The Wildlife of Modoc - Part 2

As we drove up to the auto tour at the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, this trio of pelicans greeted us...

And then they flew away...

We've been wanting to take a trip up here for a while now and I'm so glad we finally did!

I knew the refuge would be beautiful, but it was even more breathtaking than I'd imagined...

And we had wonderful weather, too! It sprinkled on us a little in the morning and then the sun came out and played hide-and-seek with the clouds.

This Sandhill Crane was sitting on its nest right alongside the auto tour!

I'll post more photos tomorrow!

The Wildlife of Modoc - Part 1

We finally made the drive up to Alturas to check out the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge! Before we even made the turn into the refuge, a pair of Sandhill Cranes greeted us from a field next to the road...

This is the closest we've ever been to cranes before and I was excited to get some better photos than the ones I got at Llano Seco...

You can't get much closer than this!

There was also a big nest before the refuge entrance...

Lots more photos to come!

The Wildlife of Modoc - Part 5

We had an absolute blast during our visit to the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge and came home with hundreds of beautiful photos!

I've already started planning a return trip!

Stay tuned tomorrow for some Tree Swallows who actually sat still long enough to get pictures of them...

The Wildlife of Modoc - Part 3

We saw lots of birds during our recent visit to the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, including these Black-necked Stilts...

Tomorrow I'll be posting the photos of the Great Horned Owl nest we saw!

The Wildlife of Modoc - Part 7

The Sandhill Cranes at the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge were patient enough to let us get some wonderful photos!

The view from the auto tour was amazing...

This Horned Grebe was all by himself and actually swam alongside the car...

What a view!

The Wildlife of Modoc - Part 4

There's a walking trail off the auto tour at the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge and, boy, did we see something unexpected!

Can you guess whooo's nest is in the tree on the right...?

How exciting to spot a nest, much less to see an owl in it with a fuzzy little baby!

Next up tomorrow: A beautiful male American Kestrel...