Birding in the Fog

We've never been birding in the fog before and it was actually a fun adventure. The birds didn't seem as skittish as normal and we enjoyed watching the pheasants and the jackrabbits that usually dart away at the first sign of people.

There's something peaceful and calming about a world blanketed in thick fog. I guess it's because there aren't any outside distractions such as the surrounding views (as spectacular as they are!) to draw your attention away from the birds and wildlife.

I particularly enjoyed the White-faced Ibis showing off its yoga moves for me and the magnificent display of the male Wild Turkeys. And the woodpeckers' constant movement can wear a person out! Oh, and how could I forget the fighting pheasants?!

So many wonderful delights on this unexpectedly amazing day in the fog...

Follow my birding adventures!

 

Birding Diversity ~ Northern California Birdwatching

Male House Sparrow

I love the variety of birds you can find at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge!

Male Ring-necked Duck

Male Ring-necked Pheasant

Red-tailed Hawk

Let's go birding!

Never let the twigs get you down!

As you can see, I've been having a lot of twigs showing up in my photos, trying to block the birds!

But that's okay. I can still work around nature to get the shot I want!

Photos taken at the
Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge auto tour

~

Let's go birding!

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!

The End of Spring ☼ Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

Beautiful purple calico flowers (Downingia) are what's left of the superbloom at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.

Here's a video of the birds we saw on the auto tour route in late May, including Red-winged Blackbird, an American Bittern eating a fish, Western Kingbird, an American Avocet sitting on a nest on the island at the Pool 2 extension, Downy Woodpecker, and Ring-necked Pheasant...

Let's go birding!

More Birding in the Rain

Rain doesn't keep this determined birder away from the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge!

Last month, I was so excited to spot a Say's Phoebe in my backyard birdbath and then I saw one first thing on the auto tour at the refuge!

Fall colors at the refuge are pretty...

Male Ring-necked Pheasants

Song Sparrow

This deer was frozen like a statue and looks a bit more like a donkey than a deer I think!

"I'm pretty sure..."

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

A juvenile Great Blue Heron...

A white feather I spotted in a tree...

 I'm guessing it belongs to an egret?

 A cute little Black Phoebe...

And this...

"I'm pretty sure this is a ____" is probably my most used phrase on this blog. Some birds can be notoriously difficult to identify and when you add the season for juveniles making their way out into the world into the mix, it can be quite the task to figure out just what you took a picture of!

So, I'm going to confidently say that I'm pretty sure this is a juvenile Ring-necked Pheasant...

😊

Tomorrow I'm posting the last of the SacNWR photos and then we're off to our favorite road in the whole wide world...