Category: Sacramento NWR

Leslie and I just returned from our 3,000-mile, two-week trip to Arizona where we visited my brother Bill and his wife Alice and to California where we visited Leslie’s brother Jeff and his wife Debbie.  Of course, I wasn’t up to driving the 1,500 miles to Arizona in one day so we drove 642 miles to Willows, California, on our first day.  We probably could have made it to Phoenix in one more day, but I was beginning to stiffen up after 14 hours in the car. More importantly, the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge was just a few miles away, and I find it difficult to drive by without stopping — even if many of the birds had already left.

In previous years we’ve seen thousands of Snow Geese there, a magnificent sight.  We only saw hundreds of them on this visit. Because of the flooding, many of the geese still around were feeding outside the refuge. We did get to see several small flocks up close and personal, though.

The Snow Geese were obviously used to people, and as the car approached they took off but landed nearby, offering opportunities to catch them in flight, or, if your reflexes aren’t quite as sharp as they used to be, catch them landing

or take a shot of them as they serenely paddle away. 

The space vacated by the Snow Geese that had started migrating was apparently filled by large flocks of American Coots. Although seeing American Coot at the refuge is not unusual, I had never seen as many in earlier visits.

Generally, I overlook American Coots paddling along in the water unless they happen to have a chick with them, but I’m always fascinated with their feet and red-eye when seen close-up on land.

We also saw a huge number of Northern Shovelers on the refuge, again, far more than we have ever seen before.  Unfortunately, they don’t seem to flock together when they’re feeding so I had to settle for this shot of one feeding by itself.

Our visit to the refuge wasn’t as memorable as many others, but it did seem special because it has been so long since we had traveled.  

If I haven’t already convinced you that you need to visit the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, I’m probably never going to, but here’s a final attempt to show what a magical place it is, no matter what your favorite birds are.

Although I usually think of geese when I’m looking forward to a visit, I’m always pleasantly surprised when we are invariably greeted by Meadowlarks singing, even if I can’t always manage to see them singing.

Meadowlarks are rare in the Puget Sound Area, so it’s exciting just to spot one, even when I can’t get as striking of a photo as I’ve captured here in the past.

Black Phoebe’s are another bird we don’t see in the Puget Sound. They’re hard to miss as they fly out from branches to catch insects, but it’s much easier to capture them when sitting on a branch than flying out.

I used to occasionally see Pheasants at Theler Wetlands, but I haven’t seen one there in years.  Leslie, who captured this shot, is always on the lookout for them when we are here.  

She outdid herself with this shot.

American Pipits are common in our area, but somehow I miss seeing them, perhaps because I confuse them with the more common Robin and never really look at them closely enough.

Yellowlegs certainly aren’t rare in the PNW, but they are seldom seen as close as they were here.

I seem to see Killdeer everywhere I travel, but I still can’t resist taking a good shot of them when I see them.

I have nearly as many shots of Marsh Wrens as I do of Great Blue Heron, but it’s impossible to ignore one when it’s singing its heart out a few feet away.

I often say that I’m not really a “birder” because I don’t chase birds.  I don’t go to places looking for specific birds; I go to places that are magical,  so full of life that they make me feel more alive when I’m there.  The Sacramento Wildlife Refuge is definitely one of those places for me.  Of course, the Redwoods, our other route to Santa Rosa, is also one of those places, but that’s another post.

We saw a lot of raptors on our visit to Sacramento and Colusa National Wildlife Refuges.  Not surprisingly, the most common were the Red-tailed Hawks, like this one sitting on a power pole just outside the Colusa NWR that Leslie snapped.          

It’s not clear why the electric company found it necessary to post the warning since very few birds can actually read English, and even those that can seem determined to ignore warnings. Nevertheless, the sign made me wonder what kind of danger the hawk was exposing itself to.  Apparently not too much because there was only a single line on that branch and a bird must touch two different lines simultaneously to be electrocuted.

Still, if I were a Red-Tailed hawk that could read, I would prefer the perch that this Red-tail chose. 

We actually saw a lot of Red-tails at the Sacramento NWR, and that me wonder what they feed on. From personal observations, I would have thought that rodents and snakes were their primary prey.  I was surprised to learn that birds are actually an important part of their diet. 

There seems to be some question about whether Vultures are raptors or not, but it’s convenient for me to place them here so I’m going to agree with those who argue that they are raptors.  I assume a lot of birds die over the winter which provides a steady diet for them, but I wondered what they were eating this time of year when the harsh weather is over.  I got a partial answer when I observed this Bald Eagle eating something on the ground while a vulture circled him on the ground.  When the Eagle had apparently had its fill, the vulture quickly moved in and started eating.  Judging from the number of white feathers we saw on the ground the vultures must have ample opportunity to feed on other birds’ kills.

We also saw several Northern Harriers, mostly in the distance and moving too fast to capture, but this one circled right back toward us making it possible to keep in frame.

It was my favorite shot of the day.

Where you find White-Faced Ibis you’re apt to find Black-necked Stilt and that was true on our latest visit, though there were a lot fewer Black-necked Stilts than there were White-faced Ibises.  We saw ibises in both the Sacramento and Colusa NWR, but we only saw a few stilts in one small area of the Sacramento NWR so I suspect the stilts haven’t started migrating yet.

There seemed to be two pairs of stilts, but they were rarely close enough to get a shot of two together. 

Either they were so accustomed to visitors or were so intent on finding food that they were indifferent to us and made it possible to get some nice photos.

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten closer to a Black-necked Stilt than I got to this one,

and this is one of my favorite shots ever

because it emphasizes the stilt’s delicate legs.