A Day in the Country

 Video - Through the Lens: Snow Goose Migration

What began as a quiet trip north to the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge turned into a full day of birds, fun and adventure with Mr. B, which included one of his world famous "Short Cuts"!  Above is the first bird we spotted on the auto tour - a White Tailed Kite.

And a lovely Snowy Egret sitting atop a dead tree.

I had Mr. B open up his car's sunroof so I could see more.

 

A few Greater White Fronted Geese flew by (they are much darker than the Snow Geese)....

....and to our left we could see some Snow Geese and ducks had landed but if you look really hard near the horizon you will see thousands of birds flying in to the refuge.

    The geese migrate from the upper northern reaches of Canada, Alaska & Greenland to overwinter in a calmer climate.

 

 

As we drove further along the auto route we began to see and hear more and more geese.

 

 

 They were so excited and so noisy. 

 

 

You could make out the Greater White Fronted Geese from the Snow Geese as they flew low overhead.

  Good thing Mr. B remembered to close the sunroof!!!

 

 As they settled on the water more and more flew in.

Suddenly we were in the middle of it with birds next to us, in front & back of us and overhead.

 

And then we rounded a corner.....

 

....and in the relative calm I noticed a Northern Flicker on a tree branch watching the excitement below as well....

 

 ...as three hawks soaring overhead.....

...and calm ducks enjoying the beautiful day.

 

As we drove away Mr. B suggest taking an "alternate" route home.  That only meant one thing - his epic "short cut"!  (cue in everyone in the car doing a big groan!)  While I love Mr. B, his short cuts are almost always long cuts.  The joy is in his face as he shows whoever is in his car the delights of getting off the main road and experiencing the country.

 

At first I said "no" but then looking at his long face I changed to "OK" and his grin was so big it made it all worthwhile! 

Here we go......he swung West from Williams on Hwy. 20.  Then South on to 16 through some tiny towns I have never heard of in my lifetime of living in California.

The first exciting thing we saw was a Cowboy Camp where I guess they teach you how to become a cowboy?  And then several "Watch out for Elks" signs.

 

 

 We followed Cache Creek through Rumsey, Guinda and on to Tancred and Brooks.

Onto Cadenasso, Capay, Esparto and Madison.

We didn't see any Elk but we did see....

....an elk sculpture.....

 

 

 ...a bear climbing a pole and a.........

....a bull on top of a BBQ joint.

And some pretty country that I never knew existed!

 

Thanks Mr. B for the "short cut"....at least this time!!!

Now back to civilization......

 

 

"Civilization is a limitless multiplication of 

unnecessary necessities."

--Mark Twain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Mr. B close the sunroof quick!!!"

-- Jeanette

PS - when a million birds are flying overhead, protect yourself at all cost!

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

Sanctuary

Song - Wish You Were Here by Sierra Eagleson (Pink Floyd Cover)


 So I went out in the garden this morning to feed the birds......

and to check on what needs tending in the yard.......lots! 

And then I spotted a red headed woodpecker on the suet feeder so I ran inside to grab my camera.  But by the time I got back the woodpecker was gone but this little Black Capped Chickadee was there.  So I sat down and watched the animals come and go.

Two ducks appeared in the creek and the female started a wild bathing routine while the male duck looked on. Finally she settled down and swam over to a little island where the male was waiting.

I picked some lemons.....some Grape Hyacinth......and some Camellia's.......

I picked a big bouquet of Daffodils.....both yellow and white.

 

The Quince bushes are blooming.

 And the white Primrose's are popping up from last year......

The Star Magnolia is sweet and frilly.

Here in California we have not had much rain and even worse - NO SNOW!

I worry that my beloved garden may not have any water this summer and then where will the songbirds play?

"A garden is a grand teacher.  

It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; 

it teaches industry and thrift; 

above all it teaches entire trust."  

--Gertrude Jeckyll