Timing is All in Birding

I was hoping that birding in Northern California would be better than it was here at home. It wasn’t. I think we saw fewer birds at the Sacramento NWR than we ever have, even though there were large numbers of birds in the distance. The main problem was that they hadn’t flooded the fields closest to the auto tour and wouldn’t be doing that for a few more weeks.

That said, we still enjoyed seeing birds we haven’t seen for a while and got a few shots that we liked, like this one of a flock of Whimbrels.

A flock of Whimbrels standing in shallow water, reflecting in the water's surface.

On this visit, the Greater White-fronted Geese were definitely the dominant species,

A flock of geese standing in shallow water, with reflections visible on the surface, surrounded by a grassy landscape.

though we could see smaller flocks of Snow Geese just beyond the White-Fronted Geese.

A flock of Greater White-Fronted Geese and other birds gathered near a water source in Northern California, showcasing a blend of dark and light plumage against a brown and green background.

Somehow, it seemed strangely appropriate that the best shot of the morning was this shot of a Vulture.

A close-up of a Turkey Vulture perched on straw-like ground, showcasing its distinctive red head and dark plumage.

We were a little disappointed on this visit, but only because we’ve been so amazed on previous visits.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.