Birdwatching on the Ranch

Enjoy a relaxing tour of the ranch, where wading birds ditch the water to stalk the wildflower-dotted pastures for rodents, cows and horses roam beneath the beautiful rolling hills, and hawks soar high above while the bright California sun tickles their feathers. Flycatchers keep the mosquito population in check, Kingfishers patrol the canals for something tasty, and geese play hide-and-seek in the tall grass.

Which rural bird from the video is your favorite?

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Colusa National Wildlife Refuge ~ Wetland Birds of California

Wow, what a birding adventure we had at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge in Northern California! This was the biggest concentration of White-faced Ibis, Egrets, and Herons we've ever seen all in one place! This was also the first time we've ever seen a Bald Eagle at this particular refuge.

We were entertained watching the American Coot stuck in the muck, White-faced Ibis preening their beautiful iridescent feathers, the Black-crowned Night Heron rookery, Snowy Egrets showing off their gorgeous plumage, and a Double-crested Cormorant staring us down with its pretty teal-blue eyes...

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Misty Morning Bird Sounds

What a gorgeous morning at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge! The stars of this birding adventure are the herons, egrets, ibis, and coots.

A great blue heron struck out multiple times, but a great egret got the catch of the day! 🎣

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Sutter National Wildlife Refuge

We finally walked the trails at the Sutter National Wildlife Refuge! It's a birdwatching destination that's been on our list for years and I'm so glad we made the drive to see this beautiful refuge.

We saw lots of Double-crested Cormorants, Snowy Egrets, and many other wetland birds. There were beautiful wildflowers in bloom, a cute little Lark Sparrow that hopped along on the walking trail in front of us, and the most adorable Sierran Tree Frog nestled in a hole in the path.

Another refuge checked off the to-do list!

Hmmm...wonder where we'll end up next...

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Bird Variety ☼ Colusa National Wildlife Refuge Auto Tour

White-faced Ibis

Western Meadowlark

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

🎕

Let's go birding!

Shots of the Day ~ Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge ~ Bird Photography

Hubby took this amazing shot of a Western Meadowlark singing at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, but I swear I took the rest of the photos!

Female House Sparrow

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

As always, you can find more of my (our!) bird photography on social media!

February Birding ☼ Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

Wondering what birds you can find at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in February?

Enough to make a five minute video!



Let's go birding!

Best of Great Blue Herons Video

Gosh, it's tough to play favorites when every bird is beautiful in its own way, but if I had to choose (at least from the birds I've seen in person), it would have to be a Great Blue Heron. Here are my favorite photos I've taken of these magnificent birds up until now...

Autumn is coming to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge!

What a beautiful day to take a drive through the auto tour route at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge!

There isn't much water yet, but there are still plenty of birds to be found. Ducks are already beginning to arrive and we spotted an American Bittern in one of the canals less than five feet away from the car!

I look forward to returning in a few weeks when the geese are there and filming some video of the walking trails...

Let's go birding!

Bird Fun Trivia ☼ Avian Pedicure Edition

Which bird do these feet belong to???

Summer Birding ☼ Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

We usually don't make many visits to our local wildlife refuges in the summer because the triple-digit temps here in the Sacramento Valley can be brutal. Luckily, we had a cooler day (yes, we consider 95 "cool") and decided to take a drive through the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge.

I'm so glad we did! There was much more water than I thought there'd be and everything was green, green, green!

We saw Black Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Mourning Dove, Wild Turkey, Ring-necked Pheasant and the biggest gathering of herons we've ever seen...

The birds were extremely cooperative with having their picture taken on this particular day and that's always a big plus!

We had such a nice drive through the auto tour that we decided not to let the heat keep us away from our favorite places from here on out.

I usually don't take photos of Turkey Vultures because they kind of creep me out, but we spotted this juvenile and he was actually kind of cool looking!

So, the moral of the story is to not let the blazing, unrelenting sun keep you from doing the things you love!

P.S. There were A TON of wildflowers blooming all over the refuge, too! I'll be posting more picks of the colorful flowers we saw in Colusa over on my travel blog Vaughn the Road Again...

Let's go birding!