Snow Geese at Sherman Island

Even though it was getting pretty late in the season, I had hopes that we would get a chance to see some of the last flocks of snow geese and white-fronted geese before they made their journey back north. After having lunch in Berkeley,
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.

More Baby Ducks

Although it seems pretty late in the season to me, I was happy to see there are some new baby ducks in the pond along Radio Road in Redwood Shores by the San Francisco Bay. One mama mallard had ten little fuzzy babies following her. Over on the far end of the pond, two parents were closely watching their one little duckling.


The baby geese have long grown up and are doing their share to tear up the lawn along the roadside, but the ducks are still busy it seems.

Just the Kids

Just the Kids


It's Egret baby season again! Starting in April, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets and Black-Crowned Night Heron begin building nests in the Baylands wildlife sanctuary on San Francisco Bay. What few palm trees and eucalyptus are available become crowded like a New York City apartment building as birds pack in their nests near one of the prime fishing spots in the area.

Eggs are laid and young birds begin to emerge: first, the Night Herons, followed in a few weeks by the first round of Snowy Egrets. The babies continue to hatch into the summer months and the earlier-born fledglings test their wings for the first flight.

As summer winds down, the birds quietly disappear from the area, seeking out better hunting grounds and possibly a little peace and quiet, but they are guaranteed to return again next spring.

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Wild Coyote on DC Nature Photography : CafePress.com

This coyote was out hunting at dusk at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge, which is a great refuge in California to observe migratory birds in the fall and winter. This coyote was standing at the side of the auto trail and didn't mind my car pulling up near it. I watch for several minutes as she looked for prey coming out after sunset. There are lots of ground squirrels and bunnies in this refuge and I'm sure they keep the coyotes busy!

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DC Nature Photography : CafePress.com: "Smiling Bunny
This bunny really is smiling. Why is he smiling? Because I was taking his picture, of course!"

This bunny had just woken up from a nap at a wildlife refuge in Merced and was enjoying a good stretch. After the stretch, he took a dust bath.

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It's Baby Season

Spring is one of my most favorite times of the year. Flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing and baby animals appear everywhere.

Over at the Palo Alto Duck Pond, Canada Geese parents are proudly parading around their young ones. This is the first time I have seen such young babies being brought out and up close to the lucky visitors of the pond. Last year I had to search around the outside trails of the preserve, but this year I've already counted 2 sets of babies--a total of 16 cute, fuzzy yellow goslings.

Not to be outdone, the Mallards have started showing off their cute little ducklings. The first family to bring babies out for a swim in the pond had 9 fuzzy little yellow and brown babies that explored, sunbathed and a few even met with visitors bearing bread (a practice much beloved by some of the visitors, however discouraged by the park rangers).



Of course, the stars of the show are the Snowy Egrets, the Great Egrets and the Black-Crowned Night Herons, all of which crowd together in the handful of palm and eucalyptus trees near the duck pond to build their nests and raise their young. It's a sight to be seen and heard.







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Wild San Simeon

Just after New Year's I took my mom to see the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas, which is just a little north of San Simeon on the California coast. This area is used year-round by elephant seals, but in January, the seal pups are born. Over the past few years, it has become increasingly popular with tourists who come to see these immense creatures from a vantage point that can be as close as 10 feet away, with no fence or cage to separate the people from the wildlife.

We arrived a little early in the season, it turns out, since only about 30 pups were on the beach. We were told that mid-January would be the peak, with over 3000 pups with their mothers on the beach. I made a note of this and planned to come back in a couple of weeks. Still, it was quite an enjoyable day. We even spotted a couple of sea otters resting in the kelp beds a safe distance from the elephant seals.

As we headed south on Highway way back towards Cambria, somthing caught my eye in the fields below Hearst Castle. It looked about the size of a coyote, but was greyer in color. I decided to turn around to get another look. Much to our surprise, it was not a coyote but instead a beautiful bobcat. Excitedly, I jumped out of the car at the side of the road with my camera and started taking shots. As I watched through my 400mm lens, the cat got bigger and bigger and I started to wonder if he would reach us. He kept trotting toward the road, but eventually made his way down a drainage ditch to a tunnel that ran under the road and opened to the beach on the other side. We didn't see him come back out.

Overall, despite the long drive (~3hrs), it was a great day and I plan to watch the fields more closely next time I drive along Highway 1.

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Merced National Wildlife Refuge, Late February

I took a drive on a rare sunny day in February recently to check on the snow geese and sandhill cranes and see if they had started their migration back north yet. The weather was cold in Santa Clara and snow had dusted the surrounding hilltops, but the weather report promised sunny skies in the Central California Valley.

Merced has been a favorite of mine because I can get there within about 1.5 hrs with little traffic. It always has a great assortment of birds year 'round, and I have spotted other creatures there, too, including coyotes, a skunk, lots of bunnies and ground squirrels and an occasional owl. It was the first place I spotted huge flocks of snow geese 3 years ago, having had disappointing results at the larger Sacramento Wildlife Complex at the time. Sandhill Cranes are also fairly common there, and in high numbers in the winter. It is also one of the very best places for some outstanding sunset shots.



As I entered the valley from highway 152, I could see clear blue skies and the clouds of the valley hanging just over the hills behind me. That would mean an early sunset and probably not enough light late in the day, but possibly another nice colorful sunset. It was still early enough in the day, so I decided to take a detour to the nearby San Luis refuge before ending at Merced.

The San Luis refuge is probably best known for its protected herd of tule elk, which you can almost alwas spot in a large fenced area. I have also found it's a great spot for viewing hawks of all kinds as well as Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons.
The hawks were out circling in the warm air above and made several passes directly overhead. Just past the tule elk area, sheep with lambs were grazing in the field. The lambs were probably a month or so old and were having a lot of fun, so I stopped to watch for awhile.


There were no snow geese or cranes at San Luis, but I did see a very small group of maybe four or five Tundra Swans at the same spot where I had seen a small group last year. They are no doubt the same swans or relatives, since most groups of tundras are much larger.







Just outside the reserve, the farmer had slightly flooded the fields and Great Egrets, Herons and Red-Winged Blackbirds were having a field day, so to speak, hunting for insects and frogs in the small puddles.

I headed over to Merced, as it was near 3PM and the clouds from the hills were starting to spread over the valley, leaving a dark shadow below them. I was lucky enough to outrun them and as I started the zigzag that leads the the Merced refuge, along Turner Island, I stopped in my tracks. Off in the irrigation ditch was a wet, brown mammal. I turned the car around and pulled up next to it and immediately the creature dove under the water. I decided to wait a bit for it to come back up so I shut off the engine and readied my camera. After a few moments, the animal surfaced and I got a closer look. At first I had thought it was a nutria, but I was fairly familiar with these creatures, having spent 2 years in Oregon watching them go about their lives in a little pond below my apartment balcony. I did a little research when I got home and came to the conclusion that this was actually a muskrat.

I was pretty excited as this was the first time I had seen one of these creatures in the wild, and did not expect to find one out in daylight by the side of the road. We watched each other for a little while before I bade the little creature goodbye and headed on toward Merced, in search of geese and cranes.

At Merced, I was amazed to see huge groups of white geese crowded in the fields and near the water. It seemed as if more geese from other areas had joined the regular winter group here.

Cranes were also flying overhead in small groups. Also at the refuge were the usual Northern Shovelers, Pintails, Black-Necked Stilts, White-Faced Ibises, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Marsh Wrens, Golden-Crowned Sparrows, Killdeers, and Coots. It was still too early for swallows, but clouds of young mosquitos were already swarming at sunset. I rounded the water and headed to my favorite sunset-shooting spot, near the corn fields and heard a cacophony of voices. Ross's Geese and Sandhill Cranes were gathering in close groups right near a clearing of dried corn stalks. It was the biggest and louded group I think I have ever been that close to and the evening fly-out was in better light than usual, since the days are getting a little bit longer. Steady streams of geese and cranes passed overhead, leaving their daytime spots in the pond for a nightime resting place in the field. It was a truly magical moment. I will miss these big birds when they take their leave and head back to Alaska to raise their young, but maybe if I'm lucky I'll have time to make one more visit before they go.

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The Snow Goose

The Snow Goose is a medium-sized goose that breeds in the Alaskan tundra and winters in the warmer areas of the United States. The adults are usually white with black-tipped wings and the young are grayish or “blue”. There is also a blue morph version of the adult goose that has grayish feathers. The feet and bill are pink and there is a black line or “smile” on the sides of the bill.

Every fall, the Snow Goose embarks on a long trip. On the west coast of the United States, the snow goose leaves its nesting site in Alaska, to travel in huge flocks over thousands of miles south to the warmer weather of the Central California Valley. There it spends the winter resting in wetlands and feeding on winter grains planted by farmers. The Central Valley used to be covered in vast wetlands and hosted millions of geese, ducks and swans, but early in the last century farming took over the area and the wetlands were drained to make the area suitable for planting crops. Today only a small fraction of the area is still natural wetlands. Thankfully, people realized the impact farming was having on the environment and worked out a compromise. In the spring and summer, the fields support California’s agricultural demands, hosting rice, cotton, tomatoes, onions and other crops. In the fall, farmers harvest the crops and burn the waste. The fields are then either planted with winter grains or flooded with irrigation water to support the migrating waterfowl that continue their annual migration south. Due to these restoration efforts, we can continue to witness the awesome sights and sounds of masses of snow geese taking flight at once over the Central Valley.

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San Luis NWR, Early November

Not all of my field trips are that productive. Sometimes I head out at the wrong time of the day or the wrong time of the year.

In early November, I was anticipting the arrival of the migrating waterfowl that visit the Central California valley. The fields that are farmed in the area were once vast wetlands and provided a winter home to huge flocks of geese, ducks, swans and other migrating birds. Then farmers drained the wetlands and farmed the land, reducing the habitat for the birds. Fortunately, conservationists and farmers have reached a compromise and now farmers turn their fields back over to the birds after the harvest. After the harvest, they cut down their fields of rice and corn and plant winter grain crops to feed the migrating birds and flood the fields, providing food and habitat for the winter visitors.

Last year I saw large flocks of snow geese and colorful ducks in the area and was hoping to find them again, but I started out a little too early in the season this time. No huge flocks greeted me at the San Luis refuge, but I did see several Red-Tailed Hawks waiting at their posts on the power poles.

A shy Belted Kingfisher watched the drainage ditch near the entrance but never came too close to my car.

Mysterious streams of silk floated on the warm air and caught in the trees, grass and power poles. They may have been from young spiders heading to new homes.

The tule elk, regular residents of this refuge, were no where in sight this time. They may have been resting in the shade on this warm November afternoon. Here's a shot of one from early October.

Even the Great Blue Herons, which hunt year-roud for frogs and fish along the irrigation ditches were playing hard to find. Here's one from early October.

I guess everyone was taking the afternoon off. Too bad, too, since the weather was perfect. Well, at least I had last month's photos to look through. Better luck next time.

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Fall in Half Moon Bay

A drive over the 92 to Half Moon Bay finds this ocean town in full bloom. It's just two weeks before the pumpkin festival and the fall colors are everywhere. A pumpkin stand on Highway 1 is bursting with blooms in yellow, orange and red. Sunflowers show their cheery faces to the traffic and invite travelers to stop and shop for a pumpkin.

A short way further down the road, fields of stocks, bachelor buttons and yarrow are in bloom under the warm afternoon sun, a lovely foreground to the fields beyond where horses watch for visitors driving along their ranchside road.








Surveying all from its perch on a power line high above sits a red-shouldered hawk. It's a beautiful day at the ocean and a wonderful time to enjoy the warm fall weather before things cool off and the rains begin.








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Baylands in the Morning

I have often visited the Baylands preserve after work or at lunch during the work week, but wanted to see what it was like in the morning. One weekend, a couple of weeks ago, I dragged myself out of bed early and headed over there with cameras and coffee. The tide is lower in the morning, or at least it was this morning, and the shore birds were taking advantage of it, sucking up mud filled with tiny creatures and plants. The Marbled Godwits were very busy that morning and didn't take much time to look up from their work. Working along side the Godwits were Avocets and Plovers, equally involved in their mud scouring.

It was a chilly morning and fairly quiet otherwise. A low fog blocked out much of the light and noise of the day and the air was still. I decided to head back for more coffee and as I was leaving a trio of American White Pelicans made a circuit around the park overhead.

I headed out of the preserve, but before I headed home I made a stop on the frontage road that runs along the outside of the park. It was too difficult to get a good view of a flock of White Pelicans that were resting on a pond, but I did see some smaller creatures that were closer to the road, including a Checkered Skipper and a Garden Spider.





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Elkhorn Slough, Early September

I took a walk through Elkhorn Slough a couple of weeks ago. I realized when I got there that it was about the same time of year I had been there a year ago when I had not seen many birds, except for an exciting show by some Acorn Woodpeckers.


This time I took a different trail, hoping to see a different variety of wildlife. It was a hot day dry day, and although I remembered to bring plenty of water, this time I forgot to bring a hat! I took the Long Valley loop trail, which sloped downward from a grassy meadow which was filled with dry grasses gently blowing in the wind.


I spotted a few butterflies along the trail, feasting on thistles and dandilions.
There were several skippers and a small, whitish butterfly I couldn't identify.


Further down the trail, the poison oak was plentiful, with leaves turning red and berries ripening. I kept my distance but observed a bird who was making a lunch of the berries.

Down by the lake, there was an egret on the opposite shore, but too far away to get a good photograph. The trail followed along the lake, which was otherwise deserted, for a short distance then rose up again as it led back toward the visitors center.

More thistles along this sun-soaked slope and they were busy with bees and butterflies.

A little further up, there was some commotion in a live oak: a fledgling Hutton's Vireo was demanding another meal from a parent. They chattered for a bit before the parent flew off, leaving the youngster alone.


I passed by the five fingers trail at the trailhead, since it seemed to circle back to the same lake, and instead headed back to the trail I took a year ago, hoping to see more woodpeckers. Along the trail, it was virtually empty, except for the ocassional fence lizard. But the sun soon became too hot and the trail too long and I decided to turn back to return to the shelter and air conditioning of the truck. I will have to remember to return after the fall migrations have begun or in the spring during the breeding season to try and catch a greater variety of wildlife.



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