I was able to see several deer, including a pair that were foraging along the banks of the river.  There were also a lot of Red-Shouldered Hawks flying around: parents teaching their kids how to hunt.  And I also came across a mama California Ground Squirrel who gave out a sharp alarm call when I got too close to her burrow.  I was sure there were babies around there, but I didn’t see any of them…

CLICK HERE to see the full album of photos.

About halfway through my walk I remembered that a Facebook friend of mine, Charlotte G., said she had a Nikon camera like mine and suggested I try the “birdwatching” setting for some great photos.  My  camera is so new I hadn’t gotten around to trying the special settings yet, but I tested out the “birdwatching” setting and was REALLY impressed by it.  (Thanks for the tip, Charlotte!)  It goes beyond the regular telephoto settings of the camera, makes the focal point tight, and lets you “ratchet” in to get closer and closer and closer to your subject.  For example, using the regular telephoto setting I could get the whole body of a Mourning Dove in a tree about 100 feet away into the viewfinder and focus on it.  With the “birdwatching” setting, I could get the camera to tighten up the image even more until only the bird’s head was showing in the viewfinder but still entirely in focus.  So cool!  It’s like getting a telephoto boost.  (And, of course, it works on other critters, too, not just birds.)

On my way out of the preserve I came across a male Wild Turkey that was standing in the sun, chin down on its chest, like it was sleeping.  As I got closer to it I realized the posture may have meant the bird was in a lot of pain.  Its whole face was swollen, and the eye on one side was damaged.  There were signs around some of the trail warning everyone about ground-dwelling Yellow Jackets in the preserve. It looked to me like this turkey may have blundered too close to one of those nests and the wasps attacked its face.  I felt so bad for it; it must have been in soooo much pain. (When I got back home, I emailed photos of the bird to the preserve to see if their rangers could help it.)

There is a disease called mycoplasma which can affect turkeys and cause swelling of the face, but its associated with the sinuses. This looked more “hot” and painful than that…