Category: Special Places

What a Difference a Few Days Can Make When Birding

We returned to Lake Ralphine after Jeff and Debbie arrived in Santa Rosa and saw more birds than we had on our earlier visit, although still not as many as I’m accustomed to seeing there on previous visits. Perhaps there were more birds simply because it was a weekday, not a weekend, and there weren’t as many people walking around.

I’ll have to admit that I was excited to get a picture of this Green Heron,

A heron perched among dense green foliage, showcasing its distinctive coloring and features.

even if it insisted on hiding in the foliage. I used to see them regularly at Spring Lake, but I haven’t spotted one there for years, or anywhere else for that matter.

It’s hard to miss the Swans at Lake Ralphine, though I’m used to seeing several, not a single one.

A white swan gracefully swimming in a calm lake, reflecting its image in the water.

We also managed to spot two Acorn Woodpeckers, though their granary looked remarkably sparse compared to ones we’ve seen in the past.

A perched bird on a twisted, weathered tree branch with another bird flying in the background against a clear sky.

One of the problems with building your granary in a popular park is that it tends to be removed when it appears to pose a hazard to park visitors. We’ve seen several trees being removed at the park in recent years.

The surprise sighting of the day, though, was a small flock of Great-tailed Grackles, a bird I’ve never seen except in Arizona and Colorado.

Two Great-tailed Grackles standing on a surface, showcasing their glossy black feathers and upright postures.

Santa Rosa is supposed to be outside their normal range, though they are found in Southern California, too.

What seemed like a successful day of birding was capped off by this little Oak Titmouse leading us almost directly back to our car.

A close-up image of a small bird standing on the ground with a blurred background, showcasing its round body and distinctive crest.

Just One Good Bird

When I started birding many, many years ago with Ruth, after a day seeing too few birds, she would say, “All we need is one good bird.”

Of course, it was just a positive way of saying it sucks to be skunked, but, as a photographer, there is some truth to the statement. When you’ve been taking bird photos as long as I have, I rarely capture even a single picture that I end up keeping because I already have better pictures.

Birding at Lake Ralphine/Spring Lake was slow during our recent visit. I didn’t see hardly any of the birds that I usually see there — no Mergansers, no Night Herons, no Acorn Woodpeckers, etc. By the time we arrived at Spring Lake and saw a few more birds, my camera battery had run out of power, and the backup I had picked up on the way out the door turned out to be empty as well.

Needless to say, though I enjoyed the walk after driving all day the previous two days, I was disappointed by the lack of photos.

It was only when I downloaded the photos that I found a shot that I really liked:

A snowy white egret perched on a wooden post, displaying its elegant plumage against a dark background.

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.

Finding Peace in Birding: A Unique Form of Meditation

It’s always exciting to photograph Whimbrels and Red Knots because they are bigger and rarer than most shorebirds, like Western Sandpipers or Dunlin, but my favorite part of birding during Spring or Fall Migration is actually when smaller sandpipers completely surround me .

To make that happen, you need to be standing on the beach long before they arrive and stand very still, becoming part of the scenery. On this visit, that meant we were on the beach by 6:00 AM, just after sunrise.

While the Whimbrels, Dowitchers, Red Knots, and Black-Bellied Plovers maintained their distance feeding at the water’s edge,

A group of shorebirds, likely Whimbrels or similar species, foraging on a sandy beach at sunrise, with soft golden light reflecting on the water.

Western Sandpipers covered the beach, skittering here and there, eating only God-Knows-What.

A shorebird with brown and white plumage stands on wet rocks near the water's edge.

They come so close that you almost need a zoom lens to fit them into the frame.

A small, brown and white shorebird standing in shallow water, looking down at its reflection.

You obviously don’t have to stand perfectly still, or you wouldn’t be able to get pictures like this, but sometimes something as subtle as a camera click can startle them into flight. And it should go without saying that the last thing you want to do while birding is scare them into flight since these little guys migrate up to 6,000 miles to breed.

A bird walking along the edge of a shallow water body, with its reflection visible in the water.

It’s not unusual to end up with more blurry shots than focused because they seldom slow down, but sometimes you get lucky, and they will pose for a series of shots like this Dunlin and Western Sandpiper did.

Two shorebirds foraging in shallow water, reflecting their images on the water's surface.

I wish I had experienced the Spring or Fall Migration when I worked in Aberdeen nearly sixty years ago. If I had, I hope that I would’ve returned to the area much more often than I have over the years, because it is a powerful experience with or without a camera. For me, it is probably the ultimate meditation, one that calls to mind a saying we practice in Spring Forest Qigong, one that I translate as “I am in the universe, the universe is in me, we are One.”