2021 10-25 Sac National Wildlife Refuge
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It was the day after an historic and record-breaking atmospheric river event (AR-5) hit NorCal. At home in EDH we had 8.5 inches of rain in 24 hours. The forecast today, however, was for partly sunny skies, 40% chance of rain with potential thunderstorms after 11am.
We arrived at noon thirty. The refuge roads are gravel and well groomed, so even torrential rain did not make them impassible or muddy. We made a couple of stops south of the Refuge to get wide angle shots of a massive, long lasting thunderstorm to the northeast, perhaps around Chico or further. Our targets today were flowing streams, flooded wetlands, storm clouds and squalls.
Most of the pond areas in The Refuge, but not all, had water now. There were only a few cars on the loop. Two species of Anser, the greater white-fronted goose and snow goose, were abundant. Very few Canada geese were seen. Lots of ducks were also in the refuge, particularly northern shovelers, pintails and mallards. All the waterfowl flushed and took flight several times due to whatever got them motivated…perhaps a northern harrier buzzed them.
Skies were mostly blue, but as the afternoon progressed more cumulus appeared and we had some very light rain for a minute on a few occasions but no thunder or lightning. Spiders were ballooning here and there. A few red-tailed hawks were around, including one that landed a few feet from us (and stayed to look at us for a few seconds!) when we were on the lookout platform. One harrier was seen working the irrigation channel near the platform.
The most dramatic photos were taken with dark skies, rain squalls, and multiple layers of the Mendocino Range in the background as thousands of geese and ducks took flight.
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Read MoreIt was the day after an historic and record-breaking atmospheric river event (AR-5) hit NorCal. At home in EDH we had 8.5 inches of rain in 24 hours. The forecast today, however, was for partly sunny skies, 40% chance of rain with potential thunderstorms after 11am.
We arrived at noon thirty. The refuge roads are gravel and well groomed, so even torrential rain did not make them impassible or muddy. We made a couple of stops south of the Refuge to get wide angle shots of a massive, long lasting thunderstorm to the northeast, perhaps around Chico or further. Our targets today were flowing streams, flooded wetlands, storm clouds and squalls.
Most of the pond areas in The Refuge, but not all, had water now. There were only a few cars on the loop. Two species of Anser, the greater white-fronted goose and snow goose, were abundant. Very few Canada geese were seen. Lots of ducks were also in the refuge, particularly northern shovelers, pintails and mallards. All the waterfowl flushed and took flight several times due to whatever got them motivated…perhaps a northern harrier buzzed them.
Skies were mostly blue, but as the afternoon progressed more cumulus appeared and we had some very light rain for a minute on a few occasions but no thunder or lightning. Spiders were ballooning here and there. A few red-tailed hawks were around, including one that landed a few feet from us (and stayed to look at us for a few seconds!) when we were on the lookout platform. One harrier was seen working the irrigation channel near the platform.
The most dramatic photos were taken with dark skies, rain squalls, and multiple layers of the Mendocino Range in the background as thousands of geese and ducks took flight.
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