Lest Favorite Time of Year = Now

Bring on the autumn temperatures, hot cocoa and cozy sweaters!!!

Too HOT To Handle

Greetings from sweltering, sunny California!

Guess what. It's been much too hot to go birding :(

Hanging out of your car window in the triple digit heat, looking for birds to take photos of on the refuge auto tour, isn't as fun as it sounds. So, here are some of my backyard birds to tide you over until the outdoors become bearable again.

Anna's Hummingbird

Savannah Sparrow

Western Scrub-Jay

Eurasian Collared Dove

American Goldfinch (at the wrong feeder!)

House Sparrow

Here's hoping that summer doesn't hang on until Halloween like last year!!!
~RV

Lassen's Manzanita Lake

There's usually at least one Bald Eagle watching over Manzanita Lake at Lassen Volcanic National Park at any given time.

Here, let me zoom in a little, so you can see what I'm talking about...

I think this is a perfectly nice place for a majestic bird of prey to perch.

Not only is the air crisp and fresh up here in the mountains, but the view of the lake is incredible.

 All of these beautiful views can be seen from the lovely trail that winds around the lake...

Better get a move on! The sun's comin' up quick!

Lassen Wildlife

Daytime moon

While birding at Lassen Volcanic National Park, you never know what kind of wildlife you're going to see!

You hear the dee-dee-dee whistled song of a Mountain Chickadee as you walk along the trail...and then you spot one in a pine tree who's willing to pose for a photo...

 And look what else we saw scampering up a tree! A baby squirrel!

Cuteness Overload!

Flicker Clicker

We were watching a few Northern Flickers fly around at Manzanita Creek and they landed on a tree that looks like it has a nest drilled into it.

And then...Click!
Sometimes you snap a photo at precisely the perfect moment. I've never seen a flicker fan its tail out like that and I just happened to get two of them doing it on camera!

Sometimes you spend hours at the same spot, waiting for the right shot, never getting the right light or angle. And other times, all you have to do is start clicking away on your camera and everything falls into place.

 Lassen Volcanic National Park

Local Nester

Manzanita Creek

Lassen Volcanic National Park

According to the Birds of Lassen Field Checklist, Spotted Sandpipers are known to nest in the area.

 Luckily they have some white on them or they'd be incredibly difficult to spot.

 Speaking of spots! They wear the cutest spots in summertime...

This is the second time we've spotted one hanging around Manzanita Creek. What a great, shady place to spend a hot summer day!

Patience, Young Grasshopper

Our adventure at Lassen Volcanic National Park continues as we take a nice walk around Manzanita Lake.

We spotted a White-headed Woodpecker and watched as it flew from tree to tree, looking for grub and trying our patience as we tried to snap photos.

Birding is more of a challenge for me in the mountains, but it can be extremely rewarding because there are so many more different types of birds here. At the refuge we get spoiled because ducks and herons are twice as big as woodpeckers, easier to spot, and they don't mind sticking around and posing (for the most part!)

Woodpeckers are on the move and hidden by pine needles and shadows. (And I thought warblers were tough to photograph!)

Our patience paid off and we were able to get a few shots of this busy bird...

 It's amazing we could spot anything in all that greenery!

Breathe in that fresh mountain air...

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Manzanita Lake

Canada Goose