Burney Falls

McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park is a beautiful place to visit. Lake Britton is great for swimming, boating, and fishing...

And Burney Creek separates the falls from Lake Britton... 

But the real jewel here is Burney Falls...

  This 129-foot waterfall simply takes your breath away when you are standing in front of it.

 

Behind the falls is one of the few known nesting sights for the black swift.

 We didn't see any swifts during our visit, but we did see this nest high above the falls...

 It looks like it might belong to an osprey, or maybe even a bald eagle.

 No wonder the falls were called "the Eighth Wonder of the World" by Theodore Roosevelt!

Ed's Pond

This is Ed's Pond at the Llano Seco Unit of the North Central Valley Wildlife Management Area...

 Isn't it pretty?

There is also a viewing platform down the road, but there wasn't any water around when we were there to take photos. Hopefully, the next time we visit we'll see the Sandhill Cranes that the area is known for!

Pressing Pause

Hello, my fellow birders!

If I don't post anything for a week or two it's because I'm hunkered down in my writing cave, working on putting the finishing touches on my next book. It's a sweet story about young love and never giving up and I hope to have it ready for release sometime this fall. Until then, I'm focused more on what's going on in my fictional world of Red Valley than what the birds are doing outside my window.

When the weather cools down (soon, hopefully), I'll take a much-needed trip to the wildlife refuge and snap some more photos to post. I've mentioned before how the refuge is my favorite place to go between books and recharge and gather up another dose of inspiration before I start on the next one.

For more info on my writing endeavors, visit my website here.

Talk to you soon and happy birding!

Mystery Sparrow

Sparrows might be the most difficult birds to identify--at least for me they are. Then again, I seem to have trouble identifying a lot of birds!

Anyways, I think this might be a Savannah Sparrow...

Pure Elegance

 Swan at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco...

Palace of Fine Feathered Friends

Gulls at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco...

Alcatraz is the Spanish word for pelican...

Brown Pelicans

San Francisco Bay

Western Kingbird

New birds sure have a way of popping up in the backyard when you least expect it! I'm pretty sure this is a Western Kingbird and I'm happy to add him to my Big Year list...

Dove Love

Out of all the birds in my backyard, I think I like watching the Eurasian collared doves best. While the finches and hummingbirds are all in such a magnificent hurry, the doves peck around on the ground like they have all the time in the world. They seem so calm and gentle, much like their call. They methodically pick out the seeds they want and meander around to find more. And then, when it's time to fly away, they flutter away with the wind whistling through their wings like they're in a hurry after all.

Lassen Gems ~ Part 3

Lassen is my new favorite place to go when it's too hot to go to the wildlife refuge...

Mountain Chickadee

Juvenile Great Blue Heron