Thursday, November 23, 2017

Gobble, Gobble!

Last month we saw a group of Wild Turkeys while we were driving through the auto tour at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge and I just had to save the photos for today!
Colusa National Wildlife Refuge California auto tour birding hotspot
These guys moved like lightening when they saw the car coming, but I managed to get a few quick photos...
Colusa National Wildlife Refuge California auto tour birding hotspot

Happy Thanksgiving!


Monday, November 20, 2017

Codora Unit Birding

We stopped by the Codora Unit of the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge and spotted a few birds worth mentioning. Phoebes were in abundance, singing their cheerful song as we walked along the trail...


Gosh, these little birds are tough to get photos of! They never sit still long enough!
Bushtit

Oak Titmouse


Sunday, November 19, 2017

Kestrel Love

We were haunting, err driving down County Road P again on our way home from the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge when we spotted a kestrel on a telephone wire...
This one is a male with its slate-blue head and wings...



And here's a female on the same road...
She looks like she had a rough night!
Get it together, girl! You've got lots of hunting to do!
And, finally, here's a red-tailed hawk showing off its red tail...


Saturday, November 18, 2017

Birding: Nature's Scavenger Hunt

We have such a blast driving down country roads, looking for birds! We saw the following between Llano Seco and SacNWR.

Kingfishers and their distinct body shape make them easy to spot up on telephone wires...



 And kestrels are common on the backroads, too. There's a female above and a male below...

 This isn't the first time we've spotted two hawks on the same pole...
So much for them being territorial! I guess there are so many hawks around here that they have to share.

I'm pretty sure this is a brown-headed cowbird...
 And a beautiful scrub-jay...


Friday, November 17, 2017

"Cold Water"

It definitely pays off to do a little exploring down country roads when you're birding. We spotted these Sandhill Cranes on Aguas Frias Road south of Chico...








Thursday, November 16, 2017

Volt

You are just about guaranteed to see at least one hawk perched on a telephone pole on the country roads between Llano Seco and SacNWR.
Hawks can be almost impossible to tell apart and identify, but this one is definitely sporting the red tail he's named for...


 It's amazing how different lighting can illuminate a bird in a photo!

And then there are the kestrels. You can usually see at least one of them, too!
 And here's a blue heron in the field below...


Wednesday, November 15, 2017

The Magic Hour - Part 2 of 2

(Read Part 1 of this post here.)

There was a full moon out when we went to Llano Seco at sunrise...
I can't believe our little point-and-shoot cameras picked up on the craters in the moon! It goes to show that you don't have to spend thousands on fancy equipment to get great photos.

Not only did the moon put on a show as the clouds drifted in front of it, the sun did its share of adding color to the morning sky...


The incredible sound of thousands of geese and ducks flying in is something every birder should experience at least once in their life.





I love it when reflections on the water add dimension to our photos...



Despite having to get up before the crack of dawn and braving the cold chill in the air, I think we'll definitely make sunrise birding a priority. You just can't beat those vibrant pink and orange colors in the sky!
Northern Mockingbird