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

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!

Hello Spring!

 Song - When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along by Bing Crosby

 

 Mr. & Mrs. Titmouse have been busy making their home a showstopper for 2021.  For two weeks one of them would be in the house tap-tap-tapping all day long as the other one flitted back and forth making sure all was well.  I guess they were hoping to enlarge their nesting box.  

 

I get so much enjoyment from these two and am able to help teach my grandson Henry about birds and their nests.

 

 

A birdhouse in the shade garden fell to the ground sometime this winter - probably by a squirrel - and Mr. B was kind enough to help rehang it with extra screws!

 

It may be too late for the birds to use this spring but it will be ready for them next year.

We have been seeing this small little wren like birds and I found out that they are Bushtits.  They love the suet feeder full of bugs and nuts! They also like the nesting balls I have hanging on our trees.

They work very hard at pulling the cotton out of the twig ball and just when you think they have too much to fly with, they go in for even more!

Even the hummingbirds go in for this nesting material.  They have gone through two balls this month so I just purchased two more along with some refill for the first two!  

Two days ago I woke up to find two beautiful deer in our backyard happily munching away on my roses. In 25 years they have never gotten into our backyard and when I walked out to see the damage they had done I almost cried.  My new tender rose growth, the hydrangeas, new shoots from my sweet peas....gone....now I love deer but not in my garden!  Mr. B and I went out that day with deer repellent and sprayed the yard.....I have two more bottles coming in the mail today!  Yesterday I opened the front curtain and there was a big ol' turkey on my front porch.  He didn't do much damage and I was glad that Henry got to see him and now walks around the house saying "gobble, gobble"!

One more beautiful troublemaker in my yard - hawks!  Just while I was typing this post I saw him fly into a tree right outside my door.  I see you Mr. Hawk trying to hide behind the wind chimes!!!

 

"Enjoy the little things in life for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things."

--Kurt Vonnegut

 

 

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!