2016 12-21 Colusa & Beyond
It was a sunny but windy day and we drove north to investigate the Llano Seco portion of the National Wildlife Refuge areas. Along Hwy Z, about 2 miles southwest of Dodgeland, we came upon a bunch of flooded fields/wetlands. Several were jam-packed with big white birds: tundra swans and snow geese. My very rough estimate was at least a quarter-million of them around us on the east side of the road. One fellow had parked in a muddy, grassy access and was out of his car with a camera. He headed out on a narrow levee in the direction of the birds. I guess he wanted to get close-up shots of clusters and individuals. To me, the wide view was the most dramatic…all those white bodies on the ponds. After a minute or two, perhaps because of the other guy moving at the birds, they took flight. It was like a huge breaking wave of white bodies rolling into the air and across the water from south to north. Soon the mountains were obscured and the entire sky within my lens was white.
The bird mass flew around for a short time then landed on ponds further away from the road and the fellow on the levee. The scene was visceral and panoramic. The birds vocalized and the thunderous buzz of all those big wings at one time was a sound track to the 180-degree scene. It was an epic experience.
After backtracking to Interstate 5 to fill up on fuel, we decided not to mount a second attempt to reach Llano Seco, and headed in the general direction of home (southeast) and Colusa NWR. Colusa had a nice observation platform where snowy geese, coots, white-fronted geese, northern pintails, northern shovelers, as well as herons and egrets could be seen. The photo-op’s for in-coming squadrons of snow geese preparing to land were particularly nice. After the deck we took the drive tour circular path. Towards the end of the circle there was a lot of bamboo and bushy growth in which several dozen black-crowned night herons had roosted.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
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A small portion of the 180⁰ panorama of ponds full of swans and geese tightly packed together, mostly resting. Some snow on the Sierra peaks in the back.
Cygnus columbianus tundra swans & Chen caerulescens snow geese MASSES 2016 12-21 Colusa-002
CygnuscolumbianustundraswansChencaerulescenssnowgeeseMASSES2016Colusa002
Image 1 of 4: Photographer walks out on levee perhaps causing the birds to take flight. Watch the "wave" of birds go into the air from right to left in the following images.
Cygnus columbianus tund swans & Chen caerulescens snow geese MASSES & MAN on levee 2016 12-21 Colusa-005
CygnuscolumbianustundswansChencaerulescenssnowgeeseMASSESMANlevee2016Colusa005
Image 2 of 4: Photographer walks out on levee perhaps causing the birds to take flight. Watch the "wave" of birds go into the air from right to left in the following images.
Cygnus columbianus tundra swans & Chen caerulescens snow geese MASSES & MAN on levee 2016 12-21 Colusa-019
CygnuscolumbianustundraswansChencaerulescenssnowgeeseMASSESMANlevee2016Colusa019
Image 3 of 4: Photographer walks out on levee perhaps causing the birds to take flight. Watch the "wave" of birds go into the air from right to left in the following images.
Cygnus columbianus tundra swans & Chen caerulescens snow geese MASSES & MAN on levee 2016 12-21 Colusa-b-022
CygnuscolumbianustundraswansChencaerulescenssnowgeeseMASSESMANlevee2016Colusa022
Image 4 of 4: Photographer walks out on levee perhaps causing the birds to take flight. Watch the "wave" of birds go into the air from right to left in the following images.
Cygnus columbianus tundra swans & Chen caerulescens snow geese MASSES & MAN on levee 2016 12-21 Colusa-022
CygnuscolumbianustundraswansChencaerulescenssnowgeeseMASSESMANlevee2016Colusa022
