m always a little surprised how beautiful they are when you really look at them.  That iridescent head is a real knockout. I’m not sure familiarity breeds contempt, but it certainly seems to breed indifference. 

We also saw several pairs of Green-winged Teal feeding along the opposite side of the Union River.

Although there were still some small flocks of Canada Geese, most seemed to have paired off and were loudly claiming their territory when they weren’t feeding.

Luckily, Leslie saved the day, at least photographically, when she spotted our favorite Marsh Wren loudly proclaiming that we were intruding on his kingdom.  

Marsh Wrens are definitely a favorite, and I really liked this shot. 

As the saying goes, “All we need is one good bird.”  And we got it.