Nessie, is that you?

Two Double-crested Cormorants greeted us at the beginning of the auto tour at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area. Here is the juvenile, looking a little like the Loch Ness Monster, don't ya think?

 He heartily disagrees...

 And here is the adult...

  Looks like a nice place to spend the summer!

What's Gray and Green and Wild All Over?

It might be the dead of summer here in Northern California, but lucky for us the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area still has some beautiful greenery for wildlife to find refuge from the heat!

I'm pretty sure this is a juvenile female Ring-necked Duck...

This Western Meadowlark was doing his part to keep order on the auto tour...

They are just as pretty from the back as they are from the front. Love their musical songs, too!

Egretpalooza 2017 - Part 3

Here are the rest of the photos from our drive through the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge.

 They look so funny when they look at you head-on!

And in case you stopped by to see something other than an egret, here is a Western Kingbird, hanging out in the reeds...

...and a Red-winged Blackbird playing peek-a-boo in the greenery...

Tomorrow, we're off to the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area!

Egretpalooza 2017 - Part 2

Happy 4th of July!

I don't have any Bald Eagle pics to post; summer is in full force here in Northern California and our birding opportunities are limited by the triple digit heat. (You can view all of my Bald Eagle posts from the past here.)

Anywho, what I do have (as the title of this post suggests), is more elegant Egrets from the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge!

 They are extra beautiful wearing their summer plumage and I just can't get enough of them!

Egretpalooza 2017 - Part 1

As mentioned yesterday, today I'm delivering on my egret promise...

A group of egrets has many collective nouns, including a "congregation", "heronry", "RSVP", "skewer", and "wedge" of egrets.

Whatever you want to refer to them as, we saw a whole slew of them at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge.

 I could have watched them wading around and fishing all day long!

Shifting Seasons

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

It's hot and dry in the North State (100+ degrees) and that's no exaggeration! Fortunately, there are a few permanent ponds at our local refuges to provide wildlife, well, refuge.

 This juvenile Pied-billed Grebe was all by his (or her!) lonesome...

 Boy, they sure grow up fast!

You're almost guaranteed to see at least one Black-crowned Night Heron, peeking out from their year-round habitat along the water...

And you might remember the Cliff Swallow nest-building frenzy I talked about in May (read the post here). Well, the nests are still underneath the bridge on the auto tour, but that's not a swallow inside one of them!

Maybe this male House Sparrow is thinking about moving in. He'll have to redecorate a bit, and move in some furniture suitable for a bachelor pad, but it just might work. 

Tomorrow and the next day, I'll be posting more egret photos than you can handle. (Or maybe you will. I'm sure there are other birders out there who like them as much as I do!)

Summer Residents

With the temperatures bouncing around in the triple digits during the summer, the refuge feels deserted. Most of the water has disappeared, but luckily, a few birds have stuck around to nest in the permanent ponds. 

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

Spotting my favorite, a Great Blue Heron, along the auto tour brings a smile to my face, no matter how excruciatingly hot it is here in the valley! 

 Black Phoebes are still in abundance...

And there are more doves than ever, hanging out on perches overhead. I love the pretty blue ring around their eyes.

And not every refuge resident has wings! The Desert Cottontail makes me think of springtime and cooler days.

Tomorrow we're off to the Colusa NWR!