2017 12-21 Sac NWR
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The only rain we received in December came yesterday. Consequently, today was clear, sunny and breezy…perfect for a trip to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (except the breezy part). We were on the scene from about 1040 am to 1245 pm, and the driving tour had more cars and vans than usual for a Thursday.
On the first leg of the roadway, heading south out of the main parking lot and visitor center, we found an American kestrel at 1050 am in a tree not too far away. Continuing south and then making the turn for the eastern segment, large flocks of geese (1055 am) were in the air. Some flocks were several miles south of us, others were very close. Views were spectacular with the breeze making the water dark blue. Several mountain peaks to the east were snow-capped thanks to yesterday’s rain. Also at 1055 am, a lone female harrier was soaring low across both sides of the road, but mostly to the south where the glare was one of the limiting factors for photographs.
At 1105 am we watched a large, fluffy red-tailed hawk perched in a tree within a few yards of the road…the wind had its feathers ruffled-up a bit. Nearby, a ring-necked pheasant was wandering along the western edge of the road and meandered into the tall grass about the time we noticed a second RTH resting on a sand/reed island with two turkey vultures on the sand nearby. One vulture had its wings open “pterodactyl-style,” perhaps catching some warmth of the sun.
By 1130 we were on the viewing platform near parking lot 2. The panorama was magnificent…ducks, geese, coots, stilts in the first pond, lots of water in more distant ponds, a nice treeline, and, in the background, the mountains of the Mendocino Range. As I was shooting this scene, two black-tailed deer, a female with a medium-sized fawn, walked into the foreground. The pair moved east along the top of a berm with water on both sides and was an unplanned and unexpected addition to the photographs.
Around 1200 noon we watched two adult bald eagles perched atop the same tree and not far from the road on the northbound segment. The Sac NWR brochure calls this the “Eagle Tree.” Makes me wonder if these two read the brochure.
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Read MoreThe only rain we received in December came yesterday. Consequently, today was clear, sunny and breezy…perfect for a trip to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (except the breezy part). We were on the scene from about 1040 am to 1245 pm, and the driving tour had more cars and vans than usual for a Thursday.
On the first leg of the roadway, heading south out of the main parking lot and visitor center, we found an American kestrel at 1050 am in a tree not too far away. Continuing south and then making the turn for the eastern segment, large flocks of geese (1055 am) were in the air. Some flocks were several miles south of us, others were very close. Views were spectacular with the breeze making the water dark blue. Several mountain peaks to the east were snow-capped thanks to yesterday’s rain. Also at 1055 am, a lone female harrier was soaring low across both sides of the road, but mostly to the south where the glare was one of the limiting factors for photographs.
At 1105 am we watched a large, fluffy red-tailed hawk perched in a tree within a few yards of the road…the wind had its feathers ruffled-up a bit. Nearby, a ring-necked pheasant was wandering along the western edge of the road and meandered into the tall grass about the time we noticed a second RTH resting on a sand/reed island with two turkey vultures on the sand nearby. One vulture had its wings open “pterodactyl-style,” perhaps catching some warmth of the sun.
By 1130 we were on the viewing platform near parking lot 2. The panorama was magnificent…ducks, geese, coots, stilts in the first pond, lots of water in more distant ponds, a nice treeline, and, in the background, the mountains of the Mendocino Range. As I was shooting this scene, two black-tailed deer, a female with a medium-sized fawn, walked into the foreground. The pair moved east along the top of a berm with water on both sides and was an unplanned and unexpected addition to the photographs.
Around 1200 noon we watched two adult bald eagles perched atop the same tree and not far from the road on the northbound segment. The Sac NWR brochure calls this the “Eagle Tree.” Makes me wonder if these two read the brochure.
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Bald eagle #1
Haliaeetus leucocephalus TWO in tree 2017 12-21 Sac NWR-094
Bald eagle #2
Haliaeetus leucocephalus TWO in tree 2017 12-21 Sac NWR-084
