California is the wintering spot for millions of birds fleeing the winter chills of the far north. The winter temperatures rarely fall below freezing and there’s no snow. The Great Central Valley contains dozens of wildlife refuges, parks and conservation areas that serve as their winter home. You can see birds by the hundreds at any of the NWRs.
Deep in the heart of the valley surrounded by miles of farmland, the Merced NWR provides a safe haven to these winter migrants. It has a great auto tour and several trails to explore the ponds.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
In October, the ponds are slowly flooded until most are filled. It starts in the middle so most of the birds were quite a distance from the road. They are very skittish and haven’t gotten comfortable with vehicles on the road; so they often flew away as we passed. This gave me an opportunity for some great birds-in-flight (BIF) photos.
Shovelors take off as I stopped to take their photo.
Shovelor drake’s gorgeous wings on display. Juvenile coming into adult plumage
Black-neck stilts fly over one of the ponds.
A great egret looks oddly unbalanced as he starts to turn
White Fronted Geese and Red-Wing Blackbirds take to the sky
Sandhill Cranes fill the sky as they take off.
A pair of White-Faced Ibis are silhouetted against a cloudy sky. Their unique bills serves as a field mark.
A Northern Harrier glides over the marsh.
Some birdies stayed put.
White Crowned Sparrow
Black-Necked Stilt hunting in the shallow waters.
Black Phoebe
Wilson’s Snipe
Killdeer
Song Sparrow
Northern Mockingbird
Red-Tailed Hawk blurry due to windshield.
Loggerhead Shrike another windshield shot.
A trio of American Coots
A flock of Sandhill Cranes resting on an access road.
Red-Wing Blackbird opting to cover the red patch.
Red-Winged Blackbird hens
White-Faced Ibis — non-breeding plumage
Mourning Dove
Western Meadowlark
Dowitchers or Yellowlegs?
European Starlings
White Fronted Geese and Northern Pintails rest next to a half-filled pond.
A few gulls (possibly herring or California) rest among the coots and ducks
Of course we had some drama while visiting the refuge. The blackbirds were not happy when a Harrier showed up and they let her know.
More than 100 blackbirds swarm a harrier
They quickly surround her
She starts to turn around with all the blackbirds coming at her.
She picks up speed and loses most of the birds.
Breaking free, the harrier finally gets away.
Haven’t seen any Snow Geese or Tundra Swans yet. But they should be here within the month.
The weather was slightly cool below average this week with occasional showers Monday and Friday. Forecast is warm and dry for next week — beautiful fall days.
What’s up in your neck of the woods?