we headed up Highway 4 toward Antioch, then over the bridge and left on the first road after the bridge, which is Sherman Island road. I have traveled over this bridge many times on the way to see cranes and geese and the scenery is great, but the traffic moves quickly so there is little opportunity to observe wildlife. This time I decided to pull off at the first opportunity, which happened to be this little road. It winds back toward the bridge before running up next to the levy, where it follows for several miles before joining back with the 160. The spot where we found geese last week was only occupied by ducks this time, so we continued along the levy and encountered again the goats munching on the tall grass.
Since it was late in the afternoon, I was hoping to see a "fly-out" or "fly-in", a phenomenon where a flock of hundreds of geese take to the air all at once and head in to the water or out to the fields.
This usually occurs at sunrise or sunset, so I hoped we'd catch one last look as the flocks flew overhead. We drove along the levy, watching the fields below the levy and spotted a few small flocks of snows off in the distance. The road is pretty narrow and offers little opportunity to pull off, but finally after passing through a marina, we found a small pull off and got out of the car. Luck was with us that day, since moments after we got out of the car, streams of Snow Geese and Ross's Geese cross over the levy and directly over us.
They flew in so low over us that it was hard for my camera to lock focus on a small group as they were passing overhead so quickly in linked "V's". It lasted for a couple of minutes at least, then it was over. It was still an hour before sunset but that was all we would get for a fly-in, it seemed. Good enough. In fact, it's wonderful to stand under a flock as it flys overhead and hear nothing but the gentle beat of wings in the air and the soft honking of hundreds or thousands of geese. It's the reason I drive for 2-3 hours on winter weekends, getting up sometimes at 4AM and standing outside in the freezing mist to take the chance that I've picked the right spot and the right time. It really is a spiritual experience.
After the flock passed, we headed a little further down the road to investigate an abandoned barn.
I had learned from a fellow wildlife photographer that barns meant barn owls, so I quietly stepped over to the entrance to have a peek. I did see streaks of white inside on the worn walls so I started to get excited. When I got to the entrance and looked up and directly across I spotted just what I was looking for: a sweet little barn owl!
Unfortunately the little guy or gal was not interested in visitors and I was only able to fire off one quick shot before it flew off right toward me and exited the barn via the loft window right over my head. I had time to look out the barn door and see the owl fly off toward a bush by the levee, noting the beautiful in-flight shots I was missing. Oh well. I decided it was time to leave the owl along and got back in the car, heading back down the levee.
We came back to the marina, watching for wildlife in the levee but there was little to see except a pied-billed grebe on the lookout.
I stopped at the marina having spotted a kitty out hunting. I called to her and she ran right up and into the open car door. She came in purring and accepting pets before thoroughly exploring the interior of the car.
When she finally said goodbye, we continued along the road, stopping to listen to a pheasant squawk and to watch blackbirds balancing on the power lines.
When we got back near the bridge, we stopped by a damp area where white-fronted geese and snow geese were gathering as the sun set. Seems like they were settling in for the evening so there would be no shots of geese against the setting sun this time. No matter. It had been great to see the geese one last time. It will be a long wait for me as I anticipate their return in the fall.
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