Pacific Flyway

Song - Fragile by Sierra & Chase Eagleson

On Friday a friend and I drove up north to the Sacramento National Wildlife Reserve to celebrate her birthday!  Since we both love birds, we decided several months ago that this would be a perfect treat for both of us.

There was an amazing wildflower bloom going on with snow capped mountains in the background!

Juicy color for my painters eyes.....

The reserve is located between Williams and Willows and took us about two hours to get up there. We stopped at Granzella's in Williams for a picnic lunch to bring to the reserve. A day ticket at the reserve costs $6 which includes a 6-mile Auto Tour.

You drive on a gravel road around the reserve and must stay in your car.  They have several Stop-And-Stretch areas along the loop where you may park and get out.  We were here off-season (Winter is peak) so there wasn't anyone else around - we only spotted one other car there all day.

The Sutter Butte's are in the background in the photo above.

 The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge supports nearly 300 species of birds and has 70,000 acres of wetland, grassland and riparian habitats for these birds, reptiles and mammals.

A Sandpiper looking out over the meadow. Since you have to stay in your car and the road-waterways are surrounded with reeds, sometimes photos were challenging.

My camera kept trying to focus on the reeds instead of the birds!

 I spotted this nest along the gravel road.

 There were a lot of Red Winged Blackbirds happily singing from the various reeds and bushes.

 We spotted this Tundra Swan all alone.  Not sure if she forgot to migrate when all her buddies did but she looked rather lonely.

Then again we hit the Coney Island of the birds refuge!

All types of waterfowl were present - Greater White-fronted geese, Snow Geese, ducks, shovelers, cormorants and various shore birds. 

 But one that I have never seen before was this American Avocet. I love her long curved bill and striking colors. She had a partner in the reeds to play with.

 There was lots of mustard and Queen Anne's Lace to enjoy.......

......as well as thistles which were attracting bees and butterfly's.  

At several points along the loop, I was afraid to continue our journey as there were so many butterfly's surrounding our car - mostly Painted Ladies - I didn't want to hurt them.

 Above is a Cinnamon Teal which is a small duck with his partner.

 Lot's of Canadian Geese and their babies.

 Near the end of our drive I spotted this Snowy Egret with a Great Blue Heron. At first I thought he was just a log but then I saw him move.

 We spotted several Hawks and they usually had smaller birds attacking them in flight. The songbirds are trying to keep the Hawk away from their nests.

One more Great Blue Heron...... 

....and a Snowy Egret peeking at me through the reeds.

We spent about two and a half hours driving the 6-mile loop though later the ranger said that most people do it in about an hour.  But we were happy for the slow drive to enable us to enjoy the birds and flowers.  We leisurely soaked it all in enjoying our day together.

"God comes to each of us in the form we can best perceive Him.  To you, just now, He was a Heron. 

To someone else, He may come as 

a flower or even a breeze."

--Richard Zimler

Empty Nesters

Song - Oak Titmouse Coaxing Young to Fledge

Remember in March when I saw some Oak Titmice making a nest in Mr. B's barn-style bird house?  Well for the last two weeks we have been hearing some mighty high pitched noises coming from the Japanese Maple tree.  We thought.....wow, there must be hundreds of tiny birds in that tree but every time we looked for them, we couldn't see any birds.  I finally saw a parent Oak Titmouse in the tree with a big fat green worm in his mouth.

The more we watched the parents come and go with tasty morsels, the more the high pitched chirps would happen.  It was the baby birds inside the bird house excitedly waiting for mom or dad to bring them something to eat.

On Tuesday morning I saw a little one peeking through the hole of the bird house.  Hi there little fellow!  I set up my tripod inside our dining room and patiently waited to see what he would do.

Can't you just see him thinking "it's a mighty long way down from the railing of the deck if my wings aren't quite ready......"

And number one has lift off.........I actually cried when I saw him fledge.

As soon as he had flown away, I saw another cute face in the bird house wondering if it was his turn now.  He went through all the same moves as number one. He looked down, went back in to reconsider several times, came out again and then before I knew it number two had flown away too!

Mom and dad kept coming back with treats trying to encourage the youngsters to leave the nest.

"Oh Junior....I have a big tasty grasshopper for you if you'll just come outside"

"Ahhhhh.....Dad right now it's so cozy inside 

and besides I kinda like having my breakfast brought to me in bed"

 And every time mom or dad came out of the house they would have a little crumb of something that they have cleaned up after Junior. Some things never change.....

And number three is more than ready to leave.....she took no time in flying off!

Number four...... 

 Number five.....

Number six needed a little prompting from mom...... 

And he's off.....

It sure is quite around here today!

"All of a sudden, the nest is empty.  

The birds have gone, 

and what had been a constant blur of activity

 is nothing more than a few discarded feathers.  

Silence mutes all that was colorful 

and it is time to reestablish

 our significant place in an ever changing world."

-- Marci Seither