Reserve

 Song - Stuck in Lodi Again by Creedence Clearwater Revival

 

 On Tuesday of this week my friend Jill and I took a drive about an hour Northeast from home but sill under the watchful eye of Mt. Diablo in the distance.  It was part of a Christmas present I had given to her this year and next week I will share her gift to me with you!

 

 We arrived at the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve on a beautiful crisp winter morning.  An American Kestrel greeted us from high atop a telephone pole.

Unfortunately there were only a smattering of Sandhill Cranes on this trip.  For some reason the reserve had drained two of the fields of all of the standing water. However we did see a fun mix of other birds and had a great Thai lunch after we finished our bird watching.

An Great Egret was standing near a canal watching for something tasty to float by.

And a Belted Kingfisher was happily chattering away high on top of some barren tree branches. 

A Great Blue Heron was also standing near the canal of water watching both the water and us driving slowly by. 

The air was filled with a variety of bird calls as well as a chorus of frogs croaking quite loudly. And one of the highlights was watching a hawk catching a very long snake.  It was so exciting that all of my photos turned out blurry....

It was a day of laughter and fun with a dear old friend!

 

" We are best friends. Always remember if you fall, I will pick you up....after I'm finished laughing."

--Unknown

Field of Dreams

Song - In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins cover by Sierra Eagleson 

 

 The day after Thanksgiving Mr. B and I decided to take a little day trip to our Field of Dreams.  See all of those cut corn stalks in this field near Lodi?  Guess what they attract?

 

Birds....thousands and thousands of glorious birds.....

Great Blue Herons

Tundra Swans

 

 Great Egrets

And Sandhill Cranes.....

October through March these birds migrate to the Delta wetlands coming as far away as Siberia and Canada. They will spend the winter here before returning to their home.

Sandhill Cranes in flight with their long fingertips in the breeze.....

We spent several hours observing so many birds and as we were leaving I spotted something that didn't look like a bird.

 

 A coyote running under the Walnut trees near a levee. He worked his way around the levee and began to approach the birds in the water. I thought they might all fly off or at least move away from the shores.  

But nope they stayed put but kept an eye on him as he took a long drink of water then moved on.

 

We headed back to "civilization" just as the sun was setting.  It was a wonderful warm day with windows open while listening to the multitude of birdsong.

 

We spotted Mt. Diablo in the distance near Rio Vista heading home. 

 

"Life is a journey

I don't have a map for."

--Delta Goodrem

 

Voices of the Pacific Flyway

Song - Snow Geese Flying & Honking

 

Two Sandhill Cranes

On Tuesday my friend Jill and I drove to Lodi to enjoy a mini road trip and to do some bird watching.  We saw hawks all along our journey mostly on telephone poles surveying the ground below.  We were heading to the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve. 

Every Fall thousands of waterfowl birds migrate from Russia, Alaska, Canada into California and the Pacific Flyway. Below is a GPS map of the migration from the US Government and Western Ecological Research Center.

The birds mostly come from colder countries and over winter in California's Central Valley.

 

Great Egret

A Great Egret can be identified by its large size and a yellow-orange bill while the Snowy Egret is much smaller in size and has a black bill.

 

 

Two Tundra Swans

We arrived at the Reserve in the early afternoon and drove up and down West Woodbridge Road.  There is shallow water on both sides of the road where the birds gather.

 

 

 

 

Several Sandhill Cranes in a field with more in the background

 

Tundra Swans in flight

Later in the afternoon birds began to fly overhead in great numbers.

 

 

 

More Tundra Swans

Greater White-Fronted Geese in the foreground and Snow Geese in the mid-section

The Greater White-Fronted Geese are named this because they have a small bit of white feathers above their bill.

 

 

 

Greater White-Fronted Geese blend in with the landscape

 

 

A solitary Sandhill Crane with a red head

 

 

 

 Snow Geese landing in a nearby field

 

 

 

Snow Geese in flight with their distinctive features of white body and black tipped wings

 

 

 

Coming around again!

 

 

 At this point it's getting pretty noisy as they are calling from the sky, the water and the fields

Jill had me turn the car off several times so we could take in the excited calls.

 There were several Northern Pintail ducks nearby

 

An American Kestrel (which is one of the smallest falcons) on the wires.  So colorful!

 

 

 Western Grebe with long bills

 

What I believe is a Red-Shouldered Hawk blending in with his background

A very friendly Great Blue Heron quietly standing by the side of the road.  Didn't seem bothered  by the car or our cameras clicking.  Guess he wanted to make sure we got his good side!

Sandhill Cranes

A different shot of the American Kestrel

A hawk in a Walnut Tree

Jill spotted this Coyote as we were leaving

Not sure why he was so thin as there are plenty of birds to eat.

A Great Egret taking off.....

And there she goes.....

A parting shot of a Sandhill Crane

 

After leaving the Reserve we went into Lodi and enjoyed a yummy early Thai dinner at Thai Spices that my friend Ellen had recommended!  Thanks Ellen - it was so delicious! 

We drove home into a beautiful sunset.

Hope to go again soon!

Great and Blue and Magical

Song -Morning Has Broken by Cat Stevens

Over the last few sunny days my son Tyler and I have spotted this Great Blue Heron 

in our trees and down the creek.

Magical...especially to see him soaring....

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