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A Day at Colusa NWR

A Day at Colusa NWR

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Colusa NWR

For the last several years, we started a tradition of driving out to Sacramento NWR on January 1. It’s a great way to ring in the new year with thousands of wintering geese that fill the air with their brilliant white feathers and calls. This year, we added Colusa NWR to the tradition. It’s a smaller refuge (a three-mile auto tour compared to six miles), but it has a more intimate feel to it.

Today we did something drastic. It’s not January 1 yet (although many of us are ready to kick 2020 to the side and start a new year), but we decided to drive out to Colusa – in the middle of November! I’m a creature of habit, so this was a big adventure.

Colusa NWr

The air was crisp and cool, but not freezing like our January trips. The sky was a brilliant blue that highlighted the white and black features of the Snow and Ross’s Geese as they circled in the air. Thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds noisily lifted up in large groups to relocate to another spot. I scanned each group for signs of Yellow-headed Blackbirds, but only found shining red shoulder patches glinting in the sun.

Other birds were less hyper. Dozens of Black-crowned Night Herons roosted in trees along a stream, savoring the stillness. A Red-shouldered Hawk eyed us suspiciously as we drove by, but never left its concealed post in the tree. I exchanged hoots with a Great Horned Owl that started calling as the sun started to hide behind the hills.

Sora Camouflaged

Camouflaged Sora

A special treat was finding a Sora expertly camouflaged against the reeds. And to add to the excitement was spotting a couple of flying Sandhill Cranes. Turning off the car engine and sitting in the still peace of the refuge with the cranes sounding their rattling bugle calls was as good as it gets.

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Although I had my camera at the ready on my lap, I largely ignored it in favor of savoring the moment. It’s exactly what I needed to refresh my soul and appreciate the sights, colors, and sounds of nature.

Monthly Bird Photo Project 2020: Bird Groups

Monthly Bird Photo Project 2020: Bird Groups

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Dunlins and Sanderlings

Sanderlings and Western Sandpipers Take Flight

See Monthly Bird Photo Project 2020 blog post for details of this project.

For the month of January, I selected the focus of “bird groups” for my year-long photo project. I chose this theme knowing that we would go to Sacramento NWR where there are thousands of geese that often take flight for stunning photo opportunities. Therefore, “bird groups” would be an easy first month project, right?

Wrong.

Group shots are harder than I expected, especially if you’re simultaneously learning to use the camera in manual mode. On the technical side, I found that my photos were overexposed, blurry, or too dark. On the artistic side, I found photo composition for groups difficult, especially when the subject includes fidgety birds. If you want a nicely composed photo, it seems that you can’t just take a picture of a group of birds. This comes out boring with no interesting story to tell. I learned that there needs to be more intentionality behind the composition if the photo is to shine.

For nearly two weeks, I tried taking more group photos, and none were coming out the way I envisioned. Subjects were too far or covered by distracting objects like branches. Birds mingled too far apart, making spacing awkward. It was interesting to see the various factors that frustrated my efforts.

Luck seems to be a big part of the game, and I did luck out on a few shots later in the month. Below are the results. I still have more learning to do, but this was an interesting way to begin this project.

Various Gulls

Various Gulls Avoiding the Splash

Dunlins and Western Sandpipers

Sanderlings and Western Sandpipers

Dunlins and Western Sandpipers

Sanderlings and Western Sandpipers Take Flight

Rock Pigeons

Rock Pigeons

Snow Geese and Ross's Geese

Ross’s Geese and Snow Geese at Sunset

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

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Happy New Year!

For the past several years, my husband and I have visited the Sacramento NWR on New Year’s Day. It’s a refreshing way to begin the new year. It also guarantees a substantial list of birds for anyone starting a new annual list.

Snow Geese

Snow Geese, 2018

Located about two hours north of the Bay Area, this water refuge is a part of a complex of several national wildlife refuges. It features a six-mile auto tour. You basically slowly drive around in a car blasting the heater on your legs (in the winter) while you poke your head out of the open car window into the freezing winter air. Visitors are permitted to stretch their legs at specified locations. These are great spots to set up a scope and take a look around.

Various Geese

Take Off! 2018

The main attraction in the winter is the thousands upon thousands of geese. Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese easily add up to more than 10,000 on location. When they get spooked and take up flight, it is a miraculous spectacle of birds lifting into the air. The subsequent noise with a mixture of calls and beating wings is quite memorable.

Bald Eagle and Common Raven

Immature Bald Eagle and Common Raven, 2017

Bald Eagles are another fun bird to observe. I’ve seen immature and adult eagles fly around and interact with the other birds. They are magnificent creatures to behold as they soar across the skies. In 2017, I was delighted to watch a Common Raven attempt to steal a partially-consumed American Coot from an eagle. The raven was boldly jumping around, and nearly on, the eagle in an attempt to snatch an easy meal.

Northern Shrike

Northern Shrike, a rarity for the area, 2018

Other fun birds are present, such as all kinds of waterfowl, sparrows, pheasants, hawks, and more. We usually take at least two hours to drive through the six miles. I’ve heard that others will ride through multiple times. If you get a chance to visit, the sheer volume of birds present will leave you with a memorable experience.