Birds and Barbed Wire ~ Rural Birding Adventures on the Country Roads of California

Take a ride through the country with me, where we'll see a variety of birds, colorful wildflowers, and beautiful views of the foothills...

Horned Lark, Western Bluebirds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Kingbird, Sandhill Cranes, Killdeer, Savannah Sparrow, California Quail, and many more!

Follow my birding adventures!

 

Llano Seco Unit ☼ North Central Valley Wildlife Management Area

Plenty of birds and ducks to see from the viewing platform and walking trail at the Llano Seco Unit of the North Central Valley Wildlife Management Area...

Let's go birding!

Best of Shorebirds Video

It's the first day of summer and I'm celebrating with my favorite shorebird photography!

Birds in the video include: White-faced Ibis, Greater Yellowlegs, American Avocet, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, Spotted Sandpiper, Long-billed Curlew, Black Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone and Semipalmated Plover.

Let's go birding!

Wildflower Super Bloom on a Super Windy Day ☼ Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge 2019

We ventured out in the wind to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and it turned out to be one of our best visits yet. This time was also different because we went in the afternoon instead of our usual sunrise adventure. Let me tell you, the refuge does not disappoint at any hour of the day!

We saw Double-crested Cormorants, Western Kingbirds, Northern Shovelers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Black Phoebe, Cinnamon Teal, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets and a whole bunch of other "great" birds. They were all battling against the gusting wind, hanging onto their perches for dear life, and looking extra spectacular with their breeding plumage blowing all around.

This video might be my favorite one yet!

Let's go birding!

 

Birder's Paradise ☼ Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge

Here is a video of just a few of the birds you can see at the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge in northern California...

Let's go birding!

Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge in Winter

Our latest visit to the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge was absolutely amazing! We've never been to the refuge in winter and the snow-dusted mountains and foothills did not disappoint.

We saw dozens of different bird species and I highly recommend this area if you're looking to check off some birds on your Big Year or lifelist.

This is just a small sampling of some of the birds and ducks we spotted on the auto tour...

Tricolored Blackbird

Double-crested Cormorant

Bufflehead

Killdeer

What they say about the large concentration of Bald Eagles here is no joke either. We counted over thirty eagles between both refuges (Lower Klamath and Tule Lake) and I'll post those photos tomorrow.

Here's the link to the refuge website in case you need more info to plan your own visit.

Moment of Zen ☼ Black-necked Stilt Edition

Today's birding moment of zen is brought to you by the shorebirds at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in Gridley, California...

Let's go birding!

We All Need Wetlands

We continue our visit to the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area with a stop at the viewing platform where the shorebirds are out in abundance!

Greater Yellowlegs

Killdeer (doing yoga)

Black-necked Stilt

Song Sparrow

Let's go birding!

More Birding on the Backroads

A few more birds we spotted while driving down a country backroad near the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge...

Juvenile Great Blue Heron

Female Belted Kingfisher

Snowy Egret

Killdeer

More Colusa Birding

I got a kick out of seeing this Western Scrub-Jay at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge. He was so proud of his acorn that he just had to show it off!

Here are a few more birds we saw on the auto tour...

Great Egret

Juvenile Northern Pintail

Black Phoebe

Mallard

Killdeer

Great Blue Heron

And check this out...We saw a new bird! This adorable little Lark Sparrow is now #166 on our Big Year list!