Saturday, March 31, 2018

On the Pond

We saw this beautiful Snowy Egret at Ed's Pond...

 Strike that pose!


 ...along with a cute little Black Phoebe...




Friday, March 30, 2018

Wildlife in Willows - Part 4

Birds of prey are always fun to spot at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge!
Red-tailed Hawks are common in our area, but are always a joy to see!


We had the rare treat of seeing a juvenile Bald Eagle as well! I'm guessing this is a third year bird...








Thursday, March 29, 2018

Wildlife in Willows - Part 3






 And a few pond turtles doing yoga near the observation platform!

Tomorrow, I'll be posting some birds of prey, including a juvenile Bald Eagle!


Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Wildlife in Willows - Part 2

More birds from our drive through the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge auto tour...






And, one of my favorites...the cute little Black Phoebe...



I'll post Part 3 tomorrow morning!



Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Wildlife in Willows - Part 1

We finally returned to our old stomping grounds, the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge!

Here are a few of the birds and ducks we saw on the auto tour...




 Watch for Part 2 tomorrow!


Monday, March 26, 2018

Honey Lake Wildlife Area

On our way home from the Modoc NWR, we came across the Honey Lake Wildlife Area near Susanville and saw a couple of interesting birds...
Male American Kestrel

Female Western Bluebird
I'm kicking myself for not taking a photo of the sign, but there were tons of people (and hunters) everywhere and we just did a drive-thru to check out the area. There's always next time!


This week on my blog, we'll be heading back to our old stomping grounds...


Sunday, March 25, 2018

Shrike Two

ID'ing birds can be frustrating when different species look so similar, but hey, nothing good ever came easy! We saw quite a few Northern Shrikes at the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, which we thought was a first for us, but it turns out that we actually saw one at Gray Lodge last year. After comparing photos, I'm pretty sure I confused it with a Loggerhead Shrike (like the one we spotted at Colusa).

This Northern Shrike at Modoc had a great perch on the auto tour...



All in all, I suppose it doesn't really matter if I get it right 100% of the time. Because, just being out in nature and hearing the music of birdsong and looking at the beautiful scenery is all that matters.

Tomorrow I'll post pics of the little gems we spotted at Honey Lake...