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We finally had the right conditions to take a trip that we have been talking about for many months. It was a trip to explore the Sutter Buttes area, to circle around them, and perhaps even get up into them. Upon arriving at the scene our first goal was to find a spot called “Dean’s Place,” which is just about in the center of the Buttes. eBird had a record of a recent sighting of a bald eagle and a ferruginous hawk there. Even though Google Maps showed a road running to Dean’s Place, the road turned out to be a private driveway as best as we could tail.

Next item on the checklist was to drive around the edge of the Buttes, and this worked out pretty well. We drove from east to west across the southern end of the buttes on Pass Road. We turned north on W. Butte Rd. and followed it along the margin of the buttes until we reached N. Butte Rd. along the way we saw a few raptors, none easily photographed. The highlight was three groups of mule deer, totaling about 30 animals. They were feeding in an orchard that had shed its leaves for the winter and created scenes for photography purposes. Along N. Butte, a nice red-tailed hawk posed for photographs and did not flush.

The final stop of the day was Gray Lodge Reserve. The place was much less frantic than our visit last year. Apparently duck hunting was over at this location and the only people there were nature-watchers such as ourselves and two school busses full of elementary school kids. There were lots of ducks, geese, and a few red tailed hawks. At least two harriers were working the area and scaring the waterfowl. The auto drive here is much shorter than other areas such as Sacramento National Wildlife Reserve, taking less than an hour.


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