Blog

Sporadic dispatches from the hinterlands.

Sacramento Valley Birding

We’ve been reading about the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge lately, and we were curious to have a look. There are several refuges in the area, and we decided to visit Gray Lodge Wildlife Area first. That turned out to be a good call. We started out early from Wilton, arriving around dawn (2/13/21). Gray Lodge was excellent, both for the breezy sunrise auto tour and the walk in the warmer late morning.

After Gray Lodge, we drove over to Sacramento NWR. We saw a lot of waterfowl and other birds there, mostly the same species we’d seen at Gray Lodge. In the end, almost all our pictures were from Gray Lodge. The drive from Gray Lodge to Sacramento NWR, through agricultural lands, was just as good as the reserves themselves; we saw White-faced Ibises and a Burrowing Owl along the way.

Christmas in Wilton

We had a short visit with Marvin over Christmas; enough time to eat some good food, enjoy some wine, and greet sunrise with the birds on Christmas morning.

Birding on my birthday

It was unseasonably warm and sunny on my birthday, so we got out for a little birdwatching.

We started at the harbor, hoping to get a closer look at the grebes I’ve been seeing when I paddle. The grebes were actively feeding on fish that we think are topsmelt, eating amazing amounts for such small birds.

Later, we made a quick tour of Westlake Park, but didn’t see as many different waterfowl as we’d hoped. Finally, we finished off with a walk through the arboretum. The land birds were quiet; most of the day’s action was with the waterfowl. All in all, a good day.

Thanksgiving

We visited Marvin to share a pre-made prime rib dinner from Whole Foods. It was good! The trees at Harmony Farm are still covered with colorful leaves, so we enjoyed the golden late-fall light. On the way home, we stopped at San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, which we’d never visited before. We had a good day of birding, with 57 varieties of birds.